This wasn’t merely shot on backlots and soundstages. You can’t just plop down and watch it on a lazy Sunday. While they call it a mini-series, there’s nothing mini about it. Andy uncovers human remains that threaten to unravel one family’s fortune.Ĭentennial is an epic of the small screen. The future of the town is being fought over by David Janseen ( The Fugitive) and Robert Vaughn ( The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). The stories of urban growth end in the 1970s when Andy Griffith arrives in town. This taming of the land eventually leads to a range war between cattlemen and sheep ranchers. This establishment leads to the birth of a town that’s eventually called Centennial. Not to give away any real plot, but Chamberlin sets up a trading post.

How long can the trappers be pals before they skin each other? She also likes the furry man from the land of plaid more than her husband. Things get tense since Chamberlin has the hots for Carrera. He leads this bigamist double life to uncover the source of gold that the Arapaho use as an ordinary metal. In order to get on the good side of the Arapaho, Conrad marries the chief’s daughter (Barbara Carrera). He heads back to Colorado and frees a captured Scotsman (Richard Chamberlin) from the Pawnee. Conrad isn’t close to being a city slicker. In order to seal the deal, Conrad marries Burr’s daughter (Sally Kellerman). Louis he makes a deal with a merchant (Raymond Burr) to back his trading and trapping trips. The local Arapaho Indians trade even more pelts to him for beads, bracelets and a gun. He racks up the beaver pelts as fast as he can skin them. The sweeping story begins in 1795 as Pasquinel, a trapper from Quebec (Robert Conrad from The Wild Wild West), discovers the amazing wildlife on the rivers of Colorado. For twenty six hours over the course of 12 days, the story of Colorado and the town of Centennial unfolded.

Into this fertile valley arrived James A Michener’s Centennial, the most massive of novels. Who would put down a book in the middle of a chapter? Audiences stayed glued to the tube for the entire run. The mini-series became ratings juggernauts. Large books sprawled across numerous nights of viewing instead of being squeezed into a two hour movie of the week. The success of Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots made this revolutionary format a hit with viewers and critics. During the ‘70s, the networks went mini-series crazy.

Centennial by james michener review