The Operation Prime Time project, which produced miniseries for syndication to challenge the era's multi-part network blockbusters, began in 1977 with this six-hour adaptation of Taylor Caldwell's titular novel. Set in small-town Pennsylvania, the story follows two generations of families from the end of the Civil War to the early-20th century, but the focus is on Jonathan Ferrier (David Birney), a brilliant young doctor whose progressive ideas earn him the hostility of the entrenched medical profession, while his iconoclastic political views make him even more disliked among the powerful. All of this pales, however, beside the turbulence of his personal life, which includes a shrewish wife (Linda Purl) who not only has an affair with Jonathan's wastrel brother (David Huffman) but also kills herself after she becomes pregnant—and frames her husband for her death! Birney suffers extravagantly throughout Jonathan's many ordeals, surrounded by a large supporting cast that includes Barbara Parkins, Ralph Bellamy, William Shatner, Theodore Bikel, Ray Milland, Joan Van Ark, and Tom Bosley (who not only plays Jonathan's hospital boss but also serves as narrator, reciting banal stretches of historical context while filling in plot holes that the script doesn't bother to dramatize). A period soap opera that hasn't aged well, this will likely only appeal to those with a nostalgic interest in old-fashioned miniseries. Optional. (F. Swietek)
Testimony of Two Men
Acorn, 3 discs, 287 min., not rated, DVD: $59.99 April 8, 2013
Testimony of Two Men
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