I'll Fly Away

My comment is simple. My favorite TV show ever (and I go back to about 1962 or 63 for television) is "Homicide: Life on the Street." Number two is "I'll Fly Away." It's just a masterpiece. I believe this is the first "10" I've ever given anything.

It's been awhile, so I'll forget some characters' names, and I'm too lazy to hit the back button and open a new window here. The youngest son was one those exceedingly rare little-kid characters in television or movies who acts precisely his age, as opposed to an obnoxious seven-going-on-seventeen. Francie was adorable and winning as his older sister and, again, absolutely believable as being her correct age, and in going through the crises of her particular age.

The actress who played Lily (I've got to hit that back button), their "colored" maid and the center of the cast, was the gem of the show. As so often happens, though, she never seemed to get anywhere after "I'll Fly Away." I thought for sure we had a real up-and-comer there. (And as I recall, so did many critics).

And oh yes, Sam Waterston had a life before "Law & Order" for you kiddies out there. To a degree I still think of Jack McCoy as the guy from "I'll Fly Away." Nowadays on television, his character's relationship with Lily, the maid, would be riddled with politically correct sensibilities, which is to say it would be pandering, one-dimensional and cloying. But no, Waterston is not some cartoonishly "evolved" white good guy; he's a convincingly complex southern liberal in the 1950s. At any rate, the relationship between Lily and Waterston's character is rich to watch unfold.

Is it out there somewhere on DVD or video? If so, rent it and get caught up in it like you would an HBO series. The story lines are continuous for the most part. The ratings for "I'll Fly Away" were just about zero for the first of its two season, on ABC, but it was one of those occasional noble instances by a network where they renew a losing show purely on the basis of its unanimous critical acclaim.

"I'll Fly Away" was and always will be my favorite show. Intelligent, well written, and beautifully acted, the show was much more than prime time entertainment and I was absolutely heartbroken when it was cancelled. I was ten when the series premiered, and my mother and I would watch it (and cry) every week. Though it has been years since I have seen an episode, I still never fail to feel a huge lump in the back of my throat at the thoughts of Lily registering to vote, or John Morgan telling his friends that his mother is a famous cowgirl. Each episode was like a small Horton Foote play, and to watch its characters grow over a long period of time was the show's greatest asset.

Though an enormous critical success, I find it tragic that the show has become such a forgotten treasure. In today's cynical world of post-O.J. Simpson, I will always remember "I'll Fly Away" for its shear hope, optimism, and unabashed honesty.

It is high time for this show to be brought back for reruns!!!

Forrest Bedford is an extremely flawed and conflicted character, and his relationship with Lily is deeply strained. Morally, he understands that segregation is wrong and that integration is inevitable, however he worries about the changes Civil Rights will bring as he is bound up with tradition. He beautifully illustrates the mindset of several white southerners as his dilemma is representative of the struggle of tradition vs. change that STILL plagues the modern south.

This was a sensitive, complex series about a family struggling with the complexities of life in a small Georgia town during the Civil Rights Movement. It was ably acted by the entire cast, beautifully written. Never cloying, always intelligent. Happily, after being shown on regular network television, it was repeated on PBS about a year later. A memorable, glowing work. The finale -- "Then and Now" was wonderful -- but you really should see the entire series to appreciate it fully.

I used to compare it to To Kill A Mockingbird, but realize now that was inappropriate, except in that it was set in the same kind of small town -- many years later -- as Harper Lee's masterpiece. And Forrest Bedford was no Atticus Finch. But nevertheless, I'll Fly Away did have that kind of timeless quality.

Respectfully, I disagree with the one comment posted so far.

My wife and I discovered this series when it was on PBS. As stated, we are amazed that something this good was originally on commercial TV. Is it totally unrealistic that a maid would ultimately be that outspoken, and that a Southern white lawyer could slowly have his eyes opened? Maybe. But I think the key is that everything developed slowly, over time. There were no unrealistically sudden conversions.

Among the other things that impressed us: There were no easy answers; every episode, it seems, almost painfully explored issues with complexity. If you want easy answers, this is not the series for you.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" was certainly a classic (although, as my 85 year-old father has observed, Gregory Peck played the same essential character in virtually every movie.) And it may be true that its characterization was true of the vast majority of even well-meaning southern whites. But I accept the possibility that, even in that time, at least one person of color "pushed the envelope". And that at least one Southern white of good heart found himself or herself slowly transformed.

If you can accept this, admire this series for its excellent performances and refusal to take the easy way out in any episode.

I long for this show to come out on DVD. It is still as I recall one of the very best shows on TV. What is the problem??? There is certainly a wide audience who want to own and see it again. It is timely because it is of an important time period in the US and now with the Martin Luther King Memorial being dedicated in DC is a perfect time to help this generation learn about what life was like for a segment of our population.

The cast, the actors, the dialog were all spot on encompassing family, work, community and country reactions to the questions raised by the Civil Rights Act.

If you don't believe me, just catch the numbers reading and seeing the movie The Help. I can't wait to own that on DVD as well as SOMEDAY "I'll Fly Away".