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TV Series

Series Name:    Roots Format: TV Series IMDB: IMDB Page Years: 1977 Country:   USA Language: English Genre: Drama, History Rating: 7.9  Rate Collection:   Seen It     Wishlist  Community:  20 Have Seen, 1 Wishlist » Search eBay #AD  » Search Amazon #AD This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.

Selected Cast	LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte (young)
	John Amos as Kunta Kinte (older)
	Olivia Cole as Mathilda
	Louis Gossett Jr. as Fiddler
	Ben Vereen as Chicken George Moore
	Vic Morrow as Ames
	Edward Asner as Capt. Davies
	Lynda Day George as Mrs. Reynolds
	Robert Reed as Dr. William Reynolds
	Chuck Connors as Tom Moore
	Ji-Tu Cumbuka as Wrestler
	Sandy Duncan as Missy Anne Reynolds
	Leslie Uggams as Kizzy Reynolds
	Carolyn Jones as Mrs. Moore
	Lloyd Bridges as Evan Brent
	Ralph Waite as Slater
	Cicely Tyson as Binta
	Tracey Gold as Young Missy
	Lorne Greene as John Reynolds
	Scatman Crothers as Mingo
	George Hamilton as Stephen Bennett
	Richard Roundtree as Sam Bennett
	O. J. Simpson as Kadi Touray
	Gary Collins as Grill
	Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Noah
	John Schuck as Ordell
	Doug McClure as Jemmy Brent
	Todd Bridges as Bud
	Yvonne De Carlo as Slave owner's wife
	Henry Fonda as Colonel Frederick Warner

Notes

Eight-part miniseries adapting Alex Haley's novel. Later reissued in an edited 6-episode version.

First broadcast over a week in January 1977, Roots was a massive success and the first major US network success for the "blockbuster mini-series" genre, which led to many similar productions adapting novels for TV over the next decade. The finale episode of Roots as of 2015 is still the third highest-rated scripted program in the history of American network TV.

Followed in 1979 by a sequel miniseries titled Roots: The Next Generations and in 1988 by the TV movie Roots: The Gift. A 1993 miniseries, adapting Haley's unfinished novel Queen, is considered a follow-up to the Roots trilogy.

On DVD & Blu-ray World

Blu-ray

Roots - Warner Home Video - Sweden (2016)

DVD Box Set

Roots - Warner Home Video - UK (2002)

Comments and Reviews

albert 13th Sep 2017		Alex Haley on Wikipedia. It is rather unfortunate that the Kunte Kinte in Africa text has been discredited, "Roots is a work of the imagination rather than strict historical scholarship", and Haley was successfully sued by Harold Courlander who's own novel The African was plagiarised for ideas, fiction becoming 'fact' in the process. A better film, in my opinion, on the horrors of slavery is Goodbye Uncle Tom, which is far more direct and graphic and was researched using genuine documents and reports from the time. The film was released in 1971 and does not sit well with people who would rather you didn't see that the slaves were bought/bartered from slave markets in Africa run by African tribe leaders.
zabadak 30th Jan 2017		It must be amazing to have a cultural milestone in your CV but to have two is extraordinary! :happy:
Quad5point1 28th Jan 2017		So did LeVar Burton jump from Roots: Next Generation to Star Wars: Next Generation. I picked up the 25th Anniversary box set today in a charity shop, it's all very dated now
henry29 24th Sep 2015		@23skidoo. No It Is just the Kunta Kinte Story. I have Next Generation miniseries and Queenie to will make a screen print for You. H.
23skidoo 24th Sep 2015		@henry29: Does it include the Next Generation miniseries? If so can you make a screen capture of the title screen?
henry29 23rd Sep 2015		Bought the Three Flip Disc 20th Anniversary complete Collection for £4 In charity today Bargain. H.
zabadak 22nd Sep 2015		the show itself is still a classic Oh yes, undeniably! :thumbsup:
23skidoo 22nd Sep 2015		@zabadak. Maybe but the show itself is still a classic. I'm holding off on adding the sequel series until I can track down a title screen but if anyone has one and can jump in, please do!
zabadak 22nd Sep 2015		Wasn't some of his research later discredited as not being thorough enough? :erk:
23skidoo 19th Sep 2015		Now that's what you call an all-star cast! Reading the cast list is like going through a who's-who of 1970s TV. One bit of minor trivia that caught my attention is this is I believe the only production in which both Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams) and Yvonne De Carlo (Lily Munster) both appeared though I doubt they shared any scenes given the nature of the production!

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