There was a time when the mini-series was a television event.  Beginning with Roots, networks would plan for multiple-night showings of an adaptation of some literary work.  Most of these were quite well done with more attention to detail and depth of characters than could ever be conveyed in a two or three hour movie.  It’s a shame that in many ways we’ve lost this genre.

Aired in 1982, The Blue and the Gray is based on the works of Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Catton.  This miniseries depicts life in the United States just prior to and during the Civil War mostly as seen through the eyes of an “artistic correspondent” or what we would call today a photo-journalist except his calling was drawing what he saw.  The mini-series was commended at the time for its attention to historical accuracy.

Paul Winfield is John Henry, a freed black man and potter in Virginia.  He’s suffering through a backlash of sorts after events at Harper’s Ferry have made residents frightened of the slaves. His being a freedman is all the more frightening to them.  Living nearby is the Geyser family.  The oldest son, John (portrayed by John Hammond) has a talent for drawing and wants to get off the farm. He seeks his father’s blessing to go work at his Uncle’s newspaper in Gettysburg.  Despite the fact that it means one less pair of hands to work the farm, Ben Geyser (portrayed by Lloyd Bridges) gives his blessing and sends him off.

His first assignment for the small-town newspaper is to cover the John Brown trial.  At the trial he meets Jonas Steele (portrayed by Stacey Keach).  They cover the trial and John’s work is impressive.

However, when John returns home, he feels somewhat out of place.  He witnesses the lynching of John Henry while his father and brothers stand by and do nothing. War is coming and he doesn’t feel he can fight for this side.  He returns to his Uncle’s newspaper in Gettysburg and frets about not being able to fight for either side as the thought of raising a gun to his brothers is as unpalatable as the other option.

When he is sent to cover President Lincoln’s train coming through Gettysburg, he encounters Jonas again who is working for the President. This gets him a private audience with Lincoln (portrayed by Gregory Peck), who urges him to use his talents in the war instead of a rifle.

Part historical drama, part soap opera, The Blue and the Gray does manage to do a terrific job driving home the personal cost of this war between the states.  The toll it takes just on this one family is horrific. Everyone must make choices, and they are split as to how they feel about it all.  All the while John tries to remain neutral and impartial, something which causes him to feel conflicted more and more as the body count rises.

The acting here is actually pretty good, which saves the storyline quite a bit.  Rather than devolving into nothing more than a gut-wrenching soap opera, the talents of Lloyd Bridges and Stacy Keach go far to keeping the tension at a believable level while furthering the story.  Julia Duffy is excellent as his love interest.  Only having seen her in light comedy, her turn here in a dramatic role was really surprising.  By far, Gregory Peck is one of the greatest actors to ever play Lincoln. 

The main weakness, though, is the lead character.  John Hammond is good as well, but at times his performance has a wooden feel to it.  I’d be more understanding if this were the age of CGI and he was acting with a green screen.  His trying to remain neutral in the face of all he sees and encounters is pivotal to making the story believable, as well as delivering him to some of the most crucial battles and locations of the war.  I credit the writing that made this point believable more than his acting.

The re-enactments are pretty good.  For an era when it had to be done live rather than plant computer-generated soldiers to fill-out the battlefield, they do a good job.  This doesn’t have the feel of the thousands that must have fought on the field, but there is a feel of authenticity at looking at one microcosm of the battle being fought.

For Civil War buffs and fans of the mini-series genre, you can’t go wrong with The Blue and the Gray.  It was another epic series when this genre represented a lot of what was good about television and what could be done, given the right tools.