I rarely pen reviews of films etc on IMDb but there don't seem to be many regarding the PBS TV series Jamestown, or what reviews there are are pretty negative, and I think that's just unfortunate. I also don't like to write about topics I know very little about, the real history of Jamestown belonging firmly in that category. I don't want to write much here, but I would like to at least state that I thought the series was very good, and that it deserves more attention than it seems to have received. Well, now that it's been cancelled after only three seasons, it can at least claim fellowship with another TV show which went on to have an enormously successful afterlife: Star Trek!
Why do I think it is 'very good'? Well, for the record, I thought it was better than just very good, rising to brilliant on more than one occasion. Certainly, I would say that the level of drama, the cleverness of the intrigues, the acting, the use of the historical background, the production values, the script, the characterization, and more, were all excellent. Do I hear 'nay!'? Yes, I do. Do I hear: 'Soap-opera! Flimsy drama! Superficial depiction of history. Unrealistic! Not believable!' My response: it depends on what you expect a TV series in this era (now being 2019) to produce. Ratings depend on weekly intrigue and violence and romance and beautiful ladies in danger and mysterious happenings which need to be resolved within the 45 minute span. Such criticisms may well have their place, but they might also be superficial and unrealistic. What would you expect, for crying out loud? OK. So why does any of this matter? Well, because this drama was able to depict some extremely important aspects of that history, and in a manner which was shockingly real and relevant. That's why it matters.
Sure, the two lead black characters might not have acted and interacted with their white overlords quite in the way they are depicted as doing, but as viewers we should be able to accept certain superficially false aspects in the process of engaging with the deeper aspects of what their actions and situations tell us about slavery. And once we do that, we can see, if we have eyes to see, that this drama was exposing the reality of slavery in the most uncompromising way, a depiction which does nothing but add fuel to the accusation that America was built on the back of some pretty racist white supremacist attitudes.
Then, of course, there is the depiction of the interaction between the white settlers and the indigenous population. Here, also, Jamestown the TV series was able to articulate in a very sophisticated manner the way in which these two peoples acted toward each other. It is compelling. And the way things are slowed down to build up over the entire series is a measure of the artistic approach: not seeking to sensationalize things, but to lay out, step by step, the kinds of interaction there was, or might/must have been, and the difficulties in which people on both sides became embroiled. There is delicacy and insight and sensitivity in all of this, and it is delicacy and insight and sensitivity serving both the needs of historical accuracy and the needs of drama. I think that is a remarkable achievement. The build-up to tensions takes a long time, but a three season series can do this, whereas a film might condense everything and fail. And those inter-racial difficulties which occur are the stuff of great drama. As with the focus on the slave characters, the drama here lays bare the awfulness of the intruders' behaviour in coming to a land which was not theirs and imposing rule, and their racial condescension. Among the cast of characters there are many who appear to voice outrage as to the imperialist actions of the settlement's governors: that may just be a nod to modern sensibilities, easily judged unrealistic by those who know the history, but their outrage is part of the raison d'etre of the show. Jamestown shows the ugly reality of what it meant to come as an uninvited guest and then proceed to take over the land.
However, the series is not only about unremitting outrage and awfulness, or punishing the myth of foundation as a wonderful thing: the producers put in plenty of light amidst the dark, making the characters attractive and colourful. There is humour in the series and that humour derived from the intelligence of the holistic approach and the emphasis on humanity. As with Trek, while there is plenty of brutality and violence, often the conflicts in Jamestown are resolved by invoking humane solutions to human problems. This is a measure of its sophistication. Viewers, however, should be advised that sometimes shocking moments occur. They are never gratuitous.
I have to say Jamestown does a great many things, and deserves much more acclaim than it gets. It brings history to life, and it is simply unfortunate that it is now cancelled. Maybe it will revive, like that other show from the sixties. Or maybe it will just resonate.
Hurrah for the actors and writers and creators of Jamestown!
