HBO's John Adams - Page 2

Definitely. I agree with everything everyone has said and it would be amazing if HBO continued in this vein with the Washington biography done with this same level of seriousness and quality. I'd also like to see Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. This period is so deeply fascinating it makes me want to go buy all the great biographies written about these guys.

Throw in Sam Adams and Benjamin Franklin with YT's list of those I'd like to see a mini-series on.

Some my favorite scenes are what I call the delicate moments between John and Abigail. Those two having fun with the Vice President title in the last episode was great on so many levels.

You can attach them back on but I would suggest waiting until the series is over because I have a feeling several of us participating in this thread are going to be tearing up towards the end.

Agreed. Their rapport, respect for each other, and of course, unconditional love are things we all hope for in a relationship, but few people actually have.

I caved in and bought the book, can't wait to read the whole thing.

With so many purchasing the book maybe we should consider having a book discussion soon? At the end of the book is a section with discussion topics that we could also tackle. Of course we would have it in the book forum.

I'd also recommend Joseph Ellis' books Founding Brothers, American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, and His Excellency: George Washington.

I'd rank him as the 2nd best popular author of Early American history around today (after McCullough, who I think manages to place the reader more closely inside the world and mind of his subject/s than Ellis does). Founding Brothers in particular is a great way to dive into that period.

Outside of that, I'd also recommend McCullough's bio of Truman.

Ah, that's fascinating stuff. Thanks.

Even though this series is probably above a gag like this, I thought for just a second that the real king was going to appear after Adams made his nervous speech, late to the meeting.

Thanks for the book suggestions. I'd be up for a book discussion, but I'm pretty slow also.

Hey, does someone know how to do chud links to amazon for some of these books?

Thanks for the recommendation, I will try American Sphinx, been looking for another period piece. I'll recommend 1776, already brought up in this thread. Also I'm working my way through, Miracle at Philadelphia By Catherine Bowen. It's a older book. Covers the Constitutional Convention, good stuff, not McCullough quality but good.

I usually just search for the item from the box on the main page then copy-paste that link into the message.

Loved tonights episode.

Enjoyed seeing Washington given quality time. Many do not appreciate what Washington could have done with the Presidency. He could have made it a position for life and chose not to and he limited the powers of the President. I had to cringe (and chuckle) when Adams was making title suggestions.

I knew Jefferson and Hamilton were at odds but not to the extent shown in the series.

Next weeks episode looks to be another great one.

I missed what happened at the end. Washington's servants took all the furniture?

Thinking of America's "Freedom Fries," I guess i didn't realize how far back America's shaky relationship with France has been, as well as our affinity for Britain as our ally.

The Hamilton- Jefferson rivalry was riveting stuff, yet saddened me that politics has always been what it is. The petty squabbles, the behind-the-scenes lobbying and campaigning... is that just the nature of the beast or can we ever get past that?

The only mention I could find in the book is briefly, it just states that Adams was appalled with the conditions. I would assume that it was either servants or poor people from town who ransacked. Unless this is a part of history no one wants to talk about - that Washington was trailer park trash

One thing I'm curious about is how they expect to make a profit from something like this. The budget was $100 million, but there's no theatrical release, so it seems like they would have to be completely reliant on DVD sales. Anyone have any insight on how that works?

I'm sure a lot of that cost is subsidized by subscription fees. HBO did manage to stay in business before DVDs, after all. Granted, they weren't producing $100 million dollar miniserieses back then but still... Brian Benben doesn't come cheap, you know.

I only have one real problem with this mini-series. The fact that everyone seemed to have the British right from the start. When Historically it was a hard fight to get anyone to even attack the King outside fanatics for Indepenence. That loyality was still an issue in 1812, and really got played down.

I noticed that. One other nice detail was on a shot of Adams' hand it shows his index finger, the area around the nail is covered in ink. Nice touches.

Did anyone ever start a US history book thread? I picked up "Young Patriots" this weekend. A look into Madison, Hamilton and others just outside of the revolution.

FINALLY got to see Sunday's episode and it was definitely my favorite thus far. I loved watching the extremes of Jefferson and Hamilton square off in the periphery while Adams and Washington are the heroes of moderation. And while Giamatti is tremendous as Adams, there are so many great men surrounding him that I just want to see more miniseries about them. I want a miniseries on Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and John Quincy Adams. Get to work, HBO.

Looking forward to tonight's ep, the preview was very tantalizing.

I'm going to admit something pretty corny here, but I get a little choked up watching the drama of these founding fathers (and mothers). This series rekindles a kind of patriotism that's been forcefully driven out of me over these past several years. Grand Experiment, indeed.

And I'll certainly second Matt's suggestion that HBO produce some more of these historical miniseries. I hope they're getting decent ratings.

As a non American, it's fascinating. I read all about that period in school, but seeing the miniseries adds another layer to it.
My favorite episode so far has to be the second one.

The casting is just superb, whoever thought of Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin was a genius. And David Morse steals every scene he is on.

And i agree, i want a separate mini series with Thomas Jefferson.

I liked Washington mentioning how much his teeth hurt in last week's episode.

Well we will get more of a look at Washington, in 1776. Granted one year of his life is covered but it is excellent work. Will be curious to see how it is cast.

Same here . . . I found the second episode especially moving.

Watched all of the eps over the weekend . . . I could do without the endless Dutch angles and jarring jumps in time, but there are some great performances in this miniseries. I find Stephen Dillane as Jefferson fascinating.

One ep left. I don't want it to end.

It will be tough to watch too. The last chapters of the book are very emotional to say the least. Can't imagine it being any easier on the screen.

That last episode was very depressing. His life ended up being a mess. Both political and his personal life.

Are you kidding... I nearly wept at Washington's inauguration.



Like many here, I haven't felt this sense of connection to the nation's history is quite some time.

Adams and Jefferson both dying 50 years to the day of the enactment of the Declaration of Independence? You can't make this stuff up. I'm so glad that they reconciled, even though it took the death of Abigail to do it. I really want a miniseries on Jefferson. There's so much alluded to and my inept American schooling makes me yearn to know what happened!

Sad to see this series end. It was a privilege to be able to partake in it. And as Jacob Singer said, it has done more to make me feel patriotic than 30 years of US administrations.

The shot of Jefferson staring out the window after reading of Abigal's death was one of the finest moments in this whole series. You could just see years of acrimony melting away.

Overall, a fantastic final episode. Seeing John just lose it when Agabail died was just heart-breaking. Adams long life, including seeing his son's presidency and rekindling his friendship with Jefferson were details I didn't know anything about.

This is definitely one of those mini-series whose enormity doesn't hit you until it's over and you realize the depth and breadth of what you've seen. Harkening back to the Revolution and the John/Abigail relationship really drove home just how much ground this covered.

Anyone else get the DVD? Just got my copy in the mail today and the packaging is pretty cool - looks like a book.

The extras are:

- A personal glimpse at the life and works of David McCullough
- Facts are Stubborn things: An onscreen historical guide
- The making of John Adams (this is probably the one shown on HBO)

There is also a coupon flyer. Buy one get one free pass when you visit and take a guided tour of Colonial Williamsburg.

I'm waiting/hoping for the overpriced Blu-ray set.

Man, the digital work they did on this series was damn brilliant.

The soundtrack is top notch as well.

I rewatched this last night (bad idea, I got no sleep as a result) and I thought I'd share a few impressions.

Giamatti and Linney render this almost unwatchable. Their put on and bizarre accents reek of actorly affectation, and sound nothing like what people of their station in their time would have sounded like. I am not a fan of either, as actors, though of the two I have a greater tolerance for Giamatti. He can bring some interesting stuff to some roles, but this is one he was far from suited for. He is someone who really is not convincing as anything other than a 20th or 21st century person.

I wish HBO had gone with a more ambitious project, like a more generalized Birth of America mini-series. Adams is one of my least favorite founding fathers, despite his Massachusetts heritage. I'm more of a Jefferson girl, what can I say*

Anyway, a few quick notes:

MVP: Stephen Dillane, who turns in fascinating work as Jefferson

Runner up: Sarah Polley as A daughter of John Adams (despite her unconventional heritage for such a role**, she equips herself well)


Colonial Williamsburg is a good asset, but there are only so many ways they can re-dress the same buildings before "Philadelphia" becomes indistinguishable from "Boston". Now, HBO previously did great work with redecorating the same sets on BAND OF BROTHERS and ROME, changing locations from France to Germany, and Rome to Egypt while remaining utterly convincing. I have to imagine then that the similar looking sets on this one are due to restrictions Williamsburg placed on how far HBO could go in their alterations. So maybe a bigger investment (along with a non Adams centric focus) where they built sets might have payed off in more varied action (you could have exploding buildings, for instance!)

Oh, and watching it all in one night, the mini felt like it had a right wing tilt to it. Adams is a favorite of right wingers

PS The one scene where I like Giamatti's work is when he meets King George.

PPS: Giamatti's make up was terrible. It never looked like he was getting older, just like he was coming down with AIDS or a meth addiction. He needed some wrinkle prosthesis, not just liver spots and bad teeth

PPPS: David Morse as Washington was pretty good. It was kind of creepy how similiar they looked at times

* My dad despises Jefferson, and calls him duplicitous

** She is from Canada

hahahahaha

**She is from Canada

Yeah, holy fuck, am I ever sigging that.

Haha I'm glad you guys are amused by my message boarding, but do either of you have any comments on the substance of what I said?

lol no

The only thing I'd say is that I don't know a lot of hardcore right wingers that like John Adams, the man was a hardcore Federalist, really into big government, and a national bank. Pretty much the antithesis of the modern right wing.

Stephen Dillane, who played Jefferson, also has an unconventional heritage* for his role.

*He is from England.

Just how old is Kate, that she knows for historical fact that Alexander is the son of Zeus and that she knows for a fact how people sounded in 1786?