Mini-series were huge in the old Network days because that was the only thing on TV.

After cable arrived, the epic mini-series for TV lost their luster and audiences. Thats why the networks don't bother anymore.

Better yet, what about the Made-For-TV movies that were at times as good as most motion pictures in their heyday?

Take for example a flick I reviewed weeks back...THE DAY AFTER. That nuclear-armaggeddon drama was really good from Nick Meyer, and hell it played well in European/Latin American theatres.

Another example is one that should be on DVD: John Carpenter's 3-hour ELVIS movie with a very young and just post-Disney Kurt Russell. In the first of their many director/star team-ups, they delivered maybe the first Elvis biopic in the wake of The King's death. Besides, ELVIS actually beat out a re-airing of GONE WITH THE WIND in the ratings.

Better yet, remember when movies shown on network TV meant something? Yet with cable TV and HBO, the luster is gone. Thats why the networks rarely play movies, and I think its only ABC now that still does it weekly.