John Adams (miniseries)

''John Adams'' is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of U.S. President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper and starred Paul Giamatti in the title role. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the 2001 book ''John Adams'' by David McCullough. The biopic of Adams and the story of the first 50 years of the United States was broadcast in seven parts by HBO between March 16 and April 20, 2008. ''John Adams'' received widespread critical acclaim and many prestigious awards. The show won four Golden Globe awards and 13 Emmy awards, more than any other miniseries in history.

Plot summary

Part I: Join or Die (1770–1774)

Episode 1 opens in Boston 1770 on the cold winter night of the Boston Massacre. It portrays John Adams arriving at the scene following the gunshots from British soldiers firing upon a mob of Boston citizens. Adams, a respected lawyer in his mid-30s known for his dedication to the law and justice, is sought as defense counsel for the accused Redcoats. Their commander, Captain Thomas Preston, asks him to defend them in court. Reluctant at first, he agrees despite knowing this will antagonize his neighbors and friends. Adams is depicted to have taken the case because he believed everyone deserves a fair trial and he wanted to uphold the standard of justice. Adams' cousin Samuel Adams is one of the main colonists opposed to the actions of the British government. He is one of the executive members of the Sons of Liberty, an anti-British group of agitators. Adams is depicted as a studious man doing his best to defend his clients. The show also illustrates Adams' appreciation and respect for his wife, Abigail. In one scene, Adams is shown having his wife proofread his summation as he takes her suggestions. After many sessions in court, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty of murder for each defendant. Additionally, the episode illustrates the growing tension over the Coercive Acts ("Intolerable Acts"), and Adams' election to the First Continental Congress.

Part II: Independence (1774–1776)

The second episode covers the disputes among the members of the Second Continental Congress toward declaring independence from Great Britain as well as the final drafting of the Declaration of Independence. At the Continental Congresses Adams is depicted as the lead advocate for independence. He is in the vanguard in establishing that there is no other option than to break off and declare independence. He is also instrumental in the selection of then-Colonel George Washington as the new head of the Continental Army.

However, in his zeal for immediate action, he manages to alienate many of the other founding fathers, going so far as to insult John Dickinson, who is for conciliation to the Crown, implying that the man suffers from a religiously based moral cowardice. Later, Benjamin Franklin quietly chastens Adams, saying it is "perfectly acceptable to insult a man in private. He may even thank you for it afterwards. But when you do it in public, they tend to think you are serious." This points out Adams' primary flaw: his bluntness and lack of gentility toward his political opponents, one that would make him many enemies and which would eventually plague his political career. It would also, eventually, contribute to historians' disregard for his many achievements. The episode also shows how Abigail copes with issues at home as her husband was away much of the time participating in the Continental Congress. She employs the use of then pioneer efforts in the field of preventative medicine and inoculation against smallpox for herself and the children.

Part III: Don't Tread on Me (1777–1781)

In Episode 3, Adams travels to Europe with his young son John Quincy during the Revolutionary War seeking alliances with foreign nations, during which the ship transporting them battles a British frigate. It first shows Adams' embassy with Benjamin Franklin in the court of Louis XVI of France. The old French nobility, who are in the last decade before being consumed by the French Revolution, are portrayed as effete and decadent. They meet cheerfully with Franklin, seeing him as a romantic figure, little noting the democratic infection he brings with him. Adams, on the other hand, is a plain spoken and faithful man, who finds himself out of his depth surrounded by an entertainment- and sex-driven culture among the French elite. Adams finds himself at sharp odds with Benjamin Franklin, who has adapted himself to the French, seeking to obtain by seduction what Adams would gain through histrionics. Franklin sharply rebukes Adams for his lack of diplomatic acumen, describing it as a "direct insult followed by a petulant whine". Franklin soon has Adams removed from any position of diplomatic authority in Paris. His approach is ultimately successful and was to result in the conclusive Franco-American victory at Yorktown.

Adams, chastened and dismayed but learning from his mistakes, then travels to the Dutch Republic to obtain monetary support for the Revolution. Although the Dutch agree with the American cause, they do not consider the new union a reliable and credit-worthy client. Adams ends his time in the Netherlands in a state of progressive illness, having sent his son away as a diplomatic secretary to the Russian Empire.

Part IV: Reunion ( 1781–1789)

The fourth episode shows John Adams being notified of the end of the Revolutionary War and the defeat of the British. He is then sent to Paris to negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783. While overseas, he spends time with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and Abigail visits him. Franklin informs John Adams that he was appointed as the first American Ambassador to Great Britain and thus has to relocate to London. John Adams is poorly received by the British during this time—he is the representative for a recently hostile power, and represents in his person what many British at the time regarded as a disastrous end to its early Empire. He meets with his former sovereign, George III, and while the meeting is not a disaster, he is excoriated in British newspapers. In 1789, he returns to Massachusetts for the first presidential election and he and Abigail are reunited with their children, now grown. George Washington is elected the first President of the United States and John Adams as the first Vice President.

Initially, Adams is disappointed and wishes to reject the post of Vice President because he feels there is a disproportionate number of electoral votes in favor of George Washington (Adams' number of votes pales in comparison to those garnered by Washington). In addition, John feels the position of Vice President is not a proper reflection of all the years of service he has dedicated to his nation. However, Abigail successfully influences him to accept the nomination.

Part V: Unite or Die (1788–1797)

The fifth episode begins with Vice President John Adams presiding over the Senate and the debate over what to call the new president. It depicts Adams as frustrated in this role: His opinions are ignored and he has no actual power, except in the case of a tied vote. He's excluded from George Washington's inner circle of cabinet members, and his relationships with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton are strained. Even Washington himself gently rebukes him for his efforts to "royalize" the office of the Presidency, although Washington values Adams' counsel in other areas, considering him to be "reasonable company" when compared with Jefferson and Hamilton. A key event shown is the struggle to enact the Jay Treaty with Britain, which Adams himself must ratify before a deadlocked Senate (although historically his vote was not required). The episode concludes with his inauguration as the second president—and his subsequent arrival in a plundered executive mansion.

Part VI: Unnecessary War (1797–1801)

The sixth episode covers Adams's term as president and the rift between the Hamilton-led Federalists and Jefferson-led Republicans. Adams's neutrality pleases neither side and often angers both. His shaky relationship with vice president Thomas Jefferson worsens after taking defensive actions against the French Republic because of failed diplomatic attempts and the signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adams also alienates himself from the anti-French Alexander Hamilton after taking all actions possible to prevent a war with France. He disowns his son Charles, who soon dies as an alcoholic vagrant. Adams sees success late in his presidency with his campaign of preventing a war with France, but his success is clouded after losing the presidential election of 1800. After receiving so much bad publicity while in office, Adams loses the election against his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, and runner-up Aaron Burr (both from the same party). Adams leaves the Presidential Palace (now known as the White House) in March 1801 and retires to his personal life in Massachusetts.

Part VII: Peacefield (1803–1826)

The final episode covers Adams's retirement years. His home life at Peacefield is full of pain and sorrow as his daughter, Nabby, dies of breast cancer and Abigail succumbs to typhoid fever. Adams does live to see the election of his son, John Quincy, as president, but is too ill to attend the inauguration. Adams and Jefferson are reconciled through correspondence in their last years. Both die hours apart on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was 83, Adams was 90.

Cast

* Paul Giamatti as John Adams
* Laura Linney as Abigail Adams
* Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson
* David Morse as George Washington
* Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin
* Rufus Sewell as Alexander Hamilton
* Justin Theroux as John Hancock
* Danny Huston as Samuel Adams
* Sarah Polley as Abigail Adams Smith
* Andrew Scott as William S. Smith
* Željko Ivanek as John Dickinson
* Ebon Moss-Bachrach as John Quincy Adams
* John Dossett as Benjamin Rush
* Mamie Gummer as Sally Smith Adams
* Caroline Corrie as Louisa Adams
* Samuel Barnett as Thomas Adams
* Kevin Trainor as Charles Adams
* Tom Hollander as King George III
* Julian Firth as the Duke of Dorset
* Damien Jouillerot as King Louis XVI
* Clancy O'Connor as Edward Rutledge
* Guy Henry as Jonathan Sewall
* Brennan Brown as Robert Treat Paine
* Paul Fitzgerald as Richard Henry Lee
* Tom Beckett as Elbridge Gerry
* Del Pentecost as Henry Knox
* Tim Parati as Caesar Rodney
* John O'Creagh as Stephen Hopkins
* John Keating as Timothy Pickering
* Hugh O'Gorman as Thomas Pinckney
* Timmy Sherrill as Charles Lee
* Judith Magre as Madame Helvetius
* Jean-Hugues Anglade as Count of Vergennes
* Jean Brassard as Admiral d'Estaing
* Pip Carter as Francis Dana
* Sean McKenzie as Edward Bancroft
* Derek Milman as Lieutenant James Barron
* Patrice Valota as Jean-Antoine Houdon
* Nicolas Vaude as Chevalier de la Luzerne
* Bertie Carvel as Lord Carmarthen
* Alex Draper as Robert Livingston
* Cyril Descours as Edmond-Charles Genet
* Alan Cox as William Maclay
* Sean Mahan as Gen. Joseph Warren
* Eric Zuckerman as Thomas McKean
* Ed Jewett as James Duane
* Vincent Renart as Andrew Holmes
* Ritchie Coster as Captain Thomas Preston
* Lizan Mitchell as Sally Hemings
* Pamela Stewart as Patsy Jefferson
* Lucas N Hall as Continental Army Officer, New York light infantry battalion
* Steven Hinkle as Young John Quincy Adams
* Buzz Bovshow as John Trumbull

Shooting locations

The 110-day shoot took place from February to July 2007 in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; and Budapest, Hungary. Some European scenes were shot in Keszthely, Sóskút, Fertőd and Kecskemét, Hungary.

British officers ransacked an abandoned Continental Army war room in a scene shot in the Robert Carter house. Williamsburg's Public Hospital was in the background of the tent encampment of the Continental army which Adams visited in the winter of 1776, which was replicated using special-effects snow. The College of William and Mary's Wren Building represented a Harvard interior. Scenes were also filmed at the Governor's Palace.

Sets, stage space, backlot and production offices were housed in an old Mechanicsville AMF warehouse in Richmond, Virginia. Some street scenes with cobblestone pavements and colonial storefronts were shot in historic neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. Countryside surrounding Richmond in Hanover County and Powhatan County was chosen to represent areas surrounding early Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

Critical reception

The critical reception to the miniseries was predominantly positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a rating of 82% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 8.56/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Elegantly shot and relatively educational, ''John Adams'' is a worthy addition to the genre -- though its casting leaves something to be desired." Metacritic assigned the series a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ken Tucker of ''Entertainment Weekly'' rated the miniseries A−, and Matt Roush of ''TV Guide'' praised the lead performances of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. David Hinckley of the ''New York Daily News'' felt ''John Adams'' "is, quite simply, as good as TV gets ... Best of all are two extraordinary performances at the center: Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail ... To the extent that ''John Adams'' is a period piece, it isn't quite as lush as, say, some BBC
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