padraigjoseph1979 I have watched 'The Thorn Birds' several times and it is a well made show and deserves all the praise it has received. However I can't help wondering if there should be a remake like there was with 'Roots' made in Australia with Australian actors and with Australian accents. Just an idea. Well Australian actors are everywhere at the moment so a dramatization of one of their most popular novels wouldn't be that big. Look no disrespect to the original but I think an Aussie version of an Aussie novel which 'The Thorn Birds' happens to be. I think that Colleen McCullough never liked the mini series. Would she have liked it if it had been made in Australia with Australian actors. Who Knows?

hjmsia49 This outstanding film has received many much deserved accolades by most of the reviewers who preceded me here. Some have described it as the best mini-series ever and as an admirer of the many superb British television series, I would agree that it is the best Americans have produced. It seems that many of the Australian reviewers were disturbed by the inaccurate accents which I consider a minor flaw. When you assemble a cast from many countries, all outstanding, it is too much to expect them all to blend into the national origin of the film. there are only so many Meryl Streep's. What amazed me most about the series was that I heard the author hated it. I don't know if it was the lack of red hair, the imperfect accents, the parts of her novel left out but I hope she takes comfort in the fact that most of the world loved this series. I agree that the Emmy's of Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Simmons and Richard Kiley were much deserved but I felt Richard Chamberlin and especially Henry Mancini were equally deserving. The haunting melody of Meggie's theme is enduring. Finally, I cannot offer enough praise for Jean Simmons. It is conceivable to me that this fine actress has never won an Oscar. If anyone is deserving of an Oscar for lifetime achievement or an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award it is Jean Simmons. I urge anyone who has not seen the Thorn Birds yet, to give it a try. It is a shining example of what Hollywood can do when it rises above the endless pap of current films.

taitertot I have seen this series at least 3 or 4 times. Each time I discover something different about it. This last time I watched the entire series over a weekend. I felt the same emotions except they are much stronger as I have gotten older. The one thing I have a hard time with is why did Father Ralph not suspect that Dane was his? Maybe the book explains it better, but he could not have been that dense. Nevertheless, he was brilliant as Ralph, and Rachel Ward was brilliant as Meggie as well. On the DVD, there is a special section that has some of the characters interviewed. Richard Chamberlain is precious. You can feel how passionate he was and still is about this series. In a couple of places, he got choked up talking about Dane's ordination and the story about the Thornbird. He said they almost cast Jane Seymour for the role of Meggie, but she did not come across as so vulnerable as Rachel did. Rachel Ward seemed not as passionate about the piece as Richard, but she felt "fondly" of it. She said she did meet her husband (Bryan Brown), so it was definitely a turning point in her life. I'm sure this will be the most watched movie by myself in my life.

tikidoll I've only watched the first side of disc one and am so far enjoying it, but what is with the accents? They are supposed to be in Australia and everyone is either Irish or American. The Irish makes sense, but not the American everybody! I'm Australian so I find it disappointing and distracting. I think poor immitations would have been better than effortless American accents.Meggie goes from being an American accented child of an Irish accented father and non-descript accented mother, and grows up into a British/Australian accent.Mary sounds like she's a New Yorker with an Irish brother, but the killer was at the fair when the emcee said to the girl who won something "Good on you!" awkwardly because if he was Australian, it would have been "Good on ya!" I am enjoying it, but this accent issues is quite abominable! I can't wait until Bryan Brown hits the scene to sets things straight. Oi!