In the heyday of the miniseries, The Thorn Birds (1983) virtually ruled the ratings roost: The four-part, 10-hour adaptation of Colleen McCullough’s massively popular novel ranks second only to Roots as the most-watched miniseries of all time. Set in Australia between 1920 and 1962, the epic drew protests for its depiction of an ambitious Catholic church (Richard Chamberlain) falling in love with a beautiful woman (Rachel Ward). But the novelist Father Andrew M. Greely, writing in TV Guide, pointed out that ultimately the series wasn’t about “an uncontrollably passionate priest” so much as “ a passionate God” who loves sinners as well as saints. Source: Fifty Years of Television
Richard Chamberlain also appeared in two other popular miniseries in the 80s, Shogun in 1980 and The Bourne Identity in 1988.
Other notables were ROOTS by Alex Haley, MASADA, DALLAS, AMAZING STORIES by Steven Spielberg, LONESOME DOVE.....
ReplyDeleteAuggie
Auggie, there were many that came out in the 80s--- Evita Peron (Faye Dunnaway, Lace, The Deliberate Stranger, North and South, etc. Remember Channel 7's GMA Gems which showcased two-parts mini-series.
ReplyDeleteNapanood ko ito. Betamax nga lang. Hiniram ng mother ko. Di ko naman naintindihan...mga 5 years old lang ata ako noon.
ReplyDeleteNung high school ko na lang siya na-gets!
Yun bang "My 1000 Children" mini-series? or movie for television? Napanood ko kasi ito noon, pero di ko na masyado matandaan story. Ang natatandaan ko lang, setting ito sa Germany nuong WW2, tapos yung babae (teacher yata) iniligtas/itinakas niya yung 1000 na mga bata sakay ng tren palabas ng Germany.
ReplyDeletethis is one of the best mini-series of the 80's. after SHOGUN, Richard Chamberlain became king of the mini-series because of The Thorn Birds...
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