History on TV.....

I'm a big fan of American history. Especially the American Revolution. When I'm scanning through the TV listings, and I find something about the American Revolution, there's a good chance that's what I'll tune in.

Jamie Bell as spy Abe Woodhull in Turn.

Recently, I've been fascinated by a series on AMC called "Turn", now in it's forth and final season. It's the story of a cabbage farmer, Abraham Woodhull, and others, who became important spies for the Americans under George Washington. What's that? You never heard of Abraham Woodhull before? Me neither. That's why I am so glued to this series.

It has great writing, great characters, and most importantly, very good accuracy. The bad guy is Lt. John Graves Simcoe, portrayed as a particularly brutal opponent. You really can't wait for a musket ball to find this guy. But a quick check of Wikipedia tells you that Simcoe not only survived the Revolutionary War, he became Governor of Canada. Simcoe, Ontario is right across Lake Erie from Cleveland.

The American Revolution is important to me because, well, that's where I live. I'm fortunate to be an American. But back in those days, Vegas would've listed the British as heavy favorites on any war with the colonies.

Colonial Williamsburg today - a living time machine.

Much of Turn was filmed at Colonial Williamsburg. I've visited Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia three different times. It's always fascinating to be in a building where famous people lived, worked, and wrote words that effect us today.

The fact that Colonial Williamsburg survived, and exists today was a longshot in itself. Williamsburg was the Colonial Capital during the time of the Revolution. But over the years, Williamsburg had declined, and turned into a dump. Just a bunch of rotten old buildings. The Civil

Before restoration, Williamsburg was a dump.

War in the South didn't help. But in the 1920's, John D. Rockefeller decided to restore the town. He had the cash to make it happen. Great care was taken to restore what they could to colonial times. Buildings that were destroyed were re-built according to their blueprints.To top it off, there are historical re-enactors who put on skits, and interact with you as if it was the 1770's. It's as close as you will ever come to a time machine. Very cool, and very easy to get caught up in it.

Other "Revolutionary" TV shows I recommend are the miniseries John Adams, featuring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. It won 13 Emmy awards. Also, the movie, The Crossing, featuring Jeff Daniels as Gen, George Washington. These are not documentaries. They're just good entertainment.

One other side note. Sometimes when I'm in a conversation about that time period, someone will mention how hard life was back then. Imagine living without refrigeration and washing your clothes in a tub! I always say that's just they way things were back then and the people accepted it as part of life. I imagine 100 years from today, there may be a button built into your clothes that will instantly

The Mrs. at the Yorktown Battlefield.

clean your clothes and leave them fresh as a daisy. Imagine those future people saying, "Those poor 21st century people. They had to actually use a special machine and things like Tide and fabric softener sheets! What goobers!" All history is relative.

So the next time the American Revolution is televised, give it  a try. Don't miss the series finale of Turn on AMC! It's at Yorktown, Virginia. That's another place I visited.