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.