Upcoming History channel mini-series 'Sons of Liberty' Jan 25

[boileralum]

I want to be excited about watching this next week, but I can't be the only Appleseeder who is disappointed to see Paul Revere in the preview shouting out "The British are coming!", can I? Hopefully the rest of the show will be a little better researched.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I want to be excited about watching this next week, but I can't be the only Appleseeder who is disappointed to see Paul Revere in the preview shouting out "The British are coming!", can I? Hopefully the rest of the show will be a little better researched.

Interestingly enough, it's been said that Revere probably never said "the British are coming," because quite simply, they the Revolutionaries considered themselves "British" as well.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I am interested in seeing this series as well

 

[CampingJosh]

I have it set to record. It'll probably be good TV no matter how close they get it to history.

 

[Nate Suns]

If I remember correctly, they did a pretty good job on the little bit of coverage they gave 1775 in the "America: The Story of Us" series. I'm sure they'll keep it up.

 

[dusty88]

I want to be excited about watching this next week, but I can't be the only Appleseeder who is disappointed to see Paul Revere in the preview shouting out "The British are coming!", can I? Hopefully the rest of the show will be a little better researched.

Yeah, I think that's what he meant.

I've been following the website of facebook page called "Revive 1775" started by a teacher whose interest in 1775 was sparked while taking an Appleseed class.

She's been making comments on shows like this, including some disappointments in the American Heroes channel "Battle of Lexington".

https://www.facebook.com/Revive1775/timeline?ref=page_internal

 

[boileralum]

Interestingly enough, it's been said that Revere probably never said "the British are coming," because quite simply, they the Revolutionaries considered themselves "British" as well.

Correct, which is why I said I was disappointed to see him shouting that

 

[dusty88]

Excerpts on Sons of Liberty from Journal of the American Revolution (full text here Discover the Truth Behind History Channel?s Sons of Liberty Series | Journal of the American Revolution )



"....You have to dig a bit to find it (it’s never explicitly stated in the trailers or promotional content), but on History’s website, they make it clear that this program is “is a dramatic interpretation of events that sparked a revolution. It is historical fiction, not a documentary.” It goes on to state that one of the goals is to “focus on real events that have shaped our past.” Whatever you do, don’t take that statement too literally.





As historical fiction (actually, it’s more of an alternate history) the miniseries is very successful. The acting is superb, some of the scenes are very clever, the special effects are fantastic (and believable), and—believe it or not—they actually included variations in the colors of the British soldiers’ uniforms (not all of the red coats have buff lapels, cuff and collars; some have yellow and some blue)! This is actually a huge step up from previous dramatizations of British soldiers.


While it plays well for those who are in on the secret, if you’re looking for facts about the Sons of Liberty or information about the War for American Independence, don’t plan on discovering those facts in this miniseries; you won’t find them. Instead of portraying actual historical events and giving each character balance and depth, the writers and producers have gone with a standard archetype of good and evil—you can probably guess which side is good and which is evil. So instead of the real General Thomas Gage, the viewer is told (in promotional material) that Gage is a brutal dictator-type figure who is abusive to his wife and orders his soldiers to act just as ruthlessly to the point of igniting the fuse of revolution. It’s complete bunk, of course, as we’ll see below......"





Bummer.

 

[chipbennett]

I've got it set to record on the DVR. I enjoy historical fiction.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Correct, which is why I said I was disappointed to see him shouting that

Oh gotcha, read that wrong. I take it at Appleseed (and I always think Japanese manga when I see that) teaches history too?

 

[Dosproduction]

id watch it if I had tv. But I got rid of that propaganda machine a long time ago. Now the only propaganda comes from INGO. God im doomed.

 

[boileralum]

Oh gotcha, read that wrong. I take it at Appleseed (and I always think Japanese manga when I see that) teaches history too?

Yes. Appleseed teaches the history of the beginnings of the Revolutionary war, especially the events on April 19, 1775 (Lexington, Concorde & more), in addition to teaching rifle marksmanship skills. I highly recommend coming out to one to see what it is all about!

 

[9mmfan]

I will at least catch the first night. See if it jives with what really happened.

 

[dusty88]

I've got it set to record on the DVR. I enjoy historical fiction.

I do as well, but when I think of "historical" fiction as opposed to just regular fiction, I like to see the "historical" part be somewhat accurate.

For example, they might have used correct details and then used fictional characters for their personal drama. I guess it rubs the nerd in me the wrong way when I have to be sure that I don't accidentally create a "fact" in my head because I read or watched a historical fiction story.

Diana Gabaldon, the author of Outlander, puts a lot of research into her books which include 1700s Scotland and America. Her main characters are fictional but the culture, events, etc are pretty true to reality. When her characters run up against a famous character in her stories, she tries to keep that famous character true to recorded accounts.

 

[Iroquois]

Sorry, truly disappointed. Sad to think "Sleepy Hollow" gets so much right and " Sons of Liberty " ,a History Channel production, gets so much wrong.

 

[Classic]

2 phrases used in the dialog - "bat **** crazy" and "that's a bridge to far". Didn't seem to fit.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Oh gotcha, read that wrong. I take it at Appleseed (and I always think Japanese manga when I see that) teaches history too?

You eat boiled peanuts and know what manga is and have spent this much time on INGO and don't know what an Appleseed is.

You're a complicated person.

 

[gstanley102]

Watching the series I was reminded that we need to take any one authors, or directors, interpretation of history with a grain of salt.
They will invariably do what they think they need to do, to make it a good read or good watch.

As an example if you watched Turn on AMC, read the book it is supposedly based on, Washington's Spies by Alexander Rose.
When you've read that book, read Kilmeade's George Washngton's Secret Six.

 

[bwframe]

I'm liking the series so far. I'm not an uber detailed history buff as some of you seem to be. I like a good action drama though.

Maybe I missed where Revere shouted "British are coming?" Thought sure I heard it as "Red Coats are coming?"

 

[grunt soldier]

I'm liking the series so far. I'm not an uber detailed history buff as some of you seem to be. I like a good action drama though.

Maybe I missed where Revere shouted "British are coming?" Thought sure I heard it as "Red Coats are coming?"

I'm not positive in the actual show but during all their advertisements leading up to the show it had PR riding around screaming the brittish are coming. kinda what through me off to begin with. I didn't expect it to be real accurate either way though.