# Favorite Made for TV Movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532 "2009-04-09T17:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/1 "2009-04-09T17:31:18Z")
The movies on TV gave thread gave me the idea for this one. Sure, now there’s a whole cable channel for TV movies, Lifetime, but I mean really memorable ones. Well anyway, ones you find memorable. Here’s a couple of mine: The Legend of Lizzie Borden. Famous for suggesting Lizzie committed the murders in the nude. Elizabeth Montgomery walking around like that probably helped its fame. One thing I never got from the movie that I later read about was Fritz Weaver’s huffing and puffing around the corpses in his basement (Andrew Borden was an undertaker.) was meant to suggest (gulp) necrophilia! With young Lizzie looking on! Man, them 70’s were some decade! Trilogy of Terror. Karen Black and that little Zuni doll with the teeth. That doll terrified me, but it was soooo cute with its big flappy head and Cousin It dialect. Sybil. I guess Sybil was more of a mini-mini-series. (It had two parts) but it was outstanding. Even if the case it was based on was a case of false memory syndrome, this movie was stunning. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/2 "2009-04-09T17:38:33Z")
Do mini-series count? If so, then Stephen King’s “The Stand,” which aired in 1994. Plague wipes out most of mankind, the Lincoln Tunnel littered with corpses, journey across a barren nation. Scared the hell out of me, but I liked it so much I got the book and spent most of the summer of 1994 reading it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/3 "2009-04-09T17:52:01Z")
The BBC Version of **Day of the Triffids** Great Low-Tech effects, and faithful to John Wyndham’s book (which the 1963 movie definitely was not) The BBC **Quatermass** serials, at least from the 1950s. Excellennt SF. As far as the US goes, I’ve generally been disappointed even (especially) by sf/fantasy films. **The Point** , the only animated entry in the ABC Movie of the Week was pretty cool, though. And **Daughter of the Mind** (adapted from “The Hand of Mary Constable”) was a halfway decent piece of fluff from the ABC MOW. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/4 "2009-04-09T17:56:01Z")
\*\*The Thorn Birds \*\*has always been a guilty pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/5 "2009-04-09T17:59:29Z")
I have very fond memories of **Evil Roy Slade**. I have no doubt if I watched it today I’d wonder why I ever found it funny… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/6 "2009-04-09T18:05:37Z")
_Merlin_, with Sam Neill ( **swoon** ), Helena Bonham Carter, John Gielgud, etc. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/7 "2009-04-09T18:59:15Z")
**Duel** ([here’s the ABC Weekend Movie Opening for it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cckf1FHG-c&feature=PlayList&p=2AD1DA5FEF9A1568&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=17)), one of the first films directed by Steven Spielberg. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/8 "2009-04-09T19:15:39Z")
_ **It** _ - also by Stephen King. Everything but the ending was very well done. Wish they’d do _The Talisman_ like that ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/9 "2009-04-09T19:21:44Z")
**[Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067966/)**. Great little story about a returning Vietnam vet who discovers his home town has been completely erased from existence. He suspects a government plot, but the answer is much more interesting. **[Rehearsal for Murder](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084582/)**. A playwright rehearses a new play, designed to catch the murderer of his fiancee. William Daniels is superb, though the rest of the cast is also very good. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/10 "2009-04-09T19:35:06Z")
_Lonesome Dove_ ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/11 "2009-04-09T19:51:34Z")
[The Day After](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After) sacred the crap out of me when I was a kid, far more so then any traditional horror movie. Probably doesn’t count, but I liked the made-for-TV version of **Inherit the Wind** with Kirk Douglas more then I liked the original film (with Spencer Tracy). ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/12 "2009-04-09T19:54:27Z")
**The Day After** [And The Band Played On](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106273/) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/13 "2009-04-09T20:24:11Z")
**Christmas Eve on Sesame Street**. Best Christmas movie EVAR! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/14 "2009-04-09T20:38:17Z")
Hornblower series, A&E. And some of the Nero Wolfe A&E epis count as movies imho. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/15 "2009-04-09T21:29:04Z")
Here’s the opening sequence from the ABC Movie of the Week: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rM-Vkd7On2Q/hqdefault.jpg "ABC Movie of the Week opening sequence, created in 1969") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM-Vkd7On2Q) I don’t recall the TV movie it advertises, but here’s its IMDb page: > **[Second Chance (TV Movie 1972) ⭐ 5.4 | Comedy, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067723/)** > > 1h 14m ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/16 "2009-04-09T21:41:46Z")
If we can do miniseries, then the BBC’s **Tinker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy** and **Smiley’s People** with Alec Guinness beats them all. Single made-for-TV movies, I’ll second **The Day After**. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/17 "2009-04-09T21:57:45Z")
East of Eden with Jane Seymour and the Bottoms Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/18 "2009-04-09T22:36:53Z")
The three **Librarian** movies. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/19 "2009-04-09T22:57:31Z")
Second _Lonesome Dove_. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532/20 "2009-04-09T23:07:53Z")
**Bad Ronald** [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnlec1SuGTs) **Don’t be Afraid of the Dark** with Kim Darby. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAfUbsSUDi0) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-made-for-tv-movies/492532.md?page=2)