Line #10 Series/SonsOfLiberty


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6f826252629415837a8f5286000cc35b.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The Founding Fathers.[[note]]They didn't actually look much like this.[[/note]]]]
3	->''"If you make martyrs of these men, the people of Boston won’t see these men as sons of tyranny. They’ll be seen as [[TitleDrop sons of liberty]]."''
4	-->-- '''Benjamin Franklin'''
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6	''Sons of Liberty'' is a 2015 American miniseries, part of Creator/TheHistoryChannel's foray into scripted programming. It is a three-part, six-hour miniseries depicting the events that led up to UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution. The show's protagonist is Sam Adams (Creator/BenBarnes), second cousin to UsefulNotes/JohnAdams (Creator/HenryThomas), and focuses on the growing unrest among the colonists and backlash against their treatment as second-class citizens by the "real" British.
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8	Like many series based on historical events, the miniseries does [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory take some liberties with actual events]], compressing historical events, ramping up conflict, and emphasizing personal relationships alongside the prelude to war. Reviews also criticized the HistoricalBeautyUpdate given to many of the Founding Fathers, who, contrary to what the show portrays, were mostly married, philosophical fathers in their forties and fifties, not dashing young bachelors with serious fighting skills.
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10	The series also stars Creator/MartonCsokas as Thomas Gage, Creator/RyanEggold as Joseph Warren, Creator/RafeSpall as John Hancock, Creator/MichaelRaymondJames as Paul Revere, Creator/JasonOMara as George Washington and Creator/DeanNorris as Benjamin Franklin.
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12	A SpiritualSuccessor to ''Series/{{Vikings}}'', with its entertaining-but-not-always-accurate take on history and its slightly gritty visual style. Not to be confused with ''Film/SonsOfLiberty'', a 1939 film about Patriot financier Haym Salomon--or to the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty 2nd installation]] of the ''[[VideoGame/MetalGear Metal Gear Solid]]'' series.
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14	----
15	!!This show provides examples of:
16	* AdaptationalAttractiveness:
17	** With the exception of Joseph Warren, most of the men portrayed in this series were not young and handsome at the time of the Revolution, but well into middle age in an era without the benefits of modern hygiene. Special notice to protagonist Sam Adams, who was a twice-married, graying, fifty-year-old father, not a twenty- or thirty-something firebrand widower.
18	** Averted with Benjamin Franklin. Creator/DeanNorris bears a strong resemblance to the real Franklin, and his rendition of Franklin as a wise, erudite, DirtyOldMan is historically spot on.
19	* AgentPeacock: John Hancock evolves into a fighter, but never quite loses his style or fastidiousness.
20	* AndStarring: The opening's cast roll ends "with Creator/JasonOMara and Creator/DeanNorris".
21	* BandOfBrothers: The rebels, with Sam Adams, John Hancock, Joseph Warren, and Paul Revere at the core.
22	* FireForgedFriends: Most of the revolutionaries don't particularly like Hancock at first, until he starts getting his hands dirty alongside them.
23	* ForegoneConclusion: Anyone who is familiar with the American Revolution will know that [[spoiler:the colonists will gain their freedom from the British and the Declaration of Independence will be signed]].
24	* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Most of the Founding Fathers, though they fought battles, were more about writing pamphlets and a slow-and-steady campaign, not leaping between rooftops like an action movie hero.
25	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: At first it seems that Major John Pitcairn of the Royal Marines will be treated this way, but he is quickly shown to be the TokenGoodTeammate and OnlySaneMan of General Gage's staff. His only real KickTheDog moment is actually a MercyKill, since [[spoiler: Kelly's]] wounds would have been slowly and excruciatingly fatal with the medicine of the time. In real life, American historians remember Pitcairn as [[NobleDemon "a good man serving a bad cause."]]
26	* MeetCute: Between [[spoiler: Joseph and Margaret]] in the woods.
27	* RebelLeader: Sam Adams, at least in this telling.
28	* RousingSpeech: Washington turns the Declaration of Independence into one.
29	* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Joseph Warren]]'s death serves this purpose in-universe for the other rebels. [[spoiler: Major Pitcairn]] could be seen this way as well.
30	* SatelliteLoveInterest: Margaret seems like she's going to be this, until she [[spoiler: delivers Joseph the warning that leads to Paul Revere's famous warning ride]].
31	* StarCrossedLovers: Margaret Gage and [[spoiler: Joseph Warren]]
32	* TitleDrop: The page quote comes from Benjamin Franklin addressing a British panel in the second episode.
33	* TookALevelInBadass: Both Joseph Warren and John Hancock start out considerably less action-oriented than their peers. By the final episode, Warren is leading a battle and Hancock [[spoiler: shoots a soldier who is about to kill Sam and Revere]].

Context Series / SonsOfLiberty