John Adams (TV miniseries)

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John Adams

Television promotional poster
Genre Biographical miniseries
Running time approx. 1 hour, 15 minutes
(per commercial-free episode)
Written by Screenplay: Kirk Ellis
Book: David McCullough
Directed by Tom Hooper
Produced by David Coatsworth
Kirk Ellis
Gary Goetzman
Tom Hanks
Starring Paul Giamatti
Laura Linney
Tom Wilkinson
David Morse
Danny Huston
Rufus Sewell
Justin Theroux
Stephen Dillane
Music by Robert Lane
Joseph Vitarelli
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Release date(s) March 16, 2008
No. of episodes 7
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

John Adams is an HBO made for television miniseries in seven parts. It is a biopic of John Adams and the story of the first fifty years of the United States. The miniseries was written by Kirk Ellis based on the book John Adams by American historian David McCullough. It stars Paul Giamatti in the title role and premiered on March 16, 2008 on HBO. Its final new episode aired April 20, 2008. It is now being replayed on the HBO networks and HBO On Demand on most cable and satellite providers. The series was rated TV-14 for episodes 1 (TV-14-V), 2 (TV-14-VD), 3 and 7 (TV-14-SVD), and TV-PG-D for all other episodes.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Episodes

# Episode title Years Covered Original airdate
1 "Part 1: Join or Die"  1770 - 1774 March 16, 2008
Covers the events of the Boston Massacre, Adams's successful defense of the British soldiers involved during their trial for murder, the growing tensions over the Coercive/Intolerable Acts, and Adams's election to the First Continental Congress. 
2 "Part 2: Independence"  1774 - 1776 March 16, 2008
Covers the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the disputes among the Second Continental Congress towards declaring independence from Great Britain. 
3 "Part 3: Don't Tread on Me"  1776 - 1781 March 23, 2008
Covers Adams's journey to France with his son John Quincy Adams, his subsequent Embassy with Benjamin Franklin to the Court of Louis XVI, and his trip to the Dutch Republic to obtain monetary support for the Revolution. 
4 "Part 4: Reunion"  1781 - 1789 March 30, 2008
Covers John and Abigail Adams's time in Paris during the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris, his appointment and service as the first US Minister to the British Court of St. James's, his return to Massachusetts and his election as the first Vice President of the United States. 
5 "Part 5: Unite or Die"  1789 - 1797 April 6, 2008
Covers Adams's frustrations presiding over the Senate and exclusion from Washington's policy-making, as well as his strained relationships with Jefferson and Hamilton. Key event is the struggle to enact the Jay Treaty with Britain, which Adams himself must ratify before a deadlocked Senate. Concludes with his inauguration as the second president and arrival in a plundered executive mansion. 
6 "Part 6: Unnecessary War"  1797 - 1801 April 13, 2008
Covers Adams' term as President and the growing rift between the Hamilton-led Federalists and Jefferson-led Democratic-Republicans. Adams' comparatively moderate stance on issues such as the war between France and England, as well as the proper role of the Federal government, leads to friction with both parties and their respective leaders, eventually resulting in the removal of several Pro-Hamilton cabinet members. During this period Adams' son, Charles, dies as an alcoholic vagrant and Adams disowns him. Concludes with Adams leaving the Presidency and retiring from public life. 
7 "Part 7: Peacefield"  1801 - 1826 April 20, 2008
Covers the years after Adams' Presidency and retirement from politics, the deaths of Nabby and Abigail Adams, the election of John Quincy to the Presidency, Adams' and Jefferson's reconciliation and correspondence, and Adams's and Jefferson's nearly simultaneous deaths. 

[edit] Music

The score for the miniseries was composed by Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli. The two composers worked independently of each other, with Lane writing and recording his segments in London, and Vitarelli in Los Angeles.[1]

The soundtrack was released on April 22, 2008.

[edit] Critical reception

The critical reception to the miniseries has been predominantly positive. Metacritic rates the critical response at 78 out of 100 using their internal grading scale based upon 27 national reviews.[2] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly rated the miniseries as an A-[3] and Matt Roush of TV Guide praised the lead performances of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.[4]

Among those unimpressed with the miniseries were Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times[5] and Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle[6] who cite the miniseries for both poor casting and style over storytelling.

[edit] Omissions, historical discrepancies and factual misstatements

 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)
  • In the first episode, Captain Preston and the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre are tried in a single trial in the seeming dead of Winter and declared not guilty of all charges. In actuality, Captain Preston's trial took place on October 24 and ran through October 29, when he was found not guilty. The eight soldiers were brought to trial weeks later in a separate trial that concluded on November 29. Six of the soldiers were found not guilty but two, Hugh Montgomery and Hugh Killroy were convicted of manslaughter. They both received brands on their right thumbs as punishment.[7]
  • The film does not discuss the birth and death of Adams' second daughter (1768-1770) Susannah, or his youngest child who was stillborn, Elizabeth (1775). Elizabeth's name was mentioned in the first episode when the producers were depicting Abigail's pregnancy with Thomas. Adams is depicted as saying, 'and if it's a girl we'll name her Elizabeth after your mother' as he travels to the Continental Congress.
  • During Adams' first voyage to France, his ship is depicted as engaging a British ship in a fierce battle. According to Adams' account, though his vessel was chased several times by British warships, the only action seen during the voyage was the bloodless capture of a British privateer.[8]
  • Another discrepancy deals with the whereabouts of the Adams children while Adams and Abigail were in Europe. Charles went with his father and John Quincy on the second trip to Europe, but was later sent home due to illness. His ship was waylaid in Spain and he spent some time there wandering the country before heading home. When Abigail came to join John in France, Nabby was with her and remained there, also meeting and marrying William Smith in England.[citation needed]
  • In the final episode. Adams is shown inspecting Trumbull's Declaration of Independence and states that he and Thomas Jefferson are the last surviving people depicted in the painting. This is inaccurate as Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who is also depicted in the painting, survived until 1832. In fact, Adams never made such a remark. In reality, when he inspected Trumbull's painting, Adams' only comment was to point to a door in the back ground of the painting and state: "When I nominated George Washington of Virginia for Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, he took his hat and rushed out that door."[9]
  • In the final episode, Dr. Benjamin Rush is portrayed as encouraging Adams to start a correspondence with Thomas Jefferson after the death of Abigail Adams. Abigail's death occurred in 1818 but the Adams-Jefferson correspondence started in 1812, and Rush died in 1813.
  • While Charles Adams' alcoholism is prominent in the series, it does not mention the alcoholic tendencies in other members of the Adams family. That Abigail had an alcoholic brother is not mentioned, and Thomas Boylston Adams' alcoholism does not appear in the miniseries.
  • The final episode ends with Adams saying, "Posterity! You will never know how much it cost us to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it." He wrote this in a letter to Abigail in 1777 while he was a member of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.[10]
  • Episode 4 depicts Abigail Adams repremanding Benjamin Franklin for cheating on his wife in France, but his wife died 7 years earlier in 1774.
  • Peyton Randolph not John Hancock, was the President of the First Continental Congress. [1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Goldwasser, Dan. "Joseph Vitarelli scores HBO's John Adams miniseries", ScoringSessions.com, 2008-02-22. Retrieved on 2008-02-29. 
  2. ^ John Adams (HBO) on Metacritic.com
  3. ^ John Adams TV Review by Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly
  4. ^ HBO's Epic John Adams: Hail to the Chief! by Matt Roush March 12, 2008 TV Guide'
  5. ^ John Adams Television Review Mary McNamara March 14, 2008 Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ John, we hardly knew ye by Tim Goodman March 14, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle
  7. ^ Douglas Linder, The Boston Massacre Trials, JURIST, July 2001
  8. ^ Adams Autobiography, entry March 10, 1778.
  9. ^ McCullough, David, John Adams, p. 627, Simon & Schuster, 2001
  10. ^ Charles W. Akers, Reviewed work(s): The Book of Abigail and John. Selected Letters of the Adams Family (1762-1784) by L. H. Butterfield; Marc Friedlaender; Mary-Jo Kline; Abigail Adams; John Adams. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Mar., 1976), pp. 151-153. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/364575


[edit] External links

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