The Shining, on ABC
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This first aired over three nights in 1997, and I'm sure I saw it at the time. (I had probably seen the 1980 film based on the book by Stephen King about a year before this aired.) I'm watching the miniseries again in 2025 to write a review. It isn't iconic, as the film is, but it's still pretty good, if a bit plodding in its pacing. I guess it's supposed to be more faithful to the book than the movie is, but I wouldn't know, never having read the book.

Part One
It begins with Jack Torrance (Steven Weber) getting a tour of parts of the Overlook Hotel, guided by the custodian, Pete (Pat Hingle). Jack and his wife, Wendy (Rebecca De Mornay), along with their young son, Danny (aka "Doc"), will be moving into the Overlook to take care of it while it's closed for the winter. I must say, when Jack flat out asks (apropos of nothing) if the Overlook has ghosts, Pete says it doesn't. I'm not sure if he just didn't know the truth, but it seemed to me as if he was lying. And I'm not sure how I feel about that. Maybe Jack wouldn't have believed him if he'd said yes, but then again, he and Wendy know that Danny has precognition, so maybe it wouldn't be hard for them to believe in ghosts, as well. Anyway, Jack later talks to the Overlook's manager, Stuart Ullman (Elliott Gould), who isn't happy that Jack was hired for this job, because Jack is a recovering alcoholic with a history of violence. Jack insists he's better now, but we see flashbacks of how he had once hurt Danny. We also see that Danny has visions of a man called Tony, who warns him against going to the Overlook. But of course Danny has no choice in the matter.

Jack later brings his wife and son to the Overlook to start the job, and they meet the hotel's cook, Dick Hallorann (Melvin Van Peebles), as well as Pete. (Ullmann was gone, by then, as were all the other staff and guests.) Dick immediately senses Danny's psychic ability, which he calls the "shining". Dick has it too, but Danny's ability is stronger than it is in anyone he's ever met. He gives Danny some advice about how to deal with scary things he might see during his stay at the Overlook, and says to call him telepathically in an emergency. Dick will be in Florida for the winter, but he says he'll come if Danny calls. It's pretty far from the hotel, so it's hard to see how he could get there quickly enough to be of help in an emergency, but whatever. Anyway, he doesn't tell Danny's parents any of this. Pete and Dick then leave, and the Torrances settle into their home for the winter. (It's still fall at this point, though.)

Jack intends to spend much of his time writing a play, during their stay at the hotel. Meanwhile, disturbing things start happening, even if there's nothing blatantly supernatural, at first. But it's clear that Jack isn't quite as much better as he wants to believe he is. He accidentally hurts Danny, after the boy has a trance-like episode, and talks about Tony, which scares Jack. And Wendy is scared of Jack's anger, but it doesn't overcome her love for Jack, as yet.

Part Two
Coming soon.