# What are the best made-for-TV movies you have ever seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289 "2003-08-28T21:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/21 "2003-08-29T03:38:35Z")
There was a TV movie on in 1983 called “Special Bulletin” that, War of the Worlds style, simulated a newscast of a situation where a terrorist group blew up Charleston with a stolen atomic bomb. It was, somewhat presciently, a bit of a study of cable news. It was just phenomenally well done, and it won two Emmy awards. But it’s almost totally forgotten today, because “Teh Day After” was aired later the same year, so “Special Bulletin” was largely forgotten. It was ahead of its time, and a great effort. ---
**Author:** ![Petrichor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@Petrichor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrichor)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/22 "2003-08-29T03:49:22Z")
With out a doubt **Threads** ---
**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:** [August 29, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/23 "2003-08-29T03:56:52Z")
> [@](#): > > It was just phenomenally well done, and it won two Emmy awards. But it’s almost totally forgotten today, because “Teh Day After” was aired later the same year, so “Special Bulletin” was largely forgotten. It was ahead of its time, and a great effort. My recollection is that these were a couple of years apart. It’s not something I’m lkely to get wrong, because I was living in different cities when these aired. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/24 "2003-08-29T04:09:42Z")
**The Singing Detective**. Wild and brilliant. (Since the first “movie” listed in the OP is also a miniseries, I figure this counts.) ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/25 "2003-08-29T04:51:18Z")
Does the pilot episode of **Twin Peaks** count? ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/26 "2003-08-29T05:23:03Z")
[The Sacketts](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0079840/), 1979 a two-part, 4-hour miniseries of the thrid book in Louis L’Amour’s Sackett saga. Super cast, including Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot, Jeff Osterhage, Glenn Ford and several classic western character actors — Oscar winner Ben Johnson plus Jack Elam, Slim Pickens \*\* and \*\* Pat Buttram. The story is fairly faithful to the book and filmed beautifully. Worth hunting up. Also, [The Shadow Riders](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0084666/), 1982, featured much of the sams cast (Selleck, Elliot, Osterhage, and Johnson) plus Katherine Ross and Harey Carey, Jr. in another Louis L’Amour story, though not about the Sacketts. Though the script plays a bit fast and loose with geographical details (something L’Amour was a stickler about in his novels) it is a top-notch western, well-acted and beautifully filmed ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/27 "2003-08-29T05:24:35Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t remember the name but the Walton’s pilot movie I think that was called _The Homecoming_. Wasn’t it set at Thanksgiving or Christmas? One of the finest is the movie _Wit_ with Emma Thompson. It’s hard to believe that it wasn’t first released in theaters. Very sharp film-making. It’s only three or four years old and still shows up from time to time. There is another one from the 1970’s (I think) that sticks with me. _Friendly Fire_ with Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty. That term was unfamiliar to me until I saw that movie. When was _Testament_ released in relation to _Special Bulletin_ and _Ten Days After_? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/28 "2003-08-29T11:55:27Z")
**Special Bulletin** is my all-time favorite TV movie. If you don’t recall, it was about radicals that rigged a boat with a nuclear bomb and docked it in Charleston harbor. It was all presented as if it was actual breaking news from a fictitious network, very well done. **Trilogy of Terror** If I let my daughter watch that one with the doll that comes to life, she wouldn’t sleep for a month. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/29 "2003-08-29T13:30:22Z")
**Evil Roy Slade** , game, set, match. I win. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/30 "2003-08-29T13:50:09Z")
Lonesome Dove Holocaust ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/31 "2003-08-29T14:16:42Z")
**Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy** (1980), and its sequel, **Smiley’s People** (1982), are two of the best things I’ve ever seen on television. Both were three-part mini series, produced by the BBC and shown on PBS in the States. They brilliantly capture the intricacy and subtlety of two of John LeCarre’s best novels. Sir Alec Guiness is absolutely perfect as George Smiley. There was a recent [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=204814) about how movies can ruin a book, particularly how when you reread the book, a character as depicted in the movie supplants the character in your imagination. Jack Nicholson as McMurphy in _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ was given as an example. This is how brilliant the casting was in these two movies. The opposite happens here. Yes, when you reread LeCarre, you will forever see Alec Guiness as George Smiley, and it makes the books _better!_. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/32 "2003-08-29T15:57:58Z")
The Rough Riders I liked Tom Berringer as TR, but Gary Bucy’s General Wheeler stole the show. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/33 "2003-08-29T16:30:23Z")
Well, these foreign classics were made for European TV, so I suppose they count: Lars von Trier’s \*_The Kingdom_ and its sequel. Krzysztof Kieslowski’s **Dekalog** R.W. Fassbinder’s **Berlin Alexanderplatz** Michael Apted’s **Seven Up** series ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/34 "2003-08-29T16:33:26Z")
**ArchiveGuy** wasn’t _Das Boot_ also originally meant for German TV? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/35 "2003-08-29T16:34:28Z")
☹ poo! to my coding. > [@](#): > > _CalMeacham says:_ My recollection is that these were a couple of years apart. It’s not something I’m lkely to get wrong, because I was living in different cities when these aired. Sorry–the IMDB lists them as both airing in 1983–one in March, the other November. Maybe you caught one as a rerun… ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/36 "2003-08-29T16:41:46Z")
The ThornBirds, I thought Richard Chamberlain was Hot, but now it is revealed he is gay, I guess he was really acting. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/37 "2003-08-29T16:43:53Z")
**Gangster** , yes, it was. Thanks for the addition. Interestingly, the IMDB has separate listings for the Petersen film (miniseries vs. theatrical release). It doesn’t for the other films I cited, so I wonder if there’s any major differences (aside from likely judicious pruning). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/38 "2003-08-29T16:48:47Z")
I should be publicly flogged for not mentioning **Band of Brothers**. It was superbly done. And I second the OP’s choice of **A Christmas Memory**. Capote’s voiceover takes getting used to, but we watch that one every year. ---
**Author:** ![boobah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/46a35a/32.png) [@boobah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boobah)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/39 "2003-08-29T19:52:05Z")
[Wit](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243664/). “How are we feeling today?” [Door to Door](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274468/) **Sampiro** [These guys](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0076981/) at the bottom of the page (message board) evidently taped The Awakening Land and are offering it. Does that count as pirating? (why don’t we have a pirate smiley?) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289/40 "2003-08-29T20:58:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chefguy \* > \*\*And I second the OP’s choice of **A Christmas Memory**. Capote’s voiceover takes getting used to, but we watch that one every year. \*\* Do you have it on tape, or is there a certain channel it plays on every year? I’ve never seen this, but _really_ want to. My tenth-grade English teacher read the short story to us and it was all I could do not to start crying in class. I was so impressed that I ended up reading all of Capote’s stuff over the following few months. As to the OP, well, I don’t really watch many TV movies, but I’ll heartily second **boobah** ’s suggestion of _Door to Door_ with William H. Macy. Great flick, and it’s available on DVD. Last time I was at Hollywood Video, they had it out for rental. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-made-for-tv-movies-you-have-ever-seen/198289.md?page=3)