An American Revolution

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

An American Revolution, properly titled General Carriages Presents: An American Revolution, is the oldest known television show filmed in America. Found in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution while workers were dusting off some old letters from their collection of President George Washington artifacts, the rare footage gave historians valuable insight into the era of the 1770's. Unfortunately, the footage was badly decomposed. To date, only 3 major portions of An American Revolution have been fully restored:

• Footage of a battle outside Boston. The best remaining footage, it is possible to actually see the whites of the eyes of the Redcoats as they advance up an unnamed hill.
• Blurry footage of a number of men signing some sort of document. This part may have been an outtake.
• Part of the spectacular finale, in which President Washington destroys the Tory outpost of Yorktown, then uses the debris to create New York City.

There is some debate among scholars as to whether An American Revolution is the oldest American TV show. There are references to a show titled The 1620 Plymouth in letters written by President Ben Franklin. In addition, a Bostonian legend mentions footage of a 1690's sitcom, The Witches of Salem, being buried somewhere around the city. For now, An American Revolution is the oldest American TV series for which solid evidence exists.