"Create an instant city; just add water!" Los Angeles was transformed from a neglected 1800s town into America's largest metropolis simply by William Mullholland's vision to put a pipeline across California for the parched town. Mulholland's Dream includes television news footage, clips from the movie Chinatown, and interviews with historians and people who live in the areas sucked dry.

The result is that one desert was exchanged for another. L.A.'s explosive growth demands an ever-increasing water supply, and only very recently has the great city been forced to consider reducing its demand rather than increasing supply. Comments from Mulholland's descendants and adversaries enliven the documentary, and we realize just how impassioned the men and women were. In fact, they were fighting for their lives. The story of long struggles, both with neighbors and with nature, make for compelling viewing in this first of the series, Cadillac Desert.