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As sweeping historical epics go, they don't get much better than John Adams (HBO; Mondays at 11pm). This multiple-award-winning dramatic interpretation of the life of the second president of the United States is both cleverly conceived and highly entertaining.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-win- ning book - and one of the best-sel- ling historical biographies of all time - about the man who helped to shape America's independence and government, it's also a love story. But never does it descend into saccharine sentimentality. Nor does it rely on gung-ho heroism or bodice-ripping love scenes to attract your attention.
John Adams is impressively played by Paul Giamatti (Sideways) with the requisite gravitas and empathy. Laura Linney (The Truman Show, Kinsey) plays his wife, Abigail, who must surely have provided the inspiration for the phrase 'behind every great man there is a great woman'. Not only did she single-handedly run the family farm and raise four children during her husband's long absences at Congress, she was also his intellectual equal and unofficial political adviser.
The supporting cast includes British actor Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) as Benjamin Franklin, David Morse (St Elsewhere) as George Washington and Stephen Dillane (The Hours) as Thomas Jefferson. Their characterisations are frustratingly one-dimensional in the first two episodes of this seven-part series but that may be because the story initially focuses on Adams.
Nevertheless, it's fascinating to see these gargantuan historical figures brought to life on screen, not as heroes, but as a bunch of workaday politicians fuelled by passion and a sense of injustice, yet struggling with the moral implications and possible consequences of their decisions.
If you have an academic's knowledge of American history, you may find a few holes in the plot of this ambitious series but it's likely you will be gripped by its dramatic tension and powerful storytelling.
There's drama and power of a different kind in the second series of Dirty Sexy Money (Star World; Tuesdays at 10pm), namely melodrama and power trips. Donald Sutherland (above, third from right) plays wealthy patriarch Patrick Darling III, who will stop at nothing to protect the reputation of his family. But do they deserve it and are they grateful? No is the answer to both those questions. The dastardly Darlings are an immoral, self-serving lot. When they're not double-crossing each other they're having so much sex it makes you wonder where they find the time and energy for the double-crossing.
Like others of its genre, this glitzy soap opera is as deep and meaningful as a bag of candy floss. Which makes it the perfect guilty pleasure.
