North and South (miniseries)

For the novel, see North and South (trilogy).

North and South
Created by	David L. Wolper
Starring	James Read Patrick Swayze Lesley-Anne Down Wendy Kilbourne Terri Garber Genie Francis and others
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	Book I - 6 Book II - 6 Book III - 3
Production
Running time	approximately 90 min (per episode)
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	Book I - November 3, 1985 Book II - May 4, 1986 – Book III - February 27, 1994

North and South was a TV miniseries set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War. It was based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes and follows its general storyline, despite some deviations. The three series were produced in 1985, 1986 and 1994 and follow the novels quite closely, although there are considerable differences, especially in Book Two. All three series (called "books") aired on the ABC-TV network in the United States. The first two series, entitled Books I and II, were an enormous success with audiences and critics, and remain among the highest-rated television miniseries in history. However, Book III, which aired eight years after Book II, was poorly received by both critics and audiences. Many of the actors in Books I and II did not appear in Book III, and the murders of such favorite characters as Orry Main and Constance Hazard angered many fans.

North and South is about the enduring friendship that develops between two young men that meet as cadets at West Point Military Academy in the 1840s. One of them, Orry Main, is a southerner who lives on his family's plantation near Charleston, South Carolina where they own slaves. The other, George Hazard is the son of a wealthy foundry owner from the fictional town of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. John Jakes used the Main and Hazard families to symbolize the divisions that eventually led to the Civil War: the Mains are slaveowning Southerners who prefer to remain rural gentleman planters; the Hazards are big-city Northerners who live by manufacturing and industry. In spite of their individual differences, however, both Orry Main and George Hazard remain close friends throughout the miniseries and even through the Civil War, thus symbolizing the fact that America will remain one nation.

Main Characters

• Orry Main (played by Patrick Swayze)
• George Hazard (played by James Read)
• Madeline Fabray LaMotte (played by Lesley-Anne Down)
• Constance Flynn Hazard (played by Wendy Kilbourne)
• Brett Main Hazard (Played by Genie Francis)
• Ashton Main (Played by Terri Garber)
• Virgilia Hazard (Played by Kirstie Alley)
• Charles Main (Played by Lewis Smith)

Main cast

Actor	Role
Patrick Swayze	Orry Main (in 1994 - archive and uncredited)
James Read	George Hazard
Lesley-Anne Down	Madeline Fabray LaMotte Main (Hazard post-series)
Wendy Kilbourne	Constance Flynn Hazard
Kirstie Alley	Virgilia Hazard Grady (1985, 1986)
Jean Simmons	Clarissa Main (1985, 1986)
Temi Epstein Stephanie Allison Jolluck Terri Garber	Ashton Main (Book I, ep.1) Ashton Main (Book I, ep.2) Ashton Main Huntoon Fenway
Nikki Creswell Melissa Manley Genie Francis	Brett Main (Book I, ep.1) Brett Main (Book I, ep.2) Brett Main Hazard
Philip Casnoff	Elkanah Bent
Lewis Smith Kyle Chandler	Charles Main (1985, 1986) Charles Main (1994)
Cary Guffey John Stockwell Parker Stevenson	Billy Hazard (Book I, ep.1) Billy Hazard (1985) Billy Hazard (1986)
David Carradine	Justin LaMotte (1985, 1986)
Inga Swenson	Maude Hazard (1985, 1986)
Jonathan Frakes	Stanley Hazard
Wendy Fulton Mary Crosby Deborah Rush	Isabel Truscott Hazard (1985) Isabel Truscott Hazard (1986) Isabel Truscott Hazard (1994)
Jim Metzler	James Huntoon (1985, 1986)
Olivia Cole	Maum Sally (1985)
Georg Stanford Brown	Grady (1985)
Tony Frank	Salem Jones
Erica Gimpel	Semiramis (1985, 1986)
Forest Whitaker	Cuffey (1985, 1986)
Kate McNeil	Augusta Barclay (1986)
Robert Mitchum	Patrick Flynn (1985)
Hal Holbrook	Abraham Lincoln (1985, 1986)
Andrew Stahl	Ned Fisk (1985, 1986)
Robert Guillaume	Frederick Douglass (1985)
Morgan Fairchild	Burdetta Halloran (1985, 1986)
Johnny Cash	John Brown (1985)
Gene Kelly	Sen. Charles Edwards (1985)
David Ogden Stiers	Congressman Sam Greene (1985, 1986)
Elizabeth Taylor	Madam Conti (1985)
Lloyd Bridges	Jefferson Davis (1986)
Olivia de Havilland	Mrs. Neal (1986)
Linda Evans	Rose Sinclair (1986)
James Stewart	Miles Colbert (1986)
Mark Moses Anthony Zerbe Rutherford Cravens	Sam Grant (1985) Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1986) President Ulysses S. Grant (1994)
William Schallert	General Robert E. Lee (1986)
William Preston Daly	Tom "Stonewall" Jackson (1985)
Robert Wagner	Cooper Main (1994)
Woody Watson	Jack Quinlan (1994)
Jennifer & Michelle Steffin Mary Elizabeth McCae	Hope Hazard (1986) Hope Hazard (1994)
Cameron Finley	Gus Main (1994)
Cathy Lee Crosby	Judith Main (1994)
Billy Dee Williams	Francis Cardozo (1994)
Ted Thin Elk	Running Wolf (1994)

Crew

	Name
Directed by	Richard T. Heffron (1985), Kevin Connor (1986), Larry Peerce (1994)
Written by	Suzanne Clauser (1994), Paul F. Edwards (1985), Richard Fielder (1986), Patricia Green (1985), Douglas Heyes (1985, 1986), Kathleen A. Shelley (1985)
Produced by	Stephanie Austin (1986), Paul Freeman (1985), Hal Galli (1994), Rob Harland (1985), Chuck McLain (1985), Robert Papazian (1986), David L. Wolper (1985, 1986), Mark Wolper (1986)
Music by	David Bell (1994), Bill Conti, Greig McRitchie (1985)
Cinematography by	Don E. FauntLeRoy (1994), Stevan Larner (1985), Jacques R. Marquette (1986),

Plot

Book I

• Episode 1 (summer 1842 - summer 1844) - Young Southerner Orry Main, the only son of a wealthy South Carolina plantation owner, goes to West Point. During the journey, he meets and falls in love with beautiful New Orleans French-Creole Madeline Fabray. In New York City Orry meets Northerner George Hazard, the oldest son of a wealthy Pennsylvania steel-factory owner, who is also on his way to West Point. They soon become close friends. At the Academy, they meet the amoral egomaniac Elkanah Bent, a fellow cadet from Georgia. Bent, who becomes the main villain in the miniseries, is a handsome, smooth-talking man who hides his evil, twisted nature beneath his charm and good looks. Bent takes an instant dislike to Orry and George and uses his status as their drillmaster to constantly harass them. After a two-year absence, the men return home for a summer leave. While at home, Orry learns that Madeline is getting married to his cruel neighbor, plantation owner Justin LaMotte. Orry is devastated by the news. Orry has an argument with his father over the hiring of the brutal and crude Salem Jones as the plantation overseer. Orry stops Jones from using a bullwhip to "punish" a slave.
• Episode 2 (autumn 1844 - spring 1848) - Bent continues his cruelty towards George, Orry, and their friends. The men, with some help from other cadets, make Bent a fool and he is forced to leave the Academy. When Bent learns of George and Orry's involvement, he promises them he will have revenge. George and Orry graduate from West Point. They leave to fight in the Mexican War. During the Battle of Churubusco Bent, who has used his political connections to obtain a superior rank, orders George and Orry to lead a suicidal charge against the Mexican forces. Both men survive, but Orry is shot in his left leg and is permanently crippled. Meanwhile, George meets Constance Flynn, the Irish Catholic daughter of an Army surgeon, and falls in love. They plan to marry soon. Orry turns to drink to drown his sorrows. With the Mexican War over, George quits the army, finds Bent, and beats him up. He tells Bent that, if he ever harms Orry or him again, he (George) will kill him.
• Episode 3 (spring 1848 - summer 1854) George gets married to Constance and Orry is his best man. Orry's father dies and Orry inherits the family plantation. His first act is to fire the brutal Salem Jones as overseer, Jones vows revenge.Orry's cousin Charles, who doesn't have good relations with the Main family, is challenged to a pistol duel in a dispute over a woman. Orry helps Charles to survive the duel and they become friends. The Mains visit the Hazards in Pennsylvania. Orry's sister Ashton courts George's brother Billy. Billy and Charles are going to attend West Point together, just as Orry and George did. Orry and George begin a partnership cotton mill at Orry's plantation in South Carolina; they do so on George's condition that Orry not use slave labor in the mill. Virgilia, George's fiercely abolitionist sister, is furious that her family has allowed slaveowners into their house and tries to humiliate them, angering the rest of her family.
• Episode 4 (summer 1854 - autumn 1856) - The Hazards visit the Mains in South Carolina. Billy discovers how vain and wicked Ashton can be and falls in love with Ashton's younger sister Brett. George's sister Virgilia helps one of the local slaves escape and gets into trouble. Billy and Charles graduate from West Point, both families attend the graduation. Ashton sleeps with many of Billy's friends and gets pregnant. She asks Madeline for help, and Madeline takes her to a local midwife who performs a secret abortion. Madeline's relationship with her husband Justin begins to fall apart, as he insults and beats her for speaking her mind in public.
• Episode 5 (spring 1857 - November 1860) - Madeline is drugged by Justin because he does not want her to become closer to Orry and fears that she will leave him because of his cruelty towards her. Ashton marries James Huntoon, an ambitious but easily-manipulated South Carolina politician. Orry visits George, but they have a serious argument over the issue of slavery. Orry doesn't want Brett to marry Billy because of the growing tensions between the North and South. Virgilia marries the slave she helped escape from the Main plantation in South Carolina. They both join abolitionist leader John Brown. In 1859 Brown makes his famous raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia to arm and free the slaves there. The U.S. Army stops the raid, Virgilia's husband is killed and Brown is captured. Virgilia escapes, but is more bitter than ever towards Southerners. Abraham Lincoln is elected President; several Southern states make plans to secede from the U.S. and establish themselves as a separate nation.
• Episode 6 (November 6, 1860 - April 1861) - Brett meets Billy in Charleston, South Carolina. George visits Orry and the two apologize to each other. Orry gives Brett permission to marry Billy. South Carolina secedes from the Union. Brett and Billy get married. Ashton schemes to have Billy killed, partly out of jealously, and partly because Billy is now a "Yankee" enemy. She fails, thanks to the drugged Madeline, who overhears Ashton and Justin's scheme and informs Orry. Madeline leaves Justin and moves in with Orry at his family's plantation. Now off the drugs, Madeline plans to divorce Justin and marry Orry. Orry goes to the Hazard's mansion near Philadelphia to return George his part of their cotton mill money. Virgilia finds out that Orry is present and tries to have him killed by forming an lynch mob which threatens the Hazard estate; the mob's leaders demand that George give them the "rebel traitor", there is little doubt that they intend to kill Orry. George and Orry manage to escape the mob and Orry boards a train to return to South Carolina. The Civil War begins.

Book II

• Episode 1 (June 1861 - July 21, 1861) - Orry and Charles, now officers in the Confederate Army, leave the Main family plantation for the war in Virginia. Orry, despite having been against secession, becomes a general and military aide to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in the Confederate capital of Richmond. Meanwhile, George and Billy are in Washington, D.C., where they are officers in the U.S. Army. Billy joins the U.S. Sharpshooters regiment, while George becomes a military aide to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Charles, a Confederate cavalry officer, meets Augusta Berkley, a Virginia belle who smuggles medicine for the southern soldiers. Virgilia wants to work as a nurse at a Washington, D.C. military hospital and asks Congressman Sam Greene for help. Orry's cruel and manipulative sister Ashton meets her match in Elkanah Bent, who sees the Civil War as a great way to get rich by smuggling forbidden luxury goods through the U.S. Navy blockade of the South. Bent and Ashton quickly become lovers, while Ashton's politician husband, James Huntoon, is unaware of his wife's adultery. With Orry and Charles gone to war, Justin kidnaps Madeline from the Main family plantation and burns the cotton mill; Orry's mother is injured trying to stop the fire. The First Battle of Bull Run takes place. The South is the winner.
• Episode 2 (July 1861 - summer 1862) - Hearing about her mother's injury, Brett and her slave Semiramis make the dangerous trip from Washington, D.C. to the Main plantation in South Carolina. Orry leaves Richmond and returns to South Carolina as well - he finds Madeline at Justin's plantation and kills Justin in a fight. Orry and Madeline finally get married. Orry discovers Bent's illegal smuggling enterprise and stops it by capturing Bent's blockade runners, arresting his men, and destroying most of his merchandise. Bent and Ashton vow revenge. In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, George's older brother Stanley takes over the family's steel factories. His greedy wife Isabel talks him into using cheap, low-grade iron to make cannon for the U.S. Army; the cannons often explode and kill Northern soldiers.
• Episode 3 (September 17, 1862 - spring 1864) - At the bloody battle of Antietam, Charles and Billy nearly kill each other, but each allows the other to escape. Charles's friend Ambrose is killed in the battle. Afterwards, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation frees the slaves in the rebel Southern states. Most of the slaves leave the Main plantation in South Carolina, but a few remain. Ashton visits her family's plantation, supposedly to see her recovering mother and sister Brett, but in reality to carry out Bent's revenge against Orry. Ashton tells Madeline that she knows that Madeline's mother was a high-priced black prostitute in New Orleans, and that, unless Madeline leaves Orry with no explanation, she will reveal this secret and "ruin" Orry's public reputation. Madeline flees to Charleston, South Carolina, where she is befriended by a suave gambler and begins working for the city's poor and orphans who are suffering from the war. Meanwhile, Bent - who has become increasingly psychotic and unstable - begins planning to assassinate Confederate President Davis and become the dictator of the South. Billy, sick of not having seen his wife Brett for nearly two years, goes AWOL from the U.S. Army and makes his way to South Carolina, where he and Brett spend some time together. Ashton discovers Billy's presence and goes to tell the local authorities, but Billy is saved when Brett threatens her sister with a pitchfork long enough for Billy to escape. When he returns to his regiment, his commanding officer threatens to court-martial and execute him if he ever goes AWOL again. Billy is also demoted in rank to a lowly private.
• Episode 4 (May 1864 - late autumn 1864) - George is captured in a raid by Southern forces and taken to the dreaded Libby Prison in Richmond, where he is tortured by the prison's ruthless commandant. Orry is shot and taken to the hospital where Virgilia works, despite her hatred of Southerners she helps him recover and allows him to escape. Bent tries to kill Madeline in Charleston, but is rescued by her gambler friend, who dies saving her. Charles saves Augusta from being raped by Northern soldiers at her farm in Virginia, the two then become lovers.
• Episode 5 (December 1864 - February 1865) - The war has turned against the South. Orry and Charles save George from Libby Prison, kill the commandant in a fight, and allow George to return to the North. Madeline helps starving people in Charleston. Returning home, George learns of his brother and sister-in-law's illegal business schemes to use cheap iron to build cannon. He forces his brother Stanley and Stanley's wife Isabel to admit guilt. George's sister Virgilia is accused of allowing a wounded Southern soldier to die (in fact, he caused his own death) and is fired from the hospital. Desperate for money and work, she goes to Congressman Greene for help, he gives her money in exchange for sex. Orry learns of Bent's plan to overthrow the Confederate government. In a final fight, Orry and James Huntoon attack Bent's hideout near Richmond. Bent is (apparently) killed when the ammunition he was hiding in a barn explodes. Ashton confesses to Orry that she helped Bent drive Madeline away, Orry tells Huntoon that he never wants to see his sister again. Ashton asks Huntoon to forgive her, he tells her that it is too late. Huntoon is not seen again and Ashton does not appear again until Episode 1 of Book III.
• Episode 6 (March 1865 - April 1865) - The fighting ends with a Northern victory. Orry and George fight against each other (although not directly) in the last major battle at Petersburg; Orry is knocked out and captured. Confederate General Robert E Lee surrenders his army to U.S. Army General Ulysses Grant. George gets Orry released from a prisoner-of-war camp, then hears that President Lincoln has been shot. Charles goes to Augusta's farm and finds that she has died giving birth to his child. He goes to Charleston, South Carolina and gets his child from Augusta's uncle's wife. Virgilia kills Congressman Greene and is sentenced to death by hanging, she and George have a tearful farewell before her execution. Salem Jones, the crude and brutal former overseer of the Main plantation's slaves, joins with former slaves to plan an attack on the Main plantation. Their plan is to loot and steal everything from the mansion, kill the Main family, and burn the mansion. With the war over, Billy quits the army and goes to see Brett at the Main plantation, they have a joyous reunion. George helps Orry find Madeline and they all go to the Main plantation. Salem Jones leads several former slaves in an attack on the plantation; they burn the mansion before being killed or driven off by Orry, George, Billy, Charles, and a few freed slaves who have remained on the plantation in return for land of their own. Οrry's mother is killed in the attack. Orry and George pledge to renew their family's friendship, and George agrees to help Orry rebuild his plantation home by reopening the cotton mill and letting Orry take the profits. The Civil War ends.

Book III

• Episode 1 (summer 1865 - autumn 1865) - Elkanah Bent, having survived the explosion of his hidden ammunition depot near Richmond, becomes obsessed with getting "final revenge" on Orry and George, whom he blames for his failures in life. He begins his revenge by going to Richmond and murdering Orry Main. Furious, Ashton tries unsuccessfully to kill Bent; she then moves to the Old West to start a new life. Heartbroken at Orry's death, Madeline tries to rebuild the Main family mansion at Mont Royal and helps local freed slaves, to the disapproval of most of her white neighbors. After learning of Orry's death, George goes to Mont Royal and helps Madeline. Charles Main, now a corporal in the U.S. Cavalry in the Old West, meets and romances Willa Parker. Ashton begins working as a prostitute in Santa Fe; her goal is to earn enough money to buy Mont Royal. Carrying out the next part of his plan of revenge, Bent goes to the Hazard mansion near Philadelphia and murders George's wife Constance.
• Episode 2 (autumn 1865 - spring 1866) - Devastated by news of his wife's murder, George begins searching for Bent to exact justice. Cooper Main, Orry's older brother, becomes a member of the Ku Klux Klan and begins working to undermine his sister-in-law Madeline's efforts to help local blacks. Isabel, George Hazard's greedy sister-in-law, wants to buy Mont Royal and evict the Main family. Charles continues to work as a cavalryman in the Old West, and continues to romance Willa Parker. Realizing that she cannot stand against Cooper and Isabel alone, Madeline asks George for help.
• Episode 3 (spring 1866 - spring/summer 1866) - George arrives at Mont Royal to help Madeline, and they fall in love. Carrying out the final part of his revenge, Bent kidnaps Gus, the child of Charles and Augusta Berkley. When George learns of this, he goes West and finds Charles. Together the two men rescue Gus, hunt down Bent, and hang him. The hanging ends the personal "war" between Bent and the Main and Hazard families. It is implied (although never stated) that George and Madeline agree to marry; the series ends.

Trivia

Trivia

Mont Royal - The Mains' mansion

• Three celebrity marriages came out of the filming of this miniseries: James Read (George Hazard) met and married Wendy Kilbourne (Constance Hazard); coincidentally, they had played a married couple in the miniseries and are still married. Jonathan Frakes (Stanley Hazard) met and eventually married Genie Francis (Brett Main) on the set of the miniseries. They are also still married. Lesley-Anne Down (Madeline Main) and one of the camera men (Don E. FauntLeRoy) met during filming and are still married. Parker Stevenson (Billy Hazard) and Kirstie Alley (Virgilia Hazard) were already married when they played brother and sister in the miniseries (married 1983) and they divorced in 1997.
• Patrick Swayze (Orry Main) was not hired to appear in Book III. Thus Orry's murder, which takes place at the beginning of Book III's first episode, was done by taking stock footage of Swayze from Book II and using a lookalike "double" for the stabbing scene. Many fans were upset by having such a popular character killed off in such a fashion.
• More than 140 cast members were involved (not counting the extras)
• 8,700 costumes were made for the series (among which were 3,300 for women). Every actress wore 28 to 35 different costumes.
• It took over two years to film 940 scenes out of a script of 540 pages
• The production costs of North & South, which totaled $25 million, made the miniseries the most expensive up to that time
• Mary Todd Lincoln was played by Rachel Jakes, John Jakes' wife
• In preparation for the role, James Read spent several weeks at Patrick Swayze's horse ranch where Swayze taught Read how to ride horse back
• It was 1985’s highest-rated miniseries, and one of the highest rated ever
• There was talk of creating a TV series about life of Charles Main, Willa and little Gus, but it failed due to Kyle Chandler's obligations towards the Early Edition series
• in 2007, there were some rumours about soon to be made movie/series called North and South: The Next Generation. It was supposed to concentrate on the current history and events like the Cold War, Civil Rights, the Kennedy Assassination, Motown music, Beatlemania, Psychedelic Rock, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Watergate etc. The main character were to be descendants of the Hazards and Mains
• Houses :
  • Mont Royal - Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (exterior), Stanton Hall in Natchez, Mississippi (interior),
  • Resolute - Greenwood Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana
  • Belvedere - The Calhoun Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
  • the Huntoon home - The Blue House in Charleston
  • the Fabray home - Battery Carriage House Inn in Charleston

Continuity Concerns in Book III

There are a number of continuity problems which arise in Book III, and conflict with the narrative of events in Books I and II.

In the prologue, narrated by John Jakes, it is stated that Charles Main previously served under Elkanah Bent, and that Bent hates Charles. Later, while gloating over Orry’s body after he kills him, Bent asks Orry’s corpse if Charles ever told Orry what Charles did to him in Texas. No indication is ever made in Books I or II that Bent ever knew that Charles existed (and it is never revealed what Charles allegedly did to Bent that made him hate Charles so much).

The existence of Cooper Main in Book III is a major continuity problem. In the novels Cooper was Orry Main's older brother, but in Books I and II of the miniseries he is completely absent. Furthermore, some dialogue from the first two books would seem to preclude his existence. For example, Clarissa Main tells the family that on the night Orry was born, her husband Tillet said to her that he would love his new son, as he would love all the children that they would have. While this does not negate the possibility of Orry having an older brother, it is of course implied that Tillet made this remark by being so deeply moved by the birth of his first child, a unique and very emotional moment in the life of any parent. Cooper’s complete absence from Books I and II is explained by the fact that he has been in South America. We are not told how long he was there, so it is left to the viewer to speculate on whether or not he missed only the Civil War, or the last 23 years (the time between the start of Book I and the start of Book III). Given his absence (and lack of reference) in the prior two miniseries, it would seem to indicate that he has in fact been out of the United States for 23 (or perhaps even longer) years, and only returned because he was required to take an oath of loyalty to the Union following the South's defeat in the Civil War.

In fact what Cooper says is that he has just arrived from Columbia. Considering that is the name of the capital of South Carolina it seems much more likely to have been where he was than South America.

In Book III, Charles mentions that his lover Augusta Barclay was killed in Virginia. She in fact was not killed, but died while giving birth to his child.

The fact that Orry in his will would give ownership of the family plantation, Mont Royal, to his little-seen brother Cooper instead of his wife Madeline, sister Brett, cousin Charles, or even George Hazard (perhaps to hold in trust for Orry Jr.) is dubious. Given all that his wife and sister had endured during the Civil War, it seems unlikely that Orry would have turned the family estate over to his brother, who had been absent for decades and apparently had little to do with the family. What confuses the issue even further is the fact that Cooper does not actually have ownership, and that the legal owner is in fact Madeline. There is a mortgage on Mont Royal because Orry had to mortgage the plantation in order to pay George Hazzard back his half of the cotton mill before the war started. Cooper tried to contest her legal claim of ownership, but was defeated. It is however made clear that Orry did give Cooper a "paper", which may have been the deed. Additionally, Brett has just a cameo in Book III, and Billy Hazard, is completely absent (they are mentioned as living in California). Given their prominence in the first two books, this is odd.

The viewer is also left to wonder about the absence of Semiremis and Ezra, two freed slaves at Mont Royal who were given land of their own by the Main family at the end of the Civil War. They presumably had lived their entire lives at Mount Royal, and expressed deep devotion to the plantation and the Main family, being the only two former slaves to decide to stay on after the rest moved elsewhere. Given Madeline's devotion to helping local freed slaves in Book III, it is difficult to believe that she would not have frequently visited Semiramis and Ezra to offer help and support.

The opening narration mentions that Orry and Madeline have, with the destruction of Mount Royal, lost everything, and that they are living temporarily with “friends”. At the end of Book II, George tells Orry that he wants to reinvest in the cotton mill that they had started years before, and that he wanted the profits to go towards rebuilding Mount Royal. He tells Orry that he is family. Why then do Orry and Madeline not stay with the Hazards who have ample room? Orry would not need to be personally present to supervise the cotton mill, and as the mill turned a profit he could then begin to rebuild Mount Royal. But even if they did not wish to leave South Carolina, they could have moved down the road, to the plantation of Resolute, which Madeline, as the widow of Justin LaMotte, owned. It could easily be suggested that the Union soldiers destroyed Resolute, but if that were so, she could have sold the land to immediately fund rebuilding Mount Royal. While it is true that she sold Resolute in Book II, it was also stated that the plantation would be returned to her ownership.

Despite showing Orry's and George's meeting after the War (at the end of Book II and in the opening narration mentions of Book III), we hear George saying that the didn't manage to put together their banknot.

Gus, the child of Augusta Barclay and Charles Main, appears to be considerably older in Book III than he should have been, given that he had just been born at the end of Book II. And so is George's daughter; Hope, who was acctually born shortly before the War started. In a mysterious way, George turns out to have a son - not that little, that we could assume him being just born.

Other continuity issues include various characters knowing each other who should not, or knowing one another to a degree that would seem implausible. Cooper knows Madeline, which is unlikely, and, even more bafflingly, he also knows Isabella Hazard. In addition, Cooper seems to know that his sister Ashton is ruthless, which makes little sense given that he has likely been out of the country since she was about eight years old. Another oddity is the fact that Stanley did not know Madeline, when in fact he probably did. While there is no proof that Stanley and Madeline ever met previous to Book III, given that Madeline attended a party at Mont Royal at which Stanley was present, the likelihood of them not meeting is certainly no where near as unlikely as Cooper (who was not even in Book II) having met Stanley’s wife Isabella. Even if they had somehow met, the lack of formality between them when they are first seen together in Book III is in itself unusual.

Things You May Have Missed

• Lt. Pickles, the dark haired leader of the KKK in Book III, was a fellow soldier of Charles Main in Book II.

• The Union officer who spared Mount Royal in Book II identified himself as Major Fisk. He was previously seen as Orry and George’s fellow cadet at West Point. While there, he at first despised Orry, but later came to appreciate Orry’s generosity when Orry helped him financially. Orry’s kindness was repaid by Fisk years later when Fisk opted not to burn down Mount Royal, although neither he nor Orry ever knew that the favour had been repaid.

Novels and miniseries differences

• In the novels, Orry Main has an older brother named Cooper, while in Books I and II in the television miniseries Orry is the only son in the family; Charles Main is his cousin. In Book III, however, Orry's brother Cooper is a major character; it is hinted that he was not around for the previous 23 years on account of being in South America, although his presence continues to cause considerable continuity problems with regard to the previous two mini-series.

• In the novels, Elkanah Bent is a substantially different character. He's not a handsome and smooth-talking cad who hides his evil underneath his good looks and charm; but an ugly, obviously disturbed fellow with antisocial tendencies.

• In the novels, Orry Main is shot in his arm during the Mexican War and the arm is amputated. In the television miniseries, Orry's wound is in his leg, and the leg is only maimed, not amputated. Orry walks with a noticeable limp for the rest of the miniseries.

• In the novels, Orry Main is shot and killed in an ambush by Northern troops near the end of the Civil War. In the miniseries Orry survives the Civil War (he is shot during the war but makes a full recovery). However, in Book III he is stabbed in the back at the beginning of the first episode by his longtime nemesis, Elkanah Bent.

• In the novels, Orry Main does not meet Madeline until he comes home on leave after two years at West Point. In the miniseries, Orry meets Madeline on the way to West Point.

Past and Future Stars

An interesting feature of the miniseries was that it featured several little-known actors who would soon become famous in other roles. Among them were Patrick Swayze (Orry Main), who would soon star in popular box-office hits such as Dirty Dancing and Ghost (film). Kirstie Alley (Virgilia Hazard), would soon achieve fame as a regular character on the classic NBC comedy Cheers. Jonathan Frakes (Stanley Hazard), would earn fame a year after Book II aired playing Commander William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Forest Whitaker (Cuffey) would become an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winner for his performance in the 2006 feature film, The Last King of Scotland. The miniseries also featured numerous actors in minor roles who were already famous (or even Hollywood legends). Among them: James Stewart, Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Mitchum, Johnny Cash, David Carradine, Jean Simmons, Lloyd Bridges, Olivia de Havilland, and Hal Holbrook. Several actors who were well-known from popular 1980's television series were featured, among them Linda Evans (Dynasty (TV series) soap opera); David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H drama/comedy); Robert Guillaume and Inga Swenson (Benson (TV series) comedy); Parker Stevenson (The Hardy Boys mystery series); Mary Crosby (Dallas (TV series) soap opera); Morgan Fairchild (Flamingo Road soap opera); and Genie Francis (General Hospital soap opera).

Awards and nominations

The North and South minis were nominated (N) and awarded (W) with many different awards around the world, among which the most significant are :

Year	Award	N/W	Category/People
1986	Golden Globes	N	David Carradine for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (N&S1)
1986	Golden Globes	N	Lesley-Anne Down for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (N&S1)
1986	Emmy	W	many people for Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S1, ep.4)
1986	Emmy	N	Virginia Darcy for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S1, ep.1)
1986	Emmy	N	many people for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S1, ep.6)
1986	Emmy	N	Bill Conti for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) (N&S1, ep.1)
1986	Emmy	N	Stevan Larner for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S1, ep.6)
1986	Emmy	N	many people for Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single Camera Production (N&S1, ep.4)
1986	Emmy	N	many people for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S1, ep.2)
1986	Emmy	N	many people for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S2, ep.1)
1986	Emmy	N	Robert Fletcher for Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S2, ep.1)
1986	Emmy	N	many people for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special (N&S2, ep.6)
1995	ASC Award	N	Don E. FauntLeRoy for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Mini-Series' (N&S3, ep.3)

Media

VHS and DVD releases

All three of the "North and South" miniseries were released on VHS first and in October 2004 also on DVD. There was a special collectors edition in the USA with all three Books together. It contained also an extra movie with John Jakes and David Wolper talking about the books and the miniseries, James Read, Leslie-Anne Down, and Patrick Swayze discussing their characters, general thoughts of other cast and crew members, plus information about the historical background and trials of its reconstruction for the movies.

In Europe DVDs were edited separately, without Book 3 episodes, nor the extra movie.

Soundtrack

Varese Sarabande CD (VCD47250) contains music scores from two of Bill Conti's movies - "North and South" miniseries and "The Right Stuff" movie.

The following titles from North & South are present on the CD:

1. Main Title 3:45
2. Southern Life 1:38
3. Love In The Chapel 4:04
4. A Close Call 2:00
5. Returning Home 2:13
6. Last Embrace 2:57
7. Final Meeting 2:28

Note that the VCD47250 tracks are re-recordings, as the CD notes state the tracks were recorded November 25, 1985, which was after North & South had originally aired.

The Varese Sarabande Soundtrack Club released the entire score to "Book 1" in a 4 CD box set on February 25, 2008.[1] The tracks on this 4 CD box set are the original recordings used in the production of the series.

Alternative titles

• Bosnia - Sjever i Jug
• Croatia - Sjever i Jug
• Denmark - Nord og Syd
• Egypt - نورث اند سوث (the show's title written in Arabic alphabets)
• Finland - Jaettu maa
• France - Nord et Sud
• Germany - Fackeln im Sturm (Torches in the Storm)
• Greece - Βόρειοι και Νότιοι
• Hungary - Észak és Dél
• Hebrew - צפון ודרום
• Italy - Nord e Sud
• Norway - Nord og sør
• Poland - Północ - Południe
• Portugal - Norte e Sul
• Romania - Nord si Sud
• Russia - Sever i Jug (Cyrilic:Север и Юг)
• Serbia - Sever-Jug (Cyrilic:Север-Југ)
• Slovenia - Sever in Jug
• Spain - Norte y Sur
• Sweden - Nord och Syd
• Taiwan - 北與南
• Venezuela - Norte y Sur

External links

• North & South, Book 1 at IMDb
• North & South, Book 2 at IMDb
• North & South, Book 3 at IMDb
• Official DVD Homepage
• Unofficial Homepage #1
• Unofficial Homepage #2
• Unofficial Homepage #3
• Unofficial Homepage #4
• Unofficial Homepage #5