McDermott, James Dishon.Austere Style in Twentieth-
Centur y Literature: Literar y Minimalism. Lewiston,
N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2006. Itself an example
of a minimalist approach to language and analy-
sis, this short book traces the minimalist aesthetic
in twentieth century literature and philosophy.
Strickland, Edward.Minimalism: Origins. Blooming-
ton: Indiana University Press, 1999. A valuable in-
terdisciplinary study of the cultural history as well
as technical and formal aspects of minimalism
across various art forms.
Swirski, Peter, with David Reddall. “American Litera-
ture.” InDictionar y of American Histor y, edited by
David Hollinger. Rev. ed. Vol. 5. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. A condensed over-
view of the main phases of development of Ameri-
can literature, from the pre-Columbian times to
minimalism and other contemporary forma-
tions.
Jennings, Peter
See also Art movements; Beattie, Ann; Decon-
structivist architecture; Literature in Canada; Litera-
ture in the United States; Reaganomics; Theater.
Miniseries
Definition Television format in which a unified
story is told in two or more episodes broadcast
in relatively close succession
At the height of its popularity in the 1980’s, the miniseries
was a lynchpin of network programming reaching millions
of viewers. As special events taking place over successive
nights, miniseries were ideal programming for “sweeps” pe-
riods, garnering increased viewership for networks when
they needed it most.
The American miniseries originated in the mid-
1970’s with the twelve-part “novel for television” ad-
aptation of Irwin Shaw’sRich Man, Poor Manon
the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Alex
Hailey’sRootsfollowed in 1977, enjoying the largest
television viewing audience ever for a dramatic pro-
gram. One hundred million viewers saw the final ep-
isode ofRoots.
Network Strategy By the beginning of the 1980’s,
miniseries had become a vital part of prime-time
programming. The broadcast networks apportioned
funds in their yearly budgets for long-form develop-
ment and production, which included two-hour orig-
inal movies for television as well as miniseries. Be-
cause a miniseries required significant broadcast
time, executives studied the ideal placement of the
miniseries in the networks’ overall prime-time sched-
ule. Anticipating that miniseries would receive higher
ratings than regular prime-time series, the networks
scheduled most miniseries during the so-called
sweeps periods in November, February, and May.
These periods were the months in which the net-
works set their advertising prices based on ratings, so
it was important to their bottom line that shows aired
during sweeps receive the highest ratings possible.
Miniseries were thus expected to attract and keep
large enough audiences over the course of their air-
ing to justify the expense of producing them. One
key to a successful miniseries was a “high concept”
that could be easily promoted, generating a large au-
dience, but one that would also be capable of sus-
taining audience interest through the conclusion of
the show. The material that worked most effectively
would therefore include a complex story. It would
also feature compelling characters able to generate
strong viewer sympathy, or antipathy, as appropriate.
Best-selling books were the primary source of mate-
rial. Such books and their authors brought precon-
stituted audiences to television.Source and Subject Matter The subject matter of
miniseries varied from melodramas, such as the Na-
tional Broadcasting Company (NBC) seriesRage of
Angels(1983) and its 1986 sequel, to historical biog-
raphy, such as the Columbia Broadcasting System
(CBS) seriesGeorge Washington(1984) and its 1986
sequel, to true crime dramas such as CBS’sMurder
Ordained(1987). NBC’sLittle Gloria, Happy at Last
(1982) andPoor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton
Stor y(1987), based on best sellers, explored the un-
happy and dramatic lives of wealthy families. An-
other NBC miniseries,V(1983), was based on an
original idea about an alien invasion.
In 1980, NBC aired the twelve-hourShogun,anad-
aptation of the epic James Clavell novel. The story
followed a seventeenth century British sea navigator,
or pilot (Richard Chamberlain), stranded in Japan.
The pilot adapted so completely to the Japanese cul-
ture that he became a samurai for a shogun, or war-
lord. The producers and director insisted on shoot-
ing the miniseries in Japan, and much of the dialogueThe Eighties in America Miniseries 653