Were you a little sad when it was over? It took me more than a month to rent and watch the entire thing from netflix, but after it was over, I had a bittersweet feeling. Happy for the experience but a little sad the story was over.
I've never read any of James Michener's novels, but I had to go out and buy the book to read at a later date.
Like Cliff Clavin, my brain is full of useless trivia
I saw it when it was first broadcast, and yeah, I never wanted it to end. I did consider myself lucky to catch the whole thing, since the scheduling was somewhat suspect.
shareThis mini series has been a passion of mine for over 30 years. Yes, I was very sad when it was over. I think part of it was listening to Merle Haggard singing "I'd Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado." That added a lot of emotion to the experience. I read the book three times and now have it on DVD so I can watch it any time I want.
"I'm a paranoid schizophrenic. I AM my own entourage!"
Loved it except for the final episode, which was a big Anti Climax. I also disliked the one dimensional villianous portrayal of Morgan Wendall, as opposed to the more balanced portrait in the book.
But, yeah, the final montage is great.
I'll Teach You To Laugh At Something's That's Funny
Homer Simpson
This is my personal favorite mini-series. But, trying to watch it when it originally aired was sheer frustration because NBC - I think NBC - moved it around at will which was very unusual in those days.
The final episode was bittersweet, mainly because it was over, and because it lacked any real impact as a finale.
I agree, it almost seemed like we lost the theme especially with David Janseen. He was never grown from the teen to the old loud speaking old man. i had to constantly regulate the soud lower whenever he statrted talking with his very distintive voice.
shareOh...go find and read most of Micherner's novels. If you liked this mini-series, you'd really enjoy most of them. If you are more interested in American history, I'd recommend "Chesapeake", "Texas", and most definitely "Hawaii". If you enjoy other history, try "Poland", "The Source" (Palestinian/Israeli) and "The Covenant" (South Africa). Off the top of my head, those of my favorite Michener titles.
As to mini-series, my husband is anxiously awaiting the Michener mini-series "Space", based on the lives of a fictional group of astronauts, to be released on DVD.
This mini-series aired before I was born and I gotta say it still reigns supreme. This is what Deadwood and a lot of other modern shows try to duplicate but just fall short. To be able to tell multiple stories and to completely replace characters and keep an audience is very hard and rarely attempted. Hopefully in the not too distant future the right person will remake it with the same respect and let us get a fresh look at an old friend.
share100% agree. Chesapeake, especially. Should have been a mini series in its own right.
shareIn the American history section you left out Alaska.
shareWith such a dearth of intelligently written drama on TV these days, the DVD has been my nighly staple of late. One disk per night has given me something to enjoy and, at the same time reflect how rare writng this good is being done anymore. Not enough explosions, profaniity and graphic sex for today's writers, I suppose. The Thorn Birds or House of Elliot (one of my wife's favorites) will be next.
shareThey are playing it here in Australia on Foxtel ATM.
First time I have seen it in its entirety.
I had heard the final flashback episode is pretty bad, so I may not watch that part, but I am really enjoying it so far.
Lots of fun, and I was disappointed when it ended, too. I remember watching it on initial broadcast, and then being so excited when it was re-run, at the chance to see it again.
I'm glad to hear people in other countries are enjoying it too. It tells the American story in a great way, without a lot of nonsensical flag-waving and pseudo-patriotic claptrap. More truthful about what this country is, how it came to be what it is now, and what sort of people inhabit it. One of the few times Hollywood has managed to produce Americana without the trappings of all that 'we're Number One, we're the greatest country in the world' nonsense.
Indeed .. so true .
"A man that wouldn't cheat for a poke don't want one bad enough".
Yeah, I felt the same.
I watched the opriginal airing, I was very little, and I am not an american citizen, but has always been a great fan of american frontiermen, so this show was like a dream to me, specially the first episodes, with Pasquinel and Mckeag's adventures.
"It doesn't matter what Bram Stoker has told you... dead people don't come back from their graves"
I diligently followed the mini-series when it was originally on TV and enjoyed it.When it moved into modern times I did have a hard time watching it. It got kind of boring then. I also read the book a few times.
shareThe winter of 1978 was pretty bad here in Cleveland, Ohio - which is when this aired on NBC. I recall a lot of people here really enjoyed it. It's a highly treasured 1970's television memory! The closing montage with "I'd guess he'd rather be in Colorado" wrapped the series up so emotionally. If you were a real fan - really invested in the series - it's hard not to get emotional about the ending.
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Sorry , but the only boring part is the end .
"A man that wouldn't cheat for a poke don't want one bad enough".
Yes, indeed I was very sad when the mini-series ended. I had come to love all of the characters that were portrayed.
Years later being a member of a video club, I saved up my bonus points to get this wonderful series(VHS). The VHS edition has 10 tapes and spells out the word CENTENNIAL. When the mini-series came out of DVD, I knew that I had to have it as well......:-)
Absolutely!
I saw it on Encore or Sjowtime last year, but I missed some of the episodes (one of them co-incided with a Portland Trail Blazers game!). Then I found it on youtube and recently watched the whole thing over a couple of weekends. This mini-series is amazing. The formation of a Colorado town may not have happened exactly in this way, but this is very indicative of how it was.
I have a BA in history degree from Stanford, with emphasis on the South Carolina portion of the Revolutionary War. I know how to tell drama from fact. Centennial is a tale of fiction, but Michner and the series did an amazing job at making it realistic from a "this could have happened" standpoint.
Fiction will never match fact, but if you're like me, you can accept the lapses and really enjoy it.
"The earth isn't something we can keep taking from without ever thinking about giving back."
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