# Favorite Miniseries **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2026, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915 "2026-07-25T08:55:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/81 "2026-07-26T17:49:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I grew up in the 1970s, the golden age of broadcast network miniseries (Roots, Shogun, the Winds of War, etc.) so I don’t know which I’d consider my favorite. Roots seemed to kickstart widespread interest in genealogical research among average Americans. I liked the traditional Japanese architecture shown in Shogun. Me too. But I’m still going with _From the Earth to the Moon_. But speaking of the '70s, I have a line from _Centennial_ stuck in my head now. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/82 "2026-07-26T19:03:01Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Really? I saw it on its first Masterpiece Theater run and it may have been the first boobs I ever saw on TV. I’ll bet you didn’t see Caligula cutting open his sister and devouring their fetus, or the head of the Praetorian Guard plotting his assassination. ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/83 "2026-07-26T19:26:16Z")
My favourite miniseries is from the BBC, 1974 and is called **FALL of EAGLES**. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/84 "2026-07-26T19:31:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > Really? I saw it on its first Masterpiece Theater run and it may have been the first boobs I ever saw on TV. > > I’ll bet you didn’t see Caligula cutting open his sister and devouring their fetus, or the head of the Praetorian Guard plotting his assassination. You might not even have seen that in the UK. [Wikipedia says](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Claudius_(TV_series)), > As alluded to in the 2002 documentary _I, Claudius: A Television Epic_, the original version of episode 8, “Zeus, by Jove!”, included a closing shot after Caligula has cut the fetus from Drusilla’s womb, which was considered very shocking. It was therefore re-edited several times, even on the day of its premiere, by order of Bill Slater, then head of Serials Department. After initial broadcast and a rerun two days later, the scene was edited again, so that the episode is now “somewhat attenuated”. The “slightly nastier version” of the episode’s closing (a scene that used “makeup on her belly”) was allegedly shown twice in 1976, but is now lost since the BBC no longer has a copy of it. Pulman noted that the original script for the episode ended with “a long shot showing the butchered woman hanging on a chariot”. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/85 "2026-07-26T21:03:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > After initial broadcast and a rerun two days later, the scene was edited again, so that the episode is now “somewhat attenuated”. This is an understatement. In the PBS version, there’s some very clumsy editing after it’s clear what Caligula intends to do. Then all we see is Claudius banging on the door and reacting in horror when he views what’s just happened. I’m baffled as to why the plotting of the assassination was edited. The full version explained why it went down the way it did, and why only one of the assassins was executed. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/86 "2026-07-26T21:07:44Z")
> [@rippingtons\_fan](#): > > FALL of EAGLES Another great miniseries. My History professor at the time called it “Superb!” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/87 "2026-07-30T17:42:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > > I don’t recall QB VII at all. Maybe I’ll check it out. > > It was good, but it differed considerably from the novel. I’ll take your word for it. I saw the miniseries and read the book but both of these happened back in the seventies and I’ve forgotten most of the details. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/88 "2026-07-30T17:52:11Z")
On the issue of what counts as a miniseries, I’d argue that a miniseries needs an ongoing narrative line that runs through the episodes. I feel that _Fawlty Towers_, for example, doesn’t qualify as a miniseries because of this. You can watch the episodes out of order and you’re not going to get confused by the story. But if you watch the episodes of _I, Claudius_ out of order, you’re going to be asking things like _“Why is this guy alive? Wasn’t he killed two episodes ago? And when did this guy become Emperor? What happened to the other Emperor?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/89 "2026-07-31T04:30:03Z")
I might be misremembering, but didn’t network miniseries in the 1970s usually run over consecutive nights wrapping up in a week or less? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/90 "2026-07-31T11:33:09Z")
_ **Holocaust** _ and _ **Shogun** _ certainly did. I remember the Asian History professor at my college setting up a special room for us students to come in and watch the latter every night it was on. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/91 "2026-07-31T12:15:35Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > didn’t network miniseries in the 1970s usually run over consecutive nights wrapping up in a week or less? _Roots_ ran for eight consecutive nights when it first aired in 1977. A lot of people, including me, watched every night. As I recall, it was Sunday through Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/92 "2026-07-31T12:41:03Z")
I enjoyed watching _Roots_. My parents let me stay up late and watch most of the episodes. However, I recall something about having tests the next school day and on a couple occasions my parents wouldn’t let me stay up to watch the whole episode. I was super pissed at the time. Even now as a 62 year old I have to question their parental wisdom on that call. Has anyone rewatched _Roots_ fairly recently? Have to remember it ran a half century ago…how well does it hold up now? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/93 "2026-07-31T13:23:20Z")
I have very vivid memories of _Roots_ although I haven’t seen it since its original run. There was a lot of morning after discussion among all my friends in junior high but I don’t remember any classroom discussion. The (double standard) _National Geographic_ style nudity in the first episode generated zero comment among 13 year-olds which surprises me in hindsight. The slave ship scenes were the most impactful, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/94 "2026-07-31T14:07:54Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Has anyone rewatched _Roots_ fairly recently? Have to remember it ran a half century ago…how well does it hold up now? I watched it not too long ago. Every TV star of the era wanted to be in it, so it was a little distracting to see OJ Simpson, Lorne Greene, etc in every other scene. But I think it was very well done overall. Hard to watch in places, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/95 "2026-07-31T15:30:12Z")
I was living in England when _ **Roots** _ first aired. I had read about it before it was broadcast in the UK shortly thereafter. I believe I watched it as guest in the home of an acquaintance. As I recall, it generated a fair amount of discussion among the Brits, both on TV and in the press. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/96 "2026-07-31T15:35:22Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Holocaust** _ and _ **Shogun** _ certainly did. I remember the Asian History professor at my college setting up a special room for us students to come in and watch the latter every night it was on. _ **Shogun** _ came on in the early '80s, as I recall. Not in the '70s, but not long afterward either. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/97 "2026-07-31T16:17:52Z")
We actually got class credit for watching _Roots_. Being able to tell my parents watching TV was an assignment virtually guaranteed that _Roots_ would be in my top five favorites! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/98 "2026-07-31T16:20:18Z")
I saw “Roots” for the first time about five years ago. It was a little jarring to see Chicken George in a positive light in these modern times, but it was a different time. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/99 "2026-07-31T22:08:28Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I might be misremembering, but didn’t network miniseries in the 1970s usually run over consecutive nights wrapping up in a week or less? I believe _Roots_ was the first American miniseries to be run on consecutive nights. Prior to that, the practice had been to run miniseries one night a week on consecutive weeks. _Rich Man, Poor Man_, for example, had run on seven consecutive Mondays. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915/100 "2026-07-31T23:44:08Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > **The Stand** (1994) despite Molly Ringwald. And not enough snot. > > I’m surprised this one hasn’t been mentioned much. Yes, I liked _Roots_, and a few others that have been mentioned, but this one grabbed me from the get-go. I had read the Stephen King novel, and I was glad to see that the miniseries was pretty faithful to the book. > > I had no problem with Molly Ringwald; in fact, I think all the casting was perfect. Everybody fit their roles well. Rob Lowe played his role perfectly, until he could hear and speak in dreams; Ray Walston was great as the college professor from New Hampshire; and nice, friendly, happy Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg could turn evil in an instant. > > Heck, I may have to dig out my DVDs of this miniseries, just to watch it again. M-O-O-N, that spells DVD! I watched the newest version of _The Stand_ and then went back and rewatched the original. The decision to make it nonlinear doomed the updated version. The casting was decent but I give an edge to the original, mostly because of Gary Sinese. But what really stood out was how awful Molly Ringwald was. Her acting was worse than the special effects. > [@Gordon\_G](#): > > _The Pacific_ shows up as “If you liked _Band of Brothers_” but I stopped after a few episodes. _B of B_ was a pure and compelling story of real-life combat soldiers but _The Pacific_, to my eye, combined random violence with pointless flirtation. I don’t know if I understand what point you are trying to make. _The Pacific_ was certainly about real-life combat Marines. I’ve driven past the statue of one of them hundreds of times in my life (and over the bridge named for him and past the gas station that stands where his house used to be). BoB had the advantage of being able to follow one unit from the beginning to end. _The Pacific_ had to follow three different people with some overlap to get a storyline throughout the war. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-miniseries/1031915.md?page=6)