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Linda Purl and Duncan Regehr were just two of the stars of the 1983 miniseries "The Last Days of Pompeii". Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086746/mediaindex/ (May be subject to copyright) |
Our friend Abi is currently touring through Italy and paid a visit to Pompeii. She has been sending photos and posting them on social media. There was one my spouse pointed out, of skeletons that had melted and were fused to rock.
That made me think I don’t know much about Pompeii, but I could have back in the 1980s if I had chosen differently.
Battle of the miniseries
The 1980s was the hey day of the television miniseries. Honestly, it is a pre-cursor to all these shows now that only produce eight or 10 episodes.
The 1980s was the hey day of the television miniseries. Honestly, it is a pre-cursor to all these shows now that only produce eight or 10 episodes.
In 1983, there were two miniseries going head to head, as they often did back in the three channel universe, battling for the hearts and minds of viewers.
In one corner was “V: The Final Battle”, while in the other corner was “The Last Days of Pompeii”. I chose “V: The Final Battle”.
Yet, that did not stop me from wanting to know more about, well, the last days of Pompeii.
The miniseries
Although I did not see “The Last Days of Pompeii”, I did read about in “TV Guide”, because Canadian actor Duncan Regehr was in the miniseries. He played a gladiator who falls in love with a blind woman and slave, played be Linda Purl. She was best known at the time for playing The Fonz’s girlfriend on “Happy Days” for one season.
Although I did not see “The Last Days of Pompeii”, I did read about in “TV Guide”, because Canadian actor Duncan Regehr was in the miniseries. He played a gladiator who falls in love with a blind woman and slave, played be Linda Purl. She was best known at the time for playing The Fonz’s girlfriend on “Happy Days” for one season.
"The Last Days of Pmpeii" has several plot lines, according to the Intertnet Movie Data Base. There is a merchant considering a run for political office; a priest after a noble’s money; and persecution-fearing Christian slaves.
The cast
As with most miniseries, “The Last Days of Pompeii” had a star-studded cast including Ned Beatty; Ernest Borgnine; Lesley-Anne Down; Franco Nero; Anthony Quayle; Laurence Olivier; Olivia Hussey; and of course Linda Purl and Duncan Regehr.
As with most miniseries, “The Last Days of Pompeii” had a star-studded cast including Ned Beatty; Ernest Borgnine; Lesley-Anne Down; Franco Nero; Anthony Quayle; Laurence Olivier; Olivia Hussey; and of course Linda Purl and Duncan Regehr.
Parting thoughts
A lot of viewers made the choice I did, because “V: The Final Battle” beat “The Last Days of Pompeii” in the ratings.
A lot of viewers made the choice I did, because “V: The Final Battle” beat “The Last Days of Pompeii” in the ratings.
Ironically, “V” would become a series for one season, and Duncan Regehr would join the cast.
The period also shows how different life was then. It used to be everyone gathered to watch the same show at the same time because that was the only time it was on. With the demise of appointment television, viewers don’t have to make a choice of shows to watch. They can either record the show, or stream it whenever they want. They can literally have the best of all worlds.
Beyond that, with YouTube and the Internet, viewers can watch the shows they missed all those years ago. In this case, I discovered all parts of “The Last Days of Pompeii” are online free to watch.
Maybe now I will, at long last, watch “The Last Days of Pompeii”.
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