The Thorn Birds 2 - The Missing Years

The Thorn Birds 2 - The Missing Years


Starring:Richard Chamberlain, Amanda Donohoe, Rob Doran, Adam Grossetti, Todd Schulberg, Olivia Burnette, Marijke Mann, Peter Ford (II), Jonathan Hardy, Paul Bertram, Ingrid Mason, Julia Blake, Robert Taylor (VII), Michael Caton, Jack Thompson, John Heywood, Maximilian Schell, Zach English, Enrico Mammarella, Phillip Hinton
Director: Kevin James Dobson
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The phenomenally popular The Thorn Birds was one of TV's hardest acts to follow, so it's a surprise that The Missing Years turned out as well as it did. Produced 13 years after the original 1983 miniseries, this is not a sequel but an "in-betweener," filling part of the 19-year gap in The Thorn Birds and beginning in war-torn Rome in 1942, where Father Ralph de Bricassart (Richard Chamberlain) is struggling to rescue Italian refugees after the latest wave of bombing. He is sent back to Australia to investigate the potential for refugee relocation there, and is reunited with his former lover Meggie Cleary (now played by Amanda Donohoe, replacing Rachel Ward), whose beloved farm Drogheda is in the grip of a two-year drought. Their still-powerful love must remain unspoken, however, because Meggie has reconciled with her estranged husband Luke (Simon Westaway, assuming Bryan Brown's role), and is about to be engaged in a heated custody battle for her son Dane, whose father is actually (and secretly) Father Ralph.

These family secrets, and the turbulent emotions of Meggie's teenaged daughter Justine, create enough familial tension to fill The Missing Years with the kind of ripe, involving melodrama that fueled the original miniseries. Accepted on its own merits, this is a respectable, above-average TV production, bolstered by the fine performances of Chamberlian and especially Donohoe, who intelligently plays Meggie with warmth, inner torment, and plucky tenacity, making the role fully her own. The sweeping wall-to-wall score is excessively manipulative in its attempt to elevate The Missing Years to Gone with the Wind proportions, and some viewers may question the integrity of a plot (bearing no relation to Colleen McCullough's bestselling novel) that forces a noble priest to solve his dilemma with a vengeful fistfight. Still, this is an eminently watchable TV romance that can stand on its own, without the long shadow of its much-beloved predecessor. --Jeff Shannon
Description
What happened to Father Ralph de Bricassart and Meggie Cleary O'Neill during the mystery years not covered in the original 1983 smash-hit miniseries? Now every fan can be in the know. "The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years" provides the spellbinding answer. The time is World War II. De Bricassart heroically rescues refugees in Rome, then is sent by the Vatican to the sprawling Australian sheep ranch he though he had left behind forever. There, a fateful reunion with Meggie leads to new temptations and a profound crisis: Meggie may lose custody of the beloved son concieved during the season of forbidden love she shared years earlier with de Bricassart.
The Thorn Birds Collector's Edition (The Thorn Birds / The Thorn Birds 2 - The Missing Years)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The Thorn Birds Collector's Edition (The Thorn Birds / The Thorn Birds 2 - The Missing Years)
    Starring: Richard Chamberlain , Rachel Ward , Barbara Stanwyck , Christopher Plummer , and Jean Simmons
    Director: Daryl Duke , and Kevin James Dobson
    Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

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    1. James Clavell's Shogun
    2. North and South - The Complete Collection
    3. The Thorn Birds
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    ASIN: B0007XG59U
    Release Date: 2005-06-07

    Description

    The epic miniseries The Thorn Birds is available for the first time as a complete collection. Includes The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, which covers the mystery years not addressed in the original 1983 miniseries, as an on-pack addition.
    The Thorn Birds 2 - The Missing Years
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The Thorn Birds 2 - The Missing Years
      Starring: Richard Chamberlain , Amanda Donohoe , Rob Doran , Olivia Burnette , and Marijke Mann
      Director: Kevin James Dobson
      Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

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      1. The Thorn Birds
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      ASIN: B0007XG2PW
      Release Date: 2005-06-07

      Amazon.com

      The phenomenally popular The Thorn Birds was one of TV's hardest acts to follow, so it's a surprise that The Missing Years turned out as well as it did. Produced 13 years after the original 1983 miniseries, this is not a sequel but an "in-betweener," filling part of the 19-year gap in The Thorn Birds and beginning in war-torn Rome in 1942, where Father Ralph de Bricassart (Richard Chamberlain) is struggling to rescue Italian refugees after the latest wave of bombing. He is sent back to Australia to investigate the potential for refugee relocation there, and is reunited with his former lover Meggie Cleary (now played by Amanda Donohoe, replacing Rachel Ward), whose beloved farm Drogheda is in the grip of a two-year drought. Their still-powerful love must remain unspoken, however, because Meggie has reconciled with her estranged husband Luke (Simon Westaway, assuming Bryan Brown's role), and is about to be engaged in a heated custody battle for her son Dane, whose father is actually (and secretly) Father Ralph.

      These family secrets, and the turbulent emotions of Meggie's teenaged daughter Justine, create enough familial tension to fill The Missing Years with the kind of ripe, involving melodrama that fueled the original miniseries. Accepted on its own merits, this is a respectable, above-average TV production, bolstered by the fine performances of Chamberlian and especially Donohoe, who intelligently plays Meggie with warmth, inner torment, and plucky tenacity, making the role fully her own. The sweeping wall-to-wall score is excessively manipulative in its attempt to elevate The Missing Years to Gone with the Wind proportions, and some viewers may question the integrity of a plot (bearing no relation to Colleen McCullough's bestselling novel) that forces a noble priest to solve his dilemma with a vengeful fistfight. Still, this is an eminently watchable TV romance that can stand on its own, without the long shadow of its much-beloved predecessor. --Jeff Shannon

      Description

      What happened to Father Ralph de Bricassart and Meggie Cleary O'Neill during the mystery years not covered in the original 1983 smash-hit miniseries? Now every fan can be in the know. "The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years" provides the spellbinding answer. The time is World War II. De Bricassart heroically rescues refugees in Rome, then is sent by the Vatican to the sprawling Australian sheep ranch he though he had left behind forever. There, a fateful reunion with Meggie leads to new temptations and a profound crisis: Meggie may lose custody of the beloved son concieved during the season of forbidden love she shared years earlier with de Bricassart.

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