it was this idea that here is a limited story, we're gonna tell it in "x" number of episodes, and let's just do this one self-contained thing. we all did things during the reign of my mad brother that we might not otherwise have done. bianculli: it looks cheap. it was the script and the performances that mattered. in other words, it could be good for you, but it was fun at the same time. the miniseries is such a huge success for public television. abc was the network that hit gold with "rich man, poor man." you can tell a story that isn't controlled by the clock. characters can grow and change and differ. hey...i want to talk to you. about what? about making an honest man out of me. it's a subject i rarely discuss in the nude. what we saw in the '70s was that the big-event television, if it was done right, and if it was compelling, the audience kept on coming back and back. bianculli: here you have topics that start to get serious and important and groundbreaking for television. karl: there's no life left here, and i don't want harm to come to you because of me.