Wherever we turn these days
there's huge promotion for a TV miniseries, this week with ABC's “Empire"
and a month ago when CBS aired "Elvis."
But for network TV the great era of the miniseries is in fact long
past. Their time was the '70s and '80s with mega-productions such as “Rich
Man, Poor Man,” “Holocaust,” “Centennial,” “Shogun,” “Lonesome
Dove” and of course “Roots.” The miniseries allows for stories of
depth and complexity not possible within the confines of the traditional
half-hour or hour-long TV series.
Two things have happened to the miniseries that explain why
we are seeing fewer of them on broadcast. First, their huge expense has
gotten harder to justify. Before cable, when there were only three
networks, a miniseries was sure to pull a huge turnout. People talked
about them. That's far from a safe bet these days.
But the big thing that's happened is that the miniseries has been
co-opted as a form of storytelling by the likes of HBO, Showtime and FX.
“The Sopranos” and “Six Feet Under” are weekly dramas in one sense
but their structures and sheer complexity are really those of the classic
miniseries, even if they are not thought of as such.
Why do some miniseries bomb and others pull huge
ratings? Why did last night's "Empire" only pull 6.4 million
total viewers, for example? Did it
have the wrong stuff?
Looking back at the great minis of earlier decades we can
discern four characteristics of the successful series. Here's a brief look
at each, along with charts of the top minis of all time, and ratings.
High Concept
Like a blockbuster movie, a
TV miniseries is an epic story with larger-than-life characters. The
stories that drive most miniseries are based on historical figures (“Into
the West,” “Empire”), legendary celebrities (Elvis, Marilyn, Michael
Jackson) or top news stories (“Helter Skelter,” “Fatal Vision”).
The concept also has to be something the networks can hook
viewers with in 10 words or less: “How the West was really won.”
Or “Roots … the saga of an American family.” Or “Jesus … like
you’ve never seen Him before.”
Big Names
High concept means big budget. And big budget means big
talent, or better, big-name talent. By that we usually mean screen actors
who don't ordinarily do TV. They're attracted to the project because
of the money but also the cachet, the idea of a project that's equivalent
to a motion picture role.
“Angels in America” drew Oscar winners Al Pacino, Emma Thompson
and Meryl Streep, not to mention director Mike Nichols. “Empire Falls”
featured Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Ed Harris.
Robert Mitchum had never done anything of substance on TV until
1983, when he starred in “The Winds of War.”
In addition to big-name actors, viewers can expect to find
big-name writers. Many miniseries are based on best-selling novels, and
the novelist’s name is often attached to the project as a selling point
(“Stephen King’s ‘The Langoliers,’” “Armistead Maupin’s ‘Tales
of the City’”).
The advantages are twofold. Network executives know that an
author’s vast readership will almost assuredly tune in, at least for the
first episode. And if the production is half decent they'll stay with it.
Also, actors who are fans of the author are more likely to sign on for the
project.
Strategy
Miniseries are usually part of a network’s strategy for the
television season. Minis are such major undertakings that there has to be
a longer-term goal that network executives can hang their expectations on.
Many minis air during sweeps, and here the goal is obvious:
pushing up ratings for the local affiliates.
For other minis, those airing outside of sweeps, the
strategy may be less obvious but it's still there.
With summer the domain of cable, it made sense for TNT to launch
“Into the West” this month instead of last. Also, it makes a big
statement about the network's ambition as a destination for original
programming, and to media buyers as well as viewers.
In the late '70s, NBC was trailing CBS and ABC, and it turned
to minis, under the umbrella “Best Sellers," to boost its image as
a quality network. It still finished the season behind but it accomplished
a successful image polishing with the likes of “Captains and the Kings,”
“Aspen” and “Once an Eagle.”
Back in 1977, ABC aired "Roots,” TV’s highest-rated
miniseries, and it did so in January to build a strong lead for the
midseason. Back then, January signaled the start of what was then
known as the second season, and it was a time when networks rolled out
high-profile premieres. ABC handily outdid the competition with
"Roots" and went on to win the season.
Richard Chamberlain
The last rule of the mini is to
cast Richard Chamberlain or find someone who looks an awful lot like
him. He's good luck. Chamberlain has headlined five major minis,
more than any other actor, including three of the most successful: “The
Thorn Birds,” “Shogun” and “Centennial.”
Which means that even if a miniseries doesn’t feature
Chamberlain, chances are he was approached for it because he has done so
many of them.
Another plus: Chamberlain sat on the panel that selected the
top 10 minis of all time for the recent Trio documentary “Epic TV.”
Below, in chart one, are Trio's choices for the top 10 minis. In
chart two are the 20 top-rated minis of all time.
|
TOP MINISERIES OF ALL TIME |
|
Rank |
MINISERIES |
|
1 |
Roots (ABC, 1977) |
|
2 |
Shogun (NBC, 1980) |
|
3 |
Lonesome Dove (CBS, 1989) |
|
4 |
The Thorn Birds (ABC, 1983) |
|
5 |
Brideshead Revisited (PBS,
1981) |
|
6 |
The Winds of War (ABC, 1983) |
|
7 |
Holocaust (NBC, 1978) |
|
8 |
Rich Man, Poor Man (ABC, 1976) |
|
9 |
From the Earth to the Moon
(HBO, 1998) |
|
10 |
Tales of the City (PBS, 1994) |
|
Source: Trio |
|
TOP 20 RANKING OF ALL NETWORK
MINI-SERIES TELECAST |
|
Rank |
MINISERIES |
Date of 1st
Episode |
No. of Episodes |
Household
Rating |
Share |
|
1 |
Roots (ABC, 1977) |
1/23/77 |
8 |
44.9 |
66 |
|
2 |
The Thorn Birds (ABC, 1983) |
3/27/83 |
4 |
41.9 |
59 |
|
3 |
The Winds of War (ABC, 1983) |
2/6/83 |
7 |
38.6 |
53 |
|
4 |
Shogun (NBC, 1980) |
9/15/80 |
5 |
32.6 |
51 |
|
5 |
How The West Was Won |
2/6/77 |
3 |
32.5 |
50 |
|
6 |
Holocaust (NBC, 1978) |
4/16/78 |
4 |
31.1 |
49 |
|
7 |
Roots: The Next Generations
(ABC, 1979) |
2/18/79 |
7 |
30.2 |
35 |
|
8 |
Pearl (ABC, 1978) |
11/16/78 |
3 |
28.6 |
45 |
|
9 |
Rich Man, Poor Man (ABC, 1976) |
2/1/76 |
8 |
27.0 |
43 |
|
10 |
Master of the Game (CBS, 1984) |
2/19/84 |
3 |
26.7 |
39 |
|
10 |
79 Park Avenue (NBC, 1977) |
10/16/77 |
3 |
26.7 |
40 |
|
12 |
The Godfather Saga (NBC, 1977) |
11/12/77 |
4 |
26.5 |
41 |
|
12 |
Masada (ABC, 1981) |
4/5/81 |
4 |
26.5 |
41 |
|
14 |
Scruples (CBS, 1980) |
2/25/80 |
3 |
26.3 |
40 |
|
15 |
Lonesome Dove (CBS, 1989) |
2/5/89 |
4 |
26.2 |
39 |
|
16 |
North & South (ABC, 1985) |
11/3/85 |
6 |
26.0 |
38 |
|
17 |
The Blue and the Gray (CBS,
1982) |
11/14/82 |
3 |
25.9 |
39 |
|
18 |
East of Eden (ABC, 1981) |
2/8/81 |
3 |
25.7 |
37 |
|
19 |
Roots (ABC, encore
presentation of original 1977 miniseries) |
9/5/78 |
5 |
25.5 |
42 |
|
20 |
V: The Final Battle (NBC,
1984) |
5/6/84 |
3 |
25.1 |
37 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
