It is absolutely amazing that a tragedy as widespread and deadly as the Influenza of 1918 could be almost forgotten. However, this has been the case--and up until the recent mini outbreak of H1N1 (a virus that is similar), very few folks alive had ever heard about this early 20th century plague. This is absolutely amazing if you think about it. After all, according to most estimates, more folks were killed by the illness than any plague before or since--and this would include the bubonic plague! This episode of "The American Experience" actually preceded the H1N1 outbreak by over a decade--but few folks took notice of this show back in 1998. And, I would venture to guess that today STILL most folks have not heard of the 1918 Influenza (erroneously referred to at the time as the "Spanish" flu).
In typical "The American Experience" style, the show chronicles the spread of the disease--using photos, interviews and the like. It was pretty flawless from start to finish except for one problem. While 500,000 died in the US from the illness, 60 times more died throughout the world and very, very little is mentioned about this. Of course, the show is "The American Experience" and the illness appeared to have begun here in the USA, so my gripe is very small. Overall, it's very sobering. And, like practically all PBS documentaries, very well made and worth seeing (despite one review quite to the contrary).