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I need help in remembering a tv miniseries or tv movie
Today | Jonty30

Posted on 03/27/2026 8:16:03 PM PDT by Jonty30

What I remember about it is that it is approximately a Victorian era movie or miniseries. The show aired anywhere from the late 70's to late 80's.

In the show, it involves an older sister or single mother and two younger children who are taken in by a compassionate wealthy young gentleman, possibly an aristocrat. He tries to raise the children to be fit for his level of society, but the young man becomes resentful of him and ends up stabbing him in the leg when the young man reveals that he is now broke because of bad investments.

I don't know what happened to the girl child, but the young man choose to take a life of hard labour. He even signed his name as an X, even though a minor character remarked because he knew the young man that, "he could read and write' to imply that he could have worked himself into a white collar working position instead of choosing to be a labourer..

It's been bugging me, so I want to lay it rest by finding the title. I've already used the AI's, iwthout much success.


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Any help is appreciated.
1 posted on 03/27/2026 8:16:03 PM PDT by Jonty30
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To: Jonty30

“North & South”?


2 posted on 03/27/2026 8:18:19 PM PDT by Bikkuri (Whomever thought China and India were ever going to be serious allies hasn’t been paying attention..)
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To: Jonty30
North and South (1975)
3 posted on 03/27/2026 8:19:27 PM PDT by Bikkuri (Whomever thought China and India were ever going to be serious allies hasn’t been paying attention..)
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To: Bikkuri

It takes place somewhere in Great Britain, I believe.


4 posted on 03/27/2026 8:19:36 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: Jonty30

This one does take place in England..


5 posted on 03/27/2026 8:20:31 PM PDT by Bikkuri (Whomever thought China and India were ever going to be serious allies hasn’t been paying attention..)
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To: Jonty30


"It takes place somewhere in Great Britain, I believe."


"A young woman is uprooted from her idyllic village in Southern England, has her eyes opened to class warfare in the industrial North, and receives a surprising marriage proposal."
6 posted on 03/27/2026 8:21:13 PM PDT by Bikkuri (Whomever thought China and India were ever going to be serious allies hasn’t been paying attention..)
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To: Jonty30
Did you see it on PBS or Masterpiece Theater?

7 posted on 03/27/2026 8:21:44 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: Bikkuri

I don’t think so. I don’t see two children and a young wealthy or aristocrat.


8 posted on 03/27/2026 8:21:55 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: Jonty30

Do you recall the name of even just one actor?


9 posted on 03/27/2026 8:22:12 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

I saw it on my local channel in the middle of the night.


10 posted on 03/27/2026 8:22:31 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: lee martell

Unfortunately not. If I did, I could look up that actor and his entire film history to find that movie.


11 posted on 03/27/2026 8:23:17 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: Bikkuri

Did she have children, whether it be hers or siblings?


12 posted on 03/27/2026 8:23:55 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: Jonty30

probably not this, but worth considering
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1050057/


13 posted on 03/27/2026 8:31:48 PM PDT by algore ( )
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Copilot suggests that it was a Masterpiece production that was shown on my local channel.


14 posted on 03/27/2026 8:36:07 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: Jonty30

Whatchyoutalkinbout,Willis! lol


15 posted on 03/27/2026 8:40:13 PM PDT by fightin kentuckian
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To: Jonty30

Whatchyoutalkinbout,Willis! lol


16 posted on 03/27/2026 8:40:35 PM PDT by fightin kentuckian
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To: Jonty30
I gave your description to Google's AI and got this.
Based on your detailed description, the miniseries you are remembering is likely "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1976), or potentially its sequel, "Rich Man, Poor Man Book II" (1976–1977).

While the series is set slightly later than the Victorian era (starting in 1945), it fits many of your specific narrative memories regarding the class divide and the resentful young man:

The Benefactor and Resentment: The story traces the lives of two brothers, Rudy Jordache (the "Rich Man," played by Peter Strauss) and Tom Jordache (the "Poor Man," played by Nick Nolte). Rudy is the wealthy, successful politician/businessman who repeatedly tries to "civilize" and help his troubled nephew, Wesley Jordache (Tom's son).

The Stabbing Incident: In the sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, Wesley Jordache is taken in by his uncle Rudy after his father's death. Wesley is deeply resentful of Rudy’s wealth and control. There is a pivotal scene where Rudy reveals he has lost a significant portion of his fortune through bad investments and business sabotage. In a moment of extreme tension and perceived betrayal, the young man lashes out violently.

Choosing Hard Labor and the "X" Signature: This is a core character beat for the "Poor Man" archetype in the show. Wesley, despite his education and the opportunities provided by his uncle, intentionally rejects the "white collar" life. He chooses to work as a common laborer (often on the docks or in boxing). The specific detail of a literate man signing his name with an "X" as a form of social protest or total rejection of his former life is a powerful motif in 20th-century class dramas from that era.


17 posted on 03/27/2026 8:40:58 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (Dept. of Education should teach about Nietzsche: DOGE didn't kill it and now it's stronger than ever)
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To: KarlInOhio

It was very Victorian. it didn’t leave that era.

My AI dealings with Copilot suggest that it might have been a show called Children of the House or The Childerbridge Story.

My impression of it was that it would be re-watching. It wasn’t a throwaway show.


18 posted on 03/27/2026 8:47:03 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: KarlInOhio

It may have been on the CBC, because the CBC would have broadcast British productions at this time.


19 posted on 03/27/2026 8:53:33 PM PDT by Jonty30 (I would have been an awesome merchant marine. I can sell convenient store items very well.)
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To: Jonty30

Could you clarify who stabbed who.


20 posted on 03/27/2026 8:57:24 PM PDT by CaptainK ("No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up” )
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