Noble House (TV miniseries)
| Noble House | |
|---|---|
North American DVD cover (2008)
|
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| Genre | Action/Drama |
| Written by |
James Clavell (novel) Eric Bercovici (screenplay) |
| Directed by | Gary Nelson |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | James Clavell |
| Producer(s) | Eric Bercovici Frederick Muller |
| Location(s) | Hong Kong |
| Editor(s) | Peter Holt |
| Running time | 376 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Technicolor |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | February 21, 1988 |
Noble House is an American television miniseries that was produced and broadcast by NBC in 1988. Based on the novel Noble House by James Clavell, it features a large cast headlined by Pierce Brosnan as business tycoon Ian Dunross and was directed by Gary Nelson. However, due to time restrictions, several of the many subplots from the book were removed.
This is NBC's second miniseries adaptation of a Clavell novel, the first being 1980's Shōgun. Both take place in the same fictional universe with Noble House featuring connections to Shōgun and another Clavell work, Tai-Pan.
For the miniseries, the timeframe of the novel was changed; Clavell's original novel takes place in the early 1960s, but the miniseries was updated to the 1980s. The building prominently displayed and used as Struan's is Jardine House.
Despite its impressive history and its reputation, the international trading company Struan's (the Noble House of the title) is in trouble. Overextended by the previous management, new Tai-Pan Ian Dunross (Pierce Brosnan) has had to issue public stock to improve the company's financial standing. Even this, however, has not given him the capital he needs. As a result, he is courting a private investor, American billionaire Linc Bartlett (Ben Masters). Bartlett decides secretly to back Dunross' arch enemy, Quillian Gornt (John Rhys-Davies), who will stop at nothing to destroy Struan's. When Dunross realises that Gornt is suddenly strong enough to ruin the Noble House, he must urgently forge new alliances or reshape ancient ones. He romances Bartlett's second-in-command, Casey Tcholok (Deborah Raffin).
A subplot involves the missing half of an ancient coin. Whoever possesses it may ask any favor of the Tai-Pan. Half the coin is acquired by crime lord Four Finger Wu (Khigh Dhiegh), who aims to ask the Tai-Pan to help him smuggle opium.
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