It was this miniseries, “Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna,” that first hooked me on Russian history (Russian history is loaded with fantastic stories, far more exciting, glamorous and cruel than this one, but the episode of Anastasia is as enticing an entrance point as anything but Catherine the Great or Ivan the Terrible and we […]
It feels like ages ago that we last met up with a Judith Krantz miniseries. Let’s see, I think it was “Mistral’s Daughter,” a period piece with a moody Stacey Keach and a very robust excited Stefanie Powers. Now we have “Dazzle,” the last network miniseries based on a Judith Krantz novel, but this one […]
So far, we’ve avoided miniseries sequels, but I’m afraid we cannot do it any longer, folks. In fact, they are nearly as old as the American miniseries itself. Does anyone remember “Rich Man, Poor Man Book 2?” It has neither the poor man nor the girlfriend and is pretty tough going, especially at 20 or […]
Hawaii in 1937 does not initially look like a fantasy, and it won’t through “Blood & Orchids.” In fact, the first scene shows four hardworking native lads toiling in sugar cane fields. The day over, they go out for the night with some alcohol. Their night is not nearly as formal as the one spent […]
Jackie Collins aside, it’s been a while since we looked at a chopped-up-and-re-designed classic book turned into a miniseries. Hmmm, which one shall we pick? Dickens? No, too frantic. Austen? No, outside of our domain, as the Brits always get there first and best. The Bible? No, mercy me, I don’t have the strength right […]
Technically, “A Town Like Alice” disqualifies from our discussion because it was not produced in the United States and was actually shown on PBS rather than network television when aired in the US. But, at a time when the American miniseries was dominant world-wide, even an British/Australian miniseries was starting to act almost American in its output. […]
You dare to ask “Scarlett who?” There is only one, Scarlett O’Hara, and you know it! But, unfortunately, she’s not confined to “Gone With the Wind,” where she belongs (let’s not start on the 1970s musical adaptation that played Tokyo and London before attempting Broadway, but closed during its try-out). In the 1980s, a massive […]
The granddaddy of all true crime stories is that of Jack the Ripper, mainly because it’s unsolved. Theories had him as everyone from one of the cops to one of Queen Victoria’s grandsons. The media frenzy in 1888 (and on) was truly one made of hysteria. With so many theories and no concrete proof of […]
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