Before there was Game of Thrones...

One of the pleasures of 2020 was having  time to re-read some of my favorite books. Novels by authors like Michner, Woulk, and Clavell are just as good a second (or third) time around as they were the first. But what I realized this year was that the mini-series made from some of these tomes of historial fiction are good to re-watch as well.

Yes, young'uns, there were miniseries before Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Edgerton. If I remember, Roots, North and South, and Rich Man, Poor Man were the first multi episode dramas I viewed back in the 70s.and early 80s. Watching a mini-seires of a dozen two hour episodes over the course of a couple weeks was a good deal more challenging than flipping on the Firestick and calling up the latest episode of The Crown. One actually had to be in front of the television, praying for good reception, at an appointed time and day. Even VCRs with the ability to tape broadcasts were still in the future for we poorly paid teachers. If you missed an episode, too bad.

Here are shows I watched last year that I would recommend as still very interesting and entertaining:

• Winds of War (1983) and War and Remembrance (1988) based on novels by Herman Woulk - great personal, comprehensive look at WWII .
• Shogun (1980) based on the novel by James Clavell - interesting story of a British sailor making his way in medieval Japan.
• Centennial (1978) base of the novel by James Michener - surprisingly "woke" history of northern Colorado.

OK, the soundtracks are loud and obnoxious. The characters a bit hammy at times. Some costumes are over-the-top (Centennial gets the award for best head wear). Richard Chamberlain is way too pretty. And they are all rather long.

But each looks historically accurate in costume and setting. Characters are three-dimensional. They don't shy away from the horrific episodes of the times in which they take place. The plots and characters are true to the original books. And they are damn entertaining.

Any "old" mini-series you would recommend, dear readers?

Comments

[Annette Mills]

Band of Brothers (2001). Maybe that isn’t old enough? I remember watching The Thornbirds, but it was hard to catch all the episodes.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Annette,

I'll look into Band of Brothers. Don't think I've ever seen it. I vaguely remember Thorn BIrds too (another Richard Chamberlain!). Think I'll give that one a pass! 

Thanks for the suggestions,

Doug

[Miguel Guhlin]

Ah, Centennial. One of my favorite series with Pasquinel and so many other memorable characters. Where did you find Shogun?
Thornbirds is pretty amazing. I read Colleen McCullough's book and the best part is the poem at the start. You don't get to hear the poem but twice, maybe once, in the mini series. I saw these when I was a boy, so they all stuck with me.

The Stand is great to read and watch. M O O N spells great. Did you ever see The Chisholm Trail?

Thanks for a trip down the lane of heroes.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Miguel,

Long before there was Netflix, Prime, and Hulu, there were things called DVDs. I have Shogun on DVD. If you can't find it, send me your mailing address and I will send you my copy. It's a great show. I've read The Stand twice, but not Thorn Birds (that I remember). You are the second person who recommended Thorn Birds so maybe I better look at it. My next "series" is rewatching all the Godfather movies. The third one which is my least favorite, supposedly has a new version just released.

Thanks for the reminders!

Doug

[Miguel Guhlin]

Doug, you are too kind. While I would love to watch Shogun again, to see Pilot get harangued by Rodriguez (my first intro to the man who would be Gimli the Dwarf in LOTR), I regret that I could not accept your generous offer. There are no DVD players in my home.
:-)

The tech of the ancients has passed from this hemisphere.
;-)

Seriously, I'm sure it's been digitized and is available for convenient streaming via some app or another. I will find out which and report back. Oh m goodness, a two second Google search reveals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5TAqq39N9U
It's posted on YouTube...it must be legal.

Did you ever see V: The Complete Miniseries?

Miguel