"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" (1986) - Episode Two "July 1861 - August 1862" Commentary

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" (1986) - EPISODE TWO "July 1861 - August 1862" Commentary

Episode Two began with the aftermath of Bull Run.  It also featured Brett Main Hazard and Semiramis' journey to South Carolina, Orry Main's wedding to his widowed neighbor Madeline LaMotte, and Elkhannah Bent and Ashton Main Huntoon's smuggling operations. I wish I could be objective about this particular episode, but I cannot. I dislike it too much. It is one of the main reasons why I have so much difficulty with "NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" in the first place.

My main beef with this episode  centered around the plot line that featured Brett and Semiramis' journey south to Mont Royal, following the Bull Run battle. First of all, I believe that this particular plot line was badly written. Brett and Semiramis should not have encountered any difficulties getting past Union lines, since nearly the entire Union Army had fled to Washington in disarray, following the battle. Second, once they had reached Richmond and delivered the message about Clarissa Main's injury, they could have accompanied Orry back to South Carolina. They would have arrived at Mont Royal in late July or early August 1861, instead of November 1861. And why did it take them so long to reach South Carolina in the first place? Surely, the two could have traveled by train. The Union Army had not began destroying Southern railroad tracks during the summer of 1861. And one last question – why on earth was a message sent to Brett in Washington D.C. in the first place? An accommodating neighbor of the Mains or a local doctor could have sent the message about Clarissa to Orry or their sister Ashton in Richmond. It would have been a lot easier. And quicker. Talk about bad writing!

I have a few other qualms about Episode Two.  I find it odd that Justin La Motte never suffered any legal repercussions for his attack upon Mont Royal in Episode One.  Nor did Orry Main encountered any repercussions for La Motte's death, when he rescued Madeline from her venal husband.  And could someone please explain Orry's war duties to Jefferson Davies and the Confederacy?  It is bad enough that he managed to procure such a high position within the Confederate Army, considering his previous military history.  But what exactly was his duty?  Was he the main quartermaster for the Confederate Army?  Was he involved in investigating war profiteers?  Or was he some unrealistic jack-of-all-trade?  In fact, I have the same complaint about George Hazard's position with the Union Army.  Like Orry, his previous military history was very limited.  Yet, he managed to become a military aide to President Lincoln and serve other duties for the Army - duties that seemed to be very varied.  I was especially shocked to find George attending one of Lincoln's Cabinet meetings.  Really?  Are they serious?  This is incredibly sloppy writing.  Both Charles Main and his fellow officer Lieutenant Ambrose Pell continue to unnecessarily cart around their swords, during their duties as scouts.  And I still see no signs of enlisted men under their command.  Episode Two also featured a moment when President Lincoln announced his "Emancipation Proclamation" to his cabinet . . . and George Hazard.  I realize this should have been a profound moment, but the pretentious dialogue left me feeling cold.

However, there were some good moments in this episode. George and Orry had a bittersweet reunion inside a barn, while both were traveling to their respective capitals. Charles visited the widowed Augusta Barclay’s farm after being injured by Union cavalry.  Stanley and Isobel Hazard scheme to profit from the war and make enough money to take over Hazard Iron.  And in one brief scene, Congressman Greene had an embarrassed reaction to a wounded soldier that did David Odgen Stiers’ skills proud as an actor.  Of all of these scenes, the one that really impressed me proved to be the one that featured Stanley and Isabel's scheming.  For me, this was a step up from their narrative in John Jakes' 1984 novel.   The reason I was so impressed by these scenes was due to the first-rate performances from the cast.  

The scenes I had earlier mentioned certainly benefited from the cast's excellent acting.  This was especially apparent by Jonathan Frakes and Mary Crosby's performances in the scenes that feature Stanley and Isobel, James Read and Patrick Swayze's performances in the scene that featured George and Orry's reunion, and also the performances by Lewis Smith, Kate McNeill and first-time actor John Nixon.  Both Philip Casnoff and Terri Garber continued to create amazing heat in their portrayals of Elkhannah Bent and Ashton Main Huntoon.  Kurtwood Smith gave an intense and fascinating portrayal of Billy Hazard's commander Hiram Burdan.  And Whip Hubley, an actor I have never been that particularly impressed with, gave an interesting performance as Billy's regimental rival, Lieutenant Stephen Kent. 

Kevin Connor continued to handle his actors with skill.  And the miniseries' photography by Jacques R. Marquette continued to strike me as colorful, but not particularly impressive.  But there is one aspect of this production that continued to really impress me was Robert Fletcher's costume designs - especially for the women.  Below are examples of his work in this episode:

But if I must be brutally frank, Episode Two featured some of the worst writing in this miniseries, and probably in the entire trilogy.  No amount of excellent performances or dazzling costume designs could improve my opinion or save what proved to be an otherwise dull and very disappointing episode.

"NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK II" (1986) - Episode One "June-July 1861" Commentary

"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 "BOOK II". And if I have to be honest, one would be right. 

It is odd that I would choose the second miniseries as the most problematic of the three. "BOOK II" is set during the four years of the Civil War – a historical conflict that has heavily attracted my attention for so many years that I cannot measure how long. "BOOK III", which had aired at least eight years after the second miniseries, was set during the early years of Reconstruction and has a reputation among the "NORTH AND SOUTH" fans as being inferior to the other two. But for some reason, I have more of a problem with "BOOK II". So I have decided to examine each of the six episodes of the 1986 miniseries to determine why this chapter in the "NORTH AND SOUTH" trilogy is such a problem for me. 

Without a doubt, Episode One of "BOOK II" is my favorite in the entire miniseries. It re-introduced the main characters from the first miniseries in the story. It also set the stage for the main characters’ experiences during the war for the rest of the miniseries. It featured an excellent opening shot on the streets of Washington D.C. that introduced both Brett Main Hazard, and the slave Semiramis. It also featured a well shot sequence that centered around a colorful ball at the Spotswood Hotel in Richmond, attended by Ashton and James Huntoon, and Elkhannah Bent. Most importantly, it featured one of my favorite battle scenes in the miniseries – namely the Battle of Bull Run that was fought near Manassas, Virginia on July 18, 1861. If I have to be frank, this interpretation of Bull Run remains my favorite. Director Kevin Connors filmed the entire sequence with great style and skill and composer Bill Conti injected it with a brash, yet haunting score that still give me goose bumps whenever I watch it. Even better, the sequence ended with actress Wendy Kilbourne uttering one of the best lines in the entire trilogy.

I certainly have no problems with the miniseries' production values.  Jacques R. Marquette's photography struck me as rather beautiful and colorful.  This was especially apparent in the opening Washington D.C., the Spotswood Hotel ball and Bull Run sequences.  If I have one complaint, I wish the photography had been a little sharper.  I feel that a sharper look would have allowed the miniseries' photography to look more colorful.  Joseph R. Jennings and his production designs team did an excellent job in re-creating the United States during the Civil War era, especially in many interior shots.  Bill Conti continued his excellent work as composer for the saga's production. But if there is one aspect of the miniseries' production values that really blew my mind were the costumes designed by Robert Fletcher.  I was especially impressed by the following costumes:

I do have a few quibbles about Episode One. First of all, it introduced Charles Main’s role as a cavalry scout for the Confederate Army. Considering that he started out as a Captain in this miniseries, it made no sense to me that he and another officer - a first lieutenant - would be participating scout duties without the assistance of enlisted men. I guess one could call it as an example of the story being historically inaccurate.  And I wish someone would explain why the Mains' neighbors (or doctor) sent word to Brett Main Hazard in Washington D.C. about the injuries her mother Clarissa Main had suffered when Mont Royal's barn was set on fire by Justin La Motte.  Would it have been a lot easier (and quicker) to send word to Orry Main or Ashton Main Huntoon, who were both in Richmond, Virginia? 

I find the idea of both George Hazard and Orry Main serving as military aides to their respective political leaders - Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis - very improbable. Following their graduation from West Point in 1846, the two friends had only served at least 18 months in the U.S. Army before resigning for personal reasons. Yet, after the outbreak of a civil war some thirteen years later, the audience is supposed to believe that both were able to secure such high positions within their respective armies? Especially when one considers the fact that neither were politically active between 1848 and 1861? I find this aspect of George and Orry's characters very illogical . . . even for a work of fiction.  By the way, the regiment that Billy Hazard had transferred to - the Volunteer Sharpshooters - did not fight at the Battle of Bull Run.  In fact, the Sharpshooters regiments did not begin recruitment until November 1861.

My last major quibble featured the character of Elkhannah Bent. What was he doing with the portrait of Madeline Fabray LaMotte’s mother? The audience knew that he had procured it from an expensive whorehouse in New Orleans that he had visited in the last miniseries. But Bent had no idea that Madeline was romantically involved with one of his nemesis, Orry Main, until after Ashton Main Huntoon informed him. He only knew that she was the wife of the Mains' neighbor, Justin LaMotte.  So, why did he bother to get his hands on the painting at a time when he was ignorant of the romantic and emotional connection between Orry and Madeline?

I certainly had no problems with the episode's performances.  The cast, more or less, gave solid performances.  But I was especially impressed by a handful.  Two of the better performances came from Parker Stevenson and Genie Francis, who portrayed the recently married Billy and Brett Hazard.  I was especially impressed by one scene in which the two nearly quarreled over Billy's decision to transfer from the Corps of Engineers to Hiram Berdan's Sharpshooters Regiment.  Terri Garber and Philip Casnoff literally burned the screen in their portrayal of the early stages of Ashton Main Huntoon and Elkhannah Bent's affair.  This episode featured another quarrel . . . one between George Hazard and his sister, Virgilia, who had arrived in Washington D.C. to become a nurse.  Both James Read and Kirstie Alley were superb in that scene.  And finally, I have to single out Forest Whitaker, who did a superb job in expressing the resentful anger that his character, Cuffey, felt toward his situation as a slave and toward his owners, the Mains.

Although Episode One featured some stumbling blocks that I have already mentioned, I must say that it turned out rather well.  For me, it is probably the best episode in the entire 1986 miniseries.  Not only did it featured some excellent performances, it was capped with a superb sequence featuring the Battle of Bull Run, directed with skill by Kevin Connor.