Benjamin FranklinMiniseries
TV-PG
In American history, few people have cut a more impressive figure than Benjamin Franklin. Beginning with his successful journalism and publishing careers, Franklin began a life of extraordinary achievement and variety. This series covers the multifaceted man whose life included public service, diplomacy, science, inventing and political action that would help redefine a world.
Where to Watch Benjamin Franklin • Miniseries
3 Episodes
- Let the Experiment Be Made
E1Let the Experiment Be MadePart 1: “Let the Experiment Be Made,” charts Franklin's first 47 years (he was born in 1706), a period that saw the birth of the Enlightenment. Franklin took it to heart, writing aphorisms based on it in his “Poor Richard's Almanack” and making life easier for his fellow Philadelphians by thinking up such things as public libraries and a volunteer fire department. Then there was electricity. Richard Easton plays Franklin (Dylan Baker plays a younger Franklin). - The Making of a Revolutionary
E2The Making of a RevolutionaryPart 2 covers Franklin's years in England, beginning in 1757, when he was sent to London as an emissary for Pennsylvania on a mission to allow the colony to tax the Penn family's lands. Franklin arrived as an ardent admirer of the empire as well as a lover of the American colonies. - The Chess Master
E3The Chess Master“The Chess Master” follows “America's native genius,” as historian Keith Arbour calls Franklin, through the final 14 years of his life, nine of which were spent in Paris as the rebellious colonies' ambassador to France. Franklin's first goal (aside from creating the U.S. foreign service on the fly) was to secure financial and military aid. He went about doing it in the same manner as he played chess.
