In its seventh and final installment, "Roots: The Next Generations" changes shape. Set in the 1960's, it presents an Alex Haley who is a more complex and sharp-edged character than many of his now-famous forebears. And it places him in highly charged situations in which the battle lines aren't clearly drawn. If the earlier episodes, however sweeping, had a tendency to be black and white in outlook as well as subject matter, the conclusion of the series is something else again. This last part of "Roots" is easily strong enough to be watched without reference to the rest of the series….

[The confrontation between American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell and Haley] shows each man masking bitterness and rage with an air of exaggerated calm—Mr. Rockwell pretends to unflappable reasonableness, and Mr. Haley counters by being businesslike. The program is at its best when it sets...