KMC Forums - My favorite TV MINI-SERIES

Some of you may think this is a weak list, I posted this on another site and they said it was, but these are my choices for best mini-series.

10. Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honour (2003):

This is a stunning portrayal of one of America’s greatest tragic heroes, but traitors to the flag. I loved this TV movie about the story of how one of the Continental Army's most distinguished soldiers came to betray his country. Its kaleidoscope of dramatics shines new light on the man known as Benedict Arnold. Starring Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) as General Washington & Aidan Quinn as Benedict Arnold, this film is a brilliant piece of directing. After seeing this movie I’m inclined to side with Benedict Arnold. Often love will supersede duty and honour. And besides, what duty do you have to your country if it betrays you first?

9. Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003)

Unlike most WW2 epics and stories, this movie focus’s on event prior to world war 2 and on how Hitler rises through the ranks of the National German Worker‘s Party. Taken from Hitler’s own personal journals and the book he wrote (title unknown), this 2-part story of Hitler is one of the most prolific I have seen. And Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty), portrays Hitler brilliantly - like no other. It can’t be disputed that Hitler was a power hungry dictator, but this movie digs deep into Hitler’s psyche and shows why he became who he became. When I first saw this movie, I truly saw an un-bias depiction of Hitler. The man was evil, but he will forever be known as the man who brought Germany out of the brink of bankruptcy to almost ruling the world.

8. Napoleon (2003)

Everyone knows him, everyone remembers him. But what was he really like? This movie tells us clearly who Le Petite General was. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie because it showed the man, Napoleon, as a loving and caring man, who, after giving himself for the nation of France was betrayed by them because he was no longer needed. There are so many tragic stories like this, but this is a story far remembered above most. The movie didn’t show him as a tyrannical, power hungry Emperor history often portrays him, but rather, a man who wanted the best for his country, to make it strong - to revolutionize the city-state as a whole.

7. The Stand (1994)

The battle between good and evil stands to the ultimate test. An invisible poisonous gas spreads throughout the world created by a secret military installation and it kills more than 9/10th’s of the world’s population. A small group of people lead by an old, withering woman, called Mother Abigail, hope to stand against the forces of evil lead by the Devil himself. This movie is an 8-hour epic, and every time I watch it I always think to myself, this kind of thing isn’t far off. The visuals are very well done and the story is top notch. Stephen King also makes a small cameo appearance as one of the people who survive the plague.

6. The Langoliers (1995)

One of the reasons why I added this movie to my list is that it’s a supernatural story, and I’ve always been fascinated by ghosts and the world beyond. Written by Stephen King and based on a short story from his novella “One Part Midnight“, it tells of 10 passengers who wake up from sleeping on an airplane bound for Boston and learn that everyone else has disappeared. Finding themselves in the past, they race against time to get back to their own realm. Stephen King has a cameo in this movie too.

5. V (1983)

Cloaked in kindness, aliens visit Earth and befriend humanity claiming they are here to improve life, but there is a dark secret behind their coming as unsuspecting civilians soon realize, when people start disappearing, harvested for food, and a group of freedom fighters rise up to combat the aliens whose purpose is really total domination of the planet. Now, this was a really cool series, all the rage back in the early 1980’s. It was somewhat like a soap opera, you never knew what was going to happen next. And I, like millions of people, was glued to my TV set week after week tuned in to see how humanity fought off this alien threat.

4. Needful Things (1993)

The Devil has come to a little remote town called Castle Rock and has set up shop in a store he calls Needful Things. The township is intrigued by this new store and everyone is amazed that they can get everything they ever wanted from a Mr. Leland Gaunt, the store owner. But when the truth is finally learned about everyone’s “needful things”, the Devil is put on trail and judged by the town. I think this is a brilliant film playing to humanity’s greed and that we are too caught up with materialism and golden idols like the story of the 10 Commandments in the Bible. The movie was shown in the theatres as a 2 hour movie, but it was originally shot as a 4 hour miniseries. And this is the version I’m referring to. Stephen King’s version. And in my opinion depicts a better portrayal of the story as a whole. Your soul for your needful thing?

3. The Shining (1997)

Now I know what you’re thinking, what is the Shining doing in a list of top ten made for TV movies? But honestly, the Shining was made into a six hour movie shown on ABC-TV as a miniseries. And in my opinion, I think it’s far superior than the movie with Jack Nicholson. It conforms more to the novel written by Stephen King and plays more to suspense than horror. Homed in a Overlook Hotel, the ghosts that haunt the place have been waiting in its abandoned rooms for their latest victim, Jack Torrance (played by Steven Weber of the TV show Wings). Unlike Jack Nicholson‘s portrayal of Jack, you really get the feel for Steven Weber’s portrayal when Jack goes insane. Jack Nicholson looks insane before they even got to the hotel, but Steven Weber looks normal. I really like the miniseries better than the theatrical presentation.

2. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1997)

Remember all those futuristic tales of wonder you imagined when you were a kid? All those totally fantastic stories you read in comics that you thought could never have been contemplated by anyone else other than a comic book writer? Well, Jules Verne is the writer who started it all, the Father of Sci-Fi, and that’s why I picked this movie as my second best, because he wrote totally imaginative stories that sweep me away to another world and doesn‘t let me go. Taken straight from the book, it tells the story of one scientist & the nefarious Captain Nemo (Michael Caine) who has the fate of the world in his hands. A 2-part series, the story takes place on the infamous submarine the Nautilus, where Nemo plans to submerge the world by destroying the rotation of the planet. There’s a psychological undertone that really makes you think here. Is the world so evil that ultimate destruction is the cure or should the world be offered to continue on its current path in this best of all possible worlds? The climax is as fantastic as the story itself.

1. Storm of the Century (1999)

“Give me what I want and I’ll go away!” is the underling theme to this made for TV movie. Stephen King wrote the screenplay solely for the small screen. Thrilling, suspenseful and tragic, all at the same time, I think it’s the best story the master of horror has ever written. A series of murders happens in the remote town of Maine during what has come to be known as the Storm of the Century. It’s told from the point of view of the sheriff, Michael Anderson, played by Timothy Daly (from the TV show Wings), and tells the story taking place during one winter when a stranger comes to town demanding an heir. You see, the stranger is a demon, and he’s dying. Now the town has to decide who it will be or the entire town will parish.