John F. Kennedy: After 50 years, we're still fixated

Fifty years later, we still think about it, read about it and argue about it.

We puzzle over the loose ends, bizarre coincidences and countless "conspiracy" theories.

We can still hear Walter Cronkite's first words, still summon the memory of his glance at a clock off-screen. His glasses, his eyes, his face -- stoic, wracked.

Fifty years later, our obsession continues, and there is no institution better suited to sate obsessions -- or more willing to accommodate them -- than television. Between now and Nov. 22, you can fully expect many films and documentaries on John F. Kennedy's presidency and Nov. 22, 1963, assassination, beginning with tonight's "Killing Kennedy" (National Geographic), starring Rob Lowe as the nation's first made-for-and-by television president -- presented here as all teeth, hair, brains, beauty, charisma and charm, the so-called "optics" that fueled (and continue to fuel) JFK's allure.

Why the continued fixation -- both ours and television's? David Nasaw, City University of New York Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Professor of History -- and author of "The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy" -- said in a recent interview, "The visual media is fascinated because there is no other political family or group which exudes a half-century after the assassination the glamour and dignity of the Kennedys."

But Nasaw, a Roslyn native, adds, "There was also something about being gunned down in media res. A thousand days is not a lot of time [and] there seemed to have been at that moment a new start of the presidency, a launch of new initiatives, civil rights, Cold War diplomacy and nuclear test bans. So the 'what ifs' are hanging there, waiting for historians to be grabbed."

The murder of Kennedy also was modern history's ultimate cold case. With the death of Lee Harvey Oswald two days later, Americans were largely left with the work of a commission that few -- even to this day -- trust.

SEE PHOTOSKennedys in movies and TV

Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia and director of its Center for Politics, as well as author of "The Kennedy Half Century," which explores the ongoing fascination, says, "Based on our own poll, 75 percent of Americans don't believe the Warren Commission, and [as a result] the story will never be over. I don't care what anybody finds, or anyone says. There are over 300 theories already -- everything but a UFO -- and more will be added. A hundred years from now, our great-grandchildren will be watching specials about the Kennedy assassination on whatever it is that will have replaced television by then."

In the meantime, here are five worthy programs that will look into the presidency and that long-ago day in Dallas:

SEE PHOTOS50 books turned into movies

(WNET/13, Wednesday, 9 p.m.) Can an expert take a 6.5-mm Carcano Model 91/38 rifle -- the same type used by Oswald -- and replicate the crime? Will the three bullets behave in a similar fashion? Can the "Single Bullet theory" -- adopted by the Warren Commission -- be proven? If so, could all of the many conspiracy theories of multiple shooters be rendered unto dust? Ballistics experts Lucien and Michael Haag fire the gun, while a "Nova" forensics team explores the results.

SEE PHOTOS10 biopics that broke the mold

of speculation and bathos. Cronkite -- and certainly other TV anchors, many unfairly overlooked in the span of time -- helped a country, but modern television news also had a standard-bearer.

SEE PHOTOSBest TV show dramas of the 21st century

SEE PHOTOSTV shows that made an impact

-----

Here's a guide to other Kennedy-related programming:

A week of "reflection" begins Nov. 17.

SEE PHOTOSMost-watched TV shows, 1970s-present

Special coverage on all ABC News programs, from "Good Morning America" to "Nightline"

"World News With Diane Sawyer" will have a report on Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Caroline Kennedy on Nov. 22.

CBSNews.com will stream original coverage of the assassination throughout the week.

As It Happened: John F. Kennedy 50 Years

SEE PHOTOSBest TV shows now on Netflix, Amazon and more

(Saturday, 9 p.m.) Bob Schieffer-anchored special on four days "that changed America and American television history."

"Today" anchors Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie will be in Dallas for a full week, joined by Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather (who will not appear on CBS' coverage) on the Nov. 22 edition.

Tom Brokaw: Where Were You? (Nov. 22, 9 p.m.) Combines archival footage with first-person stories of those who lived through the assassination.

SEE PHOTOSNBC's 11 greatest shows of all time

The night of Nov. 22 will be devoted to JFK-themed programs, including "Kennedy Brothers: A Hardball Documentary" (8 p.m.) that promises to deconstruct the "myth." (Chris Matthews has written extensively about the Kennedys.)

The Sixties: The JFK Assassination (Thursday, 9 p.m.). Examines many of the Warren Commission Report's key conclusions.

Frontline: Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? (Nov. 19, 10 p.m.) Another exploration of the man with the rifle in the book depository.

JFK Assassination: The Definitive Guide (Nov. 22, 8 p.m.) An overview of conspiracy theories -- 311 of them, implicating "42 groups, 82 assassins and 214 people."

Lee Harvey Oswald: 48 Hours to Live (Nov. 22, 10 p.m.). Follows Oswald's last movements.

Capturing Oswald

(Tuesday, 10 p.m.) Looks at the work of the Dallas Police Department.

Kennedy's Suicide Bomber (Nov. 17, 8 p.m.) An intriguing footnote about an aborted attempt to kill Kennedy before he took office.

Four 1960s-era news documentaries by filmmaker Robert Drew, a founder of "direct cinema," who deployed handheld cameras to chart Kennedy's 1960 campaign and subsequent events during his presidency (Nov. 21, 8 p.m.)