Because a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian was presenting herself as an authority on the house, I assumed that the season had been based on fact. It wasn’t. Doris, playing herself as a historian, was lying. I congratulate the show’s producers for talking Doris into the appearance, but it is unethical for a trusted scholar to use her reputation this way. I had to research the topic to make sure the whole season was fiction.

I’m sure Doris would protest that it was all just good fun. No, someone playing a historian and giving that spiel would be fun. A real historian, even a semi-retired one like Goodwin, still has her trust and integrity to maintain. If she’ll tell tall-tales for entertainment value using her credentials as a historian to advance a fake legend, what would she do to sell a book?

Would it be ethical for a well-known lawyer to play himself on a TV show and misstate the law? What if a real doctor agreed to play herself in a pandemic movie and advise people to protect themselves from killer viruses by, oh, say, eating rabbit droppings? Would that be fun? I hold the similar ethics verdict about TV journalists playing themselves in movies and TV shows. It’s unprofessional. Of course, the last time I saw that done was with MSNOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell, who already had the credibility of Katie Zacharia.

As long as I’m here, I will recommend “American Horror Story,” now starting its 13th and final season, for Halloween season viewing. It is, I believe, one of the best TV series ever: cleverly written, flamboyantly acted, and well-researched. If you know your horror movies, it distributes homages to the classics throughout its long run. The series is one of the most Emmy-honored shows of all time, and deserves special praise for its repertory company format, giving many superb actors and actresses opportunities to show off their “chops” in a dazzling variety of roles. Standouts include Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare, Lily Rabe, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy and Evan Peters; Paulson, so memorable as Marcia Clark in the O.J. mini-series. even plays a two-headed woman in one season.

Now, if Doris had appeared as a two-headed woman, then her bit as a wary historian would be more ethically tolerable.