 centennial is a 12-episode american television miniseries that aired on nbc from october 1978 to february 1979. it was based on the novel of the same name by james a. michener. the miniseries was produced by john wilder. the miniseries follows the history of the area of the fictional town of centennial, colorado from the late 18th century to the 1970s. its star-studded cast includes michael ansara, raymond burr, richard chamberlain, robert conrad, barbara carrera, richard crenna, timothy dalton, sharon gless, andy griffith, mark harmon, gregory harrison, david janssen, alex karras, brian keith, sally kellerman, stephen mchattie, lois nettleton, donald pleasence, adrienne la russa, lynn redgrave, clive revill, pernell roberts, robert vaughn, dennis weaver, anthony zerbe, stephanie zimbalist, and numerous other well-known actors. the miniseries was one of the longest (26Â½ hours including commercials) and most ambitious television projects ever attempted at the time. it had a then huge budget of us$25 million (equal to $ today), employed four directors and five cinematographers, and featured over 100 speaking parts spanning 26 hours of television viewing time. centennial was released on dvd on july 29, 2008. ==episode 
1970s_American_television_series 1978_American_television_series_debuts 1979_American_television_series_endings American_television_miniseries English-language_films NBC_network_shows Television_programs_based_on_novels Television_series_about_the_history_of_the_United_States Television_series_by_Universal_Television Television_shows_set_in_Colorado Western_(genre)_television_series