Strange but True

True Story of Charlie Wilson (History Channel)
This documentary is a sort of companion piece to Mike Nichols’ Charlie Wilson’s War, bringing together the real Charlie Wilson and several other players in this bizarre but true story of the congressman’s helping to fund the Afghan rebels against the Soviets in the 1980s. The interviews are interesting, but the re-enactments–which are de rigeur in these sorts of docs nowadays–are laughably literal, making Wilson’s exploits look like something out of the E! True Hollywood Story. This is the rare History Channel program with a slapdash feel, seemingly thrown together at the last minute.