[Mr. Sandman]

I liked it alot. Looks like Tom Hanks did a good job with McCullough's book of John Adams. I think it is taking a lot of criticism in the press as not being 100% accurate (ie the tar and feather scene ) and some think the actor who portrays Adams was mis-cast. I think he does a creditable job as adams, I like Laura Linny as his wife too. While based on facts, it has to appeal to audiences too so I think some parts have added some drama to them to keep it interesting.
Lastly most people don't know that Adams actually defended the British in court (and won) ( they don't teach this in schools), but it is true. I find the film (so far) very interesting. My youngest son(12) is magnetized to the screen, he loves this period in our history. I don't like mini-seires either but (like the book) this baby is a looooong story. I can't imagine watching it in a single sitting. I will order the dvd set.


Yes, the doctor scene was an early method of vaccination against small pox. Vaccinations (even today) contain a small amount of the virus itself...enough for your body to create antibodies and fight it off. (Louis Pasture came up with this right around that time I think...it was kind of new then.) The doctor scraped tissue off an active pox and put it in an opened wound on a healthy person...it was crude but the principles are the same today.