Throwback: 20th Century Television Mini-Series
Television mini-series or serials once were special events, that would occur maybe once a year. These mini-series were ratings powerhouses for networks and would be water cooler fodder for an entire month. Such times seems like a distant memory, when there were three channels to watch, a trusty pair of rabbit ears to pull in the signal and you actually had to watch a show the night it aired.
Which 20th century television mini-series* or serial do you remember most fondly as being something special?
* alternate versions or continuations provided in notes for voting and informational purposes
Cast your vote here or Discuss the topic here.
Which 20th century television mini-series* or serial do you remember most fondly as being something special?
* alternate versions or continuations provided in notes for voting and informational purposes
Cast your vote here or Discuss the topic here.
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- StarsLeVar BurtonRobert ReedJohn AmosA dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.Continuation: Roots: The Next Generations (1979) and 21st Century Alternate Version: Roots (2016)
- StarsDavid McCulloughSam WaterstonJulie HarrisA comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.
- StarsColin FirthJennifer EhleSusannah HarkerWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.Alternate Version: Pride and Prejudice (1952), Pride and Prejudice (1967), Pride and Prejudice (1980) and 21st Century Alternate Version: Pride and Prejudice (2014)
- CreatorAnn DruyanCarl SaganSteven SoterStarsCarl SaganJaromír HanzlíkJonathan FahnAstronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the universe.21st Century Alternate Version: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)
- StarsRichard ThomasTim ReidAnnette O'TooleIn 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.21st Century Alternate Version: It (2017)
- StarsJoanne WoodwardSally FieldBrad DavisA young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.21st Century Alternate Version: Sybil (2007)
- StarsMegan FollowsColleen DewhurstRichard FarnsworthAn orphan girl, sent to an elderly brother and sister by mistake, charms her new home and community with her fiery spirit and imagination.Alternate Version: Anne of Green Gables (1972) and Anne of Green Gables (1979) Continuation: Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008)and 21st Century Alternate and Continuation Versions: Anne of Green Gables (2016) and Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000)
- StarsGary SiniseMolly RingwaldJamey SheridanAfter a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
- StarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA World War II German U-Boat crew have a terrifying patrol mission in the early days of the war.Alternate Version: Das Boot (1981) and 21st Century Continuation Version: Das Boot (2018)
- StarsRobert DuvallTommy Lee JonesDanny GloverTwo former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.Alternate Version: Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994) and Continuation Versions: Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) and Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (1995)
- StarsIan RichardsonSusannah HarkerMiles AndersonThe schemes of a ruthlessly ambitious British politician who will stop at nothing to get to the top.21st Century Alternate Version: House of Cards (2013)
- StarsTom HanksNick SearcyLane SmithDramatized portrayal of the Apollo manned space program.
- StarsLaurence OlivierAverell HarrimanAnthony EdenA groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II.
- StarsSam NeillHelena Bonham CarterJohn GielgudLegendary wizard Merlin tells his story of his war against Queen Mab of the Sidhe and his creation of Camelot.21st Century Alternate Version: Merlin (2008)
- StarsTim DalyColm FeoreDebrah FarentinoA dangerous blizzard hits an isolated town and brings along a mysterious stranger intent on terrorizing people for his own desires.
- StarsJane BadlerMichael DurrellFaye GrantA seemingly peaceful alien race, arrives at earth and asks for help to ensure their own planets survival. However, the visitors agenda turns out be much darker.
- StarsRichard ChamberlainToshirô MifuneYôko ShimadaAn English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in the complex political games in feudal Japan.Alternate Version: Shogun (1980)
- CreatorDouglas HeyesStarsKirstie AlleyGeorg Stanford BrownDavid CarradineTwo friends, one northern and one southern, struggle to maintain their friendship as events build towards the American Civil War.
- StarsRichard ChamberlainRachel WardChristopher PlummerIn the arid 1920s Australian Outback, a Catholic priest and the beautiful niece of a vast sheep station owner stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing to go in the name of love?Continuations: The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996)
- StarsFrancesca AnnisJustine WaddellBill PatersonThe daughter of a country doctor copes with an unwanted stepmother, an impetuous stepsister, burdensome secrets, the town gossips, and the tug on her own heartstrings for a man who thinks of her only as a friend.Alternate Version: Wives and Daughters (1971)
- StarsDerek JacobiJohn HurtSiân PhillipsThe personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.
- StarsRobert PowellOlivia HusseyLaurence OlivierBeginning before the Nativity and extending through the Crucifixion and Resurrection, this mini-series brings to life all of the sweeping drama in the life of Jesus, as told by the Gospels.Alternate Version: Jesus of Nazareth (1956)
- StarsMegan FollowsColleen DewhurstMarilyn LightstoneAnne Shirley accepts a teaching position at a girls boarding school in a town dominated by a rich and belligerant family determined to make her life miserable.Alternate Version: Anne of Avonlea (1975)
- StarsLiv UllmannErland JosephsonBibi AnderssonTen years within the marriage of Marianne and Johan.
- StarsPaul McCartneyGeorge HarrisonRingo StarrAn autobiographical documentary of the greatest of the rock bands.
- StarsJeremy IronsDiana QuickRoger MilnerThe life, friendships and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder-including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.21st Century Alternate Version: Brideshead Revisited (2008)
- StarsAlec GuinnessMichael JaystonAnthony BateIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.Continuations: Smiley's People (1982) and A Murder of Quality (1991)
- StarsHelen MirrenJohn BenfieldTom BellA female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.Continuations: Prime Suspect 2 (1992), Prime Suspect 3 (1993), Prime Suspect: The Lost Child (1995), Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgement (1996), 21st Century Continuations: Prime Suspect: The Last Witness (2003) and Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act (2006)
- StarsRobert MitchumAli MacGrawJan-Michael VincentThe trials of the Henry and Jastrow families in the early years of World War II.Continuations: War and Remembrance (1988)
- StarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoRobert DuvallThe Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974) were re-edited together in chronological order with additional footage added.Alternate Versions: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974)
- StarsPeter StraussNick NolteSusan BlakelyAn examination of the trials and tribulations of the Jordache family, from the period following World War II to the late 1960s.Continuations: Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II (1976)
- StarsArtur BarcisOlgierd LukaszewiczOlaf LubaszenkoTen television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.
- StarsKimberly Williams-PaisleyScott CohenDianne WiestA father and daughter are caught in a parallel universe where the great Queens Snow White, Cinderella and Riding Hood III have had their kingdoms fragmented by warring trolls, giants and goblins.
- StarsWilliam HurtAlec NewmanGiancarlo GianniniA three-part miniseries on politics, betrayal, lust, greed and the coming of a Messiah. Based on Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel.21st Century Continuations: Children of Dune (2003)
- StarsErnst-Hugo JäregårdKirsten RolffesGhita NørbyDoctors at an ultramodern hospital in Denmark become convinced, by way of weird, inexplicable happenings, that the place is haunted.