Should I continue watching John Adams?

Mimi, your link goes to this page.

Anyway, they were all British.

Oh, sorry. Here’s the link

And as I reflect on it, it was more like “the British royalty” than Britain as a whole.

So anyway, what do you think of it?

Your link still goes to this page.

Without knowing much of anything about the show, I’m going to say no.

Why continue to watch a show that you are lukewarm about? I vote for finding a new show that doesn’t make you question whether to keep watching.

Is it this one?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams_(miniseries)

This is the series with Paul Giamatti right? It’s been awhile since I saw it.

My recollection is that it was good enough that I watched the whole thing, but I wasn’t going around recommending it to people after. For historical accuracy, my recollection was that it was ‘pretty good by hollywood standards.’ Hollywood tends to be pretty irresponsible with history, so that’s not high praise. John Adams is, IIRC, generally accurate, but not SPECIFICALLY accurate. By which I mean, it will be accurate on big stuff, but will play fast and loose with time and details for the purposes of dramatization.

Your specific complaint about the jump from him being ‘torn’ between loyalist and patriot to becoming all patriot…I don’t think a precipitating event is really needed there. I think the show is avoiding wasting time explaining the revolutionary war itself and it’s precipitating events to focus on those specific to Adams.

It’s an interesting show, from a historical perspective, though I daresay it lionizes the rest of the founders in the usual, unhelpful, manner. I think that to properly enjoy it, it takes a fair amount of familiarity with the history of the early republic. The scene changes are less abrupt if you have an idea of what happened and what’s coming. It’s not a history of the revolution, but a history of a stubborn man finding his place in a changing world. Also it’s about how it’s ok to treat your family like shit if you’re a big shot.

@Jeruba yes, that’s the one.

@raum I watch it because it is on several lists of good movies about the war. I have been reading posts on the Internet and seen a lot of complaints from people that movies/show about the Revolutionary War are inaccurate/biased, and the show is on the lists of movies that actually do a good job at portraying the war. So yeah, it’s the “I watch this for research purpose” situation :P It’s just that at the moment I want to enjoy the show like a normal piece of entertainment as well, and I’m not enjoying it right now :(

@Entropy So I should approach it more like a documentary than a conventional movie? I was watching it like a normal movie so I was looking at Adams like a normal character in a normal story with normal character development. So it really bothers me that Adams turns out that way. Maybe I was approaching the show with the wrong mindset?

@Smashley I’m familiar with American history from 1763 to about 1778, so the fast pace doesn’t lose me at the moment. But looks like as the show continues onward I will be lost because there are still a few more years that I haven’t read up yet. Guess I should have my book in hand alongside with the show then :D

Oh, and that’s sad what happens to Adams’ wife. I really enjoy her. She looks like a really great character and their family looks like a strong unit right now.

@Mimishu1995 That makes sense. In which case, I think you just have to view it like homework and not entertainment. :P

@Mimishu1995, I watched the whole series a few years ago. I recall being interested in its depiction of persons and events. Growing up in Massachusetts (and living close by a number of those historical homesteads), I had a good context for it and found it engaging.

However, I don’t like two of the principals—Giamatti and Linney—as actors, so in that respect I had to sort of force myself through it.

I’d give it points for setting, atmosphere, and authenticity, but as always with historical dramas, I would view it more as entertainment than as literal history.

Adams did not switch loyalties, though. He took the “Boston Massacre” case as a professional attorney. He felt that the accused deserved representation. I would never assume that a lawyer agreed with or approved of the conduct of his clients.

”Not far from the Custom House, a 34-year-old Boston attorney sat in his office and made a difficult decision. Although a devout patriot, John Adams agreed to risk his family’s livelihood and defend the British soldiers and their commander in a Boston courtroom. At stake was not just the fate of nine men, but the relationship between the motherland and her colonies on the eve of American Revolution.” Source (on history.com website).

I also thought David Morse’s turn as George Washington was stunning, so vivid that it was like having museum portraits come alive.

If it had been true to life, every other time George Washington spoke, he would have been moaning about constant tooth pain.

@Jeruba Adams did not switch loyalties, though. He took the “Boston Massacre” case as a professional attorney. He felt that the accused deserved representation.

That’s interesting. The show doesn’t make it clear that he was a patriot since the beginning. My impression of him in the first episode was that he wanted to be a patriot but at the same time could see where the loyalists were coming from and couldn’t help but agreeing with them which is exactly what’s going on with my main characters. With that new information in mind, it makes much more sense why he was all “FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!” in the later episodes. I’m just disappointed that the show doesn’t make it clear from the start.

I think this is my problem with the show. It operates under the assumption that everything is already common knowledge to the viewers. If I didn’t know anything about the Revolution, Adams would easily come across as a really poorly written character. It can be really isolating if you are like me who comes from a completely different culture and has no personal attachment or prior knowledge of the Revolution, as it makes it hard for people who want to learn to understand and relate to the show like they should. From the answers I got here, I think the show works better as research materials than an actually entertaining show.

Oh well, at least that’s a takeaway lesson in writing for me :)

Watch what interests you. Your opinion is the only one that matters here.