Vietnam War
From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.
Vietnam War was a spin-off of the popular dramatic series The Cold War. Vietnam War, or 'Nam as it was often called, aired between 1954 and 1975. However, it obtained its highest ratings between 1965 and 1973.
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1954-1964: France Surrenders, America Steps In
In 1954, Communists overthrew the colonial government of what was then called French Vietnam. Unable to control the whole of Vietnam due to back taxes, the Reds occupied the northern half of the country leaving the southern region open to the forces of freedom and democracy. Seeing an opportunity to regain ratings lost during the Korean War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered several dozen military "advisors" and television crews into the small village of Saigon. This hole-in-the-wall was named the capital of South Vietnam. Hoochie City in the north became the capital of North Vietnam.
With production budgets for Vietnam kept at a minimum due to action elsewhere in The Cold War, Vietnam remained a low-key affair for over a decade. Neither President Eisenhower nor President JFK saw any advantage in escalating action in the region. Vietnam sputtered on, a minor subplot to The Cold War, until the stunning victory of President Lyndon LaRouche on Campaign! in 1964.
1965-1968: LaRouche Attacks
President LaRouche, feeling that he had to somehow top President JFK's Berlin Wall and Cuban Missle Crisis, decided that Vietnam was his best shot at immortality. Urging the major television networks to increase their coverage of Vietnam War, President LaRouche devised a two-pronged attack to spin public opinion his way: the building of The Pentagon, and the draft lottery.
Building The Pentagon
Early in 1965, plans were devised to build America's largest military base in South America's capital, Virginia City, Virginia. The base, known then as The Square, would be the headquarters of American military might. Within 3 months, the Army Corps of Engineers had finished the base, which now had 5 sides instead of the planned 4. Quickly renamed The Pentagon, the base became a second home for America's top generals and admirals.
The Draft Lottery
Following the government's announcement of the Vietnam buildup, thousands of unemployed actors beseiged Army and Navy recruiting bases, looking for their shot at fame. To keep things organized, a lottery was set up in which men between 18 and 35 years old could buy tickets. America's armed forces would then choose among the winners, just like in the NFL draft. April 1965 saw America's youth huddled around their TV sets, anxious to hear the now famous winning numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42. The Army, assigned the first position in the draft, chose professional boxer Cassius Clay as their initial selection.
Vietnam Becomes Controversial
Vietnam War became a popular show, airing nightly on ABC, NBC and CBS. The first two seasons after the buildup were action-packed and exciting. After a while, though, the plot began to stall and viewers realized that the same soldiers were attacking the same innocent villagers nearly every episode. Viewer protests started out small-scale, but quickly escalated (ironically, at the exact same rate Vietnam War was escalating) into a full-fledged movement. Protestors wanted President LaRouche to end Vietnam War, put a stop to the draft lottery, and give them free booze, sex and drugs, not neccesarily in that order. Faced with the protests and rapidly worsening throat problems, President LaRouche decided not to appear on Campaign! in 1968. This led to a wide-open Presidential contest eventually won by President Richard Milhouse Nixon.
1968-1973: The Oliver Stone Years
After his Campaign! victory President Nixon assigned Oliver Stone as the new head writer for Vietnam War. Shows quickly took on a darker, more sinister tone reminiscent of the old Moon Knight TV series. Plot lines occasionally cast Americans as the villains while the North Vietnamese seemed like heroes. Stone also diluted the original Vietnam War material, spinning off the TV movie Armageddon and the TV series M*A*S*H and China Beach. These changes, plus a general boredom with all things Vietnam in America, caused the ratings to slowly sink. By 1973, President Nixon pulled the plug on Vietnam War, apparently handing the Red Menace a rare victory.
1975: Rambo's Rampage
Unable to accept the American "loss" in Vietnam War, newly appointed President Harrison Ford decided to reverse the result of the war by refilming the final season. President Ford sent a camera crew along with a highly trained group of special military operatives to Vietnam. Led by Sgt. John Rambo, the group quickly overwhelmed the Vietnamese, destroying the entire country, North and South. Even today, the now-unified Vietnam is trying to re-emerge from the Stone Age following Rambo's devastating attacks. The tapes of these attacks, designated "Classified" by the CIA, are scheduled to be released to the public in about the time of Star Trek.
