INTO THE WEST
BBC Two, 9pm
Produced by Steven Spielberg, this six-part mini-series set in the American West between 1825 and 1890 was taken apart by US critics. It was accused of offering a politically correct version of history, of trying to cover too much in too little time, of being inaccurate, of peddling clichés and — perhaps most damning — of being downright boring. Certainly, its portrayal of the West from the perspective of two families (one white, one Native American) offers an absurdly Hollywood version of history. It is one of those epics where the handsome hero heads out west in search of adventure and — by the end of the first episode — ends up marrying the beautiful Indian girl to the