Thirty Days of TV: Day Seventeen
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
That depends on several factors. Do we count miniseries which are part of a greater whole, like the one that kicked Battlestar Galactica off, or Torchwood: Children of Earth? Or do only miniseries count which have no before or after on tv? If so, does a two parter count as a miniseries or does a miniseries have to have at least three parts?
If we count a miniseries which does have a before and after on tv, but also has a self-contained story (in five episodes, in the case I'm thinking of): then it's Torchwood: Children of Earth. For reasons explained in post on the overall miniseries and this post about the female characters. If you want, you can also argue that Children of Earth illustrates that RTD works best if you give him a limited format as opposed to longer seasons, but seriously: I think it's one of the best things he did, and not just in the Whoverse. It's not something I can rewatch endlessly, but every time I do, and I think I did four or five times so far, I'm impressed, shattered and awed all over again.
If we only count a miniseries which is not part of a greater whole: Das Todesspiel, a docudrama by Heinrich Breloer, mixing interviews of the real people with acted scenes, about what our media refers to as "the German autumn", the autumn of 1977. Focused on the kidnapping of politician Hans-Martin Schleyer by the R.A.F. (which in German stands for Rote Armee Fraktion, not Royal Airforce - the terrorists referred to as "the Baader-Meinhof-Gang" in English) and the abduction of the air plane Landshut. Despite the fact the outcome is well known - Schleyer dies, the passengers of the Landshut are saved, all of them - Das Todespiel is incredibly suspenseful to watch. The interviews (of politicians, kidnapping victims, terrorists, practically anyone still alive) are great and revealing, and despite the fact some of the actors in the acted scenes don't much look like the interviewed real people, their performance is so good you believe it utterly. (Trivia note: one of the lawyers representing the terrorists, Otto Schily, decades later became our secretary of the interior and one very much on the law and order side.) Breloer later tried to repeat the success of Das Todesspiel, using the same docudrama format for a miniseries about Thomas Mann and his family, and then one about Albert Speer, but these series never reached quite the same heights.
If we only count a miniseries consisting of more than two episodes: John Adams, which I watched last year (five episodes, I think), was really well made, superbly acted, and with layered storytelling. One of the reasons why I thought Daniel Day Lewis deserved to win for his performance but not Lincoln the movie for best film (and it didn't) was that I had seen John Adams, which manages to tell a political historical story (about a US President the scriptwriters clearly think highly of) without making you feel, as Ponygirl put it, like you're attending a service of a religion you're not a part of.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/872287.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
That depends on several factors. Do we count miniseries which are part of a greater whole, like the one that kicked Battlestar Galactica off, or Torchwood: Children of Earth? Or do only miniseries count which have no before or after on tv? If so, does a two parter count as a miniseries or does a miniseries have to have at least three parts?
If we count a miniseries which does have a before and after on tv, but also has a self-contained story (in five episodes, in the case I'm thinking of): then it's Torchwood: Children of Earth. For reasons explained in post on the overall miniseries and this post about the female characters. If you want, you can also argue that Children of Earth illustrates that RTD works best if you give him a limited format as opposed to longer seasons, but seriously: I think it's one of the best things he did, and not just in the Whoverse. It's not something I can rewatch endlessly, but every time I do, and I think I did four or five times so far, I'm impressed, shattered and awed all over again.
If we only count a miniseries which is not part of a greater whole: Das Todesspiel, a docudrama by Heinrich Breloer, mixing interviews of the real people with acted scenes, about what our media refers to as "the German autumn", the autumn of 1977. Focused on the kidnapping of politician Hans-Martin Schleyer by the R.A.F. (which in German stands for Rote Armee Fraktion, not Royal Airforce - the terrorists referred to as "the Baader-Meinhof-Gang" in English) and the abduction of the air plane Landshut. Despite the fact the outcome is well known - Schleyer dies, the passengers of the Landshut are saved, all of them - Das Todespiel is incredibly suspenseful to watch. The interviews (of politicians, kidnapping victims, terrorists, practically anyone still alive) are great and revealing, and despite the fact some of the actors in the acted scenes don't much look like the interviewed real people, their performance is so good you believe it utterly. (Trivia note: one of the lawyers representing the terrorists, Otto Schily, decades later became our secretary of the interior and one very much on the law and order side.) Breloer later tried to repeat the success of Das Todesspiel, using the same docudrama format for a miniseries about Thomas Mann and his family, and then one about Albert Speer, but these series never reached quite the same heights.
If we only count a miniseries consisting of more than two episodes: John Adams, which I watched last year (five episodes, I think), was really well made, superbly acted, and with layered storytelling. One of the reasons why I thought Daniel Day Lewis deserved to win for his performance but not Lincoln the movie for best film (and it didn't) was that I had seen John Adams, which manages to tell a political historical story (about a US President the scriptwriters clearly think highly of) without making you feel, as Ponygirl put it, like you're attending a service of a religion you're not a part of.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/872287.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.