The locale of Anna Sewell's 1906 novel Black Beauty was changed from England to Maryland in this five-part TV miniseries. Still, the script adheres to the basic chronology of the Sewell original. In Part One the wife of incapacitated farmer Tom Gray sells the frisky colt Black Beauty. In Part Two, first telecast February 1, 1978, Beauty does the "Lassie" bit by rescuing her new master (Cameron Mitchell) from a storm and locating a doctor for her expectant mistress (Diane Ladd). This episode ends with Beauty facing certain death, first from a fire, then from a fever. The remaining three 60-minute episodes of Black Beauty were broadcast on February 2, 3 and 4, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi