The Temptations. Two VHS Tapes. (NBC Home Video TV miniseries)
The Temptations is a four-hour television miniseries broadcast in two-hour halves on NBC, based upon the history of one of Motown's longest-lived acts, The Temptations. Executive produced by former Motown executive Suzanne de Passe, produced by Otis Williams and Temptations manager Shelley Berger, and based upon Williams’ Temptations autobiography, the miniseries was originally broadcast on November 1 and November 2, 1998. Allan Arkush was the miniseries’ director. The soap-opera career of Motown's most successful group, the Temptations, lends credence to the old belief that great art comes from troubled lives. Over three decades, the band struggled through numerous ego trips, countless members, broken relationships, coke addiction, alcoholism, suicide, cancer, deadly arthritis--in short, all the melodramatic devices necessary for a TV miniseries. This two-and-a-half-hour docudrama touches on all of these personal tragedies, but unfortunately forgets the real reason for the strength of the story: the music. Sure, there's wonderful reenactments of the quintet's finest material, such as "My Girl," "Just My Imagination," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "The Way You Do the Things You Do," all performed with the slick choreography and shimmering vocal harmonies that made the band legendary. But, unfortunately, director Allan Arkush (Rock and Roll High School) and writers Kevin Arkadie and Robert Johnson forget to put the music into any historical perspective. Why were the Temptations so important? What was their contribution to pop music? By watching this saccharine, manipulative exposé, you'd never know. The performances are nonetheless terrific, especially Charles Malik Whitfield as leader (and narrator) Otis Williams, D.B. Woodside as his partner, Melvin Franklin, and Leon as the group's talented livewire, David Ruffin.
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NBC Home Video
{"Package Dimensions": "7.5 x 4.2 x 2.1 inches", "Item Weight": "0.01 ounces", "Manufacturer": "NBC Home Video", "Date First Available": "March 7, 2010"}