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The Thorn Birds on ABC

1983, TV Show

The Thorn Birds: TV Guide News

A priest is torn between his calling and the lure of a rancher's daughter in this sumptuous epic set in the Australian Outback from 1920 through '62. Miniseries king Richard Chamberlain is in peak form as ambitious Father Ralph, whose turbulent, enduring romance with beautiful Meggie Cleary resulted in the second highest-rated miniseries ever (after `Roots'). This adaptation of Colleen McCullough's novel also earned Emmys for Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Kiley and Jean Simmons.

Giving Thanks for TV | Matt Roush | 11/20/2007
The past few weeks have been trying ones for anyone who cares about TV and the potentially devastating impact the ongoing writers’ strike could have on the current season and beyond. Which is why, being a cockeyed optimist and all, I’ve been cautiously thanking the fates ever since hearing that the Writers’ Guild and the producers’ alliance are going back to the negotiating table on Monday. No guarantee, of course, that this will mean a quick end to the standoff that has shut so much production down already. But hey, it’s Thanksgiving week, so let’s stay in a thankful and hopeful mode, OK?In that light, here are 10 more reasons to be thankful about the current week in TV as we head into the Thanksgiving break.1. We’re still in a sweeps month, which has allowed us most nights to live blissfully in denial that a strike is even happening, since new episodes continue to abound (including over most of this long holiday weekend). Depending on what happen... read more
Has Mrs. Huff Had Enough? | Today's News: Our Take | 4/21/2006
On Showtime's Huff (Sundays at 10 pm/ET), Paget Brewster plays the forlorn and fed-up wife of Hank Azaria's sad-sack psychiatrist. Could she be playing someone more different from the hottie Friends' Chandler stole from Joey? TVGuide.com spoke to the actress about her Huffing and puffing, read more
Will NBC's Nun Commit Sexy Sins? | Today's News: Our Take | 3/21/2005
Clutch the rosary beads, sister! Could there be a sinful scenario à la The Thorn Birds in the works on NBC's Revelations? The Peacock's six-hour limited-run series, which begins April 13, features movie stars Bill Pullman and Natascha McElhone as a Harvard professor and a renegade nun who investigate omens that portend "the end of days," as predicted in the biblical book of Revelations. They're like The X-Files' Mulder and Scully, only with the roles reversed. In this case, he's the doubting Thomas who seeks a scientific explanation for occult phenomena, while she's the true believer who's been dismissed as a blasphemous kook by authorities at the FBI, er, we mean the Vatican."Their relationship is unique," Pullman says. "It's not about coyness, it's not about some fabricated oil-and-water thing. They're two people with very different world read more

more The Thorn Birds spoilers, news and recaps (3 total news articles)

The Thorn Birds: TV Listings

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Premiered: March 27, 1983, on ABC

Rating: None

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Premise: A priest is torn between his calling and the lure of a rancher's daughter in this sumptuous epic set in the Australian Outback from 1920 through '62. Miniseries king Richard Chamberlain is in peak form as ambitious Father Ralph, whose turbulent, enduring romance with beautiful Meggie Cleary resulted in the second highest-rated miniseries ever (after `Roots'). This adaptation of Colleen McCullough's novel also earned Emmys for Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Kiley and Jean Simmons.

Cast