The Kennedys after Camelot

The Kennedys After Camelot looks at the next generation of the Kennedy family and life following JFK and RFK's assassinations. It is hard to not compare it to the first series, The Kennedys, which was a perfect and successful dramatization of the Kennedy family. One must try to watch and judge this sequel on its own. On its own this sequel manages to hold its own and deliver some great moments.

The first series (The Kennedys) had close to no issues and earned praise and accolades from fans and critics. Unfortunately there are a few issues with its sequel. Katie Holmes is once again great as Jackie. Not only does she resemble her closely she sounds and acts like her. She manages to carry this series for the most part. However the series lacked a strong male lead to carry it all the way. Matthew Perry was badly cast as Teddy and mediocre in his portrayal. Perhaps they should have changed the time spent on certain parts, Perry as Teddy got a lot of screen time and for the first time in this production I felt the series dragged on. Jackie, JFK Jr and Joan Kennedy could have had more screen time. Joan was perhaps underused in this series. More care in the direction of the 1st half and changes to the screen time might have made a difference.

The second half was a big improvement on the first. It was more eventful and contained better moments. The beauty of the first series was how it resembled a Greek tragedy and while the events of Camelot are different those elements could still be incorporated. The last scene with JFK Jr was beautifully shot and contained these elements. The music worked well in the series and was very solemn when needed.

I was very excited and enthusiastic to hear they were making a sequel. There was certainly a lot of material to be dramatized. However I also knew that the first series was a hard act to follow. One should note that Camelot involves different events and time periods outside the White House. It is not so glorious or grand but slower and solemn.

If you loved the first series and interested in the Kennedys I recommend it.

Why did Katie Holmes use a "Northeastern/Boston" accent? Not at all true to life if you've ever heard Jackie O speak. Jackie had a very soft voice with a strange kind of affect, almost like Marilyn Monroe, (sorry to use that comparison), but I never heard a "Massachusetts" sound in her voice. I would have thought they would try to be more authentic.

Not sure why but this series received lots of negative criticism. I was in college when JFK was shot, I remember it well and the general theme of what happened in the following years. I have no complaints with the casting but will assume most of the "behind the scenes" activities and conversations are partly or mostly fiction, to tell what is believed to be the family reaction to various events.

I found the four episode series on a two DVD set at my public library. My wife and I watched the first episode, it has a "gossip column" feel to it, and is presented almost like a soap opera. My wife had no desire to see the remaining three episodes. I watched the fourth one, it ends right before JFK Jr's fateful plane trip that ended his life and presumably signaled the actual end of "Camelot."

As a student of The Kennedy administration and old enough to remember, this sequel was disgraceful! I agree with the other reviews. The script is borderline comical and insulting to the viewer. The original series was far superior, not perfect by any means but considerably better.

Matthew Perry was the producer which explains quite a bit, he was difficult to watch as Ted Kennedy as was the character who portrayed Ethel. If I had to hear one more "Kiddo" reference to Jackie, it would induce vomiting. Additionally, where was Caroline? She may have had some input, one can speculate, because she was simply not written into the script.

Katie Holmes does a decent job in her role as Jackie but each time I had hoped for something...anything to resurrect this from near death, it was too late. The other objection I had as how they condensed part 2 of this series. Not much attention was paid to John Jr either. It seems as though his big line was, "My father is dead".

Good lord, this was so bad. It really left so much to be desired and should never have been produced at all.

Garbage! It is hard to believe that we are in the year 2017 and still glamorizing this particular group of people. If your looking for pure fiction...this might be entertaining b/c of K. Holmes. If your looking for facts and true historical accounts..you'll need to do the research and find them for yourself.