Talk:Alex Haley's Queen

Plot summary excessive
The plot summary is too long (Wikipedia is not Cliff's Notes) and does not cite any sources, giving rise to the impression that it is the personal observation of the Wikipedia article writer. Please prune and source it. Guy (Help!) 21:44, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

The plot summary is still too long; most of the article about a film or television series should focus on real world events rather than on the events in the film(s). Adding more information about production and filming would help, but the plot summary needs trimming.&mdash;Anne Delong (talk) 16:15, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Differences between the book and the miniseries
It should be noted that: a.) In the book, James is not the only son of his father but one of several. It does show him with a sister in the miniseries, but she was not the only one. He has an older brother, AJ, who dies early on. b.) Annie is NOT a Cherokee native. She's a quarter Cherokee, the daughter of a black slave raped by a white man, who in turn was the daughter of a Cherokee man and an African-born slave. c.) Jane is a fictionalized version of young William, who was several years younger than Queen and merely a boy, when she was a teen/young adult. d.) James Jackson Senior didn't give Captain Jack's manumission paper to his wife after being turned down, but tore it up in anger, telling her that if he wanted his freedom in the future, he'd better ask for it. There are many others and perhaps I'm being too bitchy pointing them out, but many plot details in the miniseries are intended to mirror the book but don't explicate themselves as such, for time's sake. It's necessary to point them out in the summary (such as point b) Afghan Historian (talk) 06:56, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Recent changes
Since my last changes were evidently extremely controversial, I'll explain my actions so I don't get accused of hijacking an article once again. The lead paragraph (in relation to television shows, miniseries, etc.) should contain pertinent information, namely when and on what networked they aired. That is not my personal preference, that is information included in WP:TVLEAD (For television articles, the first paragraph should consist of basic information about the show, such as when the show first premiered, country, setting, genre(s), who created/developed the show, primary broadcasting station (typically the studio that produces the show), and when the show stopped airing) which should be followed so articles have some uniformity. Also, the plot section in this article is far too long. I did not cut it down because I have only seen bits and piece of the miniseries and don't know the work well enough to know what should stay and what should go. I did, however, unlink common words (though I did miss some). Perhaps I'm giving readers too much credit, but I think most people know what fire, husband, son, and daughter are without having to be led to an article that explains that fire is yellow/orange stuff that can burn you, husbands are lifetime partners and sons and daughters are offspring. Putting aside my own personal opinion of readers, the linking of common words are discouraged per WP:OVERLINK (everyday words understood by most readers in context are not usually linked). Lastly, the plot summary should not consist of numerous single sentences. I attempted to create short paragraphs for readability but was accused of "messing up" the plot summary. I could see that being the case if I joined one sentence that had nothing to do with the preceding one but I didn't. Aside from being annoying to read, single sentences should be avoided per WP:PARAGRAPH (One-sentence paragraphs are unusually emphatic, and should be used sparingly. Articles should rarely, if ever, consist solely of such paragraphs). So no, I didn't change the article's style because I felt like changing it to what I like, I changed it to conform with guidelines.  Pinkadelica ♣  03:40, 28 January 2013 (UTC)