''James A. Michener's Texas'' (also called ''Texas'') is a 1994

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television miniseries directed by Richard Lang. It was adapted from the 1985 historical fiction novel ''

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

'' by

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...

, but includes only the section of the book related to

Texas Independence Texas secession movements, also known as the Texas Independence movement or Texit, refers to both the secession of Texas during the American Civil War as well as activities of modern organizations supporting such efforts to secede from the Unit ...

and the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...

. The novel is more wide-ranging, starting with

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

explorer

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 December ...

and ending in the modern day.

Plot

The year is 1821. The vast, unsettled territory that will one day be known as Texas still belongs to Mexico. But the forces that will shape the future of this land have already been set in motion. It begins with Mexico's

General Santa Anna A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online ...

and turns into an armed revolt led by Sam Houston, Stephen Austin, and the heroes of the

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...

: Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Set against the backdrop of America's turbulent frontier, ''Texas'' explores conflict, romance, and adventure. It's the story of an inspiring fight for freedom and statehood - and of the soldiers, settlers, outlaws and empire-builders caught up in their young homeland's quest to fulfill its destiny.

Cast

Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American television actor and director widely known for his role as Bobby Ewing on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'' (1978–1991). Duffy returned to reprise his role as Bobby ...

as Stephen F. Austin *

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

Chelsea Field Chelsea Field is an American actress. Career Field started her career as a Solid Gold Dancer, and one of her first television roles was on ''Airwolf''. She also played Teela in the 1987 film adaptation of ''Masters of the Universe''. She ...

as Mattie Quimper *

Rick Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

as Otto McNab *

Grant Show Grant Show (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his role on ''Melrose Place'' as Jake Hanson, which he played from 1992 to 1997. From 2017 to 2022, he portrayed Blake Carrington in the soap opera reboot ''Dynasty' ...

as William B. Travis * David Keith as

James Bowie James Bowie ( ) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him ...

* John Schneider as

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

María Conchita Alonso María Concepción Alonso Bustillo (born June 29, 1955), better known as María Conchita Alonso, is a Cuban-born Venezuelan-American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who represented Venezuela at Miss World 1975 and placed in the t ...

as Lucia *

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out''. He had supporting film roles in the 1990s in ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and '' ...

as Benito Garza *

Frederick Coffin Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American film actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Early life Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin, and was one ...

as Zave (credited as Fred Coffin) *

Anthony Michael Hall Anthony Michael Hall (born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall; April 14, 1968) is an American actor, producer and comedian. After his film debut in ''Six Pack (film), Six Pack'' (1982) and a supporting role as Russell "Rusty" Griswold in ''Nat ...

as Yancey Quimper *

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

as Captain Sam Garner *

Daragh O'Malley Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director, and producer. O'Malley is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series '' Sharpe'' (1993–2009) starring with Sean Bean although O'Malley ha ...

as McNab *

Miguel Sandoval Miguel Sandoval (born November 16, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his role on the NBC/ CBS drama series '' Medium'' (2005–2011), where he played D.A. Manuel Devalos. Biography Sandoval was born in Washington, D.C. He began wo ...

as General

Martin Perfecto de Cos Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart ...

* Lloyd Battista as General

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

* Lonnie Schuyler as

James Bonham James Butler Bonham (February 20, 1807 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. He was a second cousin of William B. Travis and was a messenger of the Battle of the Al ...

* Joe Torrenueva as Lopez *

Esteban Powell Esteban Powell is an American actor. He attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, a magnet school of the Houston Independent School District. He was cast in the role of Carl Burnett in the 1993 Richard Linklater ...

as Young Yancey * Sully Ross as Young Otto *

Russ McCubbin Julian Russell McCubbin (January 16, 1935 – June 28, 2018) was an American television and film actor and stunt man. He is best known for his work on ''Sudden Impact'' (1983) and ''High Plains Drifter'' (1973). Early life As a teenager, he exc ...

as "Panther" Komax * Roland Rodriguez as

Juan Seguin ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philipp ...

* Woody Watson as R.J. Poteet * Deborah Nunez as Josephine Garza * Lanell Pena as Maria Trinidad Garza * Morgan Redmond as Father Clooney The film is narrated by

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the television series ''Family'' (1976–1980), ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977� ...

was the executive producer.

Release

Although produced for television, ''Texas'' was released on home video first. This decision was not due to its quality, but to recoup its $12 million production cost feasibly as broadcast networks had shied away from expensive productions.Nichols, Peter M
"'Texas' as a Mini-Series"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (November 4, 1994). Retrieved August 3, 2012.

References

External links

*
''Texas (1994)''
at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

1994 television films 1994 films 1990s American television miniseries Films based on American novels Cultural depictions of Davy Crockett Television series set in the 1820s Television series set in the 1830s Television series about the history of the United States Adaptations of works by James A. Michener Films scored by Lee Holdridge Films directed by Richard Lang (director) Cultural depictions of James Bowie {{US-tv-film-stub