REPACKAGED. Based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his African ancestors, ROOTS followed several generations in the lives of a slave family. The saga began with Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), a West African youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. The family's saga is depicted up until the Civil War where Kunte Kinte's grandson gained emancipation. ROOTS made it's greatest impression on the ratings and widespread popularity it garnered. On average, 130 million almost half the country at the time saw all or part of the series.