'Roots': The time was right to 'reimagine' the slavery epic, and the 1977 producer's son and LeVar Burton signed on

Almost four decades after its premiere, "Roots" still stands as an elite landmark in TV history. The saga of author Alex Haley tracing his ancestral roots to a young African boy kidnapped and sold into slavery was a phenomenon when it aired on ABC in 1977, gripping a nation with its brutal but ultimately triumphant tale. …