'CHURCHILLS' SURPRISINGLY EVEN-HANDED.

Byline: Michael Blowen Boston Globe

Many documentaries about famous dynasties are either hatchet jobs or kowtowing celebrations of familial bliss. Fortunately, "The Churchills" (8 tonight on KCET-Channel 28) is a remarkably even-handed history of a family destined to lead England through some of its most trying times.

The comments from historians, biographers, journalists, Torys and family members are like bits and pieces of a fascinating puzzle. Like a nonfiction "Citizen Kane" - where all the witnesses to Kane's life and death mix the facts with their own particular interpretations - "The Churchills" creates a multidimensional portrait of a complicated family through the voices of friend and foe alike.

Stylistically, "The Churchills" blends its archival footage and talking heads with an almost musical fluidity. In many of these sorts of documentaries, all of the voices seem to merge into one. But the observations in "The Churchills" are particularly astute. Former wife of Winston's son, Randolph Churchill, and, now, U.S. ambassador to France, Pamela Churchill Harriman reports that Winston Churchill was "a romantic whose power lay in his capacity to shape the world in his vision, to make men and women do things that they didn't know they were capable of doing."

It's more than likely that those familiar with the lives of the Churchills won't find anything earthshaking in this documentary. From the original Sir Winston Churchill (1620-1688) and the First Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722) through Sir Randolph Churchill (1849-1895) and Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the territory is relatively well-trod.

Perhaps the most astute observation is that Winston Churchill was a political opportunist who switched parties and allegiances depending on the prevailing political winds. He began as a Tory in the House of Lords but switched to the House of Commons when he became sensitized to the runaway poverty in Britain. Considered a traitor to his class, Churchill switched back to the Torys when it looked as if that would better fuel his ambitions.

While most of us remember Churchill as the conquering hero, riding in an open-air car with his derby hat held high in a swirl of cigar smoke, surrounded by a sea of flag-waving Brits, that was only the high, symbolic point of his career.

"The public profile had a price and, sooner or later, the Churchills had to pay," intones the narrator, just to remind us that the personal tragedies played a crucial role in the evolution of the Churchill's family history.

In 1894, Winston's father, Randolph, suffering from syphilis, traveled around the world accompanied by a red-lined coffin. A year later, he died.

Winston's children didn't fare well either. His son Randolph was a failed politician who drank himself to death. His daughter Diana committed suicide and daughter Sarah, whose career peaked with a brief encounter with Fred Astaire in "Royal Wedding" (1951), also became an alcoholic.