Roots: The Next Generations
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Roots: The Next Generations
| Roots: The Next Generations | |
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| Genre | Period piece |
| Creator | Alex Haley |
| Directed by | John Erman (eps. 1, 3, 4, 7) Charles S. Dubin (ep. 2) Georg Stanford Brown (ep. 5) Lloyd Richards (ep. 6) |
| Produced by | Stan Margulies |
| Starring | James Earl Jones Dorian Harewood Irene Cara Georg Stanford Brown Stan Shaw Debbi Morgan |
| Music by | Gerald Fried |
| Budget | US$16.6 million |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English/Mandinka |
| Original channel | Sur Sagar TV |
| Original run | February 18, 1979 – February 24, 1979 |
| Running time | 840 minutes |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Preceded by | Roots (TV miniseries) |
| Followed by | Roots: The Gift |
Roots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the fictional story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s. This sequel to the 1977 miniseries is based on the last seven chapters of Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family and additional material by him.
Roots: The Next Generations was shot with a budget of $16.6 million, nearly three times that of the original.[1]
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Contents
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Plot summary
The story resumes in 1882 where Tom Harvey (Georg Stanford Brown), the great-grandson of Kunta Kinte, has become a prominent leader of the black community in Henning, Tennessee. Although he has established a working relationship with the town's white leader, Colonel Warner (Henry Fonda), race relations in the community are still strained. Jim Crow laws, literacy tests, and later the Ku Klux Klan increase the tensions.
A sub plot involves Colonel Warner's youngest son, Jim (Richard Thomas) falling in love with African American school teacher, Carrie Barden (Fay Hauser). Colonel Warner disapproves of this and gets Tom to let her go or close down the school. After having an argument with Tom's oldest daughter, Elizabeth (Debbi Morgan), who had not accepted a boy that she fell in love with, based on the fact that he was half white, Tom decides to let her stay. Jim and Carrie get married in Memphis, and Col. Warner disowns his son by cutting him out of his will, but will ensure that no harm comes to them.
Tom's youngest daughter Cynthia (Bever-Leigh Banfield) falls in love and marries hard-working Will Palmer (Stan Shaw). Despite the racial oppression, Will wins the trust of the local business leaders and is allowed to take over the local lumberyard after its previous owner Bob Campbell (Harry Morgan) ran it into the ground.
As both the town and the lumber business grows, Will and Cynthia are able to send their daughter Bertha (Irene Cara) to Lane College in September 1914, by which time both Tom and his wife Irene (Lynne Moody) have died. There, Bertha meets and falls in love with classmate Simon Haley (Dorian Harewood), the son of a sharecropper. With an insufficient amount of money to attend A&T College, Simon gets a summer job as a porter for the Pullman Company. He meets a passenger who later identifies himself as R. S. M. Boyce (James Daly), an executive of the Curtis Publishing Company, and offers to help pay Simon's tuition and board.
Soon after he graduates from A&T, Simon enlists in the military to fight in World War I and is deployed to France with a segregated, all-black unit. He returns to America after the war and, despite the problems associated with the 1918 flu pandemic and the Red Summer of 1919, reunites with and marries Bertha. Simon then gets a job as a professor of agriculture at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical Institute. Soon Simon and Bertha have their first child: Alex. During the New Deal era, Simon tries to organize the local farmers, much to the resistance of the local white cotton landowners. Some time later, Bertha dies from internal bleeding, and Alex (Kristoff St. John) and his younger brothers are reared in part by their grandmother Cynthia (now portrayed by Beah Richards) and great-aunt Elizabeth. Cynthia shows him a tree limb that Will had been working on before he died which shows historical dates and the names of their alleged ancestors dating back to Kunta Kinte.
As World War II approaches, Simon convinces his seventeen-year-old son Alex (now portrayed by Damon Evans) to enlist in the military. Alex joins the U.S. Coast Guard. During his service in the Pacific theater of operations, he teaches himself how to write stories, also gaining help from a officer (Andy Griffith). After the war, he successfully petitions the Coast Guard for permission to transfer into the field of journalism, but his career ambitions end up costing him his marriage to his first wife Nan (Debbie Allen).
Entering his 40s, Alex (now played by James Earl Jones) has become an established journalist in the 1960s, drawing high-profile interviews with such figures as George Lincoln Rockwell (Marlon Brando) and Malcolm X (Al Freeman, Jr.), and collaborating with the latter to write The Autobiography of Malcolm X. A visit to his relatives in Henning then sparks his desire to research the rest of his family history. Eventually, Alex travels to the African nation of Gambia and listens to a griot (tribal historian) in Jufureh.
Cast
- Georg Stanford Brown - Tom Harvey
- Lynne Moody - Irene Harvey
- Debbi Morgan - Elizabeth Harvey
- Beah Richards - Cynthia Harvey Palmer (older)
- Henry Fonda - Colonel Frederick Warner
- Olivia de Havilland - Mrs. Warner
- Richard Thomas - Jim Warner
- Marc Singer - Andy Warner
- Stan Shaw - Will Palmer
- Fay Hauser - Carrie Barden
- Irene Cara - Bertha Palmer Haley
- Avon Long - Chicken George Moore
- Roger E. Mosley - Lee Garnet
- Paul Koslo - Earl Crowther
- Harry Morgan - Bob Campbell
- Dorian Harewood - Simon Haley
- Ruby Dee - Queen Haley
- Hal Williams - Alec Haley
- Greg Morris - Beeman Jones
- Brian Stokes Mitchell - John Dolan
- Ja'net Dubois - Sally Harvey
- Slim Gaillard - Sam Wesley
- George Voskovec - Mr. Goldstein
- Jason Wingreen - Judge Quartermain
- Charles Robinson - Luke Bettiger
- Ossie Davis - Dad Jones
- Kene Holliday - Detroit
- Albert Popwell - Fader
- John Rubinstein - Lieutenant Hamilton Ten Eyck
- Bernie Casey - Bubba Haywood
- Pam Grier - Francey
- Roosevelt Grier - Big Slew Johnson
- James Daly - RSM Boyce
- Percy Rodriguez - Boyd Moffatt
- Robert Culp - Lyle Pettijohn
- Dina Merrill - Mrs. Hickinger
- Brock Peters - Ab Decker
- Bever-Leigh Banfield - Cynthia Palmer (young adult)
- Paul Winfield - Dr. Horace Huguley
- Lynn Hamilton - Cousin Georgia
- Kristoff St. John - Alex Haley (child)
- Logan Ramsey - D.L. Lewis
- Dennis Fimple - Sheriff Duffy
- Damon Evans - Alex Haley (age 16-28)
- Debbie Allen - Nan Branch Haley
- Andy Griffith - Commander Robert Munroe
- Diahann Carroll - Zeona Haley
- Rafer Johnson - Nelson
- Carmen McRae - Lily
- John Hancock - Scotty
- Telma Hopkins - Daisy
- Kim Fields - Lydia Haley
- Milt Kogan - Mel Klein
- James Earl Jones - Alex Haley (age 39-46)
- Howard Rollins - George Haley
- Marlon Brando - George Lincoln Rockwell
- Al Freeman, Jr. - Malcolm X
- Barbara Barrie - Dodie Brattle
- Linda Hopkins - Singer
- Bobby Short - Pianist
- Lee Chamberlin - Odile Richards
- Norman Fell - Bernie Raymond
- James Broderick - Dr. Lewis
- Michael Constantine - Dr. Vansina
- Johnny Sekka - Ebau Manga
- Zakes Mokae - African Minister
- Claudia McNeil - Sister Will Ada
- Bianca Ferguson - Sophia
Production
Producers Stan Margulies and David L. Wolper were initially reluctant to make a sequel to the 1977 miniseries, but later agreed to do it.[1] Writer Ernest Kinoy then originally wrote an outline for Roots: The Next Generations based on the final seven chapters of the fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family and about 1,000 pages worth of family recollections that Alex Haley dictated into a tape recorder.[1]
The producers aimed for casting high quality actors, and basically had no trouble signing the people they wanted because of the success of the first miniseries.[1] While Georg Stanford Brown reprises his role as Tom Harvey, James Earl Jones was selected partially due to his physical resemblance to Haley. Wanting to also participate in the miniseries, Marlon Brando basically just called out of the blue and asked for a small yet memorable role; he was cast as George Lincoln Rockwell.[1]
Broadcast history
Episode list
Roots: The Next Generations originally aired on ABC as 7 two-hour episodes for consecutive nights from February 18 to February 24, 1979.
| Episode | Approximate time period | Featured Kinte family member(s) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken George | Tom and Irene Harvey | Elizabeth Harvey | Cynthia Harvey Palmer | Will Palmer | Bertha Palmer Haley | Simon Haley | Alex Haley | ||
| Part I | 1882 – 1883 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Part II | 1896 – 1897 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Part III | 1914 – 1917 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Part IV | 1917 – 1921 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Part V | 1932 – 1933 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Part VI | 1939 – 1950 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Part VII | 1960 – 1967 | Yes | Yes | ||||||
Ratings and viewers
The miniseries was watched by an estimated 110 million[2][3][4][5][6] viewers and averaged a 30.1 rating[4] and 45% share[4] of the audience.
| Episode | Weekly Ratings Ranking[5][a] |
Number of Households |
Number of Viewers |
Rating | Share | Date | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part I | #8 | N/A | 65 million[7] | 27.8%[7] | 41%[7] | February 18, 1979 | ABC |
| Part II | #9 | 22 million[3] | 65 million[8] | 29.5%[3] | N/A | February 19, 1979 | ABC |
| Part III | #4 | 24.4 million[3] | 70 million[8] | 32.7%[3] | 50%[8] | February 20, 1979 | ABC |
| Part IV | #6 | 23.7 million[3] | N/A | 31.8%[3] | N/A | February 21, 1979 | ABC |
| Part V | #7 | 23.6 million[3] | N/A | 31.7%[3] | N/A | February 22, 1979 | ABC |
| Part VI | #10 | 21.5 million[3] | N/A | 28.9%[3] | N/A | February 23, 1979 | ABC |
| Part VII | #11 | N/A | N/A | 28.6%[3] | N/A | February 24, 1979 | ABC |
^[a] Part I aired a week prior to the rest of the series in the ratings.
TV One
In July and September 2007, the network TV One reran the series hosted by several of the original cast including Lynne Moody, Dorian Harewood, Stan Shaw, Kristoff St. John, and Irene Cara.
DVD release
The miniseries was released on DVD by Warner Bros. on October 9, 2007
References
- ^ a b c d e Rich, Frank (February 18, 1979). "Television: A Super Sequel to Haley's Comet". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912386,00.html. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ "ABC Soard in Ratings With 'Roots' Sequel". Schenectady Gazette: p. 12. February 24, 1979. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MgwhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UnIFAAAAIBAJ&dq=roots%20the%20next%20generations%20ratings&pg=1194%2C7147519. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "110 million see 'Roots' video special". The Tuscaloosa News: p. 8. March 1, 1979. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nDAdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0p4EAAAAIBAJ&dq=roots%20the%20next%20generations%20ratings&pg=6626%2C36002. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ a b c "'Roots' Ratings Dip". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: p. 29. February 28, 1979. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MkwNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OG0DAAAAIBAJ&dq=roots%20the%20next%20generations%20ratings&pg=4905%2C3529170. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ a b Hanauer, Joan (February 28, 1979). "ABC Takes "Roots" Again". The Bryan Times. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-xMpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lVEDAAAAIBAJ&dq=roots%20the%20next%20generations%20ratings&pg=5350%2C4725707. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ Museum of Broadcast Communications
- ^ a b c "Sunday's 'Roots II' Tops 2 Movies But 'Mork & Mindy' Leads Nielsens". Toledo Blade: p. P-4. February 20, 1979.
- ^ a b c Harrison, Bernie (February 24, 1979). "Final 'Roots" Series May Lose Viewers". The Times-News: p. 11. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AkcaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rSQEAAAAIBAJ&dq=roots%20the%20next%20generations%20ratings&pg=4602%2C5131210. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
External links
- Roots: The Next Generations at the Internet Movie Database
- Roots: The Next Generations at AllRovi
- Roots: The Next Generations at TV.com
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