The story of how the Texas Rangers were created. In 1836, west of the Mississippi was considered the Wild West and the Texas frontier was viewed as hell on earth. But this was a time of bravery, a time to die for what you believed in and a time to stand tall against the cruel rule of the Mexican General Santa Anna. At the end, the Texas flags stood tall and victorious, claiming a piece of history for all eternity.
"Follow me a little longer along this bloody, twisted road," says Sam Houston at the end of the second night. You could hear that as a plea directed at viewers. I'm not sure it's gonna work, Sam.
I know the miniseries is set in the 1830s, but aren't we at the point now, in the 2010s, when we no longer want to see history reduced to offensive stereotypes and simplistic good versus bad morality?
[The cast] may not be enough to raise the entirety of Texas, but they along with rich historical details that go well beyond the usual Alamo myths make the series worth watching.
Texas Rising offers a multistory sprawl, with perhaps a few moments of entertainment, but more often with stilted dialogue, and it is undecided, or worse, defensive, about the history.
History Channel has made some ratings fictionalizing history, so here is more: a long, languishing 10-hour, five part miniseries, Texas Rising about the battles following the Alamo
The cardinal sin of Texas Rising is that it is just dreadfully boring. There is a whole lot of talking but next to no doing. A handful of conflicts are over too soon and too small in scope for an epic production such as this.
It is perhaps to North & South what The Vikings is to Game of Thrones, not dissimilar, but starker, simpler and perhaps a little more instinctively brutal.
