March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Roll over, Sam Adams. Cousin John is about to eclipse you.

Though he was America's first vice president and second president, John Adams hasn't enjoyed the prominence of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin or even cousin Sam Adams, now better known as the namesake of a popular beer than as one of the Founding Fathers.

A new HBO miniseries, which debuts March 16 at 8 p.m. New York time, should help remedy that. Based on the Pulitzer Prize- winning biography by David McCullough and directed by Tom Hooper, ``John Adams'' is a laudable work that rightly portrays Adams as one of the most important figures in American history.

Paul Giamatti plays a slightly chunky, deeply passionate and somewhat vain Adams, while Laura Linney, as Abigail Adams, portrays a formidable woman every bit her husband's match. Both turn in spectacular performances over the course of the seven- part series, whose producers include Tom Hanks.

The story begins March 5, 1770, in Boston, then a town of about 15,000, where the natives made the unwise decision to shower British troops with ice, stones and oyster shells. The resulting massacre killed five Americans, stoked the fires of revolution and brought Adams to prominence as the soldiers' legal counsel.

Adams convinced a jury that the Brits fired in self- defense, saving them from the noose. Yet he would soon advocate war against the mother country.

Founding Fathers

If the film has a central message, it is that Adams was the equal of Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Washington (David Morse) and Franklin (Tom Wilkinson), the latter portrayed as part weasel, part wise man and all bon vivant.

``I am an extreme moderate,'' Franklin tells Adams early on. ``My opinion is that I have no opinion.''

Shot largely in Virginia, the series is filled with memorable scenes. After Adams insists that Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence, the sage of Monticello brings in his draft for peer review.

By Jefferson's accounting men have rights that are ``sacred and undeniable.'' Franklin disagrees, saying Jefferson's formulation ``smacks of the pulpit.'' He suggests ``self- evident'' instead.

Parts of the series are hard to watch.

A tar-and-feathering scene depicts the horrors of the mob. Even more disturbing is the part where Abigail and her children are inoculated for smallpox.

Smallpox

While today's vaccines come in vials, here the local doctor carts in a pustule-encrusted child whose eyes roll back as he clutches a cross. His hideous sores are lanced and the proceeds implanted in Abigail and her children, one of whom barely survives.

Writer Kirk Ellis's script reminds us that Adams and his contemporaries spent their formative years reading Latin and Greek, evidently better preparation for world-changing than playing video games. The dialogue is so elevated that I occasionally wondered if subtitles might help.

Ellis provides many other details illustrating the vast difference between Adams's world and ours.

The colonists lived in houses that were cold in the winter, hot in the summer and decidedly short on appliances. We see Abigail scrubbing the floors with vinegar and a brick. Meanwhile, John -- whose mother was illiterate -- writes some of American history's most enduring documents with the help of his era's word processor: the quill.

The series, which will air at 9 p.m. on subsequent Sundays through April 20, follows Adams to Europe, back to the U.S. and through his tumultuous years as vice president and president.

He died on July 4, 1826, just a few hours after Jefferson, his longtime rival and correspondent. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

(Dave Shiflett is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Dave Shiflett at dshifl@aol.com.

Last Updated: March 13, 2008 00:01 EDT