ABC NOVELS FOR TELEVISION: NORTH AND SOUTH: BOOK I: PART 5 (TV)

Summary

The fifth installment of this six-part miniseries based on the novel by John Jakes, which portrays the climate of unrest in America before the Civil War during the years 1842 to 1861, and focuses on two families: the Mains of South Carolina and the Hazards of Pennsylvania.

In this episode, Ashton recovers from her "marsh fever" and prepares for her advantageous wedding to James Huntoon, while elsewhere Justin, pretending that Madeline has starved herself in the midst of a breakdown, schemes to begin dosing her with highly addictive laudanum without her knowledge. Orry is bewildered by her "mysterious ailment" and strange behavior, and at Ashton and James' wedding, Brett is upset by the groom's talk of secession and reveals that she still intends to marry Billy Hazard. Ashton, still plotting with her lover Forbes LaMotte, somehow convinces her husband that she has "saved herself" for their wedding night. Later, James heads to New Orleans and leaves a bored Ashton behind with Orry; when he objects to the idea of secession, Ashton points out that he still relies heavily on slavery. In Louisiana, James defends states' rights in a fiery speech — heard by none other than George and Orry's old nemesis Elkanah Bent, now a major.

Bonding over their hatred of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, Bent then discovers that James has just married his enemy's sister. Spotting Madeline in the wedding photo, Bent makes a shocking connection and questions brothel owner Madam Conti, who unknowingly reveals that Madeline's late mother was not only one of her working girls, but also a "quadroon." Orry and Brett travel by train to reunite with the Hazards and quickly realize that they are not welcome in the North, though George, pleased with the mill's success, reminds his friend that "they're not all like that." Their visit is then interrupted by Virgilia, who barges in to announce that she intends to assist John Brown, the infamous abolitionist and "new Messiah." She trades sharp insults with an incensed Orry, who then drags Brett from the home when George demands apologies from both sides. Constance tries to reassure George, who frets that his friendship with Orry has been seriously affected by their opposing views, while elsewhere Orry remains highly skeptical about Brett's marriage to Billy, though the couple makes clear their intentions to wed with or without family approval.

Virgilia boards the southbound train along with Brett and Orry, but the passengers are taken hostage in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia by "Captain Smith" — really John Brown — and his men. Grady arrives to reunite with Virgilia and threatens to kill a defiant Orry, but escaped slave Priam suddenly intervenes, revealing that the North isn't the slavery-free paradise he expected. Brown is forced to allow the passengers back onto the train when the West Virginia militia arrives to fight back, and Priam and Grady are both shot dead in the ensuing chaos. Brown is caught and eventually hanged, and Orry worries that war between the North and South is now all but certain. Senator Greene finds Virgilia trapped in a madhouse and frees her, urging her not to become "another martyr" for their cause. Virgilia, explaining that she was indeed truly married to Grady, is reluctant to accept Greene's offer to become his mistress in exchange for his legal and political protection.

As the North eagerly supports Abraham Lincoln's bid for president, George worries that his likely election will certainly mean the loss of the South and therefore war, meaning that he and his best friend will formally be enemies. Constance, however, cheers him up by revealing her pregnancy. In Philadelphia, Virgilia rails against Lincoln and promotes Brown supporter Gerrit Smith, while elsewhere Madeline, still struggling with the death of Maum Sally, begs for her "tonic." Forbes, discussing Justin's plans for a personal regiment, notes his sister-in-law's "change in disposition." Brett confronts a drunk and embittered Orry about his vendetta against the Hazards, and when she suggests that he has never truly been in love as she is with Billy, he strikes her in anger.

Upset, Brett rushes off to Charleston and reunites with Ashton, who cheerfully shows off her "secession bonnet" and scoffs at Brett's suggestion that she herself may still have feelings for her former beau, Billy. Elsewhere, however, she and Forbes plot vengeance against Brett and Billy, with Forbes pointing out that he may very well be killed in the upcoming war, for which James continues to show vociferous support. Includes commercials and promos.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: November 9, 1985 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:58:58
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:06457
• GENRE: Drama, historical
• SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, historical; Miniseries; Abolitionist movement; Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865; Romance; History - American
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1985
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - AT&T telephone services
  • TV - Commercials - Actifed cold medication
  • TV - Commercials - Arrid Extra Dry anti-perspirant
  • TV - Commercials - Birds Eye frozen vegetables
  • TV - Commercials - Campbell's Chunky soups
  • TV - Commercials - Chiquita bananas
  • TV - Commercials - CitiBank credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - Clairol Ultress hair dye
  • TV - Commercials - Corningware Visions cookware
  • TV - Commercials - Denny's restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Eastern Airlines
  • TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Kellogg's All-Bran cereal
  • TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal
  • TV - Commercials - L'Eggs Colors stockings
  • TV - Commercials - Maybelline Great Lash mascara
  • TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Nuprin painkillers
  • TV - Commercials - OS-CAL calcium supplement
  • TV - Commercials - Philadelphia cream cheese
  • TV - Commercials - Revlon nail polish
  • TV - Commercials - Sears stores
  • TV - Commercials - Security Pacific Bank
  • TV - Commercials - Sominex 2 pain reliever/sleep aid
  • TV - Commercials - Sunkist juice
  • TV - Commercials - Wendy's restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum
  • TV - Commercials - Wrigley's Spearmint gum
  • TV - Promos - "Dynasty"
  • TV - Promos - "Growing Pains"
  • TV - Promos - "Hardcastle & McCormick"
  • TV - Promos - "Lady Blue"
  • TV - Promos - "MacGyver"
  • TV - Promos - "Monday Night Football"
  • TV - Promos - "Moonlighting"
  • TV - Promos - "North and South"
  • TV - Promos - "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"
  • TV - Promos - "Shadow Chasers"
  • TV - Promos - "Spenser: For Hire"
  • TV - Promos - "Who's the Boss?"
  • TV - Promos - ABC World News Tonight

CREDITS

• David Wolper … Executive Producer
• Chuck McLain … Executive Producer
• Paul Freeman … Producer
• Rob Harland … Associate Producer
• Richard T. Heffron … Director
• Douglas Heyes … Developed by, Writer
• Paul F. Edwards … Writer
• John Jakes … Based on the novel by
• Bill Conti … Music by
• Kirstie Alley … Cast, Virgilia Hazard
• Georg Stanford Brown … Cast, Garrison Grady
• David Carradine … Cast, Justin LaMotte
• Philip Casnoff … Cast, Elkanah Bent
• Lesley-Anne Down … Cast, Madeline Fabray LaMotte
• Genie Francis … Cast, Brett Main
• Terri Garber … Cast, Ashton Main Huntoon
• Wendy Kilbourne … Cast, Constance Flynn
• Jim Metzler … Cast, James Huntoon
• James Read … Cast, George Hazard
• Lewis Smith … Cast, Charles Main
• John Stockwell … Cast, Billy Hazard
• Patrick Swayze … Cast, Orry Main
• Johnny Cash … Cast, John Brown
• Olivia Cole … Cast, Maum Sally
• Morgan Fairchild … Cast, Burdetta Halloran
• Robert Guillaume … Cast, Frederick Douglass
• Hal Holbrook … Cast, Abraham Lincoln
• Gene Kelly … Cast, Senator Charles Edwards
• Robert Mitchum … Cast, Patrick Flynn
• Jean Simmons … Cast, Clarissa Main
• David Ogden Stiers … Cast, Congressman Sam Greene
• Inga Swenson … Cast, Maude Hazard
• Elizabeth Taylor … Cast, Madam Conti
• John Anderson … Cast, William Hazard
• Lee Bergere … Cast, Nicholas Fabray
• Jonathan Frakes … Cast, Stanley Hazard
• Wendy Fulton … Cast, Isabel Hazard
• David Harris … Cast, Priam
• Mitchell Ryan … Cast, Tillet Main
• Forest Whitaker … Cast, Cuffey
• William Ostrander … Cast, Forbes LaMotte
• Patricia Allison … Cast, Second Abolitionist
• Alveda King Beal … Cast, Slave
• Virginia Dale … Cast, Third Abolitionist
• Mac McClennahan … Cast, Passenger
• Michael McHugh … Cast, First Gunman
• Ted Manson … Cast, Dr. Sapp
• David Muir … Cast, First Abolitionist
• For "ABC News Brief":
• Brit Hume … Anchor
• Harold Greene … Anchor