Before there was the HBO Series on John Adams, before there was the book "John Adams" by David McCullough, there was the 13 hour 1976 PBS mini series the " The Adams Chronicles." The series ran as part of Americas Bicentennial celebration. Back in 1976 I faithfully watched all 13 hours on TV. This was back in the "old days" before consumer VCR's, so I didn't record the series. Between last night and today I watched all 13 hour of the mini series for the first time since 1976 and it is still wonderful. I had plans this three day weekend to stain the decks around our house but what with the rainy weather those plans were scraped. The min series came out on DVD a few weeks ago and my daughter gave me the DVD set for my birthday. The series covers four generations of the Adams family including the two US Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. If you love American history this mini series will take you from the American Revolution up through the 1890's. It tells how the Adams family sacrificed their own self interest in service of their country. There are love stories,tragedies, sadness, happiness, accomplishments and it is all true. Watching four generations come and go gives you a great perspective on your own mortality and you realise that some things you think are important at the moment are not important at all. I had a great day! Yes, I will get the HBO series when it comes out on DVD in a few weeks and I have read David McCullough's book. Thanks for the present.
(To read more about the mini-series click on the title for a link to it's IMDB page)
