I wish they would do away with the constant formula of having a formal-sounding narrator followed by some talking head (usually a history Prof, or in one instance in this show, the author of "In Defence of Marxism"). Edward Hermann narrated well under the "re-enactment" visuals, but then some talking head would come on and basically regurgitate what Hermann had said, but in a more colloquial manner. I find this approach terribly boring. They could have added more material had the talking heads added something rather than rephrasing what we already had been told. I was annoyed, for instance, the the only name among the executed Dantonists worth mentioning was that of Danton himself.
If they do one of these shows about something I know little of, then I usually enjoy it. If they do something on the French Revolution or Napoleon, I find the show slow and sparse on detail. Try to avoid these shows if they cover a period in which you've read several or more books about it.
I didn't get to see it, not having cable, but I did enjoy the discussion on this thread.
I agree with most of the posters that our revolution and theirs were different on the most fundamental levels, but there's really no denying that they were linked to some degree.
There are reenactments of the French Revolution?