I've been following the discussion with interest and think a slightly
different slant on the topic might be useful.

Anyone expecting to see an accurate presentation of history on
television is doomed to be disappointed. What is being presented is
entertainment- it is conceived, scripted, and executed specifically to
that end, not an educational one, though boosting it as "education"
doubtless increases the audience. If historical fact coincides with the
entertainment venue, well and good- if not, it is modified to suit the
script or simply ignored & discarded. Fact is also regularly manipulated
to appease those funding  production. No one should be surprised by
this.

PBS is less prone to this than commercial networks (e.g. the putative
"History Channel"-an oxymoron if ever there was one), but their
situation is such- especially since the draconian cuts in Federal
funding- that they must focus more on audience numbers and fundraising-
and are thus increasingly less independent.

This is not to say that historical accuracy is incompatible with the
television medium, but as long as folks- historians included- see
nothing wrong with sacrificing accuracy for entertainment value, and
with foisting half-or-untruths on a historically unsophisticated viewing
audience, positive change is unlikely.

Just one man's opinion....
Regards,  Greg