Who's been watching? The first two episodes
last night were absolutely INCREDIBLE. I've
reviewed what I've seen so far - posting it
below:

I have to preface this by saying I'm not
(nor have I ever been) a big fan of history
or social studies; these were my least favorite
subjects in school, mainly because they were
presented in such a boring, uninvolving manner.
I've never been big on historical drama movies
either, but if you read my reviews at all, you
know I love Paul Giamatti, and yesterday night
I was mentally thanking the man repeatedly
because if it weren't for him I most likely
would not have been watching the first two
episodes of what is shaping up to be the
TV mini series of the decade, John Adams.

Not since Iron Jawed Angels have I seen a
show based on historical events that is this
inspired, moving, and both emotionally and
intellectually riveting - it felt like I was
taking a trip through history in a time
capsule, genuinely being there in those
early colonial days, when the idea of
independence from Great Britain was
controversial, revolutionary and shrouded
in fear. But the core of the series is not
political - it's the story of John and
Abigail (I'm on a first-name basis with
them now) and how they stayed together,
raised a family and survived during this
most trying time in a young country's history.

Giamatti and Linney bring extraordinary passion
and complete believability to their roles,
but the whole cast is brilliant here though,
the stand outs (from the first two episodes,
besides Linney and Giamatti) being David Morse
as George Washington, Tom Wilkinson as
Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Dillane as Tom
Jefferson and Damages' Zeljko Ivanek - who
for some reason is not mentioned in the credits! -
as John Dickinson, Adams' staunchest congressional
opponent on the subject of independence.
The scenes in Philadelphia, where the reps
from all 13 colonies meet to hash out the
situation, are magnificently compelling - you feel
like you're there with them, seeing from the
inside how our country actually came to be.

There's a great scene where John and Ben are
reading Thomas' first draft of The Declaration
of Independence (which John begged Thomas to
write, saying that he himself was "obnoxious,
suspect and unpopular" while Thomas was far more
eloquent with his pen); they're editing it,
beginning with the first line. This scene really
evokes the feeling of how our independence came
to be - it was forged by necessity, by these
men who were literally flying blind, by
the seat of their pants.