Rich Man, Poor Man Book II

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Rich Man, Poor Man Book II
The main characters. Standing: Maggie Porter and Rudy Jordache. Seated: Wesley Jordache and Billy Abbott.
Based onCharacters created by Irwin Shaw
Written byAnn Beckett
Michael Gleason
Robert Hamilton
Millard Lampell
Robert Presnell, Jr.
Elizabeth Wilson
Directed byLou Antonio
Karen Arthur
Bill Bixby
Joan Darling
Harry Falk
David Friedkin
Jules Irving
Ted Post
Alex Segal
James Sheldon
Paul Stanley
StarringPeter Strauss
Gregg Henry
James Carroll Jordan
Theme music composerAlex North
Michael Isaacson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes21
Production
Executive producerMichael Gleason
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 21, 1976 (1976-09-21) –
March 8, 1977 (1977-03-08)
Related
Rich Man, Poor Man

Rich Man, Poor Man Book II is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT on Tuesday nights between September 21, 1976 and March 8, 1977. A sequel to Rich Man, Poor Man that had aired the previous season, it focused on the further exploits and conflicts of the Jordache family.

Synopsis[edit]

The series began shortly after the death of Tom Jordache. His son Wesley (Gregg Henry) is now in the care of Tom's brother Rudy (Peter Strauss), who was seeking a seat in the United States Senate. Also living in the household was Billy, Rudy's stepson, and much of the ongoing storyline concentrated on the tension between the two ambitious boys. Also crucial to the plot was Rudy's protracted battle with Charles Estep (Peter Haskell), the mysterious billionaire owner of Tricorp. Returning from the original series was Anthony Falconetti (William Smith), who had served time for the murder of Tom Jordache and was now free and intent on disposing of Rudy as well.

At the same time, Falconetti firmly intends to eliminate Rudy, Wesley and all the friends of the Jordache family and this time it will not be enough to ignore it to escape him.

Primary cast[edit]

Episode list[edit]

Title Directed By Written By Runtime Original air date
1"Chapter I"Lou AntonioMillard Lampell2 hSeptember 21, 1976 (1976-09-21)
2"Chapter II"Alex SegalAnn Beckett1 hSeptember 28, 1976 (1976-09-28)
3"Chapter III"Bill BixbyRobert Presnell, Jr.1 hOctober 5, 1976 (1976-10-05)
4"Chapter IV"David FriedkinMillard Lampell1 hOctober 19, 1976 (1976-10-19)
5"Chapter V"Harry FalkAnn Beckett1 hOctober 26, 1976 (1976-10-26)
6"Chapter VI"James SheldonMillard Lampell1 hNovember 9, 1976 (1976-11-09)
7"Chapter VII"Harry FalkRobert Presnell, Jr.1 hNovember 16, 1976 (1976-11-16)
8"Chapter VIII"Joan DarlingElizabeth Wilson1 hNovember 23, 1976 (1976-11-23)
9"Chapter IX"Jules IrvingMillard Lampell1 hNovember 30, 1976 (1976-11-30)
10"Chapter X"Karen ArthurElizabeth Wilson1 hDecember 7, 1976 (1976-12-07)
11"Chapter XI"Jules IrvingAnn Beckett1 hDecember 21, 1976 (1976-12-21)
12"Chapter XII"Ted PostMillard Lampell1 hDecember 28, 1976 (1976-12-28)
13"Chapter XIII"Jules IrvingMichael Gleason1 hJanuary 4, 1977 (1977-01-04)
14"Chapter XIV"Ted PostElizabeth Wilson & Ann Beckett1 hJanuary 11, 1977 (1977-01-11)
15"Chapter XV"Jules IrvingMichael Gleason1 hJanuary 18, 1977 (1977-01-18)
16"Chapter XVI"Paul StanleyMichael Gleason1 hFebruary 1, 1977 (1977-02-01)
17"Chapter XVII"Jules IrvingAnn Beckett1 hFebruary 8, 1977 (1977-02-08)
18"Chapter XVIII"Bill BixbyMichael Gleason1 hFebruary 15, 1977 (1977-02-15)
19"Chapter XIX"Jules IrvingRobert Hamilton1 hFebruary 22, 1977 (1977-02-22)
20"Chapter XX"James SheldonAnn Beckett1 hMarch 1, 1977 (1977-03-01)
21"Chapter XXI"Jules IrvingMichael Gleason1 hMarch 8, 1977 (1977-03-08)

Reception[edit]

Las Vegas and Aspen, playgrounds of the rich and famous and powerful, were two of the settings for the series. Filled with soap opera-like touches, it was far more melodramatic than the original and not as successful critically or in the ratings. The series maintained a popular following in the UK and Europe and was released on a 6-Disc DVD set by Universal-Playback on June 18, 2007. The US DVD set contained both the original mini-series and the weekly series and was released for the first time by A & E Home Video on September 28, 2010.

Awards and nominations[edit]

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
American Cinema Editors Awards Best Edited Episode from a Television Series Jerrold L. Ludwig (for "Chapter XV") Nominated [1]
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series – Night Bill Bixby (for "Chapter III") Nominated [2]
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series Susan Blakely (for "Chapter I") Nominated [3]
Outstanding Film Editing in a Drama Series Jerrold L. Ludwig (for "Chapter III") Nominated
TP de Oro Best Foreign Series 3rd Place [4]
Best Foreign Actor Peter Strauss Won
Most Popular Personage William Smith 2nd Place
Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Drama Millard Lampell Nominated [5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Nominees/Winners". IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "29th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Rich Man, Poor Man Book II". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh (1988). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York City: Ballantine Books. p. 662. ISBN 0-345-35610-1.
  5. ^ "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2010-06-06.

External links[edit]