The 1980s saw two TV mini-series that focused on the Civil War - "The Blue and the Gray" (TB&TG) and "North & South" (N&S). Of the two, TB&TG is clearly the better series. But N&S is an excellent series as well.
Why is TB&TG the better of the two series? It focused on the lives of the ordinary, everyday people who fought in and lived through the Civil War.
TB&TG focuses on two sides of a family that is torn apart by the war: The Geysers of Virginia and their cousins, the Hales of Pennsylvania. The Geysers own a small farm outside Charlottesville. The Hales operate a newspaper in Gettysburg.
Caught in the middle is the central character of the series, John Geyser (John Hammond), a talented sketch artist. He splits from his Virginia family after a black friend of his is lynched for harboring fugitive slaves. John will not fight for the Confederacy - but he won't join the Union army either, since he might be asked to bear arms against his three Virginia brothers.
On the advice of Abraham Lincoln (played in a magnificent performance by Gregory Peck), John chooses to stay neutral. He becomes an artist-correspondent for Harper's Weekly, reporting on the battles and sketching what he sees. We see the war primarily through John's story, and through the story of his friend, Jonas Steele (Stacy Keach), a dashing professional soldier who marries John's cousin, Mary Hale (Julia Duffy).
Another major character in TB&TG is Malachi Hale (Brian Kerwin), Mary's brother and John's cousin. Through Malachi, we get the story of an ordinary Civil War soldier. Malachi enlists in the Union Army, thinking it will be a grand adventure. But he is quickly introduced to the horrors of war at the Battle of Bull Run.
Only gradually will Malachi become a competent soldier. During a battle in the Peninsula Campaign, he runs away in fright. But later that day, he captures six surrendering Confederate soldiers with an unloaded rifle, more through luck than anything else. For his "heroic actions," Malachi is promoted to Corporal.
Later, Malachi tells another soldier, "They gave me a promotion, by mistake. After that, I was more scared of being scared than I was of being shot at." When his sergeant is killed during the Battle of the Wilderness, Malachi assumes command of his squad of soldiers, effectively becoming their leader.
TB&TG takes great pains to be historically accurate. In one scene, Union soldiers are swimming in the Chickahominy River, when they see a tiny wooden boat sailing into their midst. A Southern-accented voice calls from the opposite bank of the river. "Hey, Yank! That there's a trading boat! She's loaded with good chewing tobacco! Can you send us some coffee in return!" The Union soldiers load up the trading boat with a bag of coffee and send it back. This kind of trading between Union and Confederate soldiers actually took place during the war.
The battles are presented with historical accuracy. We see what really happened at Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the Battle of the Wilderness. We also see how the war was made up of minor skirmishes. At the Battle of Geyser Hill, a group of Union soldiers attacks the Geyser Farm, and John is forced to choose between his vow to stay neutral and using violence to defend his home.
Also, TB&TG shows us the toll of the war on these two families. John's brothers, Matthew and Mark, are both killed in battle. Mary Hale is killed by a stray bullet at Gettysburg. Malachi's brother, James, dies of dysentery in a Union army hospital tent, before the war even begins. In a poignant scene at the end of the war, John, Malachi, Jonas, and others hold a torchlight parade in a Union army camp, singing "Tenting Tonight," in memory of the loved ones they have lost.
On the other hand, "North & South" was a soap opera - a well-done soap opera, yes, but still a soap opera. In a time when many of the top-rated TV shows were soap operas - "Dallas," "Dynasty," "Falcon Crest," "Knots Landing" - "North & South" took the soap opera elements of love, sex, money, power, and betrayal, and set them against the backdrop of the Civil War.
N&S was about the leaders of the Civil War. It was about the West Point graduates who became generals, and led the Union and Confederate armies into battle. It was also about the "American aristocracy" - the wealthy families of the North and South, and how their lives and loves were affected by the war.
N&S was about two wealthy families. The Hazards of Pennsylvania were iron makers, industrialists who manufactured cannons for the Civil War. The Mains of South Carolina owned a rice plantation, worked by slaves.
The scope of N&S was more epic. It took two (actually, three) mini-series to tell its tale. The first, "North & South," focused on the pre-war period, in the lead-up to the Civil War. The second series, "North & South Book II," focused on the Civil War years. The third, 1994's "Heaven & Hell: North & South Book III," focused on the Reconstruction period. (About "Heaven & Hell," the less said, the better. It should never have been made in the first place.)
The story of N&S opens in 1842, when Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazard (James Read) become friends while they are students at West Point. Their classmates will be generals in the coming Civil War - Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, George Pickett, and Thomas (later "Stonewall") Jackson. Orry and George also meet Elkanah Bent (Philip Casnoff), who will be their lifelong enemy.
N&S follows Orry and George as they fight in the 1846 Mexican War, getting their first taste of the horrors of battle. After the war, the Hazards and Mains remain friends, often spending their summers together in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. But "Secession Fever," the Abolitionist movement, and the divisions between the two sides of the country threaten to tear this friendship apart as the Civil War approaches.
As with most soap operas, there is a lot of "conniving" in N&S. Orry Main must deal with his conniving sister, Ashton (played by Terri Garber as one of the all-time great soap opera "witches"), and with her conniving lovers, Forbes LaMotte and Elkanah Bent, who becomes a war profiteer. Orry also falls in love with Madeline LaMotte (Leslie-Ann Down), the wife of his brutish, abusive neighbor, plantation owner Justin LaMotte (David Carradine), and Orry and Madeline carry on a secret affair.
In the North, George Hazard must deal with his sister, Virgilia (Kirstie Alley), a fire-spitting Abolitionist, who almost betrays Orry to a lynch mob. Later, during the war, Virgilia becomes a Union army nurse, and must treat Orry after he is wounded in battle. George must also deal with his weak-willed brother, Stanley Hazard (Jonathan Frakes, and Stanley's conniving wife Isabel (who was played by three different actresses, in each of the three mini-series).
Unfortunately, the soap opera elements in N&S often overshadowed the Civil War itself. It was as if the war was a "setting" for the story of the Hazards and the Mains, in the same way that the city of Dallas was a "setting" for the story of the Ewings.
N&S very rarely looked at the lives of soldiers in the Civil War. None of the battle scenes - at Antietam, Gettysburg, etc. - was depicted with much historical accuracy. They mostly showed the soldiers running across the battlefield, shooting at each other, with the Hazards and Mains in the lead.
Also, N&S never examined the true cost of the war. Notice how the principal "soldier characters" - George and Billy Hazard, Orry and Charles Main - are all still alive at the end of "North & South Book II." None of them were killed in any of the Civil War battles they fought in.
In N&S, only the villains were killed - sort of. (Elkanah Bent is "killed off" in an explosion at the end of "North & South Book II," only to return in "Heaven & Hell," with no explanation given as to how he survived.)
Still, both "The Blue and the Gray" and "North & South" Books I and II are excellent mini-series, and it's well-worth your time to watch them all.
Why is TB&TG the better of the two series? It focused on the lives of the ordinary, everyday people who fought in and lived through the Civil War.
TB&TG focuses on two sides of a family that is torn apart by the war: The Geysers of Virginia and their cousins, the Hales of Pennsylvania. The Geysers own a small farm outside Charlottesville. The Hales operate a newspaper in Gettysburg.
Caught in the middle is the central character of the series, John Geyser (John Hammond), a talented sketch artist. He splits from his Virginia family after a black friend of his is lynched for harboring fugitive slaves. John will not fight for the Confederacy - but he won't join the Union army either, since he might be asked to bear arms against his three Virginia brothers.
On the advice of Abraham Lincoln (played in a magnificent performance by Gregory Peck), John chooses to stay neutral. He becomes an artist-correspondent for Harper's Weekly, reporting on the battles and sketching what he sees. We see the war primarily through John's story, and through the story of his friend, Jonas Steele (Stacy Keach), a dashing professional soldier who marries John's cousin, Mary Hale (Julia Duffy).
Another major character in TB&TG is Malachi Hale (Brian Kerwin), Mary's brother and John's cousin. Through Malachi, we get the story of an ordinary Civil War soldier. Malachi enlists in the Union Army, thinking it will be a grand adventure. But he is quickly introduced to the horrors of war at the Battle of Bull Run.
Only gradually will Malachi become a competent soldier. During a battle in the Peninsula Campaign, he runs away in fright. But later that day, he captures six surrendering Confederate soldiers with an unloaded rifle, more through luck than anything else. For his "heroic actions," Malachi is promoted to Corporal.
Later, Malachi tells another soldier, "They gave me a promotion, by mistake. After that, I was more scared of being scared than I was of being shot at." When his sergeant is killed during the Battle of the Wilderness, Malachi assumes command of his squad of soldiers, effectively becoming their leader.
TB&TG takes great pains to be historically accurate. In one scene, Union soldiers are swimming in the Chickahominy River, when they see a tiny wooden boat sailing into their midst. A Southern-accented voice calls from the opposite bank of the river. "Hey, Yank! That there's a trading boat! She's loaded with good chewing tobacco! Can you send us some coffee in return!" The Union soldiers load up the trading boat with a bag of coffee and send it back. This kind of trading between Union and Confederate soldiers actually took place during the war.
The battles are presented with historical accuracy. We see what really happened at Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the Battle of the Wilderness. We also see how the war was made up of minor skirmishes. At the Battle of Geyser Hill, a group of Union soldiers attacks the Geyser Farm, and John is forced to choose between his vow to stay neutral and using violence to defend his home.
Also, TB&TG shows us the toll of the war on these two families. John's brothers, Matthew and Mark, are both killed in battle. Mary Hale is killed by a stray bullet at Gettysburg. Malachi's brother, James, dies of dysentery in a Union army hospital tent, before the war even begins. In a poignant scene at the end of the war, John, Malachi, Jonas, and others hold a torchlight parade in a Union army camp, singing "Tenting Tonight," in memory of the loved ones they have lost.
On the other hand, "North & South" was a soap opera - a well-done soap opera, yes, but still a soap opera. In a time when many of the top-rated TV shows were soap operas - "Dallas," "Dynasty," "Falcon Crest," "Knots Landing" - "North & South" took the soap opera elements of love, sex, money, power, and betrayal, and set them against the backdrop of the Civil War.
N&S was about the leaders of the Civil War. It was about the West Point graduates who became generals, and led the Union and Confederate armies into battle. It was also about the "American aristocracy" - the wealthy families of the North and South, and how their lives and loves were affected by the war.
N&S was about two wealthy families. The Hazards of Pennsylvania were iron makers, industrialists who manufactured cannons for the Civil War. The Mains of South Carolina owned a rice plantation, worked by slaves.
The scope of N&S was more epic. It took two (actually, three) mini-series to tell its tale. The first, "North & South," focused on the pre-war period, in the lead-up to the Civil War. The second series, "North & South Book II," focused on the Civil War years. The third, 1994's "Heaven & Hell: North & South Book III," focused on the Reconstruction period. (About "Heaven & Hell," the less said, the better. It should never have been made in the first place.)
The story of N&S opens in 1842, when Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) and George Hazard (James Read) become friends while they are students at West Point. Their classmates will be generals in the coming Civil War - Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, George Pickett, and Thomas (later "Stonewall") Jackson. Orry and George also meet Elkanah Bent (Philip Casnoff), who will be their lifelong enemy.
N&S follows Orry and George as they fight in the 1846 Mexican War, getting their first taste of the horrors of battle. After the war, the Hazards and Mains remain friends, often spending their summers together in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. But "Secession Fever," the Abolitionist movement, and the divisions between the two sides of the country threaten to tear this friendship apart as the Civil War approaches.
As with most soap operas, there is a lot of "conniving" in N&S. Orry Main must deal with his conniving sister, Ashton (played by Terri Garber as one of the all-time great soap opera "witches"), and with her conniving lovers, Forbes LaMotte and Elkanah Bent, who becomes a war profiteer. Orry also falls in love with Madeline LaMotte (Leslie-Ann Down), the wife of his brutish, abusive neighbor, plantation owner Justin LaMotte (David Carradine), and Orry and Madeline carry on a secret affair.
In the North, George Hazard must deal with his sister, Virgilia (Kirstie Alley), a fire-spitting Abolitionist, who almost betrays Orry to a lynch mob. Later, during the war, Virgilia becomes a Union army nurse, and must treat Orry after he is wounded in battle. George must also deal with his weak-willed brother, Stanley Hazard (Jonathan Frakes, and Stanley's conniving wife Isabel (who was played by three different actresses, in each of the three mini-series).
Unfortunately, the soap opera elements in N&S often overshadowed the Civil War itself. It was as if the war was a "setting" for the story of the Hazards and the Mains, in the same way that the city of Dallas was a "setting" for the story of the Ewings.
N&S very rarely looked at the lives of soldiers in the Civil War. None of the battle scenes - at Antietam, Gettysburg, etc. - was depicted with much historical accuracy. They mostly showed the soldiers running across the battlefield, shooting at each other, with the Hazards and Mains in the lead.
Also, N&S never examined the true cost of the war. Notice how the principal "soldier characters" - George and Billy Hazard, Orry and Charles Main - are all still alive at the end of "North & South Book II." None of them were killed in any of the Civil War battles they fought in.
In N&S, only the villains were killed - sort of. (Elkanah Bent is "killed off" in an explosion at the end of "North & South Book II," only to return in "Heaven & Hell," with no explanation given as to how he survived.)
Still, both "The Blue and the Gray" and "North & South" Books I and II are excellent mini-series, and it's well-worth your time to watch them all.