The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years

The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996)

At the height of WWII and ten years after their union in Matlock Island, Father Ralph reunites with Meggie who faces a deep crisis. Now, he must make up his mind, as the burden of choice is insufferable. Will he risk it all for love?

Date of release
1996-02-11
TMDB
6.9 / 10 (23)
Runtime
2h 58m
Genres
Drama, Romance
Director
Kevin James Dobson

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: The Thorn Birds

The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years is a 1996 CBS miniseries directed by Kevin James Dobson. Adapted from the 1977 novel The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, it tells the story of the nineteen years between Dane's birth and Ralph's return to Australia. These years are unaccounted for in the original 1983 ABC miniseries. Unlike the original, which was filmed in California, The Missing Years was filmed entirely in Australia, and the Drogheda sheep ranch had to be rebuilt from scratch. Actor Richard Chamberlain was also the only previous cast member to return.

Production

Producer David L. Wolper explained why this story was not included in the original 1983 The Thorn Birds miniseries: "there were so many hours that we could do for the original. We decided in the original that after he made love to Meggie that we would just cut ahead to the children." After reruns during the summer of 1993 proved popular Wolper decided there was an audience for more Thorn Birds.

The miniseries was filmed entirely on location in Australia, unlike the original, which was filmed in California. According to Wolper, when they were making the original, he wanted to shoot it in Australia, but there weren't enough film crews to make that vision a reality. However, by the time The Missing Years was in development, the Australian film industry had become substantially more capable.

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