Alex Haley's 'Mama Flora's Family,' Most Underrated TV Miniseries

The 1998 television miniseries "Mama Flora's Family" is one of the most underrated chronicles I've ever seen. Based on an Alex Haley book-the same author made famous for the "Roots" films and books-this story is based on one southern family's life in the 1900s.

The casting directors didn't pull any punches with this one. Heavy-hitting actors and actresses include Emmy award-winning actress Cicely Tyson, Oscar award-winning actor Terrence Howard, pioneer rapper and actor Dana "Queen Latifah" Owens, author-actors Blair Underwood and Hill Harper, Mario Van Peebles, Erika Alexander, Shemar Moore and Lou Myers, along with a host of other talent.

The movie details the life of Mama Flora (played by Erika Alexander as Young Flora and Cicely Tyson as adult Flora). Young Flora, who was a rather shy girl, had many of men take notice of her, one being the son of a plantation owner, Lincoln Fleming (played by Shemar Moore). An agreement was made that Flora would stay in the plantation home to do housework while her parents used the money to fund their land. However, when Lincoln wanted a little more than just housework, Young Flora experienced her first love-and heartbreak.

Turned out that Lincoln wasn't just getting the goodies from just her. As soon as Young Flora turned him down for sex after finding out about him being a ladies' man, she was sent back to her parents' home. However, when Young Flora procreated, Lincoln wanted their child. He hustled her parents into giving him their baby in order to keep their land and did it without Young Flora's permission. Young Flora was kicked out of her hometown so she wouldn't tell anybody who her child was or look for the child again.

But that wasn't the worst of the experiences Young Flora had. After finding love again with Booker Palmer (played by Preston Brant), her husband was taken from her after a dispute with another plantation owner. Left with another son, Willie (played by Blair Underwood), she was completely frustrated with love and dedicated her energy to her child.

When Willie grew up and went through everything from gambling to girlfriends to a fight over boxer Joe Louis to going to war, Flora took on the pain of her son. Unfortunately for her, there was more drama to come with Willie in the form of his three children-Diana (played by Queen Latifah), Don (played by Hill Harper) and the third son named after his grandfather, Booker (played by Wesley Yates)-who he's left to raise after the death of his wife, Ernestine (played by Tanya Wright).

Then, when Flora's letters to her grown-up son Luke (played by Mario Van Peebles) are read and he comes back into the picture to find out why his mother left him, the family is met with more challenges, then triumph again.

"Mama Flora's Family" won an American Cinema Editors award for "Best Edited Episode from a Television Mini-Series," two Image Awards for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series" (Underwood) and "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series" (Tyson) and was nominated for several more, according to IMDB.

Every cast member in the entire film should've gotten an award though because all of them held their weight. Mama Flora's life is admirable, especially considering no matter what went on, she stayed optimistic.

This miniseries is an easy 5 out of 5 stars.