After a series of postponements and cancellations, the three-part PBS special, “The Appalachians: America’s First and Last Frontier,” finally made it to the North Carolina affiliate May 11. It had been scheduled (originally) for broadcast last fall. Allegedly based on the Random House book by the same title, the TV adaptation had me in the attic searching for my old T-shirt — the one that has the caption: “Never Judge a Book by Its Movie.”

At best, the PBS program bears a superficial resemblance to the book. Somewhere between the book’s purported mission (to let the people of Appalachia speak for themselves) and the film that is currently appearing on PBS stations throughout this region, somebody goofed. Instead, PBS chose to trot out a platoon of academics — many of which were decked out in chin beards and spangled deer-hunting suspenders. Apparently, Appalachia can’t be trusted to speak for itself — at least not unchaperoned.

Early publicity noted that the program’s narrator would be Naomi Judd — alas, no Judds made the final cut. Although prominent in the book, no storytellers, artists or crafts people made it either. A singular exception was a broad selection of mountain music and musicians, including Johnny and Rosanne Cash and some marvelous footage of folk legends like Jimmy Rogers and the Carter family. Indeed, the segment on music was gratifying, but it does not redeem this pretentious documentary.

It is apparent that PBS ignored the majority of Mari-Lynn Evans’ (the book’s editor) original material, choosing rather to devise and create its own history. Topics scarcely mentioned in the book acquired major status: the Cherokee “Trail of Tears,” the career of Mother Jones and the tragic Matawan labor dispute (not in the book at all) got prime billing. Theda Perdue discoursed on the Cherokees and slavery (not in the book) and a narrator discussed Cherokee gold and Sequoyah’s alphabet (not in the book).

After placing the battle of King’s Mountain in South Carolina, the narrator went on to discuss the growth of slavery in Appalachia with photographs of slaves in settings that looked distinctly “Southern” but not “Appalachian.” At one point, I even recognized footage lifted from Neal Hutcheson’s “Mountain Talk.” There was Popcorn Sutton taking part in the great exodus from Appalachia (people looking for work).

After a segment that glamorized the history of TVA without acknowledging their role in the eviction of mountain families in Western North Carolina, I decided to throw in the towel.

When the book, The Appalachians: America’s First and Last Frontier appeared last year, I was delighted. Although I was disappointed that it’s focus was “Central Appalachia” rather than “Southern Appalachia,” I still felt that the book was an honest effort to reflect Appalachian culture with integrity. Certainly, I never dreamed that the book’s announced purpose — to depict a culture that has either been ignored or misunderstood — would be subverted, not by Hollywood, but by PBS!

Also, there is much in the book that deserved a wider audience. Many of the people who spoke movingly of their life and heritage were ignored. PBS prefers spokesmen with PhDs — spokesmen who “understand” the culture but don’t necessarily experience it.

So we must wait, then. The time has not yet come when someone will (or can) depict Appalachian culture in all of its richness and tragedy. We must wait for someone to describe a heritage that embodies moonshine, snake-handling, music, poverty and aching beauty — a culture filled with contradictions. PBS did it with the Civil War. They did it with Jazz. Are we beyond their ability?

(Gary Carden is a writer and storyteller who lives in Sylva. He can be reached at gcarden498@aol.com.)