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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: rpm on March 17, 2008, 12:26:49 AM

Title: John Adams
Post by: rpm on March 17, 2008, 12:26:49 AM
(http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-03/36722760.jpg)
Anyone watching the HBO miniseries? This is good stuff.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: DREDIOCK on March 17, 2008, 12:38:01 AM
Wanted to but no longer have HBO
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: ROX on March 17, 2008, 07:05:04 AM
I've seen some really great previews.  Good to see "pigvomit" get a great gig!

Nice to see Hollywood invest some cash in historical film.



ROX
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: JB88 on March 17, 2008, 08:03:03 AM
not yet.  looking forward to it now tho.

 :)
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: lazs2 on March 17, 2008, 08:09:45 AM
dumped HBO as being worthless last week.  What is the series about, how evil the founders were?

lazs
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: SIG220 on March 17, 2008, 11:23:25 AM
dumped HBO as being worthless last week.  What is the series about, how evil the founders were?

lazs

It is based on the biography "John Adams" by David McCullough.  This book won McCullough his second Pulitzer Prize.   It also won Amazon.com's Best Book of 2001 award, the New York Times Best Nonfiction Book of the Year for 2001, and Time Magazine's Best Nonfiction Book of 2001.

If the series is anything like the book, it will be absolutely fabulous.

PBS did a great documentary movie about the life of John and Abigail Adams two years ago back in 2006.   You can read about it here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/adams/filmmore/fd.html

In my opinion, McCullough's best book was his fascinating one on the life of the young Theodore Roosevelt growing up into manhood, called "Mornings on Horseback", because of the early morning horseback ride that Teddy Roosevelt often took.   That book really needs to be made into a mini-series or movie too.   It gives tremendous insight into the making of the man that would later become President.

His other great biography is "Truman", also a fantastic read that will make you appreciate President Truman a great deal.

------------------------------------------
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: crockett on March 17, 2008, 11:31:48 AM
Didn't know it started already.. what night is it on?
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Maverick on March 17, 2008, 11:35:55 AM
No HBO here unfortunately. It looked like a great show.   :cry
I guess I'll have to wait until it's released to History channel like Band of Brothers was.  :(
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Toad on March 17, 2008, 11:38:09 AM
Which epsiode has the part where someone in the Continental Congress says "someday they'll use eminent domain to take people's homes so that private developers can make a killing in beachfront property. We've done a good job here, making the Constitution perfectly clear for all time."

Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: MoeRon on March 17, 2008, 12:24:48 PM
yep i dumped HBO after they cancelled Deadwood, i'll rent it next summer.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: SIG220 on March 17, 2008, 12:24:54 PM
The only negative thing that I can see about this series is that actor Paul Giamatti plays Adams.

Adams would roll over in his grave if he knew this.

Here is a link to the schedule of showtimes:

http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?CHANNEL=All+Channels&ACTION_SEARCH=SEARCH&KEY=TITLE&VALUE=john+adams
_____________________________ ________________
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: midnight Target on March 17, 2008, 01:10:53 PM
The only negative thing that I can see about this series is that actor Paul Giamatti plays Adams.

Adams would roll over in his grave if he knew this.

Here is a link to the schedule of showtimes:

http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?CHANNEL=All+Channels&ACTION_SEARCH=SEARCH&KEY=TITLE&VALUE=john+adams
_____________________________ ________________

Paul Giamatti is generally recognized as one of our most talented working actors. How would this bother Adams?
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: rpm on March 17, 2008, 01:29:44 PM
Agreed, Paul Giamatti does an outstanding job as Adams. This series is very different from most Revolutionary War movies I've seen. It is not boring and stoic. It makes the characters actually interesting instead of some exercise in historical tedium. It breaks many stereotypes of our founding fathers.

For example, Thomas Jefferson is presented as a quiet, introverted man. I had always seen him portrayed as a great orator, but in this he is shown as a brilliant mind, but a quiet persona. Nobody really knows what he is thinking until he puts pen to paper.

This is every bit as good as Band of Brothers.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Stang on March 17, 2008, 04:37:57 PM
Simply brilliant.  I'm pissed I have to wait 6 more days to see the next episode.

And no lazs, this one might surprise ya.

 ;)

I think they overdid David Morse's nose job though, heh.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Ripsnort on March 17, 2008, 04:40:04 PM
Who the hell has time to watch TV at night!  :furious :mad: :cry
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Bodhi on March 17, 2008, 04:45:50 PM
According to my grandfather's geneaology study, I am related to John Adams....  never looked into it, but it would be cool if it is true.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: ROX on March 17, 2008, 04:45:55 PM
In radio, I once worked for a general manager who was a direct blood decendant of his.

Scarry....he looked JUST like 'em!


ROX
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Bodhi on March 17, 2008, 04:49:31 PM
In radio, I once worked for a general manager who was a direct blood decendant of his.

Scarry....he looked JUST like 'em!


ROX

My great grandmother was an Adams... I really should try to find his old geneaology stuff.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Hajo on March 17, 2008, 06:36:07 PM
Bodhi...was her name Morticia perhaps?   ;)
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: SIG220 on March 17, 2008, 06:50:35 PM
Paul Giamatti is generally recognized as one of our most talented working actors. How would this bother Adams?

Because he is one of the most left leaning ultra liberals in all of Hollywood.  Not that that is unusual at all in Hollywood, but in real life, he is certainly nothing like John Adams.

So I am speaking about him personally, and not professionally.

Professionally, he is a good actor.   Not a great one, but a good one.

I cannot ever see him deserving to actually win an academy award.   Perhaps he could get nominated again sometime, though.

_____________________________ _____________________________
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Swager on March 17, 2008, 08:46:23 PM
I know his brother Samuel make great beer!
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: rpm on March 17, 2008, 10:00:58 PM
I believe Sam is his second cousin. He has a great role as well and Danny Huston does a great job. The only weak link I have seen is David Morse as George Washington and that's mainly because of the nosejob as Stang pointed out.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Hajo on March 18, 2008, 03:51:20 AM
Thoughts:  This should be required viewing for School Children.  More then likely with all the vid games and hanging around at the Mall this is one of the ways I think some of our children would learn American History.  Is it sensationalised?  More then likely.  But the Story is true.

Already we have those that don't know what Pearl Harbor is about.....know nothing of the Holocaust.....and think 911 is a television show.

Might remind some of how America was designed to work at an early date.  And how the Constitution has been interpreted through the years for convienience rather then fact (more so lately)  And compare the brilliance of our early founding Fathers as compared to the Congress and Senate of today.  Geez.....and there were fewer men in Colonial times to come up with these ideas as compared to the hundreds of doofuses we now have making laws for us and getting paid.  Getting paid by not only the taxpayers but Lobbyists, Special Interest Groups and Corporations. 

I've got to stop thinking like this and making comparisons between the two....raises my blood pressure.

This is a case of the Then being better then the Now.  Always thought with time the Now gets better.....guess not.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: ZetaNine on March 18, 2008, 08:47:10 AM
Paul Giamatti is generally recognized as one of our most talented working actors. How would this bother Adams?



I concur.  He's a great actor and the series is beyond oustanding.....

the selection of David Morse as George Washington was also great casting.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: midnight Target on March 18, 2008, 09:35:11 AM
Because he is one of the most left leaning ultra liberals in all of Hollywood.  Not that that is unusual at all in Hollywood, but in real life, he is certainly nothing like John Adams.

So I am speaking about him personally, and not professionally.

Professionally, he is a good actor.   Not a great one, but a good one.

I cannot ever see him deserving to actually win an academy award.   Perhaps he could get nominated again sometime, though.

_____________________________ _____________________________

Adams was a conservative? hehe
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: JimBear on March 18, 2008, 03:37:36 PM
The first two episodes were excellent and I also am looking forward to seeing the next installments.  It is television at its finest
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: rpm on March 18, 2008, 06:00:31 PM
It is television at its finest
It's not TV, it's HBO. :aok
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: DREDIOCK on March 18, 2008, 06:14:22 PM
On my property
In my front yard

Exactly 232 years ago



Nothing happend

 ;)
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Slash27 on March 18, 2008, 06:25:22 PM
yep i dumped HBO after they cancelled Deadwood, i'll rent it next summer.

Same here.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Joker on March 18, 2008, 06:27:49 PM

For example, Thomas Jefferson is presented as a quiet, introverted man. I had always seen him portrayed as a great orator, but in this he is shown as a brilliant mind, but a quiet persona. Nobody really knows what he is thinking until he puts pen to paper.


From what I have read about Jefferson, this is how he actually was. He was not a particularly good orator, but was magnificent at expressing his thoughts on paper. In fact, in 1801 as president he began sending the state of the union message to Congress in writing rather than deliver a speech in person. This was partly due to his lack of public speaking skill.
The state of the union message was delivered in writing until Woodrow Wilson resumed the practice of making the speech in person in 1913.

Joker
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Neubob on March 18, 2008, 07:36:26 PM
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Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Airscrew on March 18, 2008, 08:49:05 PM
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Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: JB88 on March 18, 2008, 08:49:45 PM
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Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: wheez on March 23, 2008, 07:25:10 PM
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Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: Toad on March 23, 2008, 07:36:07 PM
7 episodes in all. I'll have to try to catch up. I haven't seen anything but bits and pieces of the first two.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: rpm on March 24, 2008, 12:29:36 AM
Man this is a great series. I hope that Tom Hanks continues to make shows like this. He could do a "History of America" series that could run for years. Everything he has ever produced on American history is shear greatness.
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: DiabloTX on March 24, 2008, 01:23:51 AM
^^^ For sure.  Just finishing my yearly watching of "From The Earth To The Moon".  Another reason why Houston > Dallas.  :)
Title: Re: John Adams
Post by: rpm on March 24, 2008, 02:12:36 AM
LOL