The Thorn Birds: Remembering the miniseries

Rachel Ward and Richard Chamberlain in "The Thorn Birds".
Source: http://bookorbigscreen.blogspot.com/2011/10/one-superlative-song-existence-price.html
(May be subject to copyright)

It was one of the most watched television events of the 1980s, and a symbol of one of those things we have lost – the epic television miniseries.

For four nights, record numbers of viewers faithfully tuned in to see if a priest played by Richard Chamberlain, would bow to carnal desire and finally get together with Meggie Cleary, played by newcomer Rachel Ward.

“The Thorn Birds” was one of the most memorable miniseries of the 1980s.

The story
Chamberlain plays Father Ralph de Bricassart, an ambitious young Catholic priest, who is posted to a small community in Australia. He gets the attention of Mary Carson, a local matriarch, who tries desperately to tempt him to break his vows, but never succeeds. Ralph curries her favour in the hopes she will make a sizeable contribution to the Catholic Church and further his own ambition. Meanwhile, over time, he grows closer to young Meggie Cleary who grows into an attractive woman.

When Mary Carson dies, it is discovered she has left the bulk of her estate to the church and made Ralph the executor. That forces him to choose between ambition and staying close to Meggie. It was a master manipulation from the grave by a jealous Mary Carson. Ralph chose to pursue his ambition.

The remainder of the miniseries focuses on what becomes of Ralph and Meggie. He goes off to Rome and progresses all the way to the position of cardinal. Meggie will marry Luke O”Neill, a farm worker who does not fulfill Meggie, and eventually she will leave him. Inevitably, Ralph and Meggie will cross paths from time to time resulting in no end of drama.

It was a riveting story.

The mini-series
One of the hallmarks of television in the 1980s was the mini-series.

It all really started in the 1970s with “Roots”, which became the most watched mini-series of all time. “The Thorn Birds” would be number two.

It was so successful that I did not watch it when it first aired in March of 1983. Instead, my mom told me all about it. “The Thorn Birds” was so popular, I watched it when it was rerun in January of 1985. Because it was so dense with detail, my mom’s explanation was not a spoiler at all. It just whet my appetite.

Richard Chamberlain, who played Ralph de Bricassart, became a mini-series legend. He started in a miniseries called “Centennial” in 1978 then really hit it big with “Shogun” in 1980. That mini-series, set in feudal Japan and based on the James Clavell novel, was a real television event.

There would be many more – “Rich Man, Poor Man”; “The Blue and the Gray”; “North and South”; “Masada”; “Winds of War”; “War and Remembrance”; “Marco Polo”; “Space”; “Master of the Game”; and so many more.

It was such a big part of television viewing back then. The mini-series allowed producers to tell longer stories than could fit in a two-hour made-for-TV movie, yet were not meant to be series television.

It was the epitome of appointment viewing, because everybody tuned into whatever minis-series it was, and it was all the talk at school the next day.

Parting thoughts
This was another idea that sat at the bottom of my blog’s closet for a long time. I initially wrote it down when I heard Colleen McCullough, who wrote the book “The Thorn Birds”, passed away in 2015.

It brought back some interesting memories. “The Thorn Birds” cemented Richard Chamberlain’s place as a mini-series star, while it launched the careers of Rachel Ward, who played Meggie, and Bryan Brown, who played Luke. Interestingly, Ward and Brown met on the set of “The Thorn Birds”, fell in love and got married. They are together to this day.

“The Thorn Birds” would go on to be nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy awards, winning for outstanding achievement in makeup; outstanding art direction for a mini-series or movie; outstanding film editing for a mini-series or movie; outstanding lead actress in a mini-series or movie for Barbara Stanwyck who played Mary Carson; outstanding supporting actor in a mini-series or movie for Richard Kiley; and outstanding supporting actress in a mini-series or movie for Jean Simmons. Chamberlain was nominated for outstanding lead actor; Brown and Christopher Plummer were nominated for outstanding supporting actor; Piper Laurie was nominated for outstanding supporting actress; and “The Thorn Birds” was nominated for outstanding mini-series or movie.

What I will always remember was how much my Mom loved “The Thorn Birds” the first time she saw it, and told me all about it. I really don’t know why I didn’t watch it that first time in 1983.

I did not make that mistake twice when it re-aired in 1985.

Sitting there beside me all four nights to watch it again, was my Mom, and she loved it just as much the second time around.

I could see why.