A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
- Won 9 Primetime Emmys
- 17 wins & 35 nominations total
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Did you know
- TriviaAuthor Harold Courlander successfully sued author Alex Haley for plagiarizing parts of his novel "The African" for his 1976 novel "Roots," the book that served as the basis for this miniseries. Haley paid $650,000 in a 1978 out-of-court settlement.
- GoofsKizzy, a slave who works in the fields, has long, beautifully manicured fingernails.
- Quotes
Omoro, Kunta's father: [holding his infant son up to starry sky] Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself!
- Alternate versionsThe original version of Roots on ABC featured slightly different opening titles. The Roots Mural was the same, but when the title Roots was shown on-screen it was over a dark blue background. The cover of the novel rises up from a horizontal to a vertical position. The screen says "AN ABC NOVEL FOR TELEVISION ALEX HALEY'S ROOTS THE SAGA OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY." Current VHS, dvd, and re-broadcasts simply have "Roots" on a black background, without the other information. Also, the end credits have been changed considerably. In the original, there were eight sets of end credits (one for each episode.) When the show was re-edited to six episodes, names were combined for different hours and some of the end credit sequences (with a still from that episode) are missing, including one featuring Kizzy and Missy Anne having a picnic.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1977)
- SoundtracksOluwa
by Quincy Jones
Featured review
The story of Alex Haley's ancestors is a powerful one, and he turned it into a very fine (if partly plagiarized) book. The 1977 miniseries, on the other hand, is an example of television's "dumbing down" process. It's relentlessly obvious, cheesy and cliched. The writing is dishonest when not just inept. Scene after scene is played to the rafters. African-Americans in particular deserved better.
You want specifics? Chicken George (Ben Vereen) was born after his mother was raped by his master. In the book he's aware from childhood that their master is also his father, which is exactly what you'd expect. Here, however, we're asked to believe that this is a Big Secret he doesn't know because his mother didn't tell him. (Does he think it was a virgin birth?) That's so she can finally tell him when he's grown up with children of his own, and give the episode a cheap emotional climax. This is a familiar TV cliche.
The conclusion is particularly laughable. Formula requires "empowerment," so they have an unbelievable scene where the ex-slaves tie the Evil Klansman to a tree before leaving town. First they point a gun at him, then his henchmen come out and get the drop on them, then other blacks get the drop on the henchmen. (This happened on GET SMART once, but the laughs were intentional there.)
True, there are fine performances by actors like Louis Gossett and Vereen, but the white cast is mostly at sea. (As the slave ship's Ineffectual Christian Liberal Conscience, the normally able Edward Asner gives one of the 10 worst performances in TV history.) As for production values, ABC spent more on ROOTS than on any past TV movie, but you'd never know it: it looks very cheap.
In sum, the miniseries ROOTS (like the miniseries HOLOCAUST) was "politically correct" before we knew the term.
You want specifics? Chicken George (Ben Vereen) was born after his mother was raped by his master. In the book he's aware from childhood that their master is also his father, which is exactly what you'd expect. Here, however, we're asked to believe that this is a Big Secret he doesn't know because his mother didn't tell him. (Does he think it was a virgin birth?) That's so she can finally tell him when he's grown up with children of his own, and give the episode a cheap emotional climax. This is a familiar TV cliche.
The conclusion is particularly laughable. Formula requires "empowerment," so they have an unbelievable scene where the ex-slaves tie the Evil Klansman to a tree before leaving town. First they point a gun at him, then his henchmen come out and get the drop on them, then other blacks get the drop on the henchmen. (This happened on GET SMART once, but the laughs were intentional there.)
True, there are fine performances by actors like Louis Gossett and Vereen, but the white cast is mostly at sea. (As the slave ship's Ineffectual Christian Liberal Conscience, the normally able Edward Asner gives one of the 10 worst performances in TV history.) As for production values, ABC spent more on ROOTS than on any past TV movie, but you'd never know it: it looks very cheap.
In sum, the miniseries ROOTS (like the miniseries HOLOCAUST) was "politically correct" before we knew the term.
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