Older people than me have been saying for years; Television ain't what it used to be. These old geesers were usually referring to the grand ol' soaps like "Dallas", "MASH" or even "The Rockford Files". Many referred to "Rich Man, Poor Man" as the best series they ever saw. Once when asked about my favorite villains my extensive knowledge was severely questioned when I failed to name Falconetti. I only knew of Falconetti through "Beautiful Girls", as he was mentioned by Matt Dillon as a nasty guy in TV history. I recently checked out "Rich Man, Poor Man" and it didn't disappoint.
A sprawling epic, spanning over twenty years (1945-1966). This mini-series follows the lives of two brothers, Rudy and Tom Jordache (Strauss and Nolte). Rudy is the rich man of the title and Tom the poor.
You really can't beat these mid-70's TV series. "Rich Man, Poor Man" was a highly ambitious project, adapting a 600 plus page novel chronicling two eventful lives amidst great social changes in America. As with all great American TV, there's much drama here, action and politics.
The cast here is great; Peter Strauss is his usually subdued self as Rudy, the somber but extremely ambitious business man who slowly builds himself an empire. Nick Nolte is perfect as the hot-blooded Tom, whose temper in the end proves very fateful. Along for the ride are some stellar guest stars such as Bill Bixby, Susan Blakely, Murray Hamilton, Edward Asner, Kay Lenz and of course William Smith as Falconetti.
So, I'd like to concur with these old geesers who state; TV just ain't what it used to be.
