4 Reasons You Must Watch HBO's "John Adams"

At last night's Emmy Awards, HBO's John Adams miniseries won a boatload of awards. It's out on DVD now, and I enjoyed the heck out of it when it aired on HBO earlier this year. It's must-watch material for anyone with a keen interest in American history, and "should-watch" material for everyone else. Here are a few reasons why I think you should give it a look.

1. It's the Emmy-Winningest Miniseries of All Time

John Adams won a staggering thirteen Emmies, which makes it the biggest winner in miniseries history. Among the honors it received were Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Writing (Kirk Ellis), and both Lead Actor and Lead Actress (in a Miniseries of Movie) awards for Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. Tom Wilkinson also got a Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklon. If that's not enough, go read the full list of awards at Wikipedia. (While you're there, check out the list of historical inaccuracies in the miniseries.)

2. A "Low Talker" With a Lot to Say

You can easily tell from the trailer that Paul Giamatti's performance as John Adams, while excellent, is sort of hard to hear. There's a lot of mumbling and whispering going on, even in scenes where you'd expect shouting (for example, in courtrooms). If you're a mumblephobe like me, just turn on your TV's closed captioning (or subtitles on the DVD) to catch the dialog -- trust me, it helps. For a taste of Giamatti's low talking, here's the trailer:

3. It Humanizes the American Revolution

The events of the American Revolution are truly remote to most Americans today -- a few hundred years will tend to do that. HBO sought to made a miniseries of huge scale and budget (over $100 million) that still focused on the core drama of the personal lives of John and Abigail Adams and their children. By examining the story of the Revolution on two scales: the national political struggle, as well as its personal cost to a family, the miniseries succeeds in explaining why Adams was such an interesting guy. (He was also kind of a jerk, especially to his kids, but perhaps you'll give him points for public service.) But seriously, there's a lot to digest in this collision of public and private life -- Adams keeps finding himself torn between duties to country and duties to family, and he really does have to choose one (as duty to country often means being on another continent for years, as well as braving dangerous ocean voyages, wars, disease, and so on).

4. Tom Hanks Does Great TV

Tom Hanks was Executive Producer (with Gary Goetzman) for the miniseries. Hanks has been involved with a ton of good television in recent years, including Band of Brothers, From the Earth to the Moon, and even Big Love. Check out this video to hear Hanks and writer David McCullough talk about the making of the miniseries:

Have I convinced you to "John or Die?" You can get a copy of the miniseries on DVD at Amazon for under $40. It's also available on Netflix (three-disc series).