With summer comes a bit more time for indulgence. More leisurely walks in nature. More time to lay out on the beach with a good book. And maybe at night or on rainy days, catching up with some classic TV you either missed or watched just once, long ago, with only fuzzy memories left in your head. The current summer lineup has plenty to offer if you’re in the mood for light, breezy fluff, but consider bulking up on some classics that deserve your attention. A good place to start is the dearly departed miniseries, which was a staple of TV for decades but eventually fell out of favor. We’ll occasionally get a two-parter nowadays, and an occasional novelty like The Kennedys, but gone is the time when the nation was riveted by a massive, multipart story — usually adapted from a bestselling book — that was much too long for a conventional-length film, but not quite right for an ongoing series. Here are five to revisit, or discover for the first time:
I, Claudius (1976)
The landmark BBC production, which aired in America as part of PBS’ Masterpiece Theatre, features a head-spinning cast of British greats and seeks to do no less than tell the history of the Roman Empire through the eyes of one of its rulers. Derek Jacobi (as Claudius), John Hurt, Patrick Stewart, Brian Blessed, John Rhys-Davies are just a few of the familiar faces you’ll see throughout the 12-episode saga. The title has become shorthand when describing an epic story with a huge cast (Stephen Moyer recently dropped it in an interview with me), but it’s also one of those shows that many people say they’ve seen but actually haven’t. Don’t be that guy.
Roots (1977)
It’s probably impossible to employ hyperbole in describing just how important and landmark a series Roots was. Not only did it have much of the nation glued to its TV sets for eight straight nights, but it was truly what everyone was talking about. Never before had the slavery era been depicted so thoroughly and explicitly as in this ABC adaptation of Alex Haley’s book. Tracing generations of Haley’s ancestors, from their native Africa to their kidnapping by slave traders and the hardships they faced in America through the Civil War, the series brought home the horrors of slavery and the humanity behind those who suffered it.
Shogun (1980)
James Clavell books seem to be made for the miniseries format. They often approach or surpass the 1,000-page mark, and featured enough characters that it was a full-time job keeping them all straight (a Dramatis Personae might have helped). Shogun, when it debuted on NBC, became one of the most watched events in television history, attracting nearly half of the entire viewing audience. Richard Chamberlain, who became known as King of the Miniseries for his roles in this, and in epics like Centennial and The Thorn Birds, plays an English navigator whose vessel wrecks on the Japan coast, forcing him to make a new life amid the complexities of the feudal society. Aside from the sweeping story, Shogun offers a chance to see the great Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who was De Niro to director Akira Kurosawa’s Scorsese, in one of his few Western roles.
The Winds of War (1983)/War and Remembrance (1988)
These massive projects ate up weeks of ABC programming at a time, and are considered to be among the last of the giant miniseries. Herman Wouk’s novels were the basis of the story that depicted the events leading up to World War II (Winds of War) and the war itself (War and Remembrance) by focusing on the world stage as well as one military family. Robert Mitchum, John Houseman, John Gielgud, Ali McGraw, Jan Michael-Vincent, Topol, Peter Graves, Ralph Bellamy, E.G. Marshall, Sharon Stone, Barry Bostwick and Ian McShane are among the cast who bring the mammoth story to life.
North & South (1985)/North & South: Book II (1986)
What better time to catch up with this Civil War epic than during the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States? It’s one I want to revisit in particular, because even though I tell people I’ve seen it, I was 9 years old at the time and don’t remember much beyond some really bad Southern accents (essentially making every other word end in with an “ah” sound) and Patrick Swayze visibly blowing snot out of his nose during what was otherwise a dramatically riveting scene. The production values never let you forget you’re watching a TV project rather than a slick feature film, but these series are beloved by many. There’s kind of a Godfather parallel here as well, in that there does exist a third part, but it was made many years later and is almost universally reviled. That would be 1994’s Heaven and Hell, where Swayze is gone and many actors have been replaced. For completists only.
Further Miniseries Recommendations:
Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Centennial (1978)
The Thorn Birds (1983)
V (1983)
Shaka Zulu (1986)
Noble House (1988)
Lonesome Dove (1989)
Photo: © ABC
