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Mini-series -
The first television miniseries was Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) an adaptation
of the 1970 best selling novel written by Irwin Shaw which traced the lives
of the Jordache brothers from World War II through the 1960s. It was a smash
hit, grabbing 23 Emmy nominations and spawning a sequel series (21 episodes)
RICH MAN, POOR MAN II/ABC/1976-77. On its heels came the monumental
miniseries:
-
Roots (1977) and Roots: The Next Generation (1979) based on Alex Haley's
novel about several generations of an American black family from slavery to
freedom.
- In 1977, NBC introduced a short-lived series called NBC's BEST SELLERS
featuring 4 novel dramatizations for television including Robert Ludlum's
novel of WWII espionage The Rhineman Exchange; Taylor Caldwell's novel
Captain and the Kings; Anton Myrer's Once an Eagle; and Norman Bagner's
Seventh Avenue. The trend for miniseries burned red hot with such
blockbusters as Shogun (1980), The Winds of War (1983), Peter the Great
(1985), and Dream West (1986).
- The unspectacular ratings of the $40 million 14 and 1/2 hour miniseries
Amerika (about the Russian overthrow of America) broadcast on ABC in
February, 1987 indicated that the miniseries format (popular for more than a
decade) was on the decline.
- The 29 hour sequel to The Winds of War titled War and Remembrance (1988-89)
may have been the last of its kind. The six-hour/eight hour format may still
survive, however.
- In 1990, the three-part western adventure Lonesome Dove starring Robert
Duvall helped resurrect the popularity of the miniseries format.
TRIVIA NOTE: The British import The Forsythe Saga actually introduced the TV
novel to the American audience. Based on the nine novels of John Galsworthy,
(the first A Man of Property written in 1906) the 26 episodes (10 full
length movies) were introduced to American television via the National
Educational Network (NET). It aired every Sunday night at 8:30 beginning in
October of 1969. Set in mid-Victorian England, the series chronicled the
lives of the famous aunts and uncles of the Forsythe family. One of the
negative features of the miniseries is that it doesn't have much repeat
value.
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