Centennial (miniseries)

Centennial was a 12-episode American television miniseries

Related Topics:
American - Television - Miniseries

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

that aired on NBC from October 1978 to February 1979. It was based on the novel of the same name by James A. Michener.

Related Topics:
NBC - 1978 - 1979 - The novel of the same name - James A. Michener

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The miniseries follows the history of the area of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado from the late 18th century to the 1970s. (There is a city called Centennial, Colorado, but it did not exist until 2001 and its location and history are not similar to the town described in either the book or miniseries).

Related Topics:
Fictional town - 18th century - 1970s - Centennial, Colorado

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Its star-studded cast includes Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Richard Crenna, Timothy Dalton, Andy Griffith, Gregory Harrison, Alex Karras, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Vaughn, Mark Harmon, Stephanie Zimbalist, and numerous other well-known actors.

Related Topics:
Richard Chamberlain - Robert Conrad - Richard Crenna - Timothy Dalton - Andy Griffith - Gregory Harrison - Alex Karras - Lynn Redgrave - Robert Vaughn - Mark Harmon - Stephanie Zimbalist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The miniseries was one of the most ambitious television projects ever attempted at the time. It had a then huge budget of US$25 million, employed four directors and five cinematographers, and featured over 100 speaking parts spanning 26 hours of televison viewing time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The story begins in the late 18th century among the Indian tribes of what is now northern Colorado. A band of Arapaho along the South Platte River encounter white trappers for the first time. The tribe has discovered gold in the streams of northern Colorado, but not knowing the value that whites place on it, they consider it little more than a curiosity.

Related Topics:
18th century - Indian - Colorado - Arapaho - South Platte River - White trappers - Gold

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pasquinel (Robert Conrad) is a French trapper who plans to go out the Rocky Mountains and trap beaver. Without money, he goes to Herman Bockweiss (Raymond Burr), a German immigrant merchant, for backing. Pasquinel marries Bockweiss's daughter Lise (Sally Kellerman) to gain the merchant's good graces. His financing now secured, Pasquinel heads west and meets up with Alexander McKeag (Richard Chamberlain), a Scottish-born trapper. After saving McKeag's life, the two agree to become partners.

Related Topics:
Rocky Mountains - Beaver - Raymond Burr - German - Sally Kellerman - Scottish

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pasquinel and McKeag come upon the Arapaho village of Chief Lame Beaver (Michael Ansara), who had discovered the gold. Sensing an opportunity both to further his trapping career and to get at the gold, Pasquinel marries Clay Basket (Barbara Carrera), the chief's daughter, despite the fact that McKeag has fallen in love with her and Pasquinel already has a wife in St. Louis. Clay Basket is not enthusiastic about the match, but remains devoted to her new husband. To Pasquinel, however, the relationship is little more than a marriage of convenience. He fathers two sons, Jacques 'Jake' Pasquinel (Stephen McHattie) and Marcel 'Mike' Pasquinel (Kario Salem), but spends little time with his family as he is often away trapping or hunting for gold. He also continues his double life as he fathers a daughter to his white wife in St. Louis.

Related Topics:
Michael Ansara - Barbara Carrera - St. Louis - Marriage of convenience

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Pasquinel is killed, McKeag takes in Clay Basket and founds a trading post. He adopts Clay Basket's daughter Lucinda (Cristina Raines), but two the Pasquinel boys prove to be wild and unmanageable and soon go off on their own way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1845, as McKeag's trading post is beginning to prosper, a young Pennsylvania Dutch farmer is falsely accused of rape. Levi Zendt (Gregory Harrison) is the son of a wealthy Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmer. While taking a local girl out courting, the couple become intimate. When they are discovered, the girl claims that Zendt forced himself on her and Zendt stands accused of sexual assault.

Related Topics:
Pennsylvania Dutch - Rape - Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - Courting - Sexual assault

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Zendt decides to flee Pennsylvania for the Oregon country and purchases a Conestoga wagon. Before he leaves, he goes to the local orphanage and picks up Elly Zamm (Stephanie Zimbalist), a teenage orphan who has always been smitten with Zendt. Elly has witnessed the "assault" and is one of the few people in the county who believes that Zendt is innocent. The two marry and head west.

Related Topics:
Pennsylvania - Oregon country - Conestoga wagon - Orphanage

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They join a wagon train heading for the Oregon country. On the wagon train they meet English writer Oliver Seccombe (Timothy Dalton) and Army Captain Maxwell Mercy (Chad Everett), who is married to Lisette, Pasquinel's daughter in St. Louis. Secombe is an romantic looking for adventure. Mercy is an army negotiator sent to forge treaties with the tribes of the west. He is well meaning but underestimates the demand Americans have for western lands and the animosity the plains tribes have for all whites.

Related Topics:
Wagon train - Chad Everett

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After stopping at McKeag's trading post, the Zendts continue into the Rocky mountains. After the wagon train guide tries to rape Elly, they decide to turn back. They return to McKeag's trading post defeated. McKeag offers to sell them land near the trading post where they can start a farm. Elly also realizes that she has become pregnant. They agree to stay and settle, but while clearing the land Elly is bitten by a rattlesnake and dies.

Related Topics:
Rocky mountains - Farm - Rattlesnake

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Devastated by his wife's death, Zendt heads into the mountains and lives alone as a mountain man. Lucinda McKeag, now a grown woman, takes pity on Zendt and goes to his cabin to nurse him back to health. The couple begin a romantic relationship and return to McKeag's trading post. Zendt helps out with the business and takes over when McKeag dies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hans Brumbaugh (Alex Karras), a Volga Deutsche immigrant seeking his fortune, passes through the trading post. While panning in a stream near Zendt's trading post, he discovers the gold that eluded Pasquinel. He must defend his claim, though, killing a fellow gold prospector. He becomes so distraught about the killing that he leaves the claim without taking any of the gold. Returning to Zendt's trading post, he purchases land and becomes a farmer. By using irrigation, he turns marginal land into rich cropland and becomes such a success that he is given the nickname of "Potato Brumbaugh."

Related Topics:
Volga Deutsche - Irrigation - Nickname

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By this time, the Civil War has broken out in the east and the Indian tribes take advantage of the lack of a strong military presence in the territory to commence raids on white settlements, redressing past grievances. The tribes are led by the Pasquinel brothers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Colorado settler named Frank Skimmerhorn (Richard Crenna) forms a militia to deal with the tribes. Skimmerhorn attacks a group of peaceful Indians and slaughters women and children. Captain John McIntosh (Mark Harmon), a young officer under Skimmerhorn's command, refuses to join in the massacre and is court martialed. At the trial, graphic testimony turns public opinion against Skimmerhorn and he is forced to leave the territory in disgrace. The Skimmerhorn character is loosely based on John Chivington and his infamous Sand Creek Massacre. The McIntosh character is based on Silas Soule.

Related Topics:
Mark Harmon - Court martialed - Public opinion - John Chivington - Sand Creek Massacre - Silas Soule

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1876, Colorado becomes a state and the small community that has grown up around Zendt's trading post is renamed Centennial in honor of the American centennial. Oliver Seccombe returns to the area as an agent of several British investors who want to start a cattle ranch. By claiming watering holes under the Homestead Act and utilizing the open range, they can monopolize thousands of square miles with a very small investment. The ranch would eventually control more than five million acres (7,800 square miles or 20,200 km²), an area nearly the size of Vermont.

Related Topics:
1876 - Centennial - Ranch - Homestead Act - Open range - Vermont

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They hire John Skimmerhorn (Cliff De Young), son of the disgraced Frank Skimmerhorn, to acquire cattle in Texas and drive them to Colorado. For the cattle drive, the young Skimmerhorn hires several cowboys, including the experienced cow hand R.J. Poteet (Dennis Weaver) and young Jim Lloyd (William Atherton). At first Skimmerhorn encounters resistance because of his father's actions with the Indians, but he distances himself

Related Topics:
Dennis Weaver - William Atherton

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

from his father's shadow and quickly earns the respect of the cowhands. The epic cattle drive is successful and the new ranch, named Venneford, becomes one of the largest ranches in the west.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seccombe stays on to manage the ranch and Jim Lloyd becomes a regular hand at the ranch. Lloyd falls in love with Levi Zendt's beautiful but wild daughter, Clemma. Clemma, however, merely toys with Jim. Then Charlotte Buckland (Lynn Redgrave), the daughter of one of Venneford's wealthy British investors, comes to Colorado to find adventure. Clemma leaves town, leaving Jim heartbroken. Charlotte falls in love with Seccombe and the two are married.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A range war develops between the cattle ranchers, lead by the Venneford cowboys, and sheep ranchers, led by a new settler, Messmore Garrett (Clint Ritchie). New town sheriff Axel Dumire (Brian Keith) tries to settle the conflict peacefully but it soon escalates into violence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mervin Wendell (Anthony Zerbe), his wife Maude (Lois Nettleton), and young son Philip (Doug McKeon) come to town. The Wendells are charlatans and con-artists working their way across the new railroad towns one step ahead of the law. Their favorite con is called the "badger game".

Related Topics:
Anthony Zerbe - Charlatan - Con-artist - Badger game

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The con works on several leading citizens of the town and the Wendells reap large blackmail proceeds. Their plan turns sour when they try it on a worldwise traveling salesman. He recognizes their trick and threatens to expose them. Wendell attacks him, the two struggle and the salesman is killed. While looking through his belongings, they find a large fortune in cash. They keep the money and bury the body in a subterranean cave along the riverbank.

Related Topics:
Blackmail - Traveling salesman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sheriff Dumire has long suspected that the Wendells are shady folks and questions them about the missing salesman. The Wendells won't crack, and without a body, the sheriff can do nothing. The Wendell's young son, Philip, respects the sheriff and has no respect for his parents. He wants to tell him the truth but cannot bring himself to betray his own flesh and blood. The sheriff is soon killed by bandits and Philip never reveals the secret. The Wendells parlay their stolen fortune into a local real estate empire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seccombe proves to be a poor businessman and the finances of the ranch are soon called into question by the Venneford's British investors. They dispatch Finlay Perkin (Clive Revill), a dour Scottish accountant, to audit Venneford's books. While there, a terrible blizzard hits the regionm killing many of the ranch's cattle. Perkin becomes convinced that Seccombe is skimming money from the ranch. The fraud accusations, combined with the large loss of cattle, combine to take a toll on Seccombe's health. He dies a short time later, leaving Charlotte a widow.

Related Topics:
Clive Revill - Accountant - Audit - Blizzard - Fraud

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Charlotte travels to England briefly, but returns to Venneford. She falls in love with ranchhand Jim Lloyd, but things begin to fall apart when Clemma Zendt returns to town. Charlotte goes to Clemma and convinces her to leave Jim alone. Clemma leaves town for good and Jim and Charlotte wed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the turn of the 20th century, Mervin Wendell has grown rich selling marginal land to naive immigrants and easterners, but the secret of his family's success still haunts Philip. The marginal land soon turns disastrous as the Dust Bowl years of the 1920s and 1930s set in. Dust storms kill several townspeople and cause some to go insane.

Related Topics:
20th century - Dust Bowl - 1920s - 1930s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The shrinking of the prairie and the closing of the open range leave Venneford Ranch a shadow of its former glory. Still, the ranch is large and successful and Charlotte, again a widow, uses her wealth and clout to advance a number of social causes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the 1970's, the two leading citizens in town are Paul Garrett (David Janssen), the current owner of Venneford Ranch and descendant of the Lloyds, and Morgan Wendell (Robert Vaughn), Philip's son. Both men are in their 50s, but any similarity ends there. Garrett is thoughtful, introspective, and interested in preserving the natural beauty of Colorado for future generations. Wendell is a naked opportunist looking to advance his own personal and financial interests at any cost.

Related Topics:
David Janssen - Robert Vaughn

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Professor Lew Vernor (Andy Griffith) and writer Sidney Enderman (Sharon Gless) arrive in town to do research on the history of Centennial. While exploring, Vernor discovers a washed-out cave with human remains on the Wendell's property. Morgan,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

recognizing the scene from his father's tales, orders Vernor out and hides the evidence of the century-old murder that made his family wealthy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wendell is a candidate for the new statewide office of Commissioner of Resources, an elected office that will balance economic growth with environmental and historical preservation. Wendell is running on a platform that emphasizes economic growth. Paul Garrett and other civic leaders hope for a more balanced approach. While telling

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Vernor and Enderman the story of Centennial, Garrett is persuaded to run against Wendell in the election.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the election, Wendell runs a dirty campaign and smears Garrett by any means possible. He plays the race card. pointing out that the widower Garett plans to marry a young Hispanic woman. In the end, Garrett wins the election. Professor Vernor and Sidney Enderman write the history of Centennial.

Related Topics:
Race card - Hispanic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~