Tales of Yesteryear: MotW and Miniseries of Yore - General Discussion

[Luckylyn]

On 9/28/2018 at 2:29 PM, movingtargetgal said:

I think this thread is proof that we need a retro network that is dedicated to TV movies of the week and miniseries.  

I remember when the We channel was named Romance Classics.  It used to show all the old tv movies and miniseries.  I remember watching Danielle Steel movies, Judith Krantz adaptations, Lace, I’ll Take Manhattan, North and South, etc.... on that channel.  They even had a show called Cinema Therapy where they showed some good romances.  For a long while after the name change they continued showing them but over time WE showed less and less of the old movies and miniseries which lead me to stop watching that network altogether.  I don’t even remember what channel WE is anymore.  I hate when channels shift their programing to the point that what drew you to that network in the first place is basically gone.  I long for a network like Romance Classics come along again and it wouldn’t just have to focus on romances either.  I’d love to watch older tv movies and miniseries in a variety of genres.  I wish networks like ME, TVLand, or Cozi would show old tv movies and miniseries in addition to old tv shows.  The only tv movies they show are Columbo which I love, but I’d like to see some of the classic tv movies again.   Honestly, if there was a streaming service that provided those movies I’d pay for that.

[WhitneyWhit]

Oh man, I loved those TV movies back in the day.

Some of my faves....

The Babysitter's Seduction Keri Russel plays a teenage babysitter who is slowly being framed for the murder of the mother of the kids she was hired to babysit while being seduced by the kids' father, played by Stephen Collins.

Killing Mr. Griffin  Jay Thomas plays a hard ass teacher named Mr. Griffin who is kidnapped by some students (Mario Lopez and Amy Jo Johnson being a couple of them) in an effort to get revenge on him, but the prank goes wrong when Mr Griffin dies of heart failure.

Road Rage Yasmine Bleeth plays a woman who cuts off a man in traffic. He chases her and she reports him to the company he works for and he's fired. Turns out he's mentally unstable after losing his wife and daughter in a car accident years earlier, caused by a driver who cut them off, and he begins stalking Yasmine's character.

[Dr.OO7]

"I Know My First Name Is Steven"

29.5 years since that miniseries aired, and I still find it incredibly uncomfortable to watch.

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, Camille said:

"I Know My First Name Is Steven"

29.5 years since that miniseries aired, and I still find it incredibly uncomfortable to watch.

Oh yes!  I knew there was at least one major TV movie or miniseries that I was forgetting when I typed up my list the other day  -- something that I used to watch every time it was on -- and that is definitely one of them!   That's a really good one.    And it reminds me that "Adam" is another one I watched a lot.

Edited October 1, 2018 by TVFan17

[babyhouseman]

A  creepy movie that always stuck with me was called Captive in 1991. Based on a true story, escaped criminals kidnap a mother, father, and their little girl and go on the run with them. The criminals raped the wife. What made it worse was Joanna Kerns from Growing Pains was the mother and John Stamos from Full House was one of the criminals. Chad Lowe was the other criminal. Barry Bostwick, very popular in made for TV movies, played the father. The story was horrific enough, but it involved squeaky clean sitcom stars. I know actors want to play different roles, but I couldn't think of Uncle Jessie and Maggie Seaver that way. 

[TVFan17]

59 minutes ago, babyhouseman said:

A  creepy movie that always stuck with me was called Captive in 1991. Based on a true story, escaped criminals kidnap a mother, father, and their little girl and go on the run with them. The criminals raped the wife. What made it worse was Joanna Kerns from Growing Pains was the mother and John Stamos from Full House was one of the criminals. Chad Lowe was the other criminal. Barry Bostwick, very popular in made for TV movies, played the father. The story was horrific enough, but it involved squeaky clean sitcom stars. I know actors want to play different roles, but I couldn't think of Uncle Jessie and Maggie Seaver that way. 

Yes.  Captive is one of the ones on my list on the previous page.    I wasn't sure if anyone else knew of it or remembered it.   That movie always stood out to me as being very chilling.   I remember thinking that it was so strange to see John Stamos as an evil rapist.     He was convincing, though!

[methodwriter85]

The dearly departed Theresa Saldana (who passed away at the age of 61 in 2016) did a t.v. movie in 1984 called Victims for Victims that dramatized her stabbing by a crazed fan. I'm heavily impressed she was willing to play that, and she went with a "warts and all" depiction of herself. Adrian Zahmed played her husband, and the way they slowly unspooled the relationship as Theresa recovers was well-done. The whole movie was surprisingly nuanced and was sympathetic to Theresa, but it wasn't a hagiography, either.

Elizabeth Montgomery did a fantastic t.v. movie called Between the Darkness and the Dawn, where she plays a woman who spent 20 years in a coma and has to cope with the loss of her youth, the loss of her high school boyfriend to her sister who wound up marrying her, and a world that has moved on without her.

[Sharpie66]

Speaking of Elizabeth Montgomery, I remember her as Lizzie Borden in an excellent TV movie in the mid-80s.

[dalek]

I miss when miniseries were event television, stuff like V, Holocaust, Winds of War, Shogun, etc.

The closest current thing I can think of that followed this format was When We Rise.

A lot of the true crime ones were pretty good too. In addition to Mark Harmon as Ted Bundy, Farah Fawcett was really good in Small Sacrifices.

[movingtargetgal]

On 9/30/2018 at 9:25 PM, Camille said:

"I Know My First Name Is Steven"

29.5 years since that miniseries aired, and I still find it incredibly uncomfortable to watch.

This movie is so heartbreaking on so many levels.  Steven died at the age of 24 after a motorcycle accident, leaving behind his wife and  2 children.  Steven's older brother, Cary, became a serial killer.  He was called The Yosemite (Park) Killer  and is on death row.  

The little boy that Steven rescued from his abductor, Timmy White became a Deputy Sheriff.  He died in 2010 of a pulmonary aneurysm at the age of 38.

 Kenneth Parnell, Steven and Timmy's abductor, died in prison in his mid seventies.  Believe it or not he served only 5 years in prison for abducting and molesting the boys.  After his release he continued to offend against children.  In 2003 he was arrested for the last time.  He was convicted of trying to buy a young boy in order to molest him. 

Edited October 6, 2018 by movingtargetgal

[Dr.OO7]

Speaking of Joanna Kerns, I just rewatched a really good one with her, "Shattering The Silence". A woman remembers being sexually abused by her father and that this is the reason her sister has been estranged from the family for years. She resolves to get on with her life---until she notices that her niece (her brother's daughter) is acting strangely and comes to the horrified realization that he's now abusing HER.

[babyhouseman]

53 minutes ago, Camille said:

Speaking of Joanna Kerns, I just rewatched a really good one with her, "Shattering The Silence". A woman remembers being sexually abused by her father and that this is the reason her sister has been estranged from the family for years. She resolves to get on with her life---until she notices that her niece (her brother's daughter) is acting strangely and comes to the horrified realization that he's now abusing HER.

I just remembered a movie she was in, See Jane Run. It was a book. 

[Atlanta]

Anyone remember Barbara Eden in The Stepford Children?

[Snow Apple]

On 10/9/2018 at 1:31 PM, Atlanta said:

Anyone remember Barbara Eden in The Stepford Children?

I remember Tammy Lauren played her daughter. Which reminds me of another movie. The tv remake of I Saw What You Did. It was about two teenage girls who made prank calls only to accidentally call a murderer. From the title, you can guess what they said over the telephone. DUN Dun dun

[Tdoc72]

On 8/10/2015 at 8:08 AM, Luckylyn said:

I thought the father threatening to sue for custody of his daughter and young son over it was overreacting.   Having two teens date while living under the same roof is problematic, but it really sucked that Dermot felt pressured to leave.  The teens were more mature about the situation than the adults.

 

Does anyone remember For The Very First Time a movie about a Jewish boy and Catholic girl in the 1950s who fall in love but have to keep it a secret from their disapproving families?  I loved it but was frustrated by the ending.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx0ARPA2lgg

I loved For The Very First Time, even though it was disappointing that they didn't end up together.  There's a scene where the Catholic family goes hunting and the Jewish mom sees them w/their dead deer.  In a later scene, she says something about the deer killers are here.  My sister and I still occasionally say that and laugh.

(I know you posted this over 3 years ago, but I just read this thread.)

And I agree--we should have a retro MOTW channel.

[Irlandesa]

My favorite Lifetime movie of yesteryear (or hell, maybe of all time) is called either Midwest Obsession or Beauty's Revenge.  It's from 1995 and stars Tracey Gold, Kyle Secor and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

It's your typical love triangle gone bad where Courtney Thorne-Smith's character becomes obsessed with Kyle's character and kills the woman he chose, Tracey Gold's character. 

What makes it a gem is that Courtney Thorne-Smith's character is some kind of beauty queen/dairy princess with a hot pink convertible with cow upholstery and she goes around wearing cow earrings. She is 100% camp and it is so delightful (except that it's based on a true story which is kind of a bummer).

Edited October 16, 2018 by Irlandesa

[Luckylyn]

Mary and Tim is a wonderful tv romance that is available to stream on amazon.  

This video is a lovely spoiler filled summary of the film 

I miss CBS having Sunday night movies and when the Hallmark Hall of fame was on CBS they had so many high quality movies 

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, Luckylyn said:

Mary and Tim is a wonderful tv romance that is available to stream on amazon.  

This video is a lovely spoiler filled summary of the film 

I miss CBS having Sunday night movies and when the Hallmark Hall of fame was on CBS they had so many high quality movies 

Yes, it is.

Of course, true to form, the original, "Tim" is even better.

[Was-MArsenault]

Anyone remember these two movies?

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0278095/?ref_=nv_sr_3?ref_=nv_sr_3 - Til Dad Do Us Part

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0287791/?ref_=rvi_tt - Walter and Henry 

I had to ask a friend of mine where these aired, and Til Dad Do Us Part aired on Fox Family while Walter & Henry was on Showtime.

[catlover79]

I remember watching Preying Mantis with my grandma many years ago. This made for TV movie starred Jane Seymour (playing against type of her then-current TV role, Dr. Quinn) and Barry Bostwick. Chad Allen, who played her adopted son on Dr. Quinn, played her stepson here.

[ctlady]

OH YES - some of these movie mentions bring back such awesome, frightening memories (Trilogy of Terror, anything with Linda Blair getting kidnapped or beaten up in prison)  Something For Joey...Dark Night Of The Scarecrow - AK! so many worthy mentions.

I have a few to add:

Bad Ronald -  this scared the bejesus out of me.  Teenage boy accidentally kills a neighborhood girl (he pushed her, she fell and hit her head on a cement block).  Mother hides him in the walls of the house to keep him away from police.  Mother dies, house gets sold with Ronald still inside, new family has a nubile teenage daughter, walls have peeking holes in them....you get the rest.

When A Stranger Calls  Do I even have to recap this one?  Even if you've been living under a rock the last 40 years, you know this one.

Kate's Secret - with Meredith Baxter-Birney as an aerobics fanatic/secret bulemic

A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story - again with MBB who gave an Emmy-worthy performance

Midnight Offerings - Mary Ingalls is a baaaaaad witch and Erin Walton is a goooood witch

Edited June 27, 2019 by ctlady

[Sharpie66]

Can we talk ABC’s Afterschool Specials? The one that sticks in my head the most is The Wave, based on a true story about a high school teacher’s experiment in recreating the mood of Nazi Germany by instituting a tiered system of groups that could abuse those lower on the pecking order at will. 

[merylinkid]

On 6/27/2019 at 2:06 AM, Sharpie66 said:

Can we talk ABC’s Afterschool Specials? The one that sticks in my head the most is The Wave, based on a true story about a high school teacher’s experiment in recreating the mood of Nazi Germany by instituting a tiered system of groups that could abuse those lower on the pecking order at will. 

My high school civics teacher actually showed that one in class.    Just to remind us how easy it is to fall prey to that system.

V, Winds of War, those were so well done.    I actually got the books because of them.   Still have Winds of War and War and Remembrance.   They just found one of the ships mentioned in the book.   I went back to reread the names of the men lost.   

I miss MOTW.   Some were cheesy as hell -- hello Midnight Offerings.   Some were so thought provoking like My Name is Steven.

[suomi]

Centennial, a 12-episode late '70s miniseries (adapted from James Michener's 900-page 1974 novel) covering almost 200 years in an area that eventually became a (fictional) town called Centennial in Colorado. 

I always thought the novel had an interesting premise - examining one particular piece of land over millennia - and some of the people and events are historically accurate. The novel begins in prehistoric days (dinosaurs) but the miniseries begins in 1795. 

Michael Ansara, Raymond Burr, Barbara Carrera, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Richard Crenna, Chad Everett, Sharon Gless, Andy Griffith, Merle Haggard, Mark Harmon, Alex Karras, Brian Keith, A Martinez, Cristina Raines, Lynn Redgrave, Clint Walker, Dennis Weaver, Robert Vaughn and many, many more, obviously, including George Clooney's TV debut as an extra in the Indian village, LOL.

[Kemper]

Thornbirds, Shogun, Winds of War...North and South..Centennial.  I miss those event mini-series and a good many of the movies-of-the-week.  Anything with Tracy Gold, Melissa Gilbert. Always kind of camp and fun to watch.  

I guess with so many name actors appearing on Netflix, there probably won't be the kind of mini-series that I loved.  The ones produced now with these actors are mostly the "dark" ones - and not in a fun-dark way.

I think that Lifetime may be trying to fill the void with the camp series but I just don't like them.  Not all of the actors are interesting or good enough.

[Snow Apple]

I miss the epic miniseries too. I even like the cheesy ones like Lace and those based on Judith Krantz and Sidney Sheldon novels. 

I also miss the teen movies of the week where the stars of different shows act together. The closest we get now are the Disney channel movies, but it's not the  same.

[MollyMelrose]

Brian's Song from 1971. Based on the true life friendship of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame Gale Sayers and his teammate Brian Piccolo who died of cancer at the age of 26. Ugly cry inducing to this day.  

[WendyCR72]

On 5/4/2019 at 7:53 PM, Luckylyn said:

Mary and Tim is a wonderful tv romance that is available to stream on amazon.  

This video is a lovely spoiler filled summary of the film 

I miss CBS having Sunday night movies and when the Hallmark Hall of fame was on CBS they had so many high quality movies 

What some may or may not know is this was a remake. Before Mel Gibson became a total shithead, he starred in Tim with Piper Laurie around 1978 or 1979. I believe it was just before he really hit it big with Mad Max.

If one can separate Gibson from his roles (I know some can't), if you can find it, it's actually just as sweet as the remake. ETA: That will teach me to just skim. I see someone posted it above!

 

I love The Thorn Birds. I was only 11 when it originally aired, but I came across the DVD and damn, TV doesn't do miniseries like those anymore. Sigh.

[Luckylyn]

6 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

What some may or may not know is this was a remake. Before Mel Gibson became a total shithead, he starred in Tim with Piper Laurie around 1978 or 1979. I believe it was just before he really hit it big with Mad Max.

If one can separate Gibson from his roles (I know some can't), if you can find it, it's actually just as sweet as the remake. ETA: That will teach me to just skim. I see someone posted it above!

I’ve seen both versions and like things about both of them.  I tend to prefer the remake.   It’s unfortunate that Mel Gibson seems to be terrible in his personal life.  I think Mel Gibson gives a great performance but the dynamic between Mary and Tim in the original doesn’t work as well for me as it does in the remake.  There are a couple of scenes early in  movie like when she’s tucking him into bed that are kinda mother/son like so when they transition to romance it’s kind of awkward.  It’s a shame because they had good chemistry.  Plus I hate that she makes the decision 

Spoiler

To marry Tim unilaterally.  We never see them discuss marriage.  Instead we get a scene of her talking to that guy she’d gone to for help to understand Tim better who convinces her marriage is a good idea.   Then next we jump to the wedding.  It’s kinda jarring how they don’t give Tim agency regarding the decision to marry.

Although, I do like how Tim handles his sister at the end showing he has it in him to be independent.

The remake establishes a close friendship without any mother/son moments so when they fall in love it works better for me.   Mary and Tim is available on Amazon for free.  https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Tim-Candice-Bergen/dp/B07C27XMHW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Mary+and+time&qid=1562849849&s=instant-video&sr=1-1

Unfortunately, Tim is not available.  Maybe someone posted it on YouTube?

Both movies are an adaptation of the novel Tim by the same author who wrote The Thornbirds.  I really want to read the book.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Luckylyn

[catlover79]

On 7/3/2019 at 11:55 PM, MollyMelrose said:

Brian's Song from 1971. Based on the true life friendship of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame Gale Sayers and his teammate Brian Piccolo who died of cancer at the age of 26. Ugly cry inducing to this day.  

They did a remake of it about 15 or so years ago, but it didn't have nearly the same impact.

[Dr.OO7]

9 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Both movies are an adaptation of the novel Tim by the same author who wrote The Thornbirds.  I really want to read the book.

I bought it several years ago for about $1 off of the Amazon marketplace.

[WendyCR72]

On 7/11/2019 at 9:01 AM, Luckylyn said:

Unfortunately, Tim is not available.  Maybe someone posted it on YouTube?

Someone did post it above on YT. However, Tim is also available on DVD via eBay!

[Was-MArsenault]

I just found this movie on Wikipedia that aired on CBS in 1999, and it was called Anya's Bell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anya's_Bell

Della Reese was in it, and she played Anya.

[Dr.OO7]

I was idly looking up "The Women Of Brewster Place" and I just realized that it's been 30 years since it aired.

I only saw it once, but I thought it was wonderful. 

[Was-MArsenault]

It's a really nice surprise to see both Once and Twice Upon a Christmas with John Dye and Kathy Ireland on the Hallmark Drama lineup for this year's Christmas movies!

When was the last time that those were even shown on TV?

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

It's a really nice surprise to see both Once and Twice Upon a Christmas with John Dye and Kathy Ireland on the Hallmark Drama lineup for this year's Christmas movies!

When was the last time that those were even shown on TV?

They've been on HMM once or twice a season for the past year or two. I watched them last year and the year before.

[Was-MArsenault]

1 minute ago, LexieLily said:

They've been on HMM once or twice a season for the past year or two. I watched them last year and the year before.

I didn't know those two were on last year.

[LexieLily]

1 minute ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I didn't know those two were on last year.

I'm pretty sure it was last year? But they only had one airing during the season and it was banished to an early-morning timeslot. Hopefully they will be back this year!

[Was-MArsenault]

3 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I'm pretty sure it was last year? But they only had one airing during the season and it was banished to an early-morning timeslot. Hopefully they will be back this year!

That's a shame it happened, because it would've been really nice to watch.

[LexieLily]

6 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

That's a shame it happened, because it would've been really nice to watch.

Once the 24/7 Christmas movies start, you will have to remind me and I will keep an eye out for them for you 🙂

[Was-MArsenault]

Once Upon A Christmas showtimes on Hallmark Drama:

Friday, October 25: 7:00 AM

Wednesday, October 30: 1:00 AM and 11:00 AM

Twice Upon A Christmas showtimes on Hallmark Drama:

Friday, October 25: 9:00 AM

Wednesday, October 30: 3:00 AM and 1:00 PM

 

5 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Once the 24/7 Christmas movies start, you will have to remind me and I will keep an eye out for them for you 🙂

Okay, will do. 🙂

[LexieLily]

Just now, MikaelaArsenault said:

Okay, will do. 🙂

I like those movies too and I'm not entirely sure why, but they're cute.

6 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Once Upon A Christmas showtimes on Hallmark Drama:

Friday, October 25: 7:00 AM

Wednesday, October 30: 1:00 AM and 11:00 AM

Twice Upon A Christmas showtimes on Hallmark Drama:

Friday, October 25: 9:00 AM

Wednesday, October 30: 3:00 AM and 1:00 PM

Is Hallmark Drama a channel or that app you have to pay for?

[Was-MArsenault]

Just now, LexieLily said:

I like those movies too and I'm not entirely sure why, but they're cute.

I can't wait to see them myself.

[Snow Apple]

Does anyone remember the movie The Initiation of Sarah from the 70's? Morgan Fairchild played the mean girl.

When I saw it back in the day, I thought there were hints that the sorority mother played by Shelly Winters was Sarah's birth mother and that's where she got her powers. Nobody else seems to mention it though so maybe I read something that wasn't there?

Edited September 19, 2019 by Snow Apple

[Dr.OO7]

How about "North & South"?

I've never forgotten how it was summed up on VH1's "I Love The '80's":

"It was a 38-part miniseries and each part was 9 hours long."

[merylinkid]

5 hours ago, Camille said:

How about "North & South"?

I've never forgotten how it was summed up on VH1's "I Love The '80's":

"It was a 38-part miniseries and each part was 9 hours long."

I watched North and South, I love me some Jonathan Frakes AND Patrick Swayze.   It got me to read the books (hint, the miniseries was better).

[Ashforth]

19 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Does anyone remember the movie The Initiation of Sarah from the 70's? Morgan Fairchild played the mean girl.

When I saw it back in the day, I thought there were hints that the sorority mother played by Shelly Winters was Sarah's birth mother and that's where she got her powers. Nobody else seems to mention it though so maybe I read something that wasn't there?

I remember it, but it's been so long since I saw it that I don't recall any plot subtleties. But yeah, memories! Kay Lenz was a pretty popular TV actress at the time, as I recall, or maybe I was just a fan as a teen. I did look this one up on IMDB and it had not only Morgan Fairchild, but Morgan Brittany, the dueling Morgans of the 70's!

Note that Sarah wore a turtleneck AND a chunky cardigan (apparently during the summer), the uniform of the bullied in tv movies (and of ladies in today's tv commercials who have vaginal itching or odor. or a skin condition).

Edited September 20, 2019 by Ashforth

[wallflower75]

On 9/20/2019 at 12:55 AM, Camille said:

How about "North & South"?

I've never forgotten how it was summed up on VH1's "I Love The '80's":

"It was a 38-part miniseries and each part was 9 hours long."

I may have that entire series on DVD.  😄

Lord, I loved the first two miniseries.  They were cheese-tastic.  I remember when they'd have the recap/preview before the episode began, they'd tell you who was in the show.  I'd hear names like "James Stewart" and "Olivia de Havilland" and go, "Who are they?"  Hey--I was only twelve at the time!  I learned!!

[Snow Apple]

2 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

I may have that entire series on DVD.  😄

I have them on VHS that I taped myself. LOL

I remember that's where my crush on Patrick Swayze began. Then I developed a crush on James Read during the 2nd miniseries. Then years later and to my complete surprise, I stared crushing on Philip Casnoff!

[WendyCR72]

On 10/3/2018 at 8:47 PM, dalek said:

I miss when miniseries were event television, stuff like V, Holocaust, Winds of War, Shogun, etc.

The closest current thing I can think of that followed this format was When We Rise.

A lot of the true crime ones were pretty good too. In addition to Mark Harmon as Ted Bundy, Farah Fawcett was really good in Small Sacrifices.

Joanna Kerns was mentioned in Captive earlier in the thread. But does anyone here remember when she played a real-life woman named Maria Marshall who was murdered by her husband? The miniseries was called Blind Faith, based off a book about the case with the same name. And 15-year-old Johnny Galecki (I read elsewhere it was said he was 10, which he does look; but the miniseries was in 1990, and his age is said currently to be 44, so...) played the youngest Marshall son, of which there were three. Robert Urich played the hubby. Interestingly, Joanna Kerns introduced TV daughter Tracey Gold (from Growing Pains) to the real-life Robby Marshall on set. They later married; I think they still are. I also recall Dennis Farina playing the prosecutor and soap actress Robin Strasser playing Rob Marshall, Sr.'s mistress.

And I had forgotten this, but at the link above, the trial judge should be recognizable to General Hospital viewers as he was played by the late John Ingle, a.k.a. Edward Quartermaine #2.