Seldon's Blog

THE MAJOR PROBLEMS OF "HEAVEN AND HELL: NORTH AND SOUTH BOOK III" (1994)

Any fan of the John Jakes’ NORTH AND SOUTH trilogy would be more than happy to tell you that the worst entry in the author’s saga about two American families in the mid 19th century was the last one, ”HEAVEN AND HELL: North and South Book III”. Those fans would be speaking of the 1994 television adaptation, not the novel itself. Unlike many of these fans, I do not share their low opinion of the three-part miniseries. But I will not deny that ”HEAVEN AND HELL” had its share of problems. Below is a list of I consider to be its major flaws. ( Read more... )

I wrote this article about one of the major characters in the "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy, written by John Jakes and adapted for television by David Wolper: ( Read more... )

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" (1986) - EPISODE THREE "September 1862 - August 1863"

I have mixed feelings about Episode Three of "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II". Fortunately, most of my feelings are positive. This episode featured the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Gettysburg, and a major schism in the Main family, regarding Madeline Main and her two sisters-in-law - Brett Hazard and Ashton Huntoon. But there was still certain aspects of this episode that I did not find particularly appealing. ( Read more... )

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" (1986) - EPISODE ONE "June-July 1861" Commentary

Judging from past articles I have written about the "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy, one would surmise that of the three miniseries that have aired in the past decades (two in the 1980s and one in the 1990s) that I seemed to have the most problem with the second miniseries in the trilogy, namely "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II". And if I have to be honest, one would be right. ( Read more... )

CONFLICTING VIEWS ON THE “NORTH AND SOUTH” TRILOGY

I have been a fan of John Jakes’ ”NORTH AND SOUTH” trilogy, ever since I read the first novel - 1982's "North and South" when I was in my twenties. After reading both the first and the second novel - "Love and War" (1984), I became a fan of the miniseries, upon which the miniseries are based. Because of my love of Jakes’ saga, I began perusing many websites created by fans of the saga and joined a few Yahoo discussion groups. And what I had discovered about the saga’s fandom has left me feeling not only shocked, but wondering if these fans had any idea what Jakes was trying to convey in his story. ( Read more... )

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" (1985) - EPISODE FIVE "1856-1860" Commentary

Following the emotional and ugly incidents from Episode Four, events for both the Hazard and Main families become even uglier, as the United States inches closer to a full blown civil war. The ugliness culminates in a major event in the form of John Brown's famous October 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry in (then) western Virginia. ( Read more... )

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I" (1985) - EPISODE THREE "1848-1854" Commentary

Episode Three of the 1985 miniseries, "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I", immediately picked up where the previous episode left off. And unlike Episode Two, this particular episode stretches over a slightly longer period of time of six-and-a-half years - between the late winter of 1848 and the early summer of 1854. ( Read more... )

With the recent release of Steven Spielberg's new movie, "LINCOLN" and the upcoming release of Quentin Tarrantino's latest film, "DJANGO UNCHAINED", I found myself thinking about movies I have seen about slavery - especially slavery practiced in the United States. Below is a list of my favorite movies on the subject in chronological order: ( Read more... )

Below are images from "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I", the 1985 television adaptation of John Jakes' 1982 novel. Directed by Richard T. Heffron, the six-part miniseries starred James Read and Patrick Swayze:( Read more... )