caroledelm I read the book first & am looking forward to the last disc in the series, which is coming to me from NetFlix. I think that the adaptation to the screen is excellent, even though some things have been changed. The changes & additions of characters have enhanced the story, in my opinion. Barbara Parkins's portrayal of Martinique woke me up to what a fine actress she is. The acting overall was remarkable. I could see the "change" in Harry (Harvey Jason)when it happened on screen. What a fine actor. The sets & costumes were beautiful & elaborate. So many good actors in the series! By the way, Blair Brown's interview was most enjoyable. What a classy series. I don't know how I missed it the first time around.

osiris1997 I remember seeing this on television when it first aired. I did not know it had been released on VHS. I hope it is on DVD. This is without a doubt the best mini-series (besides Roots in my opinion) ever. I remember always making sure I was at home to see each episode. They just don't do TV like this anymore. I especially remember Mr. Jordan's lead role and that he was outstanding. The same for Perry King and everyone else. It is perplexing to me, however, that we don't have quality television like this anymore. There is so much junk on and reality non-sense that programs designed to make you think are non existent. Was this ever repeated. I think it would be a good idea to rerun this program.

Skragg I really can't say enough about it here, because I've been hugely attached to it since it came out. There are several reasons to watch it - along with the "historical romance" reasons, there are the political ideas (which are that much bigger in the novel, but a very big part of this TV version). Whether it's borderline "conspiracy" thinking (with "those men" who influence everything) or not, those ideas have influenced plenty of my political thinking. (Partly because of this story, I always think the phrase "opportune little war" when I hear about ANY given war- and quite some time BEFORE the past three years.) Richard Jordan was just great as Joseph, an Irish character who hardly fits any of the images of Irishmen (even the positive ones), who's almost completely "cool", and whose emotions don't come out (in a big way) except in certain dramatic scenes, like the scenes with Catherine or Tom (for opposite reasons). There isn't enough room to mention all the best actors and characters, or scenes, but there's Perry King as Rory Armagh, Patty Duke Astin as Bernadette (I think someone here mentioned how great she was as a tragic character, and she won an Emmy for it, very deservedly), Jane Seymour as Margery, Cliff DeYoung as Brian Armagh, the aviator-film-maker etc., with his star Pearl Gray (Pearl White), Vic Morrow, who was extremely good as Tom Hennesey (and whom you really feel sorry for in that last scene with him, in spite of everything he's done), Beverly D'Angelo as Miss Emmy, Charles Durning as Big Ed Healy (I don't know if he's ever played a more entertaining character), and Harvey Jason as Harry Zeff. As far as I know, he's mainly a supporting actor in comedies, and you see that in his "sidekick" kind of relationship with Joseph, but of course with other levels to it - the scene where Joseph accuses Harry of being disloyal to him, which is the one kind of talk Harry can't stand to hear from him, and the scene where Joseph turns his back on blackmailing the senator, and Harry is glad for all three of them (not knowing what's coming next). And of course, the big guest stars, like John Houseman as Mr. Chisholm and Henry Fonda as Senator Bassett (two of the best scenes). Again, I could go on and on, but it's simply a very underrated story, as far as I know (in spite of the Emmy). Though to me, underrated is putting it pretty mildly.

Kim-68 I have just seen Captains And The Kings on video and I thought that was the best mini-series that I have ever seen. Richard Jordan was outstanding as Joseph Armagh. This was probably the best performance of his film career. He put his whole heart and soul into this role. And he certainly deserved the Golden Globe award that he won for this. He had me hooked from his first scene to the end, so much so that I just kept watching it until it was finished. I also thought that Perry King was also excellent as Rory Armagh and I think he should have received something for his performance. Patty Duke was terrific as Bernadette and I am glad that she did win the Emmy for her role, she certainly deserved it. I also thought that Blair Brown, Charles Durning and Jane Seymour were also excellent in this. So I highly recommend this mini-series to anybody that appreciates great talent and a great story and this was a classic with outstanding acting.