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Published On: Jul 24, 2008 04:43 PM
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Published On: Jul 24, 2008 04:43 PM
John Adams...
There are two types of shows on the History
Channel that you can guarantee we'll TiVo and watch: Anything about NASA going
to the Moon (my favorite is "From the Earth to the Moon", which was originally
an HBO series, "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions" was also good, "Shadow of
the Moon" focuses on the astronauts themselves) and Revolutionary War/Founding
Fathers stuff (The History Channel's "The Revolution" is
good.)
We just finished the HBO series John Adams, based on the book by David McCullough.
Adams, as portrayed here, seems like the perpetual also-ran, which is why he seems both an odd but interesting choice for the miniseries. First Vice-President, Second President, second banana to Franklin's diplomacy in France and overshadowed by Jefferson, Adams believes destined to go down in history as a footnote. Yet, at least as it's portrayed in the miniseries, it's conceivable that he saved the new Republic by keeping it out of war with either France or England during his Presidency.
There were several things that struck me while watching this. For example, while I've never bought the notion that we must revere every jot and tittle of the Constitution as if it were written by God Herself, it struck me particularly hard that those today who claim to be "originalists" don't have a clue about how our Constitution was written. There is no "original voice" we can find. Everyone who signed the Constitution did so for their own reasons, some public, some for strictly personal gain. But for any particular opinion of any particular Founder, one can find the exact opposite opinion held by another. I guess I realized this before, but it was particularly striking while watching this.
The other thing that struck me was how terrible their dental hygiene was back then. Would it have hurt them to brush occasionally?
And it's almost too hard to dismiss as coincidence the fact that both Adams and Jefferson died on July 4th, 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Anyway, the whole series is carried by Paul Giamatti who does an excellent job, as does Laura Linney, who plays his wife Abigail. Tom Wilkinson is a particularly good choice to play Benjamin Franklin, and David Morse is a good Washington. If you've seen any of HBO's series, Rome, the production values here (and particularly the opening credits) will remind you of that. Definitely worth a NetFlix if you haven't seen it.
We just finished the HBO series John Adams, based on the book by David McCullough.
Adams, as portrayed here, seems like the perpetual also-ran, which is why he seems both an odd but interesting choice for the miniseries. First Vice-President, Second President, second banana to Franklin's diplomacy in France and overshadowed by Jefferson, Adams believes destined to go down in history as a footnote. Yet, at least as it's portrayed in the miniseries, it's conceivable that he saved the new Republic by keeping it out of war with either France or England during his Presidency.
There were several things that struck me while watching this. For example, while I've never bought the notion that we must revere every jot and tittle of the Constitution as if it were written by God Herself, it struck me particularly hard that those today who claim to be "originalists" don't have a clue about how our Constitution was written. There is no "original voice" we can find. Everyone who signed the Constitution did so for their own reasons, some public, some for strictly personal gain. But for any particular opinion of any particular Founder, one can find the exact opposite opinion held by another. I guess I realized this before, but it was particularly striking while watching this.
The other thing that struck me was how terrible their dental hygiene was back then. Would it have hurt them to brush occasionally?
And it's almost too hard to dismiss as coincidence the fact that both Adams and Jefferson died on July 4th, 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Anyway, the whole series is carried by Paul Giamatti who does an excellent job, as does Laura Linney, who plays his wife Abigail. Tom Wilkinson is a particularly good choice to play Benjamin Franklin, and David Morse is a good Washington. If you've seen any of HBO's series, Rome, the production values here (and particularly the opening credits) will remind you of that. Definitely worth a NetFlix if you haven't seen it.
Posted: Wed - July 2, 2008 at 10:38 AM