On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 02:13 AM, davisk wrote: > Are you serious? Kirstie Alley as a 13 yo? Rebecca DeMornay as a > teenager? Kirstie Alley as the wife of Thomas Putnam, and Rebecca De Mornay as the wife of Rev. Samuel Parris. -- the real women whose characters the women play were adults at the time of these events. > This does not bode well for historical accuracy, does it? Well, no... From the stuff I read at the CBS website, there's something about things being sparked when Thomas Putnam's wife had lost a third pregnancy and a barn had burned down.... And yes, there's the requisite scene with the assorted teenagers gathered around an (I could be wrong on this) African-American actress playing Tituba, doing something which frightens the younger girls... Then the kicker is that Ann Putnam, Sr. apparently sees the error of her ways... > PS: I don't suppose anyone on this list has heard whether anyone > knowledgeable about the Salem events might be serving a consulting > role on this? At the same website, the writer -- Maria Nation -- said she consulted work by John Demos, Boyer & Nissenbaum, Bryan LeBeau, read "letters to the court, petitions, depositions and resolutions" and Parris' sermon notebooks, and consulted with Larry Gragg and Frances Hill. Of course, this doesn't mean anything: I believe either Boyer or Nissenbaum was "consulted" for "Three Sovereigns for Sarah," and the writer(s) still took major liberties. It's sometimes using their names for authority's sake, but it often doesn't mean anything. Sometimes it's the names of the scholars they *fail* to mention that I find interesting. Nation apparently uses a backdrop to her story of all the common themes: "Religious mores, a shame-based culture, gender politics, a harsh physical geography, disease outbreaks and Indian attacks all contributed to the culture of fear within this society." Nation is quoted as saying, "Why the 'afflicted' girls did what they did is one of the most compelling mysteries... if viewers end up debating why the girls did what they did, then I think I will have done my job." Again? To me, the most compelling mystery is why they were believed by the authorities, who then took matters to such an extreme. I can excuse young people's behavior, but have a much harder time with the adults. But the main roles they've cast in this production are the adults, so we shall see... > I'm so hesitant to have my daughter watch yet more drivel posing as > history. I've already heard from my household that no one wants to be around when I watch this thing because they know I will get annoyed! LOL! And, yes, it must be a major night for ratings on TV: in the same Sunday time slot, HBO is starting its third season of "Six Feet Under" and Showtime a new season of "Queer as Folk." --Margo

At 09:35 AM 2/26/03, Margo Burns wrote: >I've already heard from my household that no one wants to be around when I >watch this thing because they know I will get annoyed! LOL! Oh! My family has told me the same thing! >And, yes, it must be a major night for ratings on TV: in the same Sunday >time slot, HBO is starting its third season of "Six Feet Under" and >Showtime a new season of "Queer as Folk." Dang. Gotta get out the tape. You mentioned "Three Sovreigns for Sarah" -- is that another Salem retelling?