The American Dream
Michael Jackson wanted a pretty actress to play his mother, Katherine Jackson. He specifically requested Angela Bassett.,In the scene when the actor who plays Michael Jackson is doing his solo performance for Motown, the single, glittery glove he is wearing is on his right hand. In the actual performance, the real Michael Jackson is wearing the glove on his left hand.,Michael Jackson: We're embarking on this tour for many reasons, but mainly because of our mother. Our father, too, for the dream that they had... an American dream... that started a long, long time ago, when our ancestors came here... slaves... oppressed people... beaten down, beaten up... You know, we've come a long, long way from 2300 Jackson Street, when my brothers and I used to long for a color T.V. We weren't beaten down by poverty, and we're not going to be beaten down by fame, either. 'Cause this is what it's all about. This tour is a celebration. It's a victory.,Featured in The 45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1993),The selfish part of me appreciates what Joe Jackson did, whereas the compassionate part of me despises what he did. What was it he did you ask? Created the Jackson 5 and by extension of that Michael Jackson.

"The Jacksons: An American Dream" is about Joe Jackson's dream. When he met Katherine in 1945 he expressed to her that he had a dream of being big in boxing and/or music and move to California. He wasn't able to achieve that by his own musical talents, but he was able to achieve it through the talents of his sons. Unfortunately, he drove them like a dog sledder in the final leg of the Iditarod. On the more forgiving end of the scale, he was too demanding and robbed his kids of a childhood. On the less forgiving end of the scale, he was an abusive monster. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle and of course it's all a matter of perspective.

This mini-series is a must see for any Jackson 5 or Michael Jackson fan. My earliest pop music memories of Michael Jackson. He was the entire musical universe to me as a kid. There was no one that could even come near him. He was the sun and every other performer was just a planet orbiting around his brilliance. "The Jacksons" let us in on the creation process of the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson. Angela Bassett was terrific as Katherine Jackson and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was equally awesome as Joe Jackson. After those two consistent characters, the other actors chosen were excellent likenesses. "The Jacksons" is a well done docudrama that was absolutely necessary.,