Many sagas about the Civil War – especially those on television – tend to focus upon wealthy families or those from exclusive families. Although the miniseries revealed the families’ experiences via many characters, the two main characters in the story are John Geyser (John Hammond), who is the third son of the Virginia Geysers and Jonas Steele (Stacy Keach), a former Pinkerton agent and abolitionist who befriends John and marries the latter’s Pennsylvania cousin, Mary Hale (Julia Duffy).
The Geyers and the Hales are linked by two sisters portrayed by Colleen Dewhurst and Diane Baker. The two families in question are the Geysers and the Hales. As I had stated before, the miniseries told the story of two families and their experiences between 18. Instead, it was based upon a story concept by Bruce Catton, a famous historian who had written a book on the Civil War with the same title. 'THE BLUE AND THE GRAY' had not been based upon any particular novel or series of novels. And despite the mildly similar theme to the 'NORTH AND SOUTH' saga, there are some vast differences.
However this miniseries was produced by Larry White and Lou Reda. Jakes’ novels were adapted for television in 1985, 19. Sounds familiar? It should, for John Jakes had wrote something similar in three novels between 19 – namely the 'NORTH AND SOUTH' Trilogy. In 1982, CBS television aired a three-part miniseries about the experiences of two families during the Civil War.
