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*Roots: The Gift*
Roots: The Gift
	VHS cover
Genre	Historical drama
Based on	Characters from Roots; by Alex Haley
Written by	D.M. Eyre Jr.
Directed by	Kevin Hooks
Starring	Louis Gossett Jr.; LeVar Burton; Avery Brooks; Kate Mulgrew; Shaun Cassidy; John McMartin; Jerry Hardin; Annabella Price; Fran Bennett; Tim Russ; Michael Learned;
Music by	Gerald Fried
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	David L. Wolper; Bernard Sofronski;
Producer	Mark M. Wolper
Cinematography	John A. Alonzo
Editor	Stanford C. Allen
Running time	100 minutes
Production companies	David L. Wolper Productions; Warner Bros. Television;
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	December 11, 1988

Roots: The Gift is a 1988 American historical drama television film directed by Kevin Hooks and written by D.M. Eyre Jr. It is the third installment of the Roots miniseries. The film premiered on ABC on December 11, 1988, with AT&T as the sole national sponsor for the broadcast, and was crafted as a Christmas film.^[1] LeVar Burton and Louis Gossett Jr. reprise their respective roles of Kunta Kinte and Fiddler. The film takes place between the second and third episodes of the original Roots series. It was watched by 23.3 million viewers.^[2]

Plot summary

In December 1775, Cletus Moyer is a free black Northerner in colonial America, working with a pre-Underground Railroad network to help slaves escape captivity. In the days just prior to Christmas, a group of bounty hunters led by Hattie Carraway captures Moyer near the Parker plantation in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Because of his capture, dozens of slaves who have already left their plantations in escape attempts are in danger of being captured as well. Moyer implores two slaves from the nearby Reynolds plantation to take his place: Kunta Kinte, a Mandinka in his mid-twenties who was captured in what is now the Gambia, and Fiddler, an elderly man who was born into slavery. Kunta is eager to help (and to escape himself), but Fiddler is unwilling, fearful of the consequences if they are caught.

After an unsuccessful slave revolt elsewhere in the colony, Moyer and two slaves are hanged by Carraway's men on Christmas Eve, prompting Fiddler to set aside his fear and help Kunta lead the runaway slaves to freedom. Although the pair successfully leads the runaways that night to their next stop on the escape route (a boat waiting at the river) there is only room for one of them, and since neither one wants to go without the other, they both decide to stay. That choice forces them to return to the Parker plantation and manufacture an excuse for their temporary absence. Nevertheless, Kunta and Fiddler are left with the satisfaction of knowing that they helped to give a group of fellow slaves the best Christmas gift of all: freedom.

One stated meaning of the "gift" mentioned in the title is freedom. When Kunta visits Cletus in his cell to bring him food, the captured freedman offers him a word of wisdom in return: "I will give you a Christmas gift. 'Live free or die.'" Another interpretation is the chance for a new life, symbolized by the birth of a child on Christmas Eve. When Kunta and Fiddler arrive at the river crossing with the runaway slaves, a woman in their party goes into labor. After the baby girl is born, Kunta lifts the swaddled child up to the night sky and says "Behold the only thing greater than yourself." These words reference a scene in the 1977 miniseries, when an older Kunta, played by John Amos, tells his newborn daughter Kizzy the same thing against a starlit sky.

Cast

LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte
Louis Gossett Jr. as Fiddler
Shaun Cassidy as Edmund Parker, Jr.
Jerry Hardin as Dr. William Reynolds
Kate Mulgrew as Hattie Carraway
Avery Brooks as Cletus Moyer
Michael Learned as Amelia
John McMartin as Edmund Parker, Sr.
Annabella Price as Sarah Parker
Fran Bennett as May
Tim Russ as Marcellus
Introduction by Alex Haley

Roots: The Gift is notable as a Star Trek "preunion" for featuring four actors who portrayed major characters in Star Trek television shows: Burton (Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation), Brooks (Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Mulgrew and Russ (Kathryn Janeway and Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager).^[3] Jerry Hardin played three notable Star Trek guest roles: Radue in Star Trek: The Next Generation "When the Bough Breaks", Samuel Clemens in Star Trek: The Next Generation "Time's Arrow", and Neria in Star Trek: Voyager "Emanations".

Production

Following a brief introduction by Alex Haley, the film opens with a replay of a memorable scene from the second episode of the original Roots miniseries: Following the first of many unsuccessful escape attempts, a prideful Kunta is publicly and mercilessly whipped until he agrees to assume the English name "Toby", which was selected for him by his new owner. Afterwards, Fiddler tends to the semi-conscious Kunta, telling him "You know who you be" and that it does not matter what anyone else calls him.

Home media

In 2007, Warner Bros. released Roots: The Complete Collection, a 10-disc DVD collection containing Roots: The Gift, along with the earlier Roots and Roots: The Next Generations miniseries.

References

^ Shirley, Don (December 10, 1988). "TV Review: A Disappointing Package in 'Roots: The Gift'". Los Angeles Times.
^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. December 14, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306143538.
^ When the film first aired in December 1988, The Next Generation was in its second season, while the premieres of Deep Space Nine and Voyager were both years away.