Television movie
Encyclopedia
A television film is a feature film
that is a television program
produced for and originally distributed by a television network
, in contrast to many films explicitly made for showing in movie theater
s.
, based on the poem by Robert Browning
, and starring Van Johnson
, one of the first filmed "family musicals" made directly for television
. It was made in Technicolor
, a first for television, which ordinarily used color processes originated by specific networks. (Most "family musicals" of the time, such as Peter Pan
, were not filmed but broadcast live and preserved on kinescope
. A kinescope is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor). This was the only way to record a television show until the invention of videotape
).
Television films had rough start when the idea was first presented in the 1950s to major networks. The production for the films was an unstable business with certain challenges facing early participants. Many television networks were hostile towards film programming, fearing that it would loosen the network's arrangements with sponsors and affiliate
s by encouraging television station
managers to make independent deals with advertisers and film producer
s.
Television network
s were in control of the most valuable prime-time slots available for programming, so syndicators of independent television films had to settle for fewer television markets and less desirable time periods. This meant much smaller advertising revenues and license fees compared with network-supplied programming.
The term "made-for-TV movie" was coined in the United States
in the early 1960s as an incentive for movie audience
s to stay home and watch what was promoted as the equivalent of a first-run theatrical motion picture. Beginning in 1961 with NBC Saturday Night at the Movies
, a prime time
network showing of a television premiere of major studio film, the other networks soon copied the format with each of the networks having several [Day of the Week] Night At The Movies that led to a shortage of movie studio
product. The first of these made-for-TV movies is generally acknowledged to be See How They Run, which debuted on NBC
on 7 October 1964. A previous film, The Killers
, starring Lee Marvin
and Ronald Reagan
, was filmed as a TV-movie, although NBC decided it was too violent for television and it was released theatrically instead.
Considered the second television movie, Don Siegel
's The Hanged Man
was broadcast by the National Broadcasting Co.
on November 18, 1964.
These features originally filled a 90-minute broadcast programming time slot (including television commercials), later expanded to two hours, and were usually broadcast as a weekly anthology television series (for example, the ABC Movie of the Week
). Many early TV movies featured major stars, and some were accorded higher budgets than standard series television programs of the same length, including the major dramatic anthology programs which they came to replace.
's The Day After
, which aired on November 20, 1983, to an estimated audience of 100 million people. The film depicted America after a nuclear war
with the Soviet Union
, and was the subject of much controversy and discussion at the time of its release due to its graphic nature and subject matter.
Another popular and critically acclaimed TV movie was 1971's Duel, written by Richard Matheson
, directed by Steven Spielberg
and starring Dennis Weaver
. Such was the quality and popularity of Duel that it was released to cinemas in Europe
and Australia
, and had a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States. The 1971 made-for-TV Brian's Song
was also briefly released to theatres after its success on television, and was even remade
in 2001. In some instances TV movies of the period had more explicit content included in the versions prepared to be exhibited theatrically in Europe. Examples of this include The Legend of Lizzie Borden
, Helter Skelter, Prince of Bel Air
and Spectre
.
Many 1970s TV movies were a source of controversy, such as Linda Blair
's Born Innocent (1974) and Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
(1975), as well as Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway
(1976) and its sequel
, Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn
(1977), which were vehicles for former Brady Bunch
actress Eve Plumb
. Another renowned film was Elizabeth Montgomery's portrayal of a rape victim in the drama A Case of Rape
(1974).
My Sweet Charlie
(1970) with Patty Duke
and Al Freeman, Jr.
dealt with racial prejudice, and That Certain Summer
(1972), starring Hal Holbrook
and Martin Sheen
, although controversial, was considered the first TV movie to approach the subject of homosexuality
in a non-threatening manner. If These Walls Could Talk
, a film which deals with abortion
in three different decades (1950s, 1970s, and 1990s) became a huge success, and HBO's highest rated film ever.
Often a successful series may spawn a TV movie sequel
after ending its run, and TV movies may also be used as the first episode of a series, otherwise known as a pilot
. For example, Babylon 5: The Gathering
launched the science fiction
series Babylon 5
and is considered to be distinct from the show's regular run of one-hour episodes. Babylon 5 also has several sequel TV movies set within the same fictional continuity. The 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica
begin as a two-part miniseries that later continued as a television show. Another example is the TV movie Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
, which launched the TV show of the same name, and used the same actress Melissa Joan Hart
for the lead role in both. The term "TV movie" is also frequently used as vehicles for "reunions" of long-departed series, as in Return to Mayberry
and A Very Brady Christmas
.
Occasionally TV movies are used as sequels to successful theatrical films. For example, only the first film in The Parent Trap series
was released theatrically. The Parent Trap II
, III and IV were TV-movies, and similarly, the Midnight Run sequels have all been TV movies despite the first
having a strong run in the cinema. These types of films may be, and more commonly usually are, released direct-to-video
; there have been some films, such as The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
(a prequel to the film version of The Dukes of Hazzard
), which have been released near simultaneously on DVD and on television, but have never been released in theatres.
TV movie musicals have become popular among all ages. One prime example is the High School Musical series
which aired on the Disney Channel
. The first TV movie was so successful that it came out with a sequel High School Musical 2 in 2007 which has since become the highest viewed cable broadcast and in 2008 its second sequel High School Musical 3: Senior Year
was released in theaters instead of on Disney Channel. It became one of the highest grossing movie musicals.
TV movies traditionally were often broadcast by the major networks during sweeps season. Such offerings now are very rare; as Ken Tucker
noted while reviewing the Jesse Stone CBS
TV movies, "broadcast networks aren’t investing in made-for-TV movies anymore". The slack has been taken up by cable networks such as Hallmark Channel
, Syfy
, Lifetime
, and HBO with productions such as You Don't Know Jack
and Cinema Verite often utilizing top creative talent.
films were. The stories are written to reach periodic semi-cliffhanger
s coinciding with the network-scheduled times for the insertion of commercials; they are further managed to fill, but not exceed, the fixed running times allotted by the network to each movie "series". The movies tend to rely on small casts and a limited range of settings and camera setups. Even Spielberg's Duel, while a well-crafted film, features a very small cast (apart from Weaver, all other acting roles are bit-parts) and mostly outdoors shooting locations in the desert. The movies are typically made by smaller crews, and they rarely feature expensive special effects. While it would have been less expensive to film on the new media form of video
, as the movies were contracted by TV studios it was required that they be turned in on 35mm film
. Various techniques are often employed to "pad" TV movies with low budgets and underdeveloped scripts, such as music video
-style montages, flashbacks, or repeated footage, and extended periods of dramatic slow motion
footage (sometimes taken to ridiculous extremes as in the USA Network
thriller Wheels of Terror
). However, the digital 24p video format has made some improvements on the TV movie market.
even if the TV series is videotaped using a multiple-camera setup
, but are written to be easily broken up into individual thirty- or sixty-minute episodes for syndication
. Many such movies relocate the cast of the show to an exotic overseas setting. However, although they may be advertised as movies, they are really simply extended episodes of TV shows, such as the pilot and the finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation
. Most of these are made and shown during sweeps period in order to attract a large TV audience and boost television ratings for a show.
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
that is a television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced for and originally distributed by a television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, in contrast to many films explicitly made for showing in movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
s.
Origins and history
Though not exactly labelled as such, there were early precedents for "television movies", such as the 1957 The Pied Piper of HamelinThe Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957 film)
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is an American ninety-minute musical color television special originally shown by NBC on November 26, 1957, as their Thanksgiving Day offering for that year...
, based on the poem by Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
, and starring Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
, one of the first filmed "family musicals" made directly for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. It was made in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, a first for television, which ordinarily used color processes originated by specific networks. (Most "family musicals" of the time, such as Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1954 musical)
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...
, were not filmed but broadcast live and preserved on kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
. A kinescope is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor). This was the only way to record a television show until the invention of videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
).
Television films had rough start when the idea was first presented in the 1950s to major networks. The production for the films was an unstable business with certain challenges facing early participants. Many television networks were hostile towards film programming, fearing that it would loosen the network's arrangements with sponsors and affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
s by encouraging television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
managers to make independent deals with advertisers and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
s.
Television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s were in control of the most valuable prime-time slots available for programming, so syndicators of independent television films had to settle for fewer television markets and less desirable time periods. This meant much smaller advertising revenues and license fees compared with network-supplied programming.
The term "made-for-TV movie" was coined in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early 1960s as an incentive for movie audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
s to stay home and watch what was promoted as the equivalent of a first-run theatrical motion picture. Beginning in 1961 with NBC Saturday Night at the Movies
NBC Saturday Night at the Movies
NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, was the first continuing weekly prime time network television series to show relatively recent feature films from major studios in color...
, a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
network showing of a television premiere of major studio film, the other networks soon copied the format with each of the networks having several [Day of the Week] Night At The Movies that led to a shortage of movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
product. The first of these made-for-TV movies is generally acknowledged to be See How They Run, which debuted on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on 7 October 1964. A previous film, The Killers
The Killers (1964 film)
The Killers, sometimes marketed as Ernest Hemingway's The Killers, is a 1964 crime film released by Universal Studios. It is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story of the same name, following a version made in 1946 starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. It was directed...
, starring Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, was filmed as a TV-movie, although NBC decided it was too violent for television and it was released theatrically instead.
Considered the second television movie, Don Siegel
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
's The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is the twelfth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Description and symbolism:...
was broadcast by the National Broadcasting Co.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on November 18, 1964.
These features originally filled a 90-minute broadcast programming time slot (including television commercials), later expanded to two hours, and were usually broadcast as a weekly anthology television series (for example, the ABC Movie of the Week
ABC Movie of the Week
The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...
). Many early TV movies featured major stars, and some were accorded higher budgets than standard series television programs of the same length, including the major dramatic anthology programs which they came to replace.
Examples
Possibly the most-watched TV movie of all time was ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Day After
The Day After
The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
, which aired on November 20, 1983, to an estimated audience of 100 million people. The film depicted America after a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and was the subject of much controversy and discussion at the time of its release due to its graphic nature and subject matter.
Another popular and critically acclaimed TV movie was 1971's Duel, written by Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
, directed by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and starring Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
. Such was the quality and popularity of Duel that it was released to cinemas in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and had a limited cinema release to some venues in the United States. The 1971 made-for-TV Brian's Song
Brian's Song
Brian's Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the details of the life of Brian Piccolo , a Wake Forest University football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro, told through his friendship with Chicago Bears running back teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale...
was also briefly released to theatres after its success on television, and was even remade
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
in 2001. In some instances TV movies of the period had more explicit content included in the versions prepared to be exhibited theatrically in Europe. Examples of this include The Legend of Lizzie Borden
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
The Legend of Lizzie Borden is a 1975 American television movie. It premiered on ABC on February 10, 1975.-Plot:The film, although based on fact, is a stylish retelling of the events of August 4, 1892 when the parents of New England spinster Lizzie Andrew Borden were found brutally murdered in...
, Helter Skelter, Prince of Bel Air
Prince of Bel Air
Prince of Bel Air is a 1986 romantic comedy television movie which starred Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, and Robert Vaughn. It first aired on the ABC network on January 20, 1986.-Plot:...
and Spectre
Spectre (film)
Spectre is a 1977 made-for-television movie produced by Gene Roddenberry. It was co-written by Roddenberry and Samuel A. Peeples, and directed by Clive Donner.-Plot summary:...
.
Many 1970s TV movies were a source of controversy, such as Linda Blair
Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
's Born Innocent (1974) and Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic is a 1975 made-for-TV film about a teenager who becomes an alcoholic.-Plot Summary:Sarah Travis is a 15 year old teenager going through a lot of stress and insecurity. Sarah comes from divorced parents, she lives with her mother and step-father and she...
(1975), as well as Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway
Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway
Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway is an NBC made-for-television movie. It premiered on September 27, 1976. The movie is about a 15-year-old girl named Dawn Wetherby who runs away from home to Hollywood, California and becomes a prostitute to support herself. Dawn finds herself taken under the...
(1976) and its sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn
Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn
Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn was a NBC made-for-television movie, that was first telecast on May 16, 1977, and was directed by John Erman. It was a sequel to Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, which came out the prior year,...
(1977), which were vehicles for former Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
actress Eve Plumb
Eve Plumb
Eve Aline Plumb is an American actress and painter. She is best known for her portrayal of Jan Brady in the iconic television sitcom The Brady Bunch.-Early career:...
. Another renowned film was Elizabeth Montgomery's portrayal of a rape victim in the drama A Case of Rape
A Case of Rape
A Case of Rape is a 1974 television movie. It premiered on NBC on February 20, 1974. The film tells the story of a wife and mother who is raped twice by the same man and her ordeals dealing with the actual rape and her subsequent dealing with the police and the trial.-Plot:Ellen appears to have a...
(1974).
My Sweet Charlie
My Sweet Charlie
My Sweet Charlie is an American television movie directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link is based on the novel of the same name by David Westheimer. Produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC on January 20, 1970, it later had a brief theatrical...
(1970) with Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
and Al Freeman, Jr.
Al Freeman, Jr.
Al Freeman, Jr., M.Ed. is an African-American actor and director....
dealt with racial prejudice, and That Certain Summer
That Certain Summer
That Certain Summer is a 1972 American television movie directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link was the first to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Produced by Universal Television, it was broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week on November 1, 1972...
(1972), starring Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
and Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, although controversial, was considered the first TV movie to approach the subject of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in a non-threatening manner. If These Walls Could Talk
If These Walls Could Talk
If These Walls Could Talk is a 1996 made for television movie, broadcast on HBO. It follows the plights of three different women and their experiences with abortion. Each of the three stories takes place in the same house, 22 years each: 1952, 1974, and 1996. All three segments were co-written by...
, a film which deals with abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
in three different decades (1950s, 1970s, and 1990s) became a huge success, and HBO's highest rated film ever.
Often a successful series may spawn a TV movie sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
after ending its run, and TV movies may also be used as the first episode of a series, otherwise known as a pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
. For example, Babylon 5: The Gathering
Babylon 5: The Gathering
Babylon 5: The Gathering is the pilot movie of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The telefilm aired on February 22, 1993...
launched the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
and is considered to be distinct from the show's regular run of one-hour episodes. Babylon 5 also has several sequel TV movies set within the same fictional continuity. The 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
begin as a two-part miniseries that later continued as a television show. Another example is the TV movie Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (film)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a 1996 American television film adaptation based on a character from Archie Comics. It served as a pilot for the Sabrina The Teenage Witch TV series, and premiered on Showtime on April 7, 1996...
, which launched the TV show of the same name, and used the same actress Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Catherine Hart is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman...
for the lead role in both. The term "TV movie" is also frequently used as vehicles for "reunions" of long-departed series, as in Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry is an American television reunion movie for the 1960s American sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and, to an extent, Mayberry R.F.D. as well. The movie premiered on April 13, 1986 on NBC, and was the highest-rated telemovie of 1986. Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for...
and A Very Brady Christmas
A Very Brady Christmas
A Very Brady Christmas is a 1988 movie based on the television series The Brady Bunch, featuring all of the original actors who appeared in the series except Susan Olsen who was on her honeymoon when the film was being made; Jennifer Runyon took her place as Cindy...
.
Occasionally TV movies are used as sequels to successful theatrical films. For example, only the first film in The Parent Trap series
The Parent Trap Series
The Parent Trap is a film series made from 1961–1989 with Hayley Mills as the twins. She reprised her role three times in made-for-TV sequels; once in 1986 and twice in 1989.-Remake:...
was released theatrically. The Parent Trap II
The Parent Trap II
The Parent Trap II is a 1986 television film. It is a continuation to the Walt Disney Pictures 1961 film, The Parent Trap. It aired on July 26, 1986 on The Disney Channel as a part of the channel's "Sunday Night Movie". Hayley Mills is the only actor who returned from the original film...
, III and IV were TV-movies, and similarly, the Midnight Run sequels have all been TV movies despite the first
Midnight Run
Midnight Run is a 1988 American action comedy film starring Robert De Niro as a bounty hunter and Charles Grodin as his prisoner....
having a strong run in the cinema. These types of films may be, and more commonly usually are, released direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
; there have been some films, such as The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning is a prequel to the 2005 theatrical-release film The Dukes of Hazzard. An edited version of the film debuted on the ABC Family cable television channel on March 4, 2007. 'R'-rated and unrated versions were released on DVD March 13.- Plot :Bo Duke is arrested for...
(a prequel to the film version of The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard (film)
The Dukes of Hazzard is a 2005 comedy film based on the American television series of the same name. The film was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and released on August 5, 2005 by Warner Bros. Pictures...
), which have been released near simultaneously on DVD and on television, but have never been released in theatres.
TV movie musicals have become popular among all ages. One prime example is the High School Musical series
High School Musical (film series)
The High School Musical film series consists of three Disney musical films directed by Kenny Ortega and created by Peter Barsocchini. It stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman. The original film was released simply as a Disney Channel...
which aired on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. The first TV movie was so successful that it came out with a sequel High School Musical 2 in 2007 which has since become the highest viewed cable broadcast and in 2008 its second sequel High School Musical 3: Senior Year
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is a 2008 American romantic musical film and the third and final installment in the High School Musical trilogy. Its theatrical release in the United States began on October 24, 2008...
was released in theaters instead of on Disney Channel. It became one of the highest grossing movie musicals.
TV movies traditionally were often broadcast by the major networks during sweeps season. Such offerings now are very rare; as Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
noted while reviewing the Jesse Stone CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV movies, "broadcast networks aren’t investing in made-for-TV movies anymore". The slack has been taken up by cable networks such as Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
, Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
, Lifetime
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
, and HBO with productions such as You Don't Know Jack
You Don't Know Jack (film)
You Don't Know Jack is a 2010 television film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian, based in part on the book, "Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life And The Battle To Legalize Euthanasia"...
and Cinema Verite often utilizing top creative talent.
Production and quality
A New York Times critic wrote in 1991 that "few artifacts of popular culture invite more condescension than the made-for-television movie". Network-made TV movies in the USA have tended to be inexpensively-produced and low quality; stylistically, they often resemble single episodes of dramatic television series. Often they are made to "cash in" on the interest centering on stories currently prominent in the news, as the Amy FisherAmy Fisher
Amy Elizabeth Fisher is an American woman who became known as "the Long Island Lolita" by the media in 1992, when, at the age of 17, she shot and severely wounded Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of her lover Joey Buttafuoco...
films were. The stories are written to reach periodic semi-cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
s coinciding with the network-scheduled times for the insertion of commercials; they are further managed to fill, but not exceed, the fixed running times allotted by the network to each movie "series". The movies tend to rely on small casts and a limited range of settings and camera setups. Even Spielberg's Duel, while a well-crafted film, features a very small cast (apart from Weaver, all other acting roles are bit-parts) and mostly outdoors shooting locations in the desert. The movies are typically made by smaller crews, and they rarely feature expensive special effects. While it would have been less expensive to film on the new media form of video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, as the movies were contracted by TV studios it was required that they be turned in on 35mm film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. Various techniques are often employed to "pad" TV movies with low budgets and underdeveloped scripts, such as music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
-style montages, flashbacks, or repeated footage, and extended periods of dramatic slow motion
Slow motion
Slow motion is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger....
footage (sometimes taken to ridiculous extremes as in the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
thriller Wheels of Terror
Wheels of Terror
Wheels of Terror is a 1990 television movie, directed by Christopher Cain, starring Joanna Cassidy and Marcie Leeds. The film originally debuted on the USA Network in 1990...
). However, the digital 24p video format has made some improvements on the TV movie market.
Movie-length episodes of TV shows
Occasionally, a long-running television series is used as the basis for TV movies that air during the show's run (as opposed to the above-mentioned "reunion specials"). Typically, such movies employ a filmed single-camera setupSingle-camera setup
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, is a method of filmmaking and video production. A single camera—either motion picture camera or professional video camera—is employed on the set and each shot to make up a scene is taken individually...
even if the TV series is videotaped using a multiple-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
, but are written to be easily broken up into individual thirty- or sixty-minute episodes for syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. Many such movies relocate the cast of the show to an exotic overseas setting. However, although they may be advertised as movies, they are really simply extended episodes of TV shows, such as the pilot and the finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. Most of these are made and shown during sweeps period in order to attract a large TV audience and boost television ratings for a show.
See also
- Direct-to-videoDirect-to-videoDirect-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
- Soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
- MiniseriesMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
- Television pilotTelevision pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
- Television specialTelevision specialA television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
- TelenovelaTelenovelaA telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
- TéléromanTéléromanA téléroman is a French-language dramatic programming television series, similar to a soap opera or a Spanish language telenovela, in Canada. In France, the téléroman genre is known as feuilleton télévisé...
- List of Movie Umbrella Titles in North America
- List of television films produced for American Broadcasting Company