Texas Rising

[rumacara]

Karl, those gladiators are a welcome. I can trade for some Boot Hill figures if you want.

[gamer Mac]

Just been watching this and I am enjoying it. How realistic is it?

[rumacara]

Just been watching this and I am enjoying it. How realistic is it?

About historical accuracy i cannot be certain.
As for pure entertainment and to get some gaming ideas i think its word watching.

[Mason]

Just been watching this and I am enjoying it. How realistic is it?

I think this review from Amazon may answer that question.....

In 2015, television can boast of the finest productions in its history. There is outstanding writing, acting and production that, in the past, was only seen on the big screen. Indeed, movies seem stuck in the mire of special effects and computer generated imaging having forsaken all semblance of creative substance. Yes, TV is the current bastion of quality dramatic productions. But "Texas Rising" is not one of them.

I looked forward to watching this mini-series on the formation of the Great State of Texas. But early into the first episode, I was confounded by the worst writing and acting I've witnessed on a purported "major" production. Nevertheless, the DVR continued to record this POS and I continued to watch the train wreck for the sheer entertainment value of pure incompetence.

Being of the Baby Boom generation, I've been subject to the history of Texas in various forms for decades. Most of it was from movies and TV and books of fiction and I'm sure most of it has been myth. But all this exposure has led to some familiarity with the core facts involved. I'm also very familiar with the geography of Texas, having spent a great deal of time visiting most of the areas of the state over many years. I wish the people involved in "Texas Rising" had spent a little time becoming familiar with the state before rushing into making this travesty.

History is frequently twisted by poetic license. I can accept that a dramatic presentation of an historical event will contain fictional elements. But the writers who came up with the peripheral characters and events in "Texas Rising" just recycled writing elements that I thought had been tossed out in the 1980's. The characterizations are so stereotypical and predictable it adds to the whole comic atmosphere of incompetence. As for the truly historical characters portrayals, the writers apparently felt the legends and myths surrounding these real people has more validity than their actual lives. Take Emily West, for instance. History indicates Ms West was an indentured servant of mixed race who was held captive by the Mexican army as it was engaged in the fight with the Texas rebels. The writers of "Texas Rising" turned her into a former New Orleans whore who spied for Sam Houston (her lover) by becoming the mistress of Santa Ana. This, of course, should make for interesting theatre but, instead, made for a series of totally unbelievable episodes without really adding anything to the plot.

While some have criticized the acting, I'm going to cut them some slack here. The cast seems to just be crew members of a sinking ship. They're doing their job as best they can so they can draw their paychecks, hit the life rafts and make it home intact. This is a truly awful production but most of us have worked at bad jobs before. We did it for the pay, not the satisfaction of performing an important role in life. It's an embarrassment to the actors because their faces and performances are on display. That's sad because there wasn't much they could do with this wretched job to make it better.

The real stake through the heart of "Texas Rising" is the locale. All the action for the events portrayed happened in Southern and Southeastern Texas. This is not desert country. Repeat >NOT< desert. This is really a geography of lowlands, bayous, coastal plains and woodlands. At the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Ana was trying to escape through a swamp when he was captured by the Texas army. San Jacinto is adjacent to the current city of Houston and this is NOT in the desert. But "Texas Rising" was filmed in Mexico and in the Mexican desert. In "Texas Rising", Santa Ana is captured while meandering around boulders through dry, rocky terrain. The rationale for the shooting location is beyond me. Again, this adds to the comical ineptness of the whole production.

In summary, "Texas Rising" is truly an awful mini-series and a waste of all the resources used for the production. It's a great example of incompetence and, if for no other reason, it might be worth watching just to see how not to do this type of work.




No expert, but I think that he may have been complaining......