The Staircase

[LennG]

We had discussed this series several months ago. I watched the documentary on Netflix and, as I said, we had a very lively discussion about it. We just got finished watching the series on HBO and in some ways, it was like watching a different take on the same story.

Just some background for any that haven't watched. The Staircase is a true story of Michael Peterson, who was accused of killing his wife by pushing her down a staircase among other things. The documentary is done by a French outfit wanting to show American justice but ended up being very pro-Peterson in the telling of the story. There are no actors and all the participants are the real people. I won't go into details of the story as it might take some of the drama out of it, but since it is true you can google it and see for yourself. I found it fascinating and still hold that Peterson is guilty, no doubt.

Now the HBO series has regular actors and still tries to tell the same story, but I really learned so many new things.

Many of the interviews that the documentary filmed were so rehearsed to make Peterson look so sympathetic. The documentary made the Peterson family look like the all-American family, so close, so loving, not so on the HBO series. Peterson had a harsh temper, his marriage wasn't all roses as the documentary portrayed, and his 4 children, which the documentary made they seem like the father was a God and they idolized him to no end, just wasn't the case in the HBO series.

I would recommend to anyone who wants a good drama to watch both and see how you feel.

I have never changed my mind about his guilt or innocence--I always felt he was as guilty as sin, and no matter how much he denied it, the facts were there. If I ws on that jury he would have fried.