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The Best Episodes of American Experience Season 29

Every episode of American Experience Season 29 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of American Experience Season 29!

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS

Season 29 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "American Experience" season 29 is "Command and Control", rated 7.1/10 from 591 user votes. It was directed by Robert Kenner and written by N/A. "Command and Control" aired on 1/10/2017 and is rated 0.7 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Rachel Carson".

  • Command and Control
    7.1/10 591 votes

    #1 - Command and Control

    Season 29 Episode 1 - Aired 1/10/2017

    An account of an incident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Ark., in 1980 that almost caused the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead 600 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. The near-calamity was kicked off when a socket fell from the wrench of an airman performing maintenance in a Titan II silo and punctured the missile, releasing a stream of highly explosive rocket fuel.

    Director: Robert Kenner

    Writer: N/A

  • Rachel Carson
    7.8/10 513 votes

    #2 - Rachel Carson

    Season 29 Episode 2 - Aired 1/24/2017

    She set out to save a species...us. An intimate portrait of the woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Race Underground
    7.9/10 108 votes

    #3 - The Race Underground

    Season 29 Episode 3 - Aired 1/31/2017

    The dramatic story of the country's first subway.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Oklahoma City
    7.8/10 139 votes

    #4 - Oklahoma City

    Season 29 Episode 4 - Aired 2/7/2017

    On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh, a former soldier deeply influenced by literature and ideas of the radical right, killed 168, and injured 675 others.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Ruby Ridge
    7.2/10 204 votes

    #5 - Ruby Ridge

    Season 29 Episode 5 - Aired 2/14/2017

    A riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Great War: Part 1
    8.1/10 154 votes

    #6 - The Great War: Part 1

    Season 29 Episode 6 - Aired 4/10/2017

    Part 1 of 3. President Woodrow Wilson vowed to keep the U.S. out of World War I after hostilities erupted in Europe in August 1914. It was a promise he kept until 1917, when the Germans resumed "unrestricted submarine warfare"— a policy it had started and then stopped in 1915 — and began sinking U.S. ships. An intercepted telegram also showed Germany trying to convince Japan and Mexico to declare war on America.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Great War: Part 2
    7.5/10 419 votes

    #7 - The Great War: Part 2

    Season 29 Episode 7 - Aired 4/11/2017

    Part 2 of 3. America's entry into World War I is recalled, including the breathtaking speed of mobilization and the profound transformations required for America to play a central role in the conflict.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Great War: Part 3
    8.2/10 146 votes

    #8 - The Great War: Part 3

    Season 29 Episode 8 - Aired 4/12/2017

    Part 3 of 3. In the fall of 1918: a major American offensive that could bring a swift end to the war, a lost U.S. battalion surrounded by German forces, a deadly flu epidemic on the homefront.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A