North & South

Magnet #271 - Gettysburg

So, 145 years ago, Lincoln gave his infamous Gettysburg address, which I talked about with somewhat grave seriousness a few months ago. (If you haven't been to Gettysburg, and driven around the battlefields and the little town, I highly recommend it. It's quite moving, and a little frightening to think of all the valor and violence that happened there.)

Which leaves me free to talk about a couple of my favorite miniseries of. all. time. North and South. Or North & South.

First up - John Jakes' North and South. Tell me ya'll have seen this miniseries. C'mon. It was amazing - it took something like 2 years to make and I heard was one of the most expensive (and most watched) miniseries - ever.

It tells the story of families - the Mains from South Carolina (headed by Orry, played by Patrick Swayze) and the Hazards from Pennsylvania (headed by George, played by James Read). The two men meet at West Point, and form a lasting friendship, and see each other through love and loss, trials and tribulations, nutty families, blahblahhotboysblah. Fantastic saga.

Of course, this version of North and South is not to be confused with the other North & South by Elizabeth Gaskill, brought to you by the BBC. I know. Confusing. It's not a remake, I swear.

Girl in reduced circumstances from the South (Margaret Hale, played by Daniela Denby-Ashe) meets diamond in the rough industrialist in the North (John Thornton, played by Richard Armitage), and form a lasting bond, through love and loss, trials and tribulations, nutty families, blahblahhotboyblah. Fantastic love story.

I could go on about both, and don't worry, eventually I will.

But for now, seriously. Netflix them both. You won't be sorry.

Just don't do it all at once. You'll get confused.

Particularly by the accents.