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- 4
I loved Mistral's Daughter and Hollywood Wives too! And Lace, Sins and Monte Carlo. Love 80s miniseries.
Which of the most watched miniseries did you watch?
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- 9
I just watched Masada for the first time. At least, I thought I was. While watching, I remembered some of the gruesome scenes, so I must have actually seen Masada as a child, but most of it was new to me.
Masada is the ninth most-watched miniseries in the US, with an average rating of 26.4. The four episodes aired on ABC for four consecutive nights beginning April 5, 1981, and achieved the following ratings: 27.1 – 25.6 – 25.7 – 27.0. It is claimed that over 70 million Americans watched Masada in 1981, but the average rating of 26.4 will likely never translate accurately into viewership.
I'm a little surprised that Masada was so successful, as it didn't feature any big love stories like in other tragic miniseries like Roots and Holocaust, aside from the strange relationship between Peter O'Toole's character and Barbara Carrera's. It was essentially a miniseries without much emotion and a familiar ending, yet I was surprised that there was hardly a dull moment in its four episodes. Masada was nominated for thirteen Emmys but won only two, one of which went to David Warner for Best Supporting Actor.
Here is the New York Times review of Masada from April 1981: https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/05/arts/tv-view-masada-a-mini-series-on-a-grand-scale.html
As successful as Masada was for ABC in 1981, the July 1983 rerun was a disaster. It averaged an 8.9 rating and gave ABC its worst week to date. In addition, ABC achieved the lowest ratings in network primetime television to date. Reruns of miniseries generally failed to match the success of their premieres.
Masada is the ninth most-watched miniseries in the US, with an average rating of 26.4. The four episodes aired on ABC for four consecutive nights beginning April 5, 1981, and achieved the following ratings: 27.1 – 25.6 – 25.7 – 27.0. It is claimed that over 70 million Americans watched Masada in 1981, but the average rating of 26.4 will likely never translate accurately into viewership.
I'm a little surprised that Masada was so successful, as it didn't feature any big love stories like in other tragic miniseries like Roots and Holocaust, aside from the strange relationship between Peter O'Toole's character and Barbara Carrera's. It was essentially a miniseries without much emotion and a familiar ending, yet I was surprised that there was hardly a dull moment in its four episodes. Masada was nominated for thirteen Emmys but won only two, one of which went to David Warner for Best Supporting Actor.
Here is the New York Times review of Masada from April 1981: https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/05/arts/tv-view-masada-a-mini-series-on-a-grand-scale.html
As successful as Masada was for ABC in 1981, the July 1983 rerun was a disaster. It averaged an 8.9 rating and gave ABC its worst week to date. In addition, ABC achieved the lowest ratings in network primetime television to date. Reruns of miniseries generally failed to match the success of their premieres.
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- 4
I have a sealed copy of Masada on DVD. Never watched it when it was on air (I was 8), but now I'd really like to!
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- 3
My parents watched The Winds of War.. and I think my dad had the novel that the mini series was based on.
My mom adored I'll take Manhattan... and I have to admit I liked the book version of it. I didn't see The Thorn Birds in full... but the book is still a page turner.
My mom adored I'll take Manhattan... and I have to admit I liked the book version of it. I didn't see The Thorn Birds in full... but the book is still a page turner.
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- 9
I watched Backstairs at the White House for the first time, which received a total of eleven Emmy nominations but only won Best Makeup. The four-part miniseries was very popular with audiences, averaging a 25.1 rating.
For me, as a non-American who doesn't know every detail of US history, it was interesting to learn more about the presidents and their first ladies. I wasn't aware that so much death took place in the White House between World War I and World War II: a president died, a first lady died, a presidential child died. All the presidents and first ladies had their flaws in the miniseries, but the Roosevelts were portrayed as perfect. Incidentally, I noticed that John Anderson, as Franklin D. Roosevelt, was mostly in a wheelchair, just as the actor later had to do in Dallas as Kimberly's father. I wondered if a casting director on Dallas remembered that John Anderson could portray a wheelchair user well and that's why he got the part of Herbert Styles. One of my favorite performances in Backstairs at the White House is Celeste Holm's portrayal of Florence Harding. She made me so curious about the First Lady that I even researched whether Florence Harding was really as eccentric as Celeste Holm depicted her.
Olivia Cole starred in Backstairs at the White House, and I realized I only know her from miniseries. I liked her in Roots, but I liked her best in North & South, perhaps because of the tragic end of her character, Maum Sally. It's a shame Olivia Cole never made it outside the world of miniseries. She was part of the main cast of three series (Szysznyk, Report to Murphy, Brewster Place), but none of them were successful.
What bothered me somewhat about Backstairs at the White House is its handling of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One of the Black servants asked President Truman how long the war would last after the victory over Germany, and the president replied, "Not much longer." Then, a mushroom cloud appeared in the mirror the president was looking in; that was all that was ever shown or told about the atomic bombing. In another miniseries I recently watched, War and Remembrance, which deals extensively with World War II, the atomic bombing was also only briefly mentioned. I wonder if, in the 1970s and 80s, there was some kind of unwritten rule not to show anything critical about US conduct during World War II.
For me, as a non-American who doesn't know every detail of US history, it was interesting to learn more about the presidents and their first ladies. I wasn't aware that so much death took place in the White House between World War I and World War II: a president died, a first lady died, a presidential child died. All the presidents and first ladies had their flaws in the miniseries, but the Roosevelts were portrayed as perfect. Incidentally, I noticed that John Anderson, as Franklin D. Roosevelt, was mostly in a wheelchair, just as the actor later had to do in Dallas as Kimberly's father. I wondered if a casting director on Dallas remembered that John Anderson could portray a wheelchair user well and that's why he got the part of Herbert Styles. One of my favorite performances in Backstairs at the White House is Celeste Holm's portrayal of Florence Harding. She made me so curious about the First Lady that I even researched whether Florence Harding was really as eccentric as Celeste Holm depicted her.
Olivia Cole starred in Backstairs at the White House, and I realized I only know her from miniseries. I liked her in Roots, but I liked her best in North & South, perhaps because of the tragic end of her character, Maum Sally. It's a shame Olivia Cole never made it outside the world of miniseries. She was part of the main cast of three series (Szysznyk, Report to Murphy, Brewster Place), but none of them were successful.
What bothered me somewhat about Backstairs at the White House is its handling of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One of the Black servants asked President Truman how long the war would last after the victory over Germany, and the president replied, "Not much longer." Then, a mushroom cloud appeared in the mirror the president was looking in; that was all that was ever shown or told about the atomic bombing. In another miniseries I recently watched, War and Remembrance, which deals extensively with World War II, the atomic bombing was also only briefly mentioned. I wonder if, in the 1970s and 80s, there was some kind of unwritten rule not to show anything critical about US conduct during World War II.