Richard Jordan heads a starry cast in "The Captains and the Kings."
After the miniseries format proved popular NBC started a series called "Best Sellers," where impressive casts (mostly TV stars, but this one dug out Henry Fonda) enacted recent popular novels.
Taylor Caldwell's best-selling family-saga novels appeared perfect for this format.
Other best sellers were not so carefully chosen, and the "Best Sellers" series faded away. Occasionally, especially on CBS, classics were adapted for TV. NBC eschewed that stuff and stuck to recent best sellers, but the writers weren't always able to work magic. And few things are more boring than a dull 1970s miniseries. "The Captains and the Kings" is at least capable of sustaining interest; if, in nothing else, the wonder of who would show up next in tiny parts. They were prodigal with talent then. Actors like John Carradine were wasted.
Anyone can look up the impressive (for the 1970s) cast. Of particular interest are rising-star actresses like Blair Brown and, particularly, Jane Seymour. But she doesn't show up until the tail end of the thing.
The story is schmaltzy but that's what made popular novels and miniseries TV back then. Richard Jordan may not be everyone's idea of a great star, but he's the glue holding this remarkable miniseries together.
