What a beautiful movie!

Really Surprised!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I, too, had this amazing mini-series on VHS tape. Those are long gone. Later when it was reshown I decided to re-record it at a better quality (higher speed) and edit out the commercials. Unfortunately, they added a LAUGH TRACK and RUINED IT!!! Not the same and it lost all it's humor with uproarious audience laughter (in the wrong spots), sheesh. Brilliant cast, and I quote lines from this all the time. Like at breakfast with Carol Burnett as Charlotte Kensington saying to her daughter-in-law, Talon (Terry Garr), "Talon, just because you're not blood doesn't mean you're not just as much a part of this family as, say Tiffany." Tiffany being her ADOPTED daughter played by Valerie Mahaffey. They really need to re-release this on DVD.... WITH NO LAUGH TRACK!!! One of the best TV shows I ever watched.

It's a mini-series, they had several hours to fill, so, no, it doesn't play like a movie. Fresno does drag a bit in the second half. Doesn't matter. Relax, enjoy, and look for the details: Anthony Heald, as noted elsewhere, is hilarious; breakfast at the Kensingtons' involves Terri Garr and Carol Burnett dressing for a Presidential Inaugural Ball and tossing Bloody Marys in quick succession, with Terri Garr's gown, at one point, nearly releasing BOTH bazongas onto the tablecloth, worth the price of admission on its own; there was clearly someone in on the script who's spent a LOT of time in the Central Valley, f'rinstance Jerry Van Dyke as a country bar owner named Tucker Agajanian, or the marvelous fly-in shot at the opening. And, yeah, from time to time they DO show a print of this at various artistic functions in Fresno.Now, I understand and comply with the guidelines posted for IMDb that says Thou Shalt Not Discuss Availability. But there's an easy way to find out for sure. Just Google the name of the show, with the URL of the IMDb entry. Oh, yeah--remember to enclose it all in quotes, so you don't use up a lot of resources unnecessarily searching the entire Net.Like this:"Fresno www.imdb.com/title/tt0090435/"

How I would love to see it again, and yet it is never seen. I asked a well-known movie producer/director who had cas Charles Grodin in one of his films, and even had had never seen it. Carol Burnett, Charles Grodin, Jeffrey Jones (Mr. Acme of the Acme Toxic Waste Company) were outstanding. My favorite line: The matriarch, Carol Burnett, to her poor, overworked peon Juan, who has asked her for a raise (she continually cut his wages) so he could feed and clothe his family: "Juan, I have seen what your family eats and wears, and it couldn't cost THAT much." Second favorite line: When Terri Garr (who walks around all day in a teddy) "accidentally" bumps into Torch at the bunkhouse: "What are you doing here," she asks. "Just came back to change my shirt," says Torch, who carries a perfectly pressed shirt around all day but never puts it on.

My brother and I watched this and I still recall some of the choicer scenes: the family at the table where an empty seat is placed for the long departed Patriarch Mr. Kensington, hat and vest in place. Carol Burnett as Mrs. Kensington telling hired hand Jaun that he didn't need a raise, "I've seen what your family wears and what they eat, you don't need a raise." Dabney Colman as Mr. Tyler Cain taking his niece to school in the limo. (She hates to "attrack attention"). The lady with the water rights, her clock collection and her beer drinking, hick husband in his dirty T shirt with a wedge of belly exposed. Charles Grodin as Cain Kensington pouring mama's bloody mary "breakfast". Jerry Van Dyke hosting a fund raiser for WHIP (Woman with Husbands in Prison)was a hoot. Mrs. Kensington visiting her son in prison...well it was just one belly laff after another. Non stop hilarity with an absolutely wonderful cast of characters. This NEEDS to be released on DVD!