After reading all the reviews, it is obvious that the series wasn't liked by these critics. I don't think the show was a total waste, but it was not finished as it was intended. I was involved with this project for the duration of the filming and 40 years previous as Craig and I spent many hours discussing this project after all the years we had spent contemplating aspects of the battle that were mostly ignored.
Comments from the critics are as flawed as their perception of the film. The mention of the cash that the soldiers wouldn't have had at the battlefield, because they would have blown it on booze and gambling before they left civilization is erroneous because their pay had been held back until after they had left civilization so they wouldn't spend it so foolishly. The bottleneck cartridge case was found while they were metal detecting near the lone teepee site, and was erroneously edited int the final cut as a 45-55 case and that is a production error, not an intentional misrepresentation. We did find an inside primed case and a correct bullet from the era not far from where it certainly could have been involved in some kind of skirmish near the lone teepee site. Nothing like this had ever been discovered before.
We had an idea in mind before this project got underway and the finished product was nothing like we had planned. There was a real organized group of support personnel that did the archaeological work, secured permission for access to the areas we filmed and recruited reliable people such as Bob Wittman who has a distinguished background with the FBI. These are components that the History Channel brought to the table to attempt to relate the story Craig and I had envisioned through our passion and research of the aftermath of the battle.
How the story turned into the film that was shown was out of our hands and left to the 2 production companies that collaborated on this project. Many things were left on the floor of the cutting room and the theme shifted completely away from our intended story line. During the 2 years of post filming production, we agonized over what information we could get as they continued their work and didn't include Craig who was an executive producer of the program. He wanted to pull the plug a few times, but I would counsel him on getting the project finished to at least get final production and recognize the accomplishment of that, if nothing more.
It is easy to be critical and I would discuss much of the criticism with the critics to clarify the concerns if such a thing was possible. It was an immense project compared to anything I had ever been exposed to before. I was disappointed many times with some of the aspects of their filming and most certainly with the final production, but to have this experience was a worthwhile proposition. We were hoping they may want to continue with a follow up story to get it back on track because the so called final mystery was not found or revealed to the viewer, which is what the title seemingly implies.
We have historical accounts that are quite compelling that do prove the existence of much of the personal belongings of the soldiers and that they were cached somewhere nearby. There is enough history and data that we have accumulated to really make an interesting program that would satisfy the appetite of any history buff should it be organized and put into production with the assistance of the people, like Craig and myself to keep it focused and on track.
It is disappointing to have such criticism on something you are so passionate about, and it is like having an ugly baby, but it is still your baby...
