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Required Reading for any Longhorn ×

John Adams (HBO)

Chet Steadman

By Chet Steadman
in Movies and TV

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11 hours ago, mdmost said:

The Leftovers’ Justin Theroux is in it as John Hancock. Love Stephen Dillane’s Jefferson and the always underrated David Morse as Washington. There’s so much talent in that series.

We were supposed to get a 1776 series with Morse reprising his role as Washington.   Very disappointed it never happened.  

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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7 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

count me in the minority but paul giamatti annoys me.  he's too over the top in every performance.  he never blends in with the character so you forget he's acting, which is a sign of a good actor. 

Watch Too Big to Fail.

And I thought he was terrific in Cinderella Man.

 

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Eskimohorn

Eskimohorn 5644

Posted
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count me in the minority but paul giamatti annoys me.  he's too over the top in every performance.  he never blends in with the character so you forget he's acting, which is a sign of a good actor. 

Sounds like perfect casting. John Adams’ personality annoyed plenty of his contemporaries.
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52-80

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On 7/4/2020 at 10:30 PM, thrillhammer said:

count me in the minority but paul giamatti annoys me.  he's too over the top in every performance.  he never blends in with the character so you forget he's acting, which is a sign of a good actor. 

He's like an annoying cousin of Stanley Tucci.

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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On 7/4/2020 at 1:30 PM, thrillhammer said:

count me in the minority but paul giamatti annoys me.  he's too over the top in every performance.  he never blends in with the character so you forget he's acting, which is a sign of a good actor. 

Respectfully disagree here.  If he's over the top, it's appropriate to the character.

He couldn't have been more reserved as Ben Bernanke in Too Big to Fail.  Not sure he spoke above a whisper in any of his scenes.

I thought he deserved the Oscar for Cinderella Man.  

 

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Mileslong

Mileslong 4728

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There are scenes that still make this old cynic and hater of all things political get teary eyed. Thank god we had such brilliant men shape this collection of colonies into the united nation we are, or used to be anyway.

They should make this mandatory viewing for all schoolchildren as well as our absurd collection of people we now call congress.

I just don’t know how you can watch this scene and still hold on to your dogmatic beliefs that there is only one view that is right and that is the one according to YOUR political party.

We still have great people in this country, but none would dare run for office anymore which is why I have checked out years ago.


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LCHorn

LCHorn 2632

Posted
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On 7/4/2020 at 12:49 AM, mdmost said:

The Leftovers’ Justin Theroux is in it as John Hancock. Love Stephen Dillane’s Jefferson and the always underrated David Morse as Washington. There’s so much talent in that series.

Dillane's Jefferson was my favorite part, too. 

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1 hour ago, LCHorn said:

Dillane's Jefferson was my favorite part, too. 

It's frustrating that we almost got them to do the 1776 book with the same actors, and/or a Jefferson and Washington spinoff (which the 1776 series would have been mostly Washington).  That cast absolutely killed it.

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Augustus

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2 hours ago, LCHorn said:

Dillane's Jefferson was my favorite part, too. 

I'd never noticed Dillane in anything until Stannis Baratheon in GOT.

Then upon a rewatch of John Adams I realized he was playing Jefferson and was mindblown.

Such a sensitive, soft-spoken character.  Dillane really showed some range.

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Augustus

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And I'm with @Mileslong here.

Not sure I could be more jaded or cynical when it comes to politics and I've been that way for a long time, after so much youthful enthusiasm and dedication in my teens and 20's.

But this series touches what little optimism I have left.

I'm astounded at these men, what they accomplished and how they did it.  No doubt there was plenty of self interest motivating them, but they made a sincere effort to leave their descendants something special, and they pulled it off.

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LCHorn

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1 minute ago, Augustus said:

I'd never noticed Dillane in anything until Stannis Baratheon in GOT.

Then upon a rewatch of John Adams I realized he was playing Jefferson and was mindblown.

Such a sensitive, soft-spoken character.  Dillane really showed some range.

I had seen him in some British stuff but he had never previously stood out-his Jefferson was by turns prideful, entitled, cultured, and brilliant.  I’ll give a lot of credit to the writers, too, but Dillane totally captured the sense that this person was born to incredible privilege and yet had strong revolutionary, almost anarchic tendencies shaped by a zeal for independence and desire to shake off the yoke of his upbringing and the landed aristocracy. I don’t know how well that reflected the real Jefferson but as a character he was just fantastic.  

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Augustus

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24 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I’ll add that as a piece of entertainment, I’m also glad he wasn’t the main character.  John Adam’s is a much more engaging entry point and observer on the titans of that age.  

Franklin was also superbly played, and the contrast between the two was incredible.  

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LCHorn

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52 minutes ago, Augustus said:

Franklin was also superbly played, and the contrast between the two was incredible.  

Now you’ve started my nostalgia going-the whole cast is an All-star team.  Tom Wilkinson in his most fun role outside of Michael Clayton, Rufus Sewell playing Hamilton as a villain, hell Sarah Polley appears in what’s little more than a 3 scene cameo and she never does anything uninteresting.  
 

I may just be unaware but I’m kind of surprised Sundance TV or National Geographic/Disney doesn’t try to do more historical miniseries like this-I would presume the Turner produced Bible adaptations done in the ‘90’s could serve as proof of concept (this, too, obviously but I’m sure the production was outrageously expensive for something with no dragons).

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HouTex

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Posted
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And I'm with [mention=1355]Mileslong[/mention] here.
Not sure I could be more jaded or cynical when it comes to politics and I've been that way for a long time, after so much youthful enthusiasm and dedication in my teens and 20's.
But this series touches what little optimism I have left.
I'm astounded at these men, what they accomplished and how they did it.  No doubt there was plenty of self interest motivating them, but they made a sincere effort to leave their descendants something special, and they pulled it off.

You should have way more optimism. We can always improve-who can’t, but we are the greatest nation ever conceived.
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2 hours ago, LCHorn said:

I may just be unaware but I’m kind of surprised Sundance TV or National Geographic/Disney doesn’t try to do more historical miniseries like this-I would presume the Turner produced Bible adaptations done in the ‘90’s could serve as proof of concept (this, too, obviously but I’m sure the production was outrageously expensive for something with no dragons).

We had a spate of massive, big-budget all-star historical mini-series in the late 70s and into the 80s on broadcast TV - Centennial (possibly cable only), The Winds of War, War and Remembrance, The North and the South, Roots, Thornbirds, Lonesome Dove, Shogun, etc.  My favorite example was Centennial, the most expensive TV show of the 1970s - reposting this:

Unfortunately, even though it was filmed with 35mm (I believe), I've only ever seen it released on DVD.  Saw it at a Walmart of all places a few weeks ago, but it is (or was) on Starz if you have a subscription.

Almost 24 hours, so while it's a "mini-series" according to some, it's basically an entire TV season from back then.

Started in the 1700s and finished in the 1970s, from New England to the Ohio Valley to the Western Plains. Cast was amazing.  

  • William Atherton
  • Raymond Burr
  • Barbara Carrera (gorgeous as usual)
  • Richard Chamberlain
  • Robert Conrad (stole all of his scenes)
  • Richard Crenna
  • Timothy Dalton
  • Cliff De Young
  • Chad Everett
  • Sharon Gless
  • Andy Griffith
  • Merle Fuckin' Haggard
  • Mark Harmon
  • Gregory Harrison
  • David Janssen
  • Alex Karras (very underrated actor after leaving the NFL)
  • Brian Keth
  • Sally Kellerman
  • Morgan Paull
  • Donald Pleasance
  • Cristina Raines (also gorgeous)
  • Lynn Redgrave (gorgeous)
  • Pernell Roberts
  • Clint Walker
  • Dennis Weaver
  • Robert Vaughn
  • Anthony Zerbe
  • Stephanie Zimbalist (also gorgeous)

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It feels like we are getting more historical-based big-budget series on some of the streaming services over the last 20 years, as well as HBO (Deadwood, Rome, John Adams, etc.), Hell on Wheels (AMC), etc., but they drag their feet on putting them out, versus fantasy-based stuff that pulls the nerds in.

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2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

It feels like we are getting more historical-based big-budget series on some of the streaming services over the last 20 years, as well as HBO (Deadwood, Rome, John Adams, etc.), Hell on Wheels (AMC), etc., but they drag their feet on putting them out, versus fantasy-based stuff that pulls the nerds in.

When are we goona get a goddamn WW1 miniseries already?

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Just now, Parliament said:

When are we goona get a goddamn WW1 miniseries already?

I had hoped that the anniversary, the 1917 film, and Peter Jackson's WWI documentary/film restoration would have ignited a lot more interest. 

Shit, England has cranked out plenty of shows, including some really big actors in them (well they weren't that big when they were in those shows), covering all aspects.

https://britishperioddramas.com/lists/best-period-tv-dramas-series-set-in-first-world-war-i-ww1/

I kind of want to go watch some of those.

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Eskimohorn

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I would recommend Sons of Liberty, if you liked this series. It just wasn’t long enough.

John Adams >>> Sons of Liberty

Not even in the same league.

Sons of Liberty was horrific with Samuel Adams going Jason Bourne on the Red Coats, Ben Franklin banging chicks two at a time, and John Adams told to stop talking like a fag. Its more like Fast & Furious than John Adams.

If you like how Texas Rising depicted the Texas Revolution, you’ll appreciate Sons of Liberty.
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oSuJeff97

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1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Kicking off my annual rewatching of John Adams.  I usually watch it around the 4th every year.  I almost wish they would do one about George Washington's life.  Or even Thomas Jefferson. This was such a good mini-series.

Jefferson was such a fascinating figure.

Probably my favorite book about him is “American Sphinx” by Joseph Ellis. It specifically focuses on Jefferson’s character and accomplishments framed by his many philosophical contradictions. I always thought it would make an incredible “Prestige TV” mini-series.

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