John Adams was called a lot of names in his day. One of them definitely was not "dramatic action hero."

Yet, working closely with the indelible portrait of the patriot painted by David McCullough, the creators of HBO's eponymous miniseries have managed to add that title to Adams' considerable resume.

Based on his 2001 best seller, "John Adams," the seven-part series begins tonight.

Actor Tom Hanks, executive producer of the series, got the ball rolling three years ago by asking McCullough to have breakfast with him at a writers conference.

"I've had feelers before about filming 'Adams,' " said the historian in a recent telephone interview, "but nobody ever followed up. I knew immediately that Hanks meant business when he showed up with a copy of the book with all these Post-it notes sticking out of it. It was obvious he read it."

The two men talked for more than two hours, setting in motion the massive production with Paul Giamatti as the title character and Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail. The miniseries follows Adams from 1770 to his death in 1826.

"What impressed me about Hanks is that he knows history," McCullough said. "I thought, 'This is the guy to do it.' Then, to my great pleasure and gratitude, he told me:

" 'We don't want to do just a biography of John Adams. We want to do David McCullough's "John Adams." ' "

What also impressed the writer was the cooperation he received from the series' creators in keeping Adams' story on track.

"I was included in everything they wanted to do," he said. "They gave me the chance to read the script and voice my opinion. They didn't make all the changes I wanted, but they listened to me on the big things."

McCullough said he was able to correct an inaccurately portrayed version of the relationship between Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

"The overall authenticity of the program is on the money. I don't think there is a single line of dialogue that isn't appropriate to the way people spoke in the 18th century. There's no modern slang here."

Screenwriter Kirk Ellis "became a scholar of the 18th century. He was able to thread and weave the real words of the people into real dialogue," McCullough said. "These historic figures don't stand there and make speeches. They talk like real people."

He reserved special words for the performance of Linney as Abigail Adams, who was a tower of strength for her often-absent husband.

"She brings such intelligence and devotion to the part of Abigail. It's a bull's-eye performance."

The miniseries captures "the grit and the dirt and the uncertainty of the times," said McCullough, who laughed and said that his wife suggested he was a bit too effusive in his praise.

"Life in the Colonies was never a costume pageant. It was hard and full of discomfort, and I think the filmmakers worked hard to show that."

The author of eight books on American history, McCullough, 73, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. All of his books have sold well, but none have approached the best-seller success of his 2001 biography of the country's second president.

The nation's response to "John Adams" caught McCullough off guard. "We are in danger of becoming a nation of historical illiterates," he has often warned, but the power of HBO is making him feel more optimistic.

"You can't have more reach and effect than you get with television," he said. "Here is a chance to make something that will really give a large number of people a good history lesson."

'John Adams'

When: 8 tonight, HBO; 9 p.m. subsequent Sundays through April 20.

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney.TV PREVIEW