The Thorn Birds

Richard Chamberlain stars as a priest forced to make a choice between his feelings and his ambitions in this sweeping adaptation of Colleen McCullough's novel. Set in the early 1900s on a sheep station in the Australian outback, the 1983 miniseries follows members of the Cleary family, whose move to the sheep station leads to a pivotal relationship between young Meggie Cleary and Father Ralph. When the attraction between Meggie and Father Ralph becomes obvious, Meggie's wealthy aunt forces Father Ralph to choose between Meggie and his ambition to rise within the Catholic Church. Though he chooses the church, as decades pass he continues to be drawn back to Meggie, with sometimes disastrous consequences.