A two-part TV mini-series based on a novel by Stuart Woods. Producer Martin Manulis and director Jerry London had previously made a mini series of Woods’ first novel, Chiefs. A character born in that novel, Will Lee, became the protagonist of Woods’ second novel, Run Before the Wind, and then of Grass Roots which was published in 1989.
The mini series cast Corbin Bernsen from LA Law as Will Lee, who is working as a Senator’s aide when he is sucked into a variety of different adventures: he has to defend a white-trash man (James Wilder) accused of rape, has an affair with the accused rapist’s nympho white-trash girlfriend (Cristi Conaway), runs for the Senate, is accused of being a homosexual by a bitchy editor (Joanna Cassidy), can not prove his heterosexuality because his girlfriend (Mel Harris) works for the CIA and wants to keep their relationship quiet, and has to deal with an assassin (John Glover) working for a white supremacist organisation. Rod Taylor is cast as the right-wing General Willoughby, head of the white supremacist organisation.
Grass Roots is well acted and professionally made, but has a fatal problem which can be identified simply from reading its synopsis: unlike Chiefs which centres around one event, Grass Roots involves a number of sub-plots which only loosely connect, and lacks a cohesive story. The acting show is stolen by Glover as the assassin. Rod is only on screen for a short while, but is effective.
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