110-428: A miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series " is a more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. As of 2021, the popularity of miniseries format has increased in both streaming services and broadcast television. The term " serial "
220-554: A Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series award, while HBO's Big Little Lies (which was eventually renewed for a second season) won eight Emmy awards. To designate one-season shows that are not intended for being renewed for additional seasons, the broadcast and television industry came up with terms like "limited series" or "event series". These terms also apply to multi-season shows which feature rotating casts and storylines each season, such as American Horror Story , Fargo and True Detective . This makes
330-415: A "mini- telenovela ". Due to the fact that they are broadcast at a later time than telenovelas (usually after 22:00 or 10 pm), miniseries are more daring in terms of themes, scenes, dialogues and situations, a function previously played by the "novelas das dez"—a popular term referring to the telenovelas that were broadcast at 10 p.m. between 1969 and 1979. Miniseries made by Rede Globo are released in
440-608: A "program with two or more episodes with a total running time of at least 150 program minutes that tells a complete, non-recurring story, and does not have an on-going storyline and/or main characters in subsequent seasons." Limited-run series are represented in the form of telenovelas in Latin America and serials in the United Kingdom. The shortest forms of limited-run series have two or three parts, usually described as "made-for- television film " or miniseries in
550-531: A Trollope novel; the former British prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major ; the first Canadian prime minister, John A. Macdonald ; the economist John Kenneth Galbraith ; the merchant banker Siegmund Warburg , who said that "reading Anthony Trollope surpassed a university education"; the English judge Lord Denning ; the American novelists Sue Grafton , Dominick Dunne , and Timothy Hallinan ;
660-664: A bazaar in Cincinnati , which proved unsuccessful. Thomas Trollope joined them for a short time before returning to the farm at Harrow, but Anthony stayed in England throughout. His mother returned in 1831 and rapidly made a name for herself as a writer, soon earning a good income. His father's affairs, however, went from bad to worse. He gave up his legal practice entirely and failed to make enough income from farming to pay rent to his landlord, Lord Northwick . In 1834, he fled to Belgium to avoid arrest for debt. The whole family moved to
770-700: A campaign. Beverley had a long history of vote-buying and of intimidation by employers and others. Every election since 1857 had been followed by an election petition alleging corruption, and it was estimated that 300 of the 1,100 voters in 1868 would sell their votes. The task of a Liberal candidate was not to win the election, but to give the Conservative candidates an opportunity to display overt corruption, which could then be used to disqualify them. Trollope described his period of campaigning in Beverley as "the most wretched fortnight of my manhood". He spent
880-557: A civil servant, however, he was ineligible for such a position. His resignation from the Post Office removed this disability, and he almost immediately began seeking a seat for which he might stand. In 1868, he agreed to stand as a Liberal candidate in the borough of Beverley , in the East Riding of Yorkshire . Party leaders apparently took advantage of Trollope's eagerness to stand, and of his willingness to spend money on
990-662: A conclusion at the last episode of the series. Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( / ˈ t r ɒ l ə p / TROL -əp ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era . Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire , which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire . He also wrote novels on political, social, and gender issues, and other topical matters. Trollope's literary reputation dipped during
1100-682: A daily writing quota, and admitted that he wrote for money, he confirmed his critics' worst fears. Writers were expected to wait for inspiration, not to follow a schedule. Julian Hawthorne , an American writer, critic and friend of Trollope, while praising him as a man, calling him "a credit to England and to human nature, and ... [deserving] to be numbered among the darlings of mankind", also said that "he has done great harm to English fictitious literature by his novels". Henry James also expressed mixed opinions of Trollope. The young James wrote some scathing reviews of Trollope's novels ( The Belton Estate , for instance, he called "a stupid book, without
1210-533: A day-boy to reduce his education costs. With no money or friends at these two high-ranked elite public schools , Trollope was bullied a great deal, enduring miserable experiences. At the age of 12, he fantasised about suicide. He also sought refuge in daydreams, constructing elaborate imaginary worlds. In 1827, his mother, Frances Trollope , moved to America, to the Nashoba Commune , along with Trollope's three younger siblings. After that failed, she opened
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#17327931674151320-431: A difference in character development between the two: "Both soap operas and primetime series cannot afford to allow their leading characters to develop, since the shows are made with the intention of running indefinitely. In a miniseries on the other hand, there is a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end (as in a conventional play or novel), enabling characters to change, mature, or die as the serial proceeds". In 2015,
1430-428: A distinct directing style and language, unlike American television series, where often several directors and writers work together. Series set in contemporary times usually run for one season, for 12–24 episodes of 60 minutes each. Historical series ( Sageuk ) may be longer, with 50 to 200 episodes, and are either based on historical figures, incorporate historical events, or use a historical backdrop. While technically
1540-467: A flick of the knob would spark the birth of great theatrical literature". A different story and a different set of characters were presented in each episode. Very rarely the stories were split into several episodes, like 1955 Mr. Lincoln from Omnibus series, which was presented in two parts, or 1959 adaptation of For Whom the Bell Tolls from Playhouse 90 series, which was initially planned by
1650-718: A harshly anti-American travel book about the U.S. (titled the Domestic Manners of the Americans ) and feeling markedly more sympathetic to the United States, Trollope resolved to write a work which would "add to the good feeling which should exist between two nations which ought to love each other." During his time in America, Trollope remained a steadfast supporter of the Union , being a committed abolitionist who
1760-493: A house near Bruges , where they lived entirely on Frances's earnings. In Belgium, Anthony was offered a commission in an Austrian cavalry regiment. To accept it, he needed to learn French and German; he had a year in which to do so. To acquire these languages without expense to himself and his family, he became an usher (assistant master) in a school in Brussels, making him the tutor of 30 boys. After six weeks there, however, he
1870-539: A limited eight-to-twelve-episode run are typically ordered to fill mid-season television network gaps. Limited series have the potential to be renewed without a required number of episodes as a typical order per season. Under the Dome , Killer Women , and Luther were originally marketed as limited series. Individual season-length stories of anthology series such as American Horror Story , Fargo , and True Detective are also described as "limited series", which
1980-498: A loving family in a confined space, outlining a style of drama that lives on to this day. In the same year NHK tried its own variation of the home drama format in the Ups and Downs Toward Happiness ( Kofuku e no Kifuku ), which comprised thirteen episodes. Its protagonists, a formerly wealthy family fallen on hard times, is forced to struggle for its own existence. Since then, Japanese television drama , also called dorama ( ドラマ ) , became
2090-436: A measure of prosperity. He took up fox hunting , which he would pursue enthusiastically for the next three decades. As a post-office surveyor, he interacted with local Irish people, whose company he found pleasant: "The Irish people did not murder me, nor did they even break my head. I soon found them to be good-humoured, clever—the working classes very much more intelligent than those of England—economical and hospitable." At
2200-401: A miniseries as "a television programme in several parts that is shown on consecutive days or weeks for a short period; while Webster's New World College Dictionary ' s (4th ed., 2010, US) definition is "a TV drama or docudrama broadcast serially in a limited number of episodes". In popular usage, by around 2020, the boundaries between miniseries and limited series have become somewhat blurred;
2310-528: A novel dealing with English clerical life as had Barchester Towers . Trollope then devised the plot of Framley Parsonage , setting it near Barchester so that he could make use of characters from the Barsetshire novels. Framley Parsonage proved enormously popular, establishing Trollope's reputation with the novel-reading public and amply justifying the high price that Smith had paid for it. The early connection to Cornhill also brought Trollope into
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#17327931674152420-695: A position in the Post Office as Surveyor to the Eastern District, comprising Essex , Suffolk, Norfolk , Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire , and most of Hertfordshire . Later in that year he moved to Waltham Cross , about 12 miles (19 km) from London in Hertfordshire, where he lived until 1871. In late 1859, Trollope learned of preparations for the release of the Cornhill Magazine , to be published by George Murray Smith and edited by William Makepeace Thackeray . He wrote to
2530-449: A project as Middlemarch without the precedent set by Trollope in his own novels of the fictional—yet thoroughly alive—county of Barsetshire. Other contemporaries of Trollope praised his understanding of the quotidian world of institutions, official life, and daily business; he is one of the few novelists who find the office a creative environment. W. H. Auden wrote of Trollope: "Of all novelists in any country, Trollope best understands
2640-420: A single thought or idea in it ... a sort of mental pabulum"). He also made it clear that he disliked Trollope's narrative method; Trollope's cheerful interpolations into his novels about how his storylines could take any twist their author wanted did not appeal to James's sense of artistic integrity. However, James thoroughly appreciated Trollope's attention to realistic detail, as he wrote in an essay shortly after
2750-484: A staple of Japanese television . Evening dramas air weekly and usually comprise ten to fourteen one-hour long episodes. Typically, instead of being episodic there is one story running throughout the episodes. Since they are of a fixed length, dramas have a definite ending, and since they are relatively long, they can explore character, situation, and interesting dialogue in a way not possible in movies. Doramas are never canceled mid-season, but they also do not continue into
2860-560: A tailor fell into the hands of a moneylender and grew to more than £200; the lender regularly visited Trollope at his workplace to demand payments. Trollope hated his job, but saw no alternative and lived in constant fear of dismissal. In 1841, an opportunity to escape arose. A postal surveyor clerk in central Ireland, reported as incompetent, needed replacement. The position was not regarded as desirable, but Trollope, in debt and in trouble at work, volunteered for it; and his supervisor, William Maberly , eager to be rid of him, appointed him to
2970-505: A total of £400 on his campaign. The election was held on 17 November 1868 ; the novelist finished last of four candidates, with the victory going to the two Conservatives. A petition was filed , and a Royal Commission investigated the circumstances of the election; its findings of extensive and widespread corruption drew nationwide attention, and led to the disfranchisement of the borough in 1870. The fictional Percycross election in Ralph
3080-633: A wide acquaintance, which included Lowell , Holmes , Emerson , Agassiz , Hawthorne , Longfellow , Bret Harte , Artemus Ward , Joaquin Miller , Mark Twain , Henry James , William Dean Howells , James T. Fields , Charles Norton , John Lothrop Motley , and Richard Henry Dana Jr. " Trollope wrote a travel book focusing on his experiences in the US during the American Civil War titled North America (1862). Aware that his mother had published
3190-529: A writer, especially since Ireland was experiencing the Great Famine during his time there. However, these critics (who have been accused of bigoted opinions against Ireland) failed or refused to acknowledge both Trollope's true attachment to the country and the country's capacity as a rich literary field. Trollope published four novels about Ireland. Two were written during the Great Famine, while
3300-518: A year and two days "descending mines, mixing with shearers and rouseabouts, riding his horse into the loneliness of the bush, touring lunatic asylums, and exploring coast and plain by steamer and stagecoach". He visited the penal colony of Port Arthur and its cemetery, Isle of the Dead . Despite this, the Australian press was uneasy, fearing he would misrepresent Australia in his writings. This fear
3410-761: Is a reversion back to 1974, when the category was named "outstanding limited series". It had been changed to "outstanding miniseries" in 1986 and then added to the "made for television films" category in 2011. Miniseries were brought back out in 2014, accommodating such limited series as HBO's Olive Kitteridge , History's Texas Rising , IFC's The Honorable Woman , and PBS' Wolf Hall , as well as TV movies such as HBO's Bessie and National Geographic's Killing Jesus . Short-term reality television like Bravo's Eat, Drink, Love , scripted dramas like Netflix's Black Mirror , and individual seasons of anthology series are examples of limited-run series that appear on American television networks or streaming services. In
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3520-539: Is credited with being the first miniseries on American television. It starred William Holden as a Los Angeles beat cop about to retire. The miniseries form continued in earnest in the spring of 1974 with the CBC 's eight-part serial The National Dream , based on Pierre Berton 's nonfiction book of the same name about the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and ABC 's two-part QB VII , based on
3630-467: Is used in the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealth nations to describe a show that has an ongoing narrative plotline, while "series" is used for a set of episodes in a similar way that "season" is used in North America. A miniseries is distinguished from an ongoing television series; the latter does not usually have a predetermined number of episodes and may continue for several years. Before
3740-467: The Underbelly anthology. The eighteen-hour 1983 miniseries The Winds of War was a ratings success, with 140 million viewers for all or part of the miniseries, making it the most-watched miniseries up to that time. Its 1988 sequel War and Remembrance won for best miniseries, special effects and single-camera production editing, and was considered by some critics the ultimate epic miniseries on
3850-563: The Primetime Emmys have changed to their miniseries/limited series category to accommodate. Actors may choose to take part in limited-run series because their set start and end dates make scheduling other projects easier. In 2015, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences changed its guidelines on how Emmy nominees are classified, with shows with a limited run all referred to as "limited series" instead of "miniseries". This
3960-528: The Soviet Union was among the first European countries to resume television broadcast after the Second World War , early Soviet television did not indulge its viewers with a variety of programming. News, sports, concerts and movies were the main staples during the 1950s. With state control over television production and broadcast, television was intended not merely for entertainment, but also as
4070-461: The novel by Boris Pasternak ; Fathers and Sons (2008, 4 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel by Ivan Turgenev ; Life and Fate (2012, 12 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel by Vasily Grossman ; Kuprin (2014, 13 episodes)—an adaptation of several novels by Aleksandr Kuprin . In Brazil, the Rede Globo television network commenced the production of this type of television genre with
4180-433: The novel of that name by Nikolai Gogol chronicling travels and adventures of Pavel Chichikov and the people whom he encounters; and TASS Is Authorized to Declare... (1984, 10 episodes) about the tug-of-war of Soviet and American intelligence agencies. Numerous miniseries were produced for children in the 1970s–1980s. Among them are: The Adventures of Buratino (1976, 2 episodes)—an adaptation of The Golden Key, or
4290-450: The "roughness ... Spartan simplicity and the dirtiness of the Boer's way of life [merely] resulted from his preference for living in rural isolation, far from any town." In the completed work, which Trollope simply titled South Africa (1877), he described the mining town of Kimberly as being "one of the most interesting places on the face of the earth." In 1880, Trollope moved to
4400-525: The 1940s, Trollopians made further attempts to resurrect his reputation; he enjoyed a critical renaissance in the 1960s, and again in the 1990s. Some critics today have a particular interest in Trollope's portrayal of women—he caused remark even in his own day for his deep insight and sensitivity to the inner conflicts caused by the position of women in Victorian society. In the early 1990s, interest in Trollope increased. A Trollope Society flourishes in
4510-449: The 1950s, telenovelas emerged as Latin limited series. These low-budget Spanish and Portuguese shows were modeled after American soap operas in style and form. The programs follow a story arc that ends at the end of a season, with the possibility of renewal for subsequent seasons. In British television , the term "serial", or simply "series", is used instead of "miniseries". Like telenovelas, these programmes are stand-alone dramas, with
Miniseries - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-568: The 1980s and 1990s was the golden age of television miniseries attracting millions of Egyptians. For example, The Family of Mr Shalash miniseries starring Salah Zulfikar was the highest rated at the time. The Emmy Award was taken three times by the British police procedural drama Prime Suspect . A highlight of the 1990s was an HBO production From the Earth to the Moon , telling the story of
4730-507: The 1985 adaptation of a 1982 novel by John Jakes , remains one of the 10 highest rated miniseries in TV history. Japanese serialized television production can be traced back to the Sunday Diary of My Home ( Waga Ya no Nichiyo Nikki ), which was aired by NTV in 1953 and consisted of 25 half-hour episodes. This "home drama" focused on generational differences and the contradictions of being
4840-406: The 2000s, Russian TV saw a resurgence of book adaptations, such as The Idiot (2003, 10 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky ; The Case of Kukotskiy (2005, 12 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel by Lyudmila Ulitskaya ; The Master and Margarita (2005, 10 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov; Doctor Zhivago (2006, 11 episodes)—an adaptation of
4950-547: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences changed its guidelines on how Emmy nominees are classified, with shows with a limited run all referred to as "limited series" instead of "miniseries". This was a reversion to 1974, when the category was named "outstanding limited series". It had been changed to "outstanding miniseries" in 1986. Miniseries were put in the same category as made-for-television films from 2011 to 2014 before being given separate categories again. The Collins English Dictionary (online, as of 2021, UK) defines
5060-579: The Adventures of Buratino by Alexey Tolstoy , which in turn is a retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi ; The Two Captains (1976, 6 episodes)—an adaptation of The Two Captains by Veniamin Kaverin about a search for a lost Arctic expedition and the discovery of Severnaya Zemlya ; The Adventures of Elektronic (1979, 3 episodes) about a humanoid robot meeting and befriending his prototype—a 6th grade schoolboy; Guest from
5170-486: The American television. However, it also signalled the start of the format's decline, as the $ 105 million production was a major ratings flop; the advent of VCR and cable television options was responsible for the decrease of length and ratings of most miniseries that continued into the mid-1990s. By 1996, the highest-rated miniseries of the winter season garnered a 19 rating, less than the rating average of 22 of that same season's top-rated regular series . In Egypt ,
5280-530: The Australian Historical Mini-series (1989) defined a miniseries as "a limited run program of more than two and less than the 13-part season or half season block associated with serial or series programming". With the proliferation of the format in the 1980s and 90s, television films broadcast over even two or three nights were commonly referred to as miniseries in the US. In Television: A History (1985), Francis Wheen points out
5390-495: The Barsetshire series, many other well-developed characters populated each novel and in one, The Eustace Diamonds , the Pallisers play only a small role. Trollope's popularity and critical success diminished in his later years, but he continued to write prolifically, and some of his later novels have acquired a good reputation. In particular, critics, who concur that the book was not popular when published, generally acknowledge
5500-605: The DVD format by the aforementioned television network, and a few of these miniseries are also released as a book, especially in the case of great successes such as Anos Rebeldes ("Rebel Years") and A Casa das Sete Mulheres ("The House of the Seven Women"); the latter was based on the eponymous book written by Letícia Wierzchowski , which became known due to the miniseries. The first locally produced miniseries in Australia
5610-724: The Future (1985, 5 episodes) about a girl travelling to contemporary time from the future. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Russian television saw a period of privatization and liberalization. The television programming of the 1990s–2000s included a great deal of crime dramas set both in contemporary times ( The Criminal Saint Petersburg , 2000, 90 episodes) as well in the Tsarist Russia ( The Mysteries of Sankt Petersburg , 1994, 60 episodes). Starting from
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#17327931674155720-670: The Heir and the Tankerville election in Phineas Redux are closely based on the Beverley campaign. After the defeat at Beverley, Trollope concentrated entirely on his literary career. While continuing to produce novels rapidly, he also edited the St Paul's Magazine , which published several of his novels in serial form. "Between 1859 and 1875, Trollope visited the United States five times. Among American literary men he developed
5830-460: The Irish for their actions during the famine, were representative of the dismissal by English readers of any work written about the Irish. In 1851, Trollope was sent to England, charged with investigating and reorganising rural mail delivery in south-western England and south Wales . The two-year mission took him over much of Great Britain, often on horseback. Trollope describes this time as "two of
5940-539: The London circle of artists, writers, and intellectuals, not least among whom were Smith and Thackeray. By the mid-1860s, Trollope had reached a fairly senior position within the Post Office hierarchy, despite ongoing differences with Rowland Hill , who was at that time Chief Secretary to the Postmaster General . Postal history credits Trollope with introducing the pillar box (the ubiquitous mail-box) in
6050-606: The Pit in 1958. In November 1960 the BBC televised a thirteen-episode adaptation of Charles Dickens 's Barnaby Rudge . In December of that year it broadcast a four-episode dramatisation of Jane Austen 's Persuasion . To compete with commercial television, BBC launched BBC2 in 1964. It had a new time slot allocated for classic serial adaptations on Saturday evenings. The late-night broadcast allowed for more risky and sophisticated choices and for longer episodes. In 1967 The Forsyte Saga
6160-545: The Soviet Union started broadcasting in color in 1967, color TV sets did not become widespread until the end of the 1980s. This justified shooting made-for-TV movies on black-and-white film. The 1965 four-episode Calling for fire, danger close is considered the first Soviet miniseries. It is a period drama set in the Second World War depicting the Soviet guerrilla fighters infiltrating German compound and directing
6270-607: The United Kingdom, as does its sister society in the United States. In 2011, the University of Kansas 's Department of English, in collaboration with the Hall Center for the Humanities and in partnership with The Fortnightly Review , began awarding an annual Trollope Prize. The Prize was established to focus attention on Trollope's work and career. Notable fans have included Alec Guinness , who never travelled without
6380-474: The United Kingdom. He was earning a substantial income from his novels. He had overcome the awkwardness of his youth, made good friends in literary circles, and hunted enthusiastically. In 1865, Trollope was among the founders of the liberal Fortnightly Review . When Hill left the Post Office in 1864, Trollope's brother-in-law, John Tilley , who was then Under-Secretary to the Postmaster General,
6490-498: The United States. Longer forms are often reality television or scripted dramas. Some limited series do not have main characters recurring between seasons or a storyline that spans seasons. Series with five episodes or fewer per season—such as the BBC/Masterpiece coproduction Sherlock —also are considered limited series due to their short run, even if main characters and story lines do migrate across seasons. Series with
6600-410: The classic radio serial tradition by broadcasting The Warden by Anthony Trollope over six-episodes in 1951. Pride and Prejudice was serialised in 1952, Jane Eyre in 1955. In 1953 the BBC broadcast the first serial written specifically for television: the six-part The Quatermass Experiment . Its success paved the way for two more six-part serials: Quatermass II in 1955 and Quatermass and
6710-435: The clouds of ignorance", came up with the idea of a Classic Serial , based on a "classical" literary text. In 1939 the BBC adapted the romantic novel The Prisoner of Zenda for radio broadcast. Its adapter, Jack Inglis, compressed several characters into one and simplified the plotline. The production struck a chord with listeners and served as a prototype for serials that followed it. Post-war BBC Television picked up
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#17327931674156820-502: The context of actual historical events and situations. Literary adaptations were also popular, with notable examples including A Town like Alice , A Fortunate Life , The Harp in the South , and Come In Spinner . Although most Australian miniseries during this period were historically focused, there were occasional variants into genres such as contemporary action/adventure and romantic melodrama. The 1983 miniseries Return to Eden
6930-655: The development of the Russian society during the critical years of the First World War, the 1917 revolution and the civil war that followed; The Days of the Turbins (1976, 3 episodes)—an adaptation of the play of the same name by Mikhail Bulgakov , about the fate of intelligentsia during the October Revolution in Russia; The Twelve Chairs (1976, 4 episodes)—an adaptation of the satirical novel of
7040-446: The director John Frankenheimer to consist of three parts, but ultimately was broadcast as two 90-minute installments. The high cost and technical difficulties of staging a new play every week, which would cost as much as—or more than—an episode of a filmed television series, led to the demise of anthology programming by the end of the 1950s. The void was filled with less expensive series like Gunsmoke or Wagon Train , which featured
7150-561: The disparity between the privileged background of his parents and their comparatively meagre means. Born in London, Anthony attended the Harrow School as a day pupil for three years, beginning at age seven, without paying fees because his father's farm, acquired for that purpose, lay in the neighbourhood. After a spell at a private school at Sunbury , he followed his father and two older brothers to Winchester College , where he remained for three years. He then returned to Harrow as
7260-599: The fictional county of "Barsetshire" (often collectively referred to as the Chronicles of Barsetshire ), dealing primarily with the clergy and landed gentry. Barchester Towers (1857) has probably become the best-known of these. Trollope's other major series, the Palliser novels , which overlap with the Barsetshire novels, concerned itself with politics, with the wealthy, industrious Plantagenet Palliser (later Duke of Omnium) and his delightfully spontaneous, even richer wife Lady Glencora featured prominently. However, as with
7370-422: The fight against criminals in the immediate post-war period; Little Tragedies (1979, 3 episodes)—a collection of short theatrical plays based on works by Alexander Pushkin ; The Suicide Club, or the Adventures of a Titled Person (1981, 3 episodes) about the adventures of Prince Florizel, a character of The Suicide Club stories by Robert Louis Stevenson ; Dead Souls (1984, 5 episodes)—an adaptation of
7480-478: The final episode of Chernobyl aired, it was already the highest rated show in IMDb history. The mini-series as a format has become more popular than ever before. Limited-run series In television programming, a limited-run series (or simply limited series ) is a program with an end date and limit to the number of episodes. For instance, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ' definition specifies
7590-702: The fire of the regular Soviet Army to destroy the German airfield. During the 1970s the straightforward fervor gave way to a more nuanced interplay of patriotism, family and everyday life wrapped into traditional genres of crime drama, spy show or thriller. One of the most popular Soviet miniseries— Seventeen Moments of Spring about a Soviet spy operating in Nazi Germany—was shot in 1972. This 12-episode miniseries incorporated features of political thriller and docudrama and included excerpts from period newsreels. Originally produced in black-and-white in 4:3 aspect ratio, it
7700-540: The first blockbuster success of the format. Its success in the USA was partly due to its schedule: the 12-hour duration was split into eight episodes broadcast on consecutive nights, resulting in a finale with a 71 percent share of the audience and 130 million viewers, which at the time was the highest rated TV program of all time. TV Guide ( 11–17 April 1987) called 1977's Jesus of Nazareth "the best miniseries of all time" and "unparalleled television". North and South ,
7810-557: The format has been described as a series with "a self-contained narrative – whether three or 12 episodes long". The British television serial is rooted in dramatic radio productions developed between the First and the Second World Wars. In the 1920s the BBC pioneered dramatic readings of books. In 1925 it broadcast A Christmas Carol , which became a holiday favourite. Later, John Reith , wanting to use radio waves to "part
7920-428: The format, while "limited series" or "event series" demand higher respect. (Such was the cause of the parody miniseries The Spoils of Babylon , which lampooned many of the negative stereotypes of miniseries.) In the 21st century, two miniseries have had significant impact on pop culture , and are often named the two best shows ever made: Band of Brothers , released in 2001, and Chernobyl , released in 2019. When
8030-455: The happiest years of my life". In the course of it, he visited Salisbury Cathedral ; and there, according to his autobiography, he conceived the plot of The Warden , which became the first of the six Barsetshire novels . His postal work delayed the beginning of writing for a year; the novel was published in 1855, in an edition of 1,000 copies, with Trollope receiving half of the profits: £9 8s. 8d. in 1855, and £10 15s. 1d. in 1856. Although
8140-462: The landmark Apollo expeditions to the Moon during the 1960s and early 1970s. In the 21st century, the format made a comeback on cable television and became popular on streaming services. History , for example, has had some of its greatest successes with miniseries such as America: The Story of Us , Hatfields & McCoys and The Bible , Political Animals by USA Network was honored with
8250-584: The last years of his life, but he regained somewhat of a following by the mid-20th century. Anthony Trollope was the son of barrister Thomas Anthony Trollope and the novelist and travel writer Frances Milton Trollope . Though a clever and well-educated man and a Fellow of New College, Oxford , Thomas Trollope failed at the Bar due to his bad temper. Ventures into farming proved unprofitable, and his expectations of inheritance were dashed when an elderly, childless uncle remarried and fathered children. Thomas Trollope
8360-702: The late 1870s, Trollope furthered his travel writing career by visiting southern Africa , including the Cape Colony and the Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal . Admitting that he initially assumed that the Afrikaners had "retrograded from civilization, and had become savage, barbarous, and unkindly", Trollope wrote at length on Boer cultural habits, claiming that
8470-406: The latter, offering to provide short stories for the new magazine. Thackeray and Smith both responded: the former urging Trollope to contribute, the latter offering £1,000 for a novel, provided that a substantial part of it could be available to the printer within six weeks. Trollope offered Smith Castle Richmond , which he was then writing; but Smith declined to accept an Irish story, and suggested
8580-531: The means of education and propaganda. Soap operas, quiz shows and games were considered too lowbrow. In the beginning of the 1960s television was expanding rapidly. The increase in the number of channels and the duration of daily broadcast caused shortage of content deemed suitable for broadcast. This led to production of television films, in particular multiple-episode television films (Russian: многосерийный телевизионный фильм mnogoseriyny televizionny film )—the official Soviet moniker for miniseries. Despite that
8690-456: The most eloquent, of the writers who have helped the heart of man to know itself. ... A race is fortunate when it has a good deal of the sort of imagination—of imaginative feeling—that had fallen to the share of Anthony Trollope; and in this possession our English race is not poor. Writers such as William Thackeray , George Eliot and Wilkie Collins admired and befriended Trollope, and Eliot noted that she could not have embarked on so ambitious
8800-608: The next season even if extremely popular. Popular dramas do often give rise to "specials" made after the final episode, if the show has been a huge success. South Korea started to broadcast television series ( Korean : 드라마 ; RR : deurama ) in the 1960s. Since then, the shows became popular worldwide, partially due to the spread of the Korean Wave , with streaming services that offer multiple language subtitles. Korean dramas are usually helmed by one director and written by one screenwriter, thus having
8910-508: The novel by Leon Uris . Following these initial forays, broadcasters used miniseries to bring other books to the screen. Rich Man, Poor Man , based on the novel by Irwin Shaw , was broadcast in 12 one-hour episodes in 1976 by ABC. It popularized the miniseries format and started a decade-long golden age of television miniseries versions of popular books featuring stars above television class. Alex Haley 's Roots in 1977 can fairly be called
9020-408: The novelist's death: His [Trollope's] great, his inestimable merit was a complete appreciation of the usual. ... [H]e felt all daily and immediate things as well as saw them; felt them in a simple, direct, salubrious way, with their sadness, their gladness, their charm, their comicality, all their obvious and measurable meanings. ... Trollope will remain one of the most trustworthy, though not one of
9130-494: The numerous long train trips around Ireland he had to take to carry out his postal duties. Setting firm goals about how much he would write each day, he eventually became one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote his earliest novels while working as a Post Office inspector, occasionally dipping into the " lost-letter " box for ideas. Significantly, many of his earliest novels have Ireland as their setting—natural enough given that he wrote them or thought them up while he
9240-637: The position. Trollope's new work consisted largely of inspection tours in Connaught , and he based himself in Banagher , King's County. Although he had arrived with a bad reference from London, his new supervisor resolved to judge him on his merits, and within a year, by Trollope's account, he earned a reputation as a valuable public servant. His salary and travel allowance went much further in Ireland than they had in London, and he found himself enjoying
9350-561: The profits were not large, the book received notices in the press, and brought Trollope to the attention of the novel-reading public. He immediately began work on Barchester Towers , the second Barsetshire novel; upon its publication in 1857, he received an advance payment of £100 (about £12,000 in 2023 consumer pounds) against his share of the profits. Like The Warden , Barchester Towers did not obtain large sales, but it helped to establish Trollope's reputation. In his autobiography, Trollope writes, "It achieved no great reputation, but it
9460-432: The role of money. Compared with him, even Balzac is too romantic." As trends in the world of the novel moved increasingly towards subjectivity and artistic experimentation, Trollope's standing with critics suffered. But Lord David Cecil noted in 1934 that "Trollope is still very much alive ... and among fastidious readers." He noted that Trollope was "conspicuously free from the most characteristic Victorian faults". In
9570-540: The same characters every week and had higher potential for lucrative rebroadcast and syndication rights. It was the American success in 1969–1970 of the British 26-episode serial The Forsyte Saga (1967) that made TV executives realize that finite multi-episode stories based on novels could be popular and could provide a boost to weekly viewing figures. The Blue Knight , a four-hour made-for-television movie broadcast in one-hour segments over four nights in November 1973,
9680-449: The same name by Ilf and Petrov , where two partners in crime search for chairs from a former twelve-chair set, one of which has jewelry stashed in it; Open Book (1977, 9 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Veniamin Kaverin about a Soviet female microbiologist who obtained the first batches of penicillin in the Soviet Union and organized its production; The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (1979, 5 episodes) about
9790-452: The self-contained season longer than a miniseries, but shorter than the entire run of the multi-season series. This terminology became relevant for the purpose of categorization of programs for industry awards . Several television executives interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter stated that the term "miniseries" has negative connotations to the public, having become associated with melodrama -heavy works that were commonly produced under
9900-574: The sweeping satire The Way We Live Now (1875) as his masterpiece. In all, Trollope wrote 47 novels, 42 short stories, and five travel books, as well as nonfiction books titled Thackeray (1879) and Lord Palmerston (1882). After his death, Trollope's An Autobiography appeared and was a bestseller in London. Trollope's downfall in the eyes of the critics stemmed largely from this volume. Even during his writing career, reviewers tended increasingly to shake their heads over his prodigious output, but when Trollope revealed that he strictly adhered to
10010-648: The term was coined in the US in the early 1970s, the ongoing episodic form was always called a "serial", just as a novel appearing in episodes in successive editions of magazines or newspapers is called a serial. In Britain, miniseries are often still referred to as serials or series. Several commentators have offered more precise definitions of the term. In Halliwell's Television Companion (1987), Leslie Halliwell and Philip Purser suggest that miniseries tend to "appear in four to six episodes of various lengths", while Stuart Cunningham in Textual Innovation in
10120-719: The third deals with the famine as a theme ( The Macdermots of Ballycloran , The Kellys and the O'Kellys , and Castle Richmond , respectively). The Macdermots of Ballycloran was written while he was staying in the village of Drumsna , County Leitrim . The Kellys and the O'Kellys (1848) is a humorous comparison of the romantic pursuits of the landed gentry (Francis O'Kelly, Lord Ballindine) and his Catholic tenant (Martin Kelly). Two short stories deal with Ireland ("The O'Conors of Castle Conor, County Mayo" and "Father Giles of Ballymoy" ). Some critics argue that these works seek to unify an Irish and British identity, instead of viewing
10230-589: The towns of Bendigo and Ballarat , and the Aboriginal population . What most angered the Australian papers, though, were his comments "accusing Australians of being braggarts". Trollope returned to Australia in 1875 to help his son close down his failed farming business. He found that the resentment created by his accusations of bragging remained. Even when he died in 1882, Australian papers still "smouldered", referring yet again to these accusations, and refusing to fully praise or recognize his achievements. In
10340-729: The transmission of Lampião e Maria Bonita , written by Aguinaldo Silva and Doc Comparato and directed by Paulo Afonso Grisolli, and broadcast in 1982 in eight episodes; in Brazil these episodes are popularly known as " chapters ", because each episode is analogous to a book chapter, where the following chapter begins at the same point where the previous one has ended. Rede Manchete , in the following year after its creation (1984), has produced and broadcast Marquesa de Santos . The Brazilian miniseries usually consist of several dozen chapters, occasionally having longer duration, like Brazilian Aquarelle that consists of 60 chapters, making it almost
10450-474: The two as distinct. Even as an Englishman in Ireland, Trollope was still able to attain what he saw as essential to being an "Irish writer": possessed, obsessed, and "mauled" by Ireland. The reception of the Irish works left much to be desired. Henry Colburn wrote to Trollope, "It is evident that readers do not like novels on Irish subjects as well as on others." In particular, magazines such as The New Monthly Magazine , which included reviews that attacked
10560-723: The village of South Harting in West Sussex. He spent some time in Ireland in the early 1880s researching his last, unfinished, novel, The Landleaguers . It is said that he was extremely distressed by the violence of the Land War . Trollope died in Marylebone , London, in 1882 and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery , near the grave of his contemporary, Wilkie Collins . Trollope's first major success came with The Warden (1855)—the first of six novels set in
10670-446: The watering place of Dún Laoghaire , Trollope met Rose Heseltine (1821–1917), the daughter of a Rotherham bank manager. They became engaged when he had been in Ireland for just a year, but Trollope's debts and her lack of a fortune prevented them from marrying until 1844. Soon after they wed, Trollope was transferred to another postal district in the south of Ireland, and the family moved to Clonmel . Their first son, Henry Merivale,
10780-482: The word sageuk literally translates to "historical drama," the term is typically reserved for dramas taking place during Korean history. Popular subjects of sageuks have traditionally included famous battles, royalty, famous military leaders and political intrigues. Korean dramas are usually shot within a very tight schedule, often a few hours before actual broadcast. Screenplays are flexible and may change anytime during production, depending on viewers' feedback. While
10890-612: Was Against the Wind , which aired in 1978. Over one hundred miniseries were produced in Australia over the next decade. Historical dramas were particularly popular with Australian audiences during this period. Between 1984 and 1987, twenty-seven out of a total of thirty-four Australian-made miniseries had historical themes. Some notable examples included The Dismissal , Bodyline , Eureka Stockade , The Cowra Breakout , Vietnam , and Brides of Christ . The narratives of these miniseries often followed one or two fictionalized individuals in
11000-682: Was Australia's most successful miniseries ever, with over 300 million viewers around the world, and has been described as "the best Australian example of the melodramatic miniseries." The number of Australian-made miniseries declined in the 1990s, and many of those that were made had more of an "international" focus, often starring American or British actors in the leading roles and/or being filmed outside of Australia. Some notable examples included The Last Frontier , Which Way Home , A Dangerous Life , Bangkok Hilton , and Dadah Is Death . More recently, true crime docudrama miniseries have become popular, with notable examples including Blue Murder and
11110-473: Was appointed to the vacant position. Trollope applied for Tilley's old post, but was passed over in favour of a subordinate, Frank Ives Scudamore . In the autumn of 1867, Trollope resigned his position at the Post Office, having by that time saved enough to generate an income equal to the pension he would lose by leaving before the age of 60. Trollope had long dreamt of taking a seat in the House of Commons . As
11220-420: Was based on rather negative writings about America by his mother, Fanny, and by Charles Dickens . On his return, Trollope published a book, Australia and New Zealand (1873). It contained both positive and negative comments. On the positive side, it found a comparative absence of class consciousness, and praised aspects of Perth , Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney . However, he was negative about Adelaide's river,
11330-417: Was born in 1846, and their second, Frederick James Anthony, in 1847. Though Trollope had decided to become a novelist, he had accomplished very little writing during his first three years in Ireland. At the time of his marriage, he had only written the first of three volumes of his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran . Within a year of his marriage, he finished that work. Trollope began writing on
11440-515: Was broadcast in 26 50-minute episodes. Following its success in Britain, the series was shown in the United States on public television and broadcast all over the world, and became the first BBC television series to be sold to the Soviet Union. Anthology series dominated American dramatic programming during the Golden Age of Television , when "every night was opening night; one never knew when
11550-436: Was colorized and re-formatted for wide-screen TVs in 2009. Other popular miniseries of the Soviet era include The Shadows Disappear at Noon (1971, 7 episodes) about the fate of several generations of locals from a Siberian village; The Long Recess (1973, 4 episodes) about the students and teachers of a night school; The Ordeal (1977, 13 episodes)—an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Aleksey Tolstoy , which traces
11660-400: Was living and working in Ireland, but unlikely to enjoy warm critical reception, given the contemporary English attitude towards Ireland. Critics have pointed out that Trollope's view of Ireland separates him from many of the other Victorian novelists. Other critics claimed that Ireland did not influence Trollope as much as his experience in England, and that the society in Ireland harmed him as
11770-505: Was offered a clerkship in the General Post Office , obtained through a family friend. Accepting this post, he returned to London in the autumn of 1834. Thomas Trollope died the following year. According to Trollope, "the first seven years of my official life were neither creditable to myself nor useful to the public service." At the Post Office, he acquired a reputation for unpunctuality and insubordination. A debt of £12 to
11880-401: Was one of the novels which novel readers were called upon to read." For the following novel, The Three Clerks , he was able to sell the copyright for a lump sum of £250; he preferred this to waiting for a share of future profits. Although Trollope had been happy and comfortable in Ireland, he felt that as an author, he should live within easy reach of London. In 1859, he sought and obtained
11990-590: Was opposed to the system of slavery as it existed in the South . In 1871, Trollope made his first trip to Australia , arriving in Melbourne on 28 July 1871 on the SS Great Britain , with his wife and their cook. The trip was made to visit their younger son, Frederick, who was a sheep farmer near Grenfell, New South Wales . He wrote his novel Lady Anna during the voyage. In Australia, he spent
12100-416: Was the son of Rev. (Thomas) Anthony Trollope, rector of Cottered , Hertfordshire, himself the sixth son of Sir Thomas Trollope, 4th Baronet . The baronetcy later came to descendants of Anthony Trollope's second son, Frederic. As a son of landed gentry , Thomas Trollope wanted his sons raised as gentlemen who would attend Oxford or Cambridge . Anthony Trollope suffered much misery in his boyhood, owing to
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