Centennial (TV mini series)
It took 27 hrs to sit through the whole thing (not in one go) but the results are absolutely worth it. Magnificent filmmaking. The only TV mini series to top Rich Man Poor Man and Roots for me.
The last 2 episodes drag (too many flashbacks) and alter the final part of Michener's book too much but what happens before more than compensates for it. There'll never again be a western story like this one. From the opening episode of the young Lame Beaver (who grows up to be Michael Ansara, thankfully miles away from The Manitou), through his descendents, the settlers (outstanding performances from Robert Conrad, Richard Chamberlain, Gregory Harrison and an evil Donald Pleasence), the massacre of the Indians (by the psychotic Richard Crenna), the cattle trek (led by Dennis Weaver and featuring a young William Atherton), the financiers (Timothy Dalton and the sadly missed Lynn Redgrave), the Mexican civil war (A Martinez in the best role of his career), the cowboys/outlaws (a stunning performance by Brian Keith and an odious one by Anthony Zerbe), and the modern day election battle between David Janssen (as Atherton/Redgrave's grandson!) and Robert Vaughn (as Zerbe's grandson).
Sheer brilliance. The West has never been better served than by this.
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