What were some of the best TV miniseries ever in your opinion?

thorn birds,roots and on pbs,poldark.also the sequel to gwtw,'scarlett".i would say my very favorite,however,was the brilliant pbs series starring derek jacobi,"i,claudius."recently re-watched thorn birds for the first time in many years and must say,my husband and i both thoroughly enjoyed it.the gr8 ones stand the test of time.

I loved Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man, even though I was only a child when both came on....I really loved LOnesome Dove, as I read the book the year it was published, and the mini-series was just as I had pictured it in my mind's eye...the best one, ever, in my opinion was last year's John Adams, on HBO!

I imagine they don't do mini-series as much anymore for two reasons:1. The cost is prohibitive and 2. People these days have the attention spans of gnats. It is hard to get and keep an audience for a short run of a mini-series. Look how many good shows don't have a good enough audience after a whole season to stay in production. It takes many advertising dollars to create enough interest to hook people and get them to watch the first show.

I can't think of anymore than those you listed. Dynasty and Dallas

didn't fit into the mini series venue. So that lets' them out.

I suspect, the reason we aren't seeing any new mini series, is one of

two things, the lack of good writers today. And also the cost of pro-

duction, rising more each year. When you think of the cost to produce

a movie, and they film in stages and don't spend alot of time on site,

I suspect that is the real reason. I know that Harrison Ford has been

here filming a movie, and he spends little time on the set. And comes

on early when people are arriving at work downtown. He's soon on

the way from the set after a short shoot. I don't know if he's paid for

each time he shows up, or when the movie is through filming. But the

crew hang around long before and after he's gone, to check lighting

and see how the scene played out, etc. They have to do the very

same things for television productions as well. But they aren't going

to get the return they would when filming a movie. As they would

have ticket sales, to recoup their investment producing the movie.

Thorn Birds,Roots,Dallas,Dynasty,Lonesome Dove,Falcon Crest.

I miss them too and my two favorites are already on your list(Roots and North & South). I do also like Anne of Green Gables and The Stand. I wish they would do more miniseries. They actually do still have some on A&E and BBC that are good, like Pride & Prejudice. And sometimes they have some on PBS when they are doing fundraising. I miss good miniseries.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency starring Jill Scott

Oh, yes - definitely 'North & South' and 'Roots'. Some of my other favourites are

'Elizabeth R'

'The Stand'

'Holocaust'

'A Town Like Alice'

'Backstairs at the White House'

'V'

'Six Wives of Henry VIII'

'Band of Brothers'

'Noble House'

'Shogun'

'East Of Eden'

'The Blue and the Gray'

You're right - there used to be a lot of good series on.

Lonesome Dove with Robert Duvall and Roots were my two favorite miniseries. I imagine the cost is the reason the don't make them any more.

Thorn Birds

Roots

Shogun

Masada

RIch Man , Poor Man

Lonesome Dove...

Can't remember any more :)

Roots