When I was 14, I saw the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. It wasn't so profound but it was entertaining enough. Peter Strauss was like something carved onto a totem pole, but Nick Nolte was lively. Ed Asner (Lou Grant) played their father, who was totally unpleasant and unlikable--something refreshing in that!
When I was 18 I saw the miniseries of James Clavell's Japanese epic Shogun, which I enjoyed despite a big flaw: the Japanese dialogue wasn't subtitled! (The network was evidently afraid that subtitles would turn off the average semi-literate viewer.) The subject interested me so much that I read the book!
My favourite American miniseries is Lonesome Dove. Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones were in rare form, and a lot of actors were at their best--even some actors I usually don't care for were better than usual. I've read Roy McMurtry's novel and it's also excellent.
And I've seen quite a few British miniseries of the sort they play on Masterpiece Theatre: stuff like The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.
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