Backstairs at the White House

First broadcast on NBC in 1979, this four-part, seven- hours-plus miniseries, based on a book by Lillian Rogers Parks, portrays the experiences of the African-American author (played by Leslie Uggams) and her mother Maggie Rogers (Olivia Cole) on the staff at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Their joint service extended over eight presidencies, from Taft to Eisenhower, and the narrative alternates between the women's stories (including their relations with other staff members, played by such notables as Louis Gossett, Jr., Leslie Nielsen, Cloris Leachman, and Robert Hooks) and glimpses of the chief executives as husbands, fathers, and makers of history. Among the greatest pleasures of the program is seeing the presidents played by the likes of Victor Buono, Robert Vaughn, George Kennedy, Ed Flanders, Larry Gates, John Anderson, Harry Morgan, and Andrew Duggan, and their wives by Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Claire Bloom, Celeste Holm, Lee Grant, Jan Sterling, Eileen Heckart, Estelle Parsons, and Barbara Barrie. As a whole the miniseries can't help but seem a bit dated and schematic: the historical material takes the form of the most obvious (and often simplistic) asides, and the domestic drama (in the case of both servants and first families) often has the feel of soap opera. Still, it makes you appreciate that there once was a time when network schedules tried to offer a little instruction along with entertainment, and the central motif of the changing role of African-Americans in the nation's life is a compelling one. Recommended. (F. Swietek)