was in Japanese with English subtitles.
Clavell’s book had been a best seller,
but the networks took a big risk in
adapting the period, non-American
subject matter to the small screen. The
gamble paid off, with a total of 125 mil-
lion viewers over five nights, as well as
three Emmy Awards.
Best-selling authors Sidney Sheldon
and Judith Krantz wrote about wealth,
power, and sex. The authors’ names
were so influential that they were tied
contractually to their books and their
television adaptations. Five of Shel-
don’s novels were adapted as mini-
series between 1980 and 1989. In 1985,
CBS reportedly offered Sheldon the
unheard-of sum of one million dollars
forIf Tomorrow Comeswithout execu-
tives having read the book.Four of
Krantz’s titles were made into mini-
series. Krantz and Sheldon frequently
wrote novels whose lead characters
were beautiful women. The networks
preferred stories with female appeal,
because advertisers relied on the buy-
ing power of women viewers. The net-
works favored casting regular-series
stars in miniseries, but Chamberlain
was the miniseries star of the 1980’s,
second only to formerCharlie’s Angels
star Jaclyn Smith. In 1988, the two ap-
peared together in a miniseries based
on Robert Ludlum’sThe Bourne Identity.
Stories based on true crimes in-
creasingly became the subject of mini-
series throughout the latter half of
the 1980’s. The networks sought out
scripts based on contemporary stories
and headlines.The Billionaire Boys Club,
a fact-based story about murderous
wealthy young men, aired on NBC in
1987 amid controversy. Attorneys sued
NBC and the production company to
stop the miniseries from airing, be-
cause an appeal and a jury trial of the
young men were scheduled to take
place. The courts decided in favor of
NBC, however, and the miniseries
aired on schedule.654 Miniseries The Eighties in America
Selected 1980’s Television MiniseriesYear Title Network
1980 Scruples CBS
Shogun NBC
1981 Brideshead Revisited PBS (originally aired
in United Kingdom)
1982 Little Gloria, Happy at Last NBC
1983 Princess Daisy CBS
The Thorn Birds ABC
Chiefs CBS
The Winds of War ABC
V NBC
Rage of Angels NBC
1984 The Jewel in the Crown PBS (originally aired
in United Kingdom)
V: The Final Battle NBC
George Washington CBS
1985 Hollywood Wives ABC
Anne of Green Gables CBC (aired on PBS in
1986)
North and South ABC
1986 North and South: Book Two ABC
Rage of Angels: The Story
Continues NBC
George Washington: The
Forging of a Nation CBS
If Tomorrow Comes CBS
1987 Amerika ABC
Murder Ordained CBS
Poor Little Rich Girl: The
Barbara Hutton Story NBC
The Billionaire Boys Club NBC
I’ll Take Manhattan CBS
1988 The Singing Detective PBS (originally aired
in United Kingdom
in 1986)
The Bourne Identity ABC
War and Remembrance ABC
1989 Lonesome Dove CBS
Till We Meet Again CBS