Lonesome Dove (1989) – Return

The miniseries adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s epic western tale came to a conclusion on 8 February, 1989. Montana has been reached, but there are still a number of trials and tribulations to deal with before the end of the story, the biggest of which centers around our central heroes, the former Texas Rangers, Call (Tommy…

Lonesome Dove (1989) – The Plains

Part three of the Lonesome Dove miniseries was broadcast on 7 February, 1989. Larry McMurtry’s epic novel played across small screens as the nation tuned in to watch the continuing journey of Call (Tommy Lee Jones) and Gus (Robert Duvall). Jake Spoon (Robert Ulrich) has definitely fallen in with the wrong crowd. He’d hoped to…

Lonesome Dove (1989) – On the Trail

The second night of the Lonesome Dove miniseries was 6 February, 1989. William D. Wittliff’s adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel continued chronicling the journey of the Hat Creek outfit’s cattle drive to Montana. And it picks up exactly where the previous episode closed out, with the vicious water moccasin attack. Beginning with this death, we…

Lonesome Dove (1989) – Leaving

Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was adapted into an Emmy-winning mini-series. The epic novel was broken up into four parts, with the first part debuting on 5 February, 1989. It was adapted by William D. Wittliff, and the opening feature-length episode was directed by Simon Wincer. I remember the ads for this on television, and…

The Stand (1994) – The Stand

12 May, 1994, brought us the fourth episode, and the conclusion of the Mick Garris-directed adaptation of Stephen King’s gigantic book, The Stand. The story is moving to its conclusion as the pieces of good and evil are finally arrayed for the last battle. Harold (Corin Nemec) is cast aside by Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan),…

The Stand (1994) – The Betrayal

After a night off, Th Stand miniseries resumed on 11 May, 1994. Mick Garris directed, and Stephen King wrote the teleplay from his huge novel. All the pieces are on the field, and now things begin to move and shift, and of course, with a title like The Betrayal, we know something bad will happen…

The Stand (1994) – The Dreams

The second instalment of the Mick Garris/Stephen King miniseries adaptation of King’s epic yarn of good and evil, The Stand, first aired on 9 May, 1994. Honestly, I remember it airing, but what I really remember was how it did gangbusters when they released the mini-series to home video. People who had missed it (or…

The Stand (1994) – The Plague

Horror icons Stephen King and Mick Garris paired up to bring King’s colossal tale of good and evil set against a backdrop of a world ravaged by a superflu to the small screen in a television mini-series event. Airing over four nights, the six-hour tale worked to be as faithful to the source material as…

Battlestar Galactica (2003) – Episode 2

So how did Lee ‘Apollo’ Adama (Jamie Bamber) and Colonial One survive the Cylon assault? The EMP generators that were offhandedly mentioned in part one, saved the day. The second half of the miniseries was first broadcast on 9 December, 2003. It was written by Ronald D. Moore and Glen Larson (as Christopher Eric Johnson)….

Battlestar Galactica (2003) – Episode 1

Ronald D. Moore, who was a driving storytelling force behind Star Trek: The Next Generation, took Glen Larson’s beloved (but expensive) 70s television series and retooled it. He and his creative crew and cast delivered a proof-of-concept miniseries, which would introduce us to the characters and situations that would drive this incarnation. The miniseries aired…