Best TV/Cable Mini-Series of All Time

[calsnowskier]

I figured I would do one of these again, but for TV/Cable Mini-Series'.

It may get a bit difficult to define exactly what a mini-series is, though, so I wanted to have a bit of discussion to establish some parameters before we get started.

How can we differentiate between a mini-series and a single-season TV show? "V" was a mini-series that ended up having a sequel series. Does that now qualify as 2 seasons of a TV show? "Firefly" only lasted one season, but is not considered a mini-series.


Off the top of my head, here are some that deserve consideration. I am POSITIVE there are others that are out there...

Stand
It
V
Band of Brothers
Adams
The Pacific
Roots
Shogun

 

[huskers1217]

Amerika..

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

The original V series from the 80s.

 

[outofyourmind]

For me it's "Band of Brothers"
Hands down the best one ever.

A very close second would be "John Adams"


I can watch either one of them over and over again.

 

[calsnowskier]

I will have another thread for noms. Right now, I am trying to get a feel for what the definition of a "miniseries" is.

Why would Band of Brothers be considered a miniseries, but not Firefly?

 

[packerzrule]

Shogun was pretty fuckin good

 

[Clayton]

Why would Band of Brothers be considered a miniseries, but not Firefly?

Firefly got canceled. It was probably supposed to go on for 4-6 seasons. Maybe more. Its why Serenity moved so quickly. While we are at it, Cowboy Bebop is the same thing and is better than Firefly.

I'm not sure how anything could come close to Band of Brothers. It was consistently amazing after the first episode and the first episode was essential to the backdrop of the series. The list of actors in it is unrivaled by most movies.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Band of Brothers

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Shogun was pretty fuckin good

Book was better cause you didn't have to see a wooden Richard Chamberlain....


My money would go for Lonesome Dove.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

I will have another thread for noms. Right now, I am trying to get a feel for what the definition of a "miniseries" is.

Why would Band of Brothers be considered a miniseries, but not Firefly?

Loved Firefly and to me it was simply a TV series that got cancelled too early.

Kind of like Farscape.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

And if not Lonesome Dove, Deadwood.

 

[calsnowskier]

And if not Lonesome Dove, Deadwood.

Deadwood lasted 3 seasons. I am not sure you can squint hard enough or use enough special lighting to get Deadwood into this convo.

 

[pabartl787]

 

[outofyourmind]

They called this a mini series, but with only 3 episodes I wonder.
I liked it. Came out last year.
Does this qualify???
"Sons of Liberty"

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Deadwood lasted 3 seasons. I am not sure you can squint hard enough or use enough special lighting to get Deadwood into this convo.

Sorry, I stand accused of not reading the whole enchilada....

I seem to have a mouth like a cannon, always shootin' it off.... Happy hour got me carried away...

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Does Luther count as a mini series or because it was spanned of three "seasons" it doesn't count?
Same with Sherlock.

Thinking they don't but want to be safe.

 

[calsnowskier]

Does Luther count as a mini series or because it was spanned of three "seasons" it doesn't count?
Same with Sherlock.

Thinking they don't but want to be safe.

Good examples. BBC puts out a lot of "miniseries'" that are hard to classify.

Luther and House of Cards, I think, would be just regular TV shows because of the multiple seasons. But how are they different from V, Roots, or Lonesome Dove that all had "second seasons"? Especially House of Cards, that had 3 seasons, spanning about 19 years.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

Good examples. BBC puts out a lot of "miniseries'" that are hard to classify.

Luther and House of Cards, I think, would be just regular TV shows because of the multiple seasons. But how are they different from V, Roots, or Lonesome Dove that all had "second seasons"? Especially House of Cards, that had 3 seasons, spanning about 19 years.

IMO, the original V was so successful, they did a follow up and then moved on to a regular series.

 

[calsnowskier]

IMO, the original V was so successful, they did a follow up and then moved on to a regular series.

But how should the BBC House of Cards series' be classified? 3 separate miniseries? Or a TV series?

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Its interesting because I remember Netflix calling Luther a miniseries before this 4th season came out.

I'll have to do some searching on other miniseries and see if I can come up with any other good ones that haven't been mentioned.

BTW I just found out about the 4th season of Luther I couldn't be anymore ecstatic right now! One of the best and most underrated series!