John Adams

Did you watch the HBO miniseries John Adams which started airing last night? I did. I was looking forward to it because I consider myself somewhat of a history geek.

Let me cut to the chase - unless you are a history geek then you will probably be bored by the series. Sure they have expressive language that sounds almost poetical to modern ears but without the profanity laced tirades that made Deadwood so enjoyable. Sure they have been true to period dress and customs but there is not the occasional nude scenes like from Rome to perk up the attention every once and a while (unless you want to count the brief full frontal nudity of a guy right before he gets tarred and feathered). Since John Adams was not a soldier - there's not even a lot of the violence that helped make Band of Brothers so compelling. No John Adams really is a History Channel set piece with a bigger budget.

There is no arguing that the acting and the cinematography is top notch Emmy-worthy. Just don't expect John Adams to be like Deadwood or Rome. The history is more true but the action is less tame.

I am glad that John Adams is getting his due. He was instrumental in our country gaining independence, however, as others have noted Adams made a much better Founding Father than he did a President. I have always been amazed that given his love of learning that no college or university ever bore his name. I guess maybe being our first one-term President had something to do with that.

I'll watch each and every episode and I'll be starting in on the book today but I just want to warn the casual viewer not to expect too much.