Classic Primetime Miniseries - Trashy or Classy?

[Paul Raven]

Mini Series ratingd 80-81 season

1. Shogun 32.6/51

2. Masada 26.4/41

3. East of Eden 25.8/37

4. Murder in Texas 24.6/39

5. Beaulah Land 23.2/36

6. Evita Peron 20.5/31

7. Peter and Paul 18.8/29

8. Alcatraz 16.9/27

9. Pearl (R) 16.8/28

10. The Godfather Saga (R)

11. Star Maker 15.3/24

12. Rumor of War 15.2/26

13. Centennial (R) 15.0/26

14. The Sacketts (R) 15.0/23

15. Hanging by a Thread (R) 14.7/26

16. CBS Reports Defense of the United states 14.0/26

17. People v Jean Harris 11.7/19

18. Last Convertible (R) 11.7/22

19. Beggarman Thief (R) 7.4/16

20. Roots the Next Generation (R) 7.0/15

The 80/91 season was affected by a strike which delayed production, so some of these mini series were scheduled to provide new content early in the season, or like Centennial, repeated to fill in timeslots, maybe not originally intended for airing at that particular time.

Murder in Texas established Farrah Fawcett as a dramatic actress and lead to more challenging roles for her.

Edited July 2, 2024 by Paul Raven

[Paul Raven]

1981-82 Season Mini series Ratings

Nothing spectacular in content or ratings that season. I think only Marco, Manions and Valley of the Dolls were 6 hrs. The rest of the new content were 2 part 4 hr series.

1. World War 111 (NBC) 21.5/33

2. Marco Polo (NBC) 21.3/36

3. Valley of the Dolls (CBS) 20.7/32

4. Family Reunion (NBC) 20.0/30

5. Inside the Third Reich (ABC) 19.5/32

6. The Best Place to Be (R) (NBC) 18.9/31

7. Manions of America (ABC) 16.6/29

8. The Rules of Marriage (ABC) 14.6/24

9. From Here to Eternity (R) (NBC) 14.1/23

10. East of Eden (R) (ABC) 13.9/34

11. Moviola (R) (NBC) 11.9/20

12. Blind Ambition (R) (ABC) 11.2/21

13. Sophisticated Gents (R) (NBC) 11.1/19

14. Freedom Road (R) (NBC) 8.1/15