This is a dramatisation of the events surrounding the opening night of British television on November 2, 1936 at Alexandra Place in London. It was produced to commemorate its 50th anniversary. The characters are both real and fictional.

Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian Resistance families. His diplomatic status in a Catholic country prevents Colonel Kappler from openly arresting him, but O'Flaherty's activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican. O'Flaherty continues his work in a variety of disguises. Based on a true story.

Richard Duke of Gloucester, youngest brother of King Edward IV, will stop at nothing to get the crown. He first convinces the ailing King that the Duke of Clarence, his elder brother, is a threat to the lives of Edward's two young sons. Edward has him imprisoned in the Tower of London; killers in Richard's pay then drown Clarence in a barrel of wine. When news of Clarence's death reaches the King, the subsequent grief and remorse bring about his death. Richard is made Lord Protector, with power to rule England while his nephew (now King Edward V) is still a minor. Before the young king's coronation he has his two nephews conveyed to the Tower, ostensibly for their safekeeping. Richard's accomplice, the Duke of Buckingham, then declares the two boys illegitimate and offers Richard the crown, which after a show of reticence he accepts. After Richard's coronation, he and Buckingham have a falling-out over whether or not to assassinate the two children.

Blair, Tootie, Natalie, Jo, Beverly Ann, and Andy visit the land down under. Blair and Jo are warned of a planned jewel heist; Beverly Ann visits a beau from many years ago; Natalie is stranded in the outback; and Tootie meets a Yale student who pretends to be a young Aborigine.

Jerilee Randall, a simple schoolgirl living in San Fernando, dreams of becoming a famous writer. While at a party, she meets the son of a famous screenwriter. The son invites her over to his house; she accepts. They drive away with some other people, and that night, she is assaulted by one of the son's friends with a garden hose. The "friend" is interrupted in his assault by screenwriter Walter Thornton, who arrives in time to save her from an even more disgusting fate. Walter's rescue of Jerilee begins a friendship between the two, and before you know it, the two fall in love. They marry. Their marriage falls apart when Jerilee's script rewrites actually improve one of Walter's screenplays and he feels one-upped. Jerilee then goes through affair after sordid affair in her attempt to write her own screenplay and get it produced.

Dexter King plays straight man to unpleasant comedian Ron Anderson. He falls in love with Kate, a pretty nurse he meets when he is receiving injections for hay fever. When Anderson fires him, he acquires the title role in a musical stage version of "The Elephant Man". Kate dumps him when she suspects he is having an affair with a fellow cast member, and he must win her back.

A drunken, broken old man hides a great secret--that he is actually a kung fu master. He convinces two young rascals to become his students, teaching them the secret of Tai Chi Shadow Boxing.

This made-for-TV drama was based on the true story of George McKenna (played by Denzel Washington in one of his first leading roles), an educator in Los Angeles who faced the greatest challenge of his career when he was named Principal of George Washington Memorial High School. Located in a run-down inner-city neighborhood, Washington High was being torn apart by gang violence and drug dealing, and much of the student body seemed more interested in surviving the day than in learning. McKenna was determined to make Washington High a safe place where students could get a quality education which would allow them to go to college if they so desired, but he soon realized he was facing an uphill battle, having to deal not only with gangs and delinquent students, but apathetic teachers and parents too busy or unconcerned to help in the education of their kids.

Every night the boy dreams he is someone else. Someone in danger. A crazy woman is after him. A woman who cannot have a son of her own. A story about a kidnapped boy, who finds out that the people he thought were his parents are his kidnappers. The film is about his escape and search for his home.

The Magic of David Copperfield VII Familiares with special guest star Angie Dickinson