HBO television series "John Adams"

[Johan]

I have watch first 2 show of this series. I find the shows to be excellent. I would suggest that it is worth subscribing to HBO only to see this series, unless DVD will be available some time.

Regards,

[The Corporate Guy]

Concur. I have watched the first two and have set the DVR for all future ones...

[PocketKings]

Best miniseries since Band of Brothers. The folks portreying the characters have all the little (historical) nuances down pat; Washington is modest and quiet, Adams is bombastic and (admittedly) immodest, Jefferson is ice cold and succinct, and Franklin is clever and political.

I'll buy it for sure, but for now I can't wait for the next episode. Great series.

[rgrdrew]

X2!!

[grappler]

Definitley will be getting the DVD set.

Check out the Trailer:
http://www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/

[Mjolnir]

I will buy the mini series for sure, I dont have HBO.

On a side note, did you guys know that Franklin was a Satanist who took part in orgies, etc?

I found that pretty suprising.

[Blue Tengu]

I will buy the mini series for sure, I dont have HBO.

On a side note, did you guys know that Franklin was a Satanist who took part in orgies, etc?

I found that pretty suprising.

The Hellfire Club was as much a Satanic cult as the Hell's Angels are today.

[BertF]

Yeah, it is funny if you know your history. I found myself constantly stopping the DVR to explain to the wife what the tax act was, what they mean by "representation," that the Boston Tea Party was about to occur (I wish they had depicted it), about Concord and Lexington (I wish they showed them in more depth too...I have always been proud of those men who rode a hundred miles to get off a shot at the redcoats), etc. I guess I am a pain in the ass, but this show is a great opportunity to teach American history.

[OSU]

Very well done; storyline, acting, clothing, props, etc. John Adams and Glory should be mandatory in schools during US History classes...

[Ace]

I will buy the mini series for sure, I dont have HBO.

On a side note, did you guys know that Franklin was a Satanist who took part in orgies, etc?

I found that pretty suprising.

Umm, no, that's not exactly true. If you're referriing to his membership in the Hellfire Club, you may want to read a little more.

Franklin was probably one of the most religious (but far from religion specific) persons of his time.

[Doc P]

I also watched the first two episodes and thoroughly enjoyed them. The casting for each character is great, and George Washington looks like a clone of the real deal.

[ET1/ss nuke]

On a side note, did you guys know that Franklin was a Satanist who took part in orgies, etc?

This is Benjamin Franklin's epitaph, which he wrote himself. Doesn't sound very Satanist to me.


B. Franklin, printer,
Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out
And stript of its lettering and gilding,
Lies here, food for worms. –
But the work shall not be lost;
For it will, as he believ’d, appear once more
In a new and more elegant edition
Corrected and improved
By the Author.

[ET1/ss nuke]

John Adams and Glory should be mandatory in schools during US History classes...

Glory is a good movie. It would be better if it were historically accurate. I've read the after-action reports by the commander of the Union force assaulting Battery Wagner and by the commander of the fort. The 54th Massachusetts did not lead the assault, but led a successive wave of the assault that combined with the survivors of the earlier assault groups to succeed in crossing the fort's parapet. When the 54th fought its way into the fort, nearly a third of the soldiers defending the fort had black skin. They were construction support troops detailed to the fort for repair work, but they fought in desperate hand to hand combat to help expel the 54th Massachusetts back over the wall. Union reports of post-battle Confederate brutality toward the black Union dead in the fort's ditch (seen from afar) were a basis for a scene in the movie, but the Confederate report says that the bodies were stripped of clothing, shoes, arms, and equipment to replace losses and shortages among the fort's defenders, including its black defenders. Telling the whole story would complicate the movie's story line, though, and raise uncomfortable questions about topics that today's society would rather ignore (re: black Confederate support troops were commonplace).

[Blackheart6]

Two thumbs up for Adams. BTW Franklin's son thought his dad was worm spit. I believe he stayed loyal to the crown.

[NightLandNav]

They've done a good job with all of them (great cast, art direction, etc.), but... David Morse done up as GEN G. Washington...

Mr. McCullough said what I thought when I first saw Morse (and I was looking at a TV screen) "I don't know whether to bow or shake your hand".

The book John Adams is a great read. So is 1776 by the same author David McCullough.

[PocketKings]

Yea, seeing Morse done up and acting the part (with his mouth barely opening to hide the 'wooden teeth') is pretty wild.

Between this series and the 'Heller' case I've been re-visiting my founding father's history. I have the whole set of autobiographies ordered from Amazon.

The Adams book and the 1776 book are both great.

[kathygator]

Founding mothers, too. Love the characterization of Abigail Adams in this series. Underscores the true influence women had, even without the vote.

[Steve20r]

I have not had a chance to see the show yet, will be catching up on it this weekend. I however had the chance to work on the set as background. I was a red cote. I wanted to upload some pictures too this post, but I'm not up to date with the way to attach pictures on here, it's not as easy as browsing on your computer and uploading.

[C-M-R]

Founding mothers, too. Love the characterization of Abigail Adams in this series. Underscores the true influence women had, even without the vote.

I like her character too. Reminds me that even 200 years ago wives were bitching about deployments. Not much has changed in that respect.

[BertF]

I was interested in the way they showed Adams coughing and sweating in part 3. Having the old 91B as one of my three MOSs, I am trying to diagnose from the couch. I first think "TB," but I know he goes on to be President and with the medical care available at the time I suspect he would not have made it to the White House. I next think "Malaria," but I suspect that the needed mosquito is absent in France. I finally settle on pneumonia. Although there were no antibiotics as we know them, you could recover from pneumonia. How many others here were doing the same thing?

I then cheated and went on Google. There is no definitive answer but they seem to indicate that it was all stress. He fainted from it, went into comas, etc. Apparently he never learned to cope with stress.

I have found that the trick about stress is to recognize it. I have seen all kinds of symptoms, bleeding from the butt, piles, loss of voice, etc. The men usually complain it is their diet, cleanliness, strep throat etc. Once they are convinced that it is stress and their head that is screwing them up, they can usually get it under control. You just have to identify the enemy.

[C-M-R]

I was interested in the way they showed Adams coughing and sweating in part 3. Having the old 91B as one of my three MOSs, I am trying to diagnose from the couch. I first think "TB," but I know he goes on to be President and with the medical care available at the time I suspect he would not have made it to the White House.


You don't think the blood-letting had something to do with the fainting? That was my first thought. The coughing I chalked up to post-nasal drip. Damp weather can be a pain for anyone with sinus troubles.

You are 100% right about stress being a killer though.

[BertF]

I loved the blood-letting. I am thinking that was probably cutting-edge science at the time. I can just see a group of doctors discussing the poisons in the blood that have caused the pain and discomfort and how by the scientific act of removing some of the harmful blood the body can regain its health. It must have sounded really good at the time.

Remember the Woody Allen movie where they revive him in the future and he tells them that he once owned a health food store. One doctor says to a another, "that was before they knew cigarettes and chocolate cake were good for you."

You don't think the blood-letting had something to do with the fainting? That was my first thought. The coughing I chalked up to post-nasal drip. Damp weather can be a pain for anyone with sinus troubles.

You are 100% right about stress being a killer though.

[C-M-R]

I loved the blood-letting. I am thinking that was probably cutting-edge science at the time. I can just see a group of doctors discussing the poisons in the blood that have caused the pain and discomfort and how by the scientific act of removing some of the harmful blood the body can regain its health. It must have sounded really good at the time.

Remember the Woody Allen movie where they revive him in the future and he tells them that he once owned a health food store. One doctor says to a another, "that was before they knew cigarettes and chocolate cake were good for you."

I don't like Woody Allen so don't watch his movies. But, the blood-letting made me think of the use leeches in medicine. I just read an article about maggots and leeches being used in recent times. You never know when something from "old" medicine is going to be revived.

[Viking]

I'm just watching it now. The whole French court thing is cracking me up. Wow....

Real cliffhanger at the end of episode three. I sure hope he makes it!