North and South

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" (1985) - EPISODE ONE "1842-1844" Commentary

The 年 nineteen eighty-two saw the publication of "North and South", the first novel of John Jakes' trilogy about the United States before, during and after the U.S. Civil War. This first novel, set during the United States' Antebellum Era, was adapted into a six-part miniseries in 1985.

This first miniseries, "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I", told the story of two families during the years before the Civil War. The Hazards are a wealthy family that owns a successful iron foundry in Lehigh Station, Pennsylvania - not far from Philadelphia....

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" (1986) - EPISODE ONE "June-July 1861" Commentary

Judging from past 文章 I have written about the "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy, one would surmise that of the three miniseries that have aired in the past decades (two in the 1980s and one in the 1990s) that I seemed to have the most problem with the 秒 miniseries in the trilogy, namely "BOOK II". And if I have to be honest, one would be right.

It is odd that I would choose the 秒 miniseries as the most problematic of the three. "BOOK II" is set during the four years of the Civil War – a historical conflict...

"HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III" (1994) - EPISODE TWO Commentary

Despite the tragic ending of the last episode, Episode Two of "HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III" proved to be even darker. Bent continued his crime spree 由 assaulting an Illinois farm girl and kidnapping Charles' son, Gus in St. Louis. Charles' decision to become an Army scout in order to hunt down Scar led to his breakup with Willa Parker. Worse, he witnessed the massacre of a peaceful Cheyenne village 由 U.S. troopers led 由 Captain Venable. Madeline's conflict with Cooper, Gettys LaMotte and the local Ku...

"HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III" (1994) - EPISODE ONE Commentary

If there is one chapter in John Jakes' NORTH AND SOUTH saga that is reviled 由 the fans, it the 电视 adaptation of the third one, set after the American Civil War. First of all, the theme of post-war Reconstruction has never been that 流行的 with tales about the four-year war. 更多 importantly, 粉丝 of Jakes' saga seemed to have a low opinion of "HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III", the 1994 adaptation of Jakes' third North and South novel, published back in 1987.

My opinion of the 1994 miniseries slightly...

"HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III" (1994) - EPISODE THREE Commentary

"HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III" ended on a solid note, thanks to John Jakes and Suzanne Clauser's screenplay for Episode Three. A good number of "NORTH AND SOUTH" 粉丝 have complained that the 1994 miniseries could have stretched into one 或者 two 更多 episodes. I have to disagree with that assessment. The 1987 novel was not as long as 1982's "North and South" 或者 1984's "Love and War".

Episode Three began Charles Main's confrontation with Scar and his discovery that the Cheyenne warrior was in no condition...

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" (1985) - EPISODE FIVE "1856-1860" Commentary

Following the emotional and ugly incidents from Episode Four, events for both the Hazard and Main families become even uglier, as the United States inches closer to a full blown civil war. The ugliness culminates in a major event in the form of John Brown's famous October 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry in (then) western Virginia.

Episode Five, set between 1856 and 1860, opened with Madeline recovering from Justin's angry reaction to her mysterious disappearance (helping a pregnant Ashton Main acquire an abortion from a low country...

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" (1985) - EPISODE THREE "1848-1854" Commentary

Episode Three of the 1985 miniseries, "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I", immediately picked up where the 前一个 episode left off. And unlike Episode Two, this particular episode stretches over a slightly longer period of time of six-and-a-half years - between the late winter of 1848 and the early summer of 1854.

This episode began less than 24 four hours after Episode Two left off. Following his resignation from the U.S. Army, George Hazard paid a visit to his friend Orry Main to inform the latter of his upcoming wedding to Constance...