Last night I started watching Roots, the 1977 miniseries I haven't seen since Jimmy Carter was president.
Yes, I know it's not true or historically accurate, as author Alex Haley claimed. That he claimed it was is indeed a blot, but that lie was probably what caused the show to be such a success in the first place. It's still a compelling story, though.
Roots comes from a time when movies and TV specials had an "all star cast". LeVar Burton, of Star Trek and Reading Rainbow fame, is the star--in his first acting role. One would expect Cicely Tyson in such a show from that time, but did anyone back then know who Maya Angelou was? I laughed when Kunta Kinte (Burton) was running from OJ Simpson, all I could think was "he's not going to outrun a man who hurdles seats in an airport". And if I give you the character names Fiddler and Chicken George, do you automatically remember who played them? So many stars, and future stars, in that series.
I won't watch it as it aired, one episode each on consecutive nights, but will probably watch a couple episodes each Saturday until it's done. Quality story-telling.
1 comment:
I received Ken Burn's The Civil War from Beth and the girls and I'm starting that next week. I'll probably also do one/two episodes a week.
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