John Adams HBO mini series [Merged Thread]

[PirateLover]

Anyone catch the first 2 parts of this HBO miniseries? (If you haven't, it's being rerun a lot on all the different HBO stations and should now be available On Demand).

I have really been looking forward to this. Last night focused on the period leading up to and surrounding the decision to declare independence, which is my favorite period of American history, no doubt because I spent 8 years in a school that was 3 blocks away from Independence Hall.

Anyway, I really liked it for the most part. The effects are just amazing. I watched the Making Of special and all of the scenes set in America were filmed on soundstages, with most background filled in later. It looks so real. Had I not watched that special, I would've thought they filmed on location. I was just at Independence Hall again last week and I can say that the attention paid to the detailing of the room where congress gathered was very impressive.

Since it is based on David McCullough's heavily researched biography of Adams, it gets a lot of the small details correct that most general histories gloss over... but by the same token, since it is in fact an Adams biopic, some things are not addressed in this mini series (like the fact that there was indeed a huge war over Jefferson's slavery passage in the Declaration which was eventually removed as I'm sure you can figure out).

My only problem is that so far it's been really hard for me to accept Paul Giamatti as Adams. In general, I really like Giamatti as an actor, but I think that he has such a unique voice and distinct mannerisms that it's hard for me to forget I'm watching Giammati-as-Adams instead of just Adams if you know what I mean. I had the same issue at first with Laura Linney as Abigail Adams, but then I bought into her rather quickly.

I really like the castings of John Dickinson (Zeljko Ivanek), George Washington (David Morse) and Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane). Ben Franklin (Tom Wilkinson) is pretty good, although I think his attitude comes off as more sarcastic than witty sometimes.

Any one else watching?

[ChipnDaleGal]

I'm taping it. I want to watch it all as one big movie some weekend. I am fascinated by this time in history and I think Adams was a very interesting man. I am looking forward to watching and am glad to hear that you enjoyed the first installment. Thanks for sharing, Maryanne.

[sleepingbooty]

Ooh, I meant to watch it. From your comments it sounds like it was really good. I'll have to check the listings and see when it will be on again.

[Melanie]

My husband and I can't wait to see this, on DVD of course. That's okay though, since we'd buy it anyway.

Revolutionary America is our favorite time in history.

[PirateLover]

There are two things that I feel ensured that this would be an overall success from the start. 1)It's HBO and 2)Tom Hanks is the executive producer. That is always a winning combination it seems.

It is a 7 part series. They aired the first 2 and from now on one part will be aired at a time on Sunday nights at 8. I just checked my own listings and it is airing multiple times a day for the rest of the week on various HBO channels (we have about 5) and like I said it is also available On Demand if you have that option.

I also have to say that I think it is great that Adams was the first founding father to get this deluxe mini-series treatment. I think that he is often overlooked/misunderstood by many. By his own admission he wasn't the most likable person... but he was a driving force in gaining our independence. By the way I'm glad to see so many of you share my love for this time period. I think you'll be particularly pleased by the fact that the actors who portray Thomas Jefferson and George Washington have a particularly uncanny likeness to the portraits and paintings we are all familiar with.

[Melanie]

There are two things that I feel ensured that this would be an overall success from the start. 1)It's HBO and 2)Tom Hanks is the executive producer. That is always a winning combination it seems.

And it's based on David McCullough’s biography. Another plus in my book.

[ibrowse17]

Very much enjoyed watching last night, and look forward to more

[PirateLover]

And it's based on David McCullough’s biography. Another plus in my book.

Oh yes of course, but how often do productions completely butcher the work they are supposedly based on? But you are right, as I mentioned earlier without McCullough's book this series would be lacking so many of the details that make it so great... in fact it probably wouldn't have been made.

One thing I did not mention earlier which I feel I should warn about in case any of you plan to watch with children is that there is a scene in part one where a man is literally tarred, feathered, and rode out of town on a rail. He is actually stripped down completely and you do see some brief nudity. It was definitely disturbing.

[alpro2]

Started watching last night. Someone gave me the book for my birthday, but I haven't started it yet. Now would be a great time to start.

[diz_girl]

I saw the first two parts and they were very good. I plan on watching the whole series.

I agree with Piratelover about children watching. The tarring and feathering scene was a little tough to watch, and you really felt for the guy, even though he was most likely a loyalist. I Googled 'tar and feather' and it seems that they're usually just stripped to the waist and most likely received only first-degree burns, which are painful enough, so the burns weren't usually life-threatening.

There are other scenes that may be tough for children, such as Abigail and the children being innoculated for smallpox, including the source of the vaccine.

But life in this country back then wasn't very pretty.

My favorite of the Tom Hanks-HBO collaborations will still most likely be 'Band of Brothers', which is probably the best thing that I've ever seen on television.

[milhouse]

I thought the first two episodes were very well done. I like the attention to detail: the portrait of King George on the wall of court, Sam & John's complex relationship, John being short with his kids. The court scene was very suspencefull even when you knew the outcome.

[PirateLover]

I Googled 'tar and feather' and it seems that they're usually just stripped to the waist and most likely received only first-degree burns, which are painful enough, so the burns weren't usually life-threatening.

Yes, I actually had a bit of an issue with that actually because I feel like it was sensationalized for TV because it seemed very over the top. There is no incident that I know of from that time to derive that portrayal from. Also incidents like that made headlines. The most famous incident was the tarring and feathering of John Malcolm which took place under completely different circumstances.

[PirateLover]

I just watched it again with my family and thought I'd point out one inaccuracy... I'm assuming they did it this way just to make the story more linear but the real story is even more interesting.
In the mini series, all of the soldiers who took part in the Boston Massacre are found not guilty. In fact, two of the soldiers were found guilty of murder. Adams however invoked an old British law that stated they could receive a reduced charge of Manslaughter as long as they could read a passage in the Bible. Their hands were then branded with an "M" for murderer.

[milhouse]

It's been a year or two since I read the book. Was it true that John came upon the scene of the Boston Massacre right after it occurred and rode out and witnessed the the aftermath of the British retreat from Concord? Also, I don't think the Adam's farm was right on Boston Harbor but in the shows Abigail walks out and watches the Britsh bombardment of Charlestown.

[milhouse]

Wikipedia says that Abigail watched the Battle of Bunker Hill from atop Penn Hill in what is now Quincy Mass.

[Diznee4Me]

My husband and I can't wait to see this, on DVD of course. That's okay though, since we'd buy it anyway.

Revolutionary America is our favorite time in history.

We don't have HBO so we I am waiting for it on DVD also. This is definetley one that looks great from the promos.

I also like the Amer Rev period. Being from South Carolina, Francis Marion - the Swamp Fox - was taught in grade school as our local hero.

[Jeff]

I have enjoyed it greatly.

In this day of "reality" and trash programing it reminds me of how good TV can be. Gone are the days of "Roots", "Lonesome Dove" and even "Rich Man, Poor Man".

[sleepingbooty]

We just watched the first two parts last night, and will watch the third tonight. I love the colonial period, so I knew I'd find this interesting, but I have to say I'm even more impressed by the acting. Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail are both amazing.

I foung the tarring and feathering scene to be extremely disturbing, as some of you did. In fact, I was thinking to Google it myself. I'm glad to here it wasn't usually quite so brutal as they portrayed it.

So... what was the deal with the small pox inoculation? It looked as though the doctor simply took pus from an infected person and smeared it in the open cut. How would this have done anything other than given you full blown pox?? Maybe I'll look this up...

[NJDad]

Caught up with the first two episodes, pretty well done.

Nice to have a costume drama about our country for a change. Easier to root for people who achieve greatness rather than have it thrust upon them.

As for the actor looking like George Washington, there does seem to be a phony nose added to David Morse.

[DisneyDudet]

I am hooked on the series, even though I'm not interested in history.

My mother is a history teacher and history major. She pointed out a lot of inaccuracies and other things, so it really is based on who you study.

I enjoy it, and it is set up like a fiction show. I really like it.

The small pox innoculation is pretty much all they had at the time. Its the same thing as getting a flu shot (at least "old" versions), where you have a virus given to you, so your body makes anitbodies to fight the infection. Its the same idea... getting a small or lessened form of the illness, your body knows what is fighting, so is more inclined to fight it later. I hope this wasn't too confusing!