Centennial (miniseries)
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Centennial was a 12-episode 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. The miniseries was produced by John Wilder.
The miniseries follows the history of the area of the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado from the late 18th century to the 1970s. The novel places the town at the junction of the South Platte River and the Cache la Poudre River. This is the general location of Greeley, Colorado. (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.)
Its star-studded cast includes Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Richard Crenna, Timothy Dalton, Andy Griffith, Gregory Harrison, Alex Karras, Brian Keith, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Vaughn, Mark Harmon, Stephanie Zimbalist, and numerous other well-known actors.
The miniseries was one of the longest (26½ hours) and 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 television viewing time.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Episode Guide
| Episode | Original US Air Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 October 1978 | Only the Rocks Live Forever | (3 hr opener) |
| 02 | 8 October 1978 | The Yellow Apron | |
| 03 | 28 October 1978 | The Wagon and the Elephant | |
| 04 | 4 November 1978 | For as Long as the Water Flows | |
| 05 | 11 November 1978 | The Massacre | |
| 06 | 3 December 1978 | The Longhorns | |
| 07 | 10 December 1978 | The Shepherds | |
| 08 | 14 January 1979 | The Storm | |
| 09 | 21 January 1979 | The Crime | |
| 10 | 28 January 1979 | The Winds of Fortune | |
| 11 | 3 February 1979 | The Winds of Death | |
| 12 | 4 February 1979 | The Scream of Eagles | (3 hr finale) |
[edit] Plot summary
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.
Pasquinel (Robert Conrad) is a French trapper who plans to go out the Rocky Mountains and trap beaver. After being attacked by the members of the Pawnee, his beaver pelts acquired from the Arapaho and his remaining trade goods are stolen. Left for dead with an arrow in his spine, Pasquinel manages to return to Saint Louis. Without money, he is introduced by a surgeon to Herman Bockweiss (Raymond Burr), a German immigrant merchant and silversmith, and goes to him looking 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 captured by the Pawnee. After Pasquinel saves McKeag's life, the two agree to become partners.
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 the chief's daughter, Clay Basket (Barbara Carrera), 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, and loves McKeag, but honors Lame Beaver's direction to marry Pasquinel, and 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.
McKeag breaks his partnership with Pasquinel due to his love for Clay Basket, and the disappointment with Pasquinel's double life -- including the rumors of Pasquinel has other wives in Montreal and New Orleans. Jacques, now a teenager, tries to kill McKeag, and this causes the final break between Pasquinel and McKeag. They are reunited years later at a rendezvous of the mountain men.
When Pasquinel is killed shortly after discovering the gold vein he has long sought, McKeag takes in Clay Basket and founds a trading post. He adopts Pasquine's and Clay Basket's infant daughter Lucinda (Cristina Raines), but the two Pasquinel brothers prove to be wild and unmanageable and soon go off on their own way. They eventually become tribal leaders.
In 1845, as McKeag's trading post is beginning to prosper in the West, a young Pennsylvania Dutch farmer is falsely accused of rape. Levi Zendt (Gregory Harrison) is the son of a wealthy Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Mennonite farmer. While taking a local girl out to deliver food to the orphanage, the couple kiss. When they are discovered, the girl claims that Zendt forced himself on her and Zendt stands accused of sexual assault. Zendt is shunned by his family and his fellow Mennonites.
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 Zahm (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.
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). Seccombe is a 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. Mercy is married to Lisette, Pasquinel's daughter in St. Louis and unsuccessfully tries to use this relationship to try to gain the Pasquinel brother's favor.
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 Platte River that had been the primary site of the Arapaho people where they can start a farm. Elly also realizes that she has become pregnant. They agree to stay and settle, but before they can reach the site of the farm, Elly is bitten by a rattlesnake and dies.
Devastated by his wife's death, Zendt heads into the mountains and lives alone as a hermit in the cabin once occupied by McKeag. 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 rediscovers the gold vein that Pasquinel found before he died. To defend his claim, however, Brumbaugh kills a fellow 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."
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 recent Colorado settler named Frank Skimmerhorn (Richard Crenna) forms a militia to deal with the tribes. Skimmerhorn, a survivor of tribal wars in Minnesota, has a pathological hatred of all native Americans. He leads an attack on a group of peaceful Indians. He orders a genocidal slaughter of everyone in the camp including 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.
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.
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 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". The con works on the local pastor and the Wendells reap large blackmail proceeds. Their plan turns sour when they try it on a worldwise traveling salesman, Soren Sorenson (Sandy McPeak). He recognizes their trick, too late, and threatens to expose them. Wendell attacks him, the two struggle and the salesman is killed by Maude Wendell. While looking through his belongings, they find a large fortune in cash. They keep the money, and Philip hides the body in a subterranean cave along the riverbank.
Sheriff Dumire has suspected the Wendells of shady activities since their arrival 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, admires 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 remnants of the gang hired to drive the farmers out in the range war, and Philip begins to reveal the secret only as Dumire dies. 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 region killing many of the ranch's cattle. Levi Zendt dies in an accident, leaving Lucinda, and their two grown children: Clemma and Martin. 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. In despair Seccombe kills himself leaving Charlotte a widow.
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.
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.
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 Garrett plans to marry a young Hispanic woman. In the end, Garrett wins the election. Professor Vernor and Sidney Enderman write the history of Centennial.
[edit] Critical Reception
Nominated for several awards, including a Best Actor Golden Globe for Chamberlain's performance and Best Television Series Golden Globe Drama in 1979.[1] it was referred to by some critics as 'the white man's Roots[2], and in narrative style is very similar to the earlier production, covering several generations of a group of families.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Cast
Actor/Character
- Michael Ansara - Lame Beaver
- Phyllis Applegate - Clerk
- Robert Vaughn - Morgan Wendell
- Alan Vint - Beeley Garrett (adult)
- Robert Walden - Dr. Richard Butler
- Dennis Weaver - R. J. Poteet
- Leslie Winston - Laura Lou Booker
- Morgan Woodward - Gen. Wade
- Anthony Zerbe - Mervin Wendell
- Stephanie Zimbalist - Elly Zendt
- Alan Caillou - Booth Cilbborn
- Robert Conrad - Pasquinel
- Richard Crenna - Col. Frank Skimmerhorn
- Darrell - Fetty Burns
- Carl Franklin - Jim Beckworth
- Merle Haggard - Cisco Calendar
- Steve Shaw - Paul Garrett
- Jesse Vint - Amos Calendar
- Dennis Dimster - Timmy Grebe
- Ray Tracey - Young Lame Beaver
- Sterling Swanson - Hunter
- Steven Andrade - 1st Arapaho
- Morris Jones - 1st Reporter
- Duane Loken - 1st Cheyenne
- Ivan Naranjo - Gray Wolf
- Stuart Silbar - Col. Hanley
- David Yanez - Lame Beaver (age 9)
- Chief Dan George - Old Sioux
- Jay W. MacIntosh - Emma Lloyd
- Monika Ramirez - Blue Leaf (age 14)
- Debi Richter - Rebecca Stolfitz
- Van Williams - George
- Dave Cass - Frank Pettis
- Michael K. Osborn - Mr. Kellen
- Joella Deffenbaugh - Fat Laura
- Vincent Roberts - Jacques Pascinel
- Robby Weaver - Gompert
- Christopher Lowell - Keefe
- Steve Burns - Pvt. James Clark
- Maria Yolanda Aguayo - Blue Leaf (child)
- Marta Brennan - Mary Sibley
- Jim Bridger - Reb Brown
- Joan Carey - Miss Kruger
- Bob Davis - Bank Manager
- Jeremy Duke - Trunifador Marquez
- H.P. Evetts - Orvid Pettis
- Byron Gilbert - Elmo Pearce
- Michael Goodrow - Ethan Grebe
- Lani Grant - Mrs. Takemoto
- Jacques Hampton - Doctor
- Allan Hunt - Stanford
- John Kings - Englishman
- James Kisicki - Rev. Fenstermacher
- Tony LaTorre - Marcel (age 7)
- Ralph Davies Lewis - Tom Ragland
- Jaimie MacDonald - Jacques (ages 6-9)
- Rory Dennis MacDonald - Cisco Calender (age 9)
- Barney McFadden - Abel Tanner
- Gloria McMillan - Clara Brumbaugh
- Mari Michener - Janice Welch
- Rachel Orr - Victoria Grebe
- Terry Phillpis - Newscaster
- Maria Potts - Blue Leaf
- Steven Rapp - Kurt Brumbaugh
- Gordon Steel - Donald McPherson
- Takashi - Mr. Takemoto
- Deborah Trissell - Miss Keller
- Ken Yellow Moon - 2nd Arapaho
- Royce D. Applegate - Mr. Holmes
- William Atherton - Jim Lloyd
- Ed Bakey - Floyd Calendar
- James Best - Hank Garvey
- William Bogert - William Bellamy
- Lynn Borden - Vesta Volkema
- Bo Brundin - Magnes Volkema
- Raymond Burr - Herman Bockweiss
- Barry Cahill - Maj. O'Neil
- Rafael Campos - Nacho Gomez
- Karen Carlson - Lisette Mercy
- Barbara Carrera - Clay Basket
- Richard Chamberlain - Alexander McKeag
- Annette Charles - Senor Alvarez
- Alex Colon - Truinfador Marquez
- Timothy Dalton - Oliver Secombe
- Henry Darrow- Alvarez
- Cliff De Young - John Skimmerhorn
- Robert DoQui - Nate Person III
- Burt Douglas - Capt, William Ketchum
- Damon Douglas - William Savage
- Robert Douglas - Claude Richards
- Robert Easton - Maj. George Sibley
- Dana Elcar - Judge Hart
- Rene Enriquez - Manolo Marquez
- Chad Everett - Capt. Maxwell Mercy
- Dennis Fimple - Buck
- Lou Frizzell - Mr. Norriss
- Silvana Gillardo - Serafina Marquez
- Sharon Gless - Sidney Andermann
- Andy Griffith - Prof. Lewis Venor
- James Hampton - Defense Atty. Prescott
- Mark Harmon - John McIntosh
- Gregory Harrison - Levi Zendt
- Alex Henteloff - Bradley Finch
- Gordon Hurst - Clay
- Scott Hylands - Laseter
- Richard Jaeckel - Sgt. Lykes
- David Janssen - Paul Garrett (Narrator)
- Claude Jarman, Jr. - Earl Grebe
- Claude Earl Jones - Matt
- Alex Karras - Hans Brumbaugh
- Brian Keith - Sheriff Alex Dumire
- Sally Kellerman - Lise Bockweiss
- Eric Lalich - Jake Calendar
- Les Lannom - Bufe Coker
- William Lanteau - Flagg
- Adrienne Larussa - Clemma Zendt
- Michael Le Clair - Young Jim Lloyd
- Geoffrey Lewis - Sheriff Bogardus
- A. Martinez - Tranquilino Marquez
- Joaquin Martinez - Col. Salcedo
- Stephen McHattie - Jacques Pasquinel
- Doug McKeon - Philip Wendell
- Jim McMullan - Prosecutor
- Sandy McPeak - Soren Sorenson
- Julio Medina - Father Gravez
- Art Metrano - Maurice Cartwright
- Greg Mullavey - Mule Canby
- Karmin Murcelo - Flor Marquez
- Alan Napier - Lord Venneford
- Mark Neely - Martin Zendt
- Lois Nettleton - Maude Wendell
- Richard O'Brien - Judge
- Gene Otis - Stringer
- Morgan Paull - Philip Wendell (adult)
- John Bennett Perry - Maylon Zendt
- Robert Phalen - Rev. Holly
- Donald Pleasence - Samuel Purchase
- Cristina Raines - Lucinda McKeag Zendt
- Nick Ramus - Lost Eager, Lost Eagle
- Lynn Redgrave - Charlotte Buckland
- Clive Revill - Finlay Perkins
- Clint Ritchie - Messmore Garrett
- Jorge Rivero - Broken Thumb
- Pernell Roberts - Gen. Asher
- Kario Salem - Marcel Pasquinel
- Frank S. Salsedo - Sam Lopez
- Steve Sandor - Charley Kin
- Eric Server - Young Truinfador
- Steve Shemayne - Pawnee Chief
- James J. Sloyan - Spade Larkin
- Robert Somers - Sergeant
- Julie Sommars - Alice Grebe
- Gale Sondergaard - Aunt Agatha
- Irene Tedrow - Mother Zendt
- Robert Tessier - Rude Water
- Marshall Thompson - Dennis
- Tiger Thompson - Young Beeley Garrett
- Bill Thurman - Uncle Dick
- Glynn E. Turman - Nate Person
- Mina Vasquez - Soledad Marquez
[edit] Crew
[edit] Directors
- Harry Falk
- Paul Krasny
- Bernard McEveety
- Virgil Vogel[1]
[edit] Producers
- Alex Beaton - Producer
- George E. Crosby - Producer
- Howard Alston - Producer
- Malcolm R. Harding - Producer
- Richard Caffey - Producer
[edit] Other Crew
- Charles Larson - Screenwriter
- Jerry Ziegman - Screenwriter
- John Wilder - Screenwriter & Exec Producer
- John Addison - Composer (Music Score)
- Charles W. Short - Cinematographer
- Duke Callaghan - Cinematographer
- Jacques Marquette - Cinematographer
- Ronald W. Browne - Cinematographer
- John P. Bruce - Art Director
- John W. Corso - Art Director
- Lloyd S. Papez - Art Director
- Louis Montejano - Art Director
- Mark Mansbridge - Art Director
- Seymour Klate - Art Director
- Sherman Loudermilk - Art Director
- James Michener - Author
- Helen Colvig - Costume Designer
- Bill Parker - Editor
- Howard S. Deane - Editor
- John Elias - Editor
- Ralph Schoenfeld - Editor
- Robert F. Shugrue - Editor
- Robert Watts - Editor
- Jack Senter - Production Designer
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c Centennial:: New York Times Review. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
- ^ James, Clive. "Centennial review", 2006-03-01. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
