"John Adams" Unnecessary War (TV Episode 2008) Poster

(TV Mini Series)

(2008)

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10/10
President Adams!
jotix10023 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The election of John Adams to the presidency of the new nation, was the culmination of a life dedicated to serving his country. Unfortunately, this period proved to be quite unsettling for Mr. Adams. He had seen his son John gone abroad as a representative of the United States, a source of pride for him. On the domestic front, he had to deal with problems at home.

His son-in-law, Colonel William Smith, who had worked at his assistant announces his departure as he and Nabby separate. His son Charles, who was a rake, succumbs to a life of self-indulgence and alcohol. Before parting for trip overseas, John entrusts Charles with two thousand dollars, something that in those days was a fortune, to be invested wisely. Charles wasted the money and his life and pays a high price with his own death, something that profoundly affects John. Abigail, who is inconsolable about the loss of a child, thinks her husband is a hard man for not even crying when they receive the news. In his solitude, we watch that on the contrary, this untimely passing deeply affected him as well.

The years of his presidency were marked for a split in ideology with his close friend, and ally, Thomas Jefferson, a man with whom he, and Abigail had spent many hours talking about their views about what they wanted their country to become. It is also the period in which Mr. Adams has to move to the new capital, named after George Washington. The new residence of the head of the nation was quite unfinished by the time they move and had to put up with the construction of what became known as the White House.

The sixth chapter of this magnificent series marks one of the highlights of the book because John Adams is reduced to being a mere citizen as we watch him board a horse driven carriage in the company of ordinary citizens, who are surprised at seeing him. He puts them at ease by reminding him he is just someone like them.

Tom Hopper's direction is exceptional in the way he captures the atmosphere during the period being examined. One of the most moving moments that come alive thanks by Paul Giamatti's sensitive approach to his character. Laura Linney is perfection herself as the aging Abigail. Stephen Dillane does well with his Jefferson. Rufus Sewell is as pompous as his Alexander Hamilton. Sarah Polley and Kevin Trainor do a wonderful job as Nabby and Charles Adams.
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10/10
The episode with the strongest parallels to today
CubsandCulture10 April 2021
This episode is really about bad faith, partisanship and some deep, long lasting divisions the country still hasn't reconciled. It is really hard to avoid the hypocrisy of the Jefferson and the Republicans charging Adams-a man of New England moderation-as monarchist and elitist when Jefferson literally retreated to a private mountain on and off through out his career. You see the divisions of urban vs rural, North vs South and Americans' inability to take fellow citizens at their word. The realpolitik of this episode is just great.
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10/10
Party Politics Isn't New
rdms87-149-61207229 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The best episode of the series--this one describes the brutal nasty politics leading up to the election of 1800. John Adams fought valiantly to keep the new nation out of a senseless war. He held fast while others wanted to give in. Division threatened to destroy the United States, and that is a parallel to the situation post the 2016 election. We must learn from the history, not repeat it. Kudos to Paul Giamatti for his brilliant acting work--Adams isn't a flawless icon. He was a real man with real problems. The death of his son, depicted here, is probably his worst failure in life. Kudos also to the production team for the set design--the White House, but by slaves, is shown in its less than gorgeous face, probably truer to life than we've seen before.
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10/10
Unnecessary War.
kylehaines9631 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
In part 6 of John Adams we see John Adams played by Paul Giamatti is serving his term as president and dealing with his own devastating problems at home. We find out that Johns son Charles played by Kevin Trainor is an alcoholic and John verbally abuses him. Abigail Adams played by Laura Linney finds out that Charles has become deathly ill and does not look like he will be able to make it. At the end of part 6 John and Abigail are sadly informed that their son Charles has died an alcoholic vagrant. Sadly John does not win a second term as president and instead Thomas Jefferson becomes the third president of The United States.

Not Rated.

1hr 19min/79min.

****/****
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3/10
Basically the 101 for how to NOT write an episode
petrow-313088 November 2022
Good gracious, this episode which should've been the culmination of the series fell all apart like a shambling horse chart on a rocky road to the White House...

First the good part. The music is atmospheric and great as ever. Costumes and the setpieces are all serviceable, as well as the lighting. The camerawork is not my cup of tea but passable. The biggest praise goes for the acting; especially for Linney and Giamatti, but all the supporting characters are great and even more so when you consider how little they had to work with in terms of the script. They are the only reason that this is not a 1-star review.

Because frankly, the script, the focus and the pacing are all over the place. This episode managed to achieve the seemingly impossible feat of being both incredibly dragging and horribly rushed... The most important 4 years of Adams, the trials and tribulations during his presidency are scrolling by at a breakneck speed, yet the script meanders minutes long on much less important issues that were not set up properly in the earlier episodes. Events like Washington's death is brushed away in a throwaway line - quite a disservice for the man who shaped Adams' career and character, and even more so if it ended up on the cutting room's floor. Adams' most important presidential acts, like raising the residency limit for immigrants to get a citizenship or founding the US Navy are not even mentioned. I honestly learned more from a half-page article about his presidency than from an entire hour long episode from a series that is supposed to be about him! It is really hard to swallow this after the cleverly constructed first four episodes and besmirches the enjoyment of the entire series. Such a pity.
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