Top 250 Tv Shows Like An American Romance
OUT OF THE HOPE AND COURAGE OF A MAN ...THE LOVE AND DEVOTION OF A WOMAN!
A list of the best tv shows similar to An American Romance. If you liked An American Romance then you may also like: This Is Us, Masters of the Air, Abby's, Alex Haley's Queen, American Dreams and many more great tv shows featured on this list.
A European immigrant becomes a master of industry but almost loses his family.
Masters of the Air
During World War II, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.
Alex Haley's Queen
Queen is the story about Easter, the illegitimate daughter of James Jackson, III and her lifelong affair with plantation owner Tim Daly, which would result in the birth of Queen. Queen's story revolves around her early years as a slave who yearns to know who her father is, and her condition as a fair skin mixed race woman who spends her life trying to figure out where exactly she fits in.
American Dreams
American Dreams is an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network, produced by Once A Frog and Dick Clark Productions in association with Universal Network Television and NBC Studios. The series was created by Jonathan Prince and developed by Josh Goldstein and Prince; the latter was also one of the executive producers with Dick Clark. It debuted on September 29, 2002. The show is set mostly in Philadelphia. It initially aired on Sundays at 8:00 pm Eastern time, but moved to the same time on Wednesdays from March 9, 2005, to the third season finale. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s. Season one takes place in 1963–64, season two in 1964–65, and season three in 1965–66. The show was known as Our Generation when it debuted in Australia, however it was changed back to American Dreams when it returned for the second season. The theme song "Generation" was written and performed by Emerson Hart, lead singer of the band Tonic. The song earned Hart an ASCAP award for Best Theme Song of Television in 2003. The show was the 2003 TV Land Awards "Future Classic" winner.
Arrested Development
The story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.
The Beverly Hillbillies
Jed Clampett's swamp is loaded with oil. When a wildcatter discovers the huge pool, Jed sells his land to the O.K. Oil Company and at the urging of cousin Pearl, moves his family to a 35-room mansion in Beverly Hills, California.
Beverly Hills, 90210
Follow the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School and, subsequently, the fictitious California University after graduation.
The Bold and the Beautiful
Continuing drama combining romance and intrigue set against the glittering backdrop of Beverly Hills and the American fashion industry.
Californication
A self-loathing, alcoholic writer attempts to repair his damaged relationships with his daughter and her mother while combating sex addiction, a budding drug problem, and the seeming inability to avoid making bad decisions.
Drunk History
Historical reenactments from A-list talent as told by inebriated storytellers. A unique take on the familiar and less familiar people and events from America’s great past as great moments in history are retold with unforgettable results.
Everybody Hates Chris
Chris is a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his siblings in line at home and surmounting the challenges of junior high.
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns to Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley northeast of San Francisco.
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional English gentleman's gentleman, Mr. Giles French, also had adjustments to make as he became saddled with the responsibility of caring for 15-year-old Cissy and the 6-year-old twins, Jody and Buffy. The show ran for 138 episodes. Family Affair was created and produced by Don Fedderson, also known for My Three Sons and The Millionaire.
Flipper
Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in southern Florida, and his two young sons, Sandy and Bud. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie", and a considerable amount of juvenile merchandise inspired by the show was produced during its first-run.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Will, a street-smart teenager, moves from the tough streets of West Philly to posh Bel-Air to live with his Uncle Philip, Aunt Vivian, his cousins — spoiled Hilary, preppy Carlton and young Ashley — and their sophisticated British butler, Geoffrey. Though Will’s antics and upbringing contrast greatly with the upper-class lifestyle of his extended relatives, he soon finds himself right at home as a loved part of the family.
Homefront
Homefront is an American television drama series created and produced by Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick in association with Warner Bros. Television for ABC. The show was set in the fictional city of River Run, Ohio in 1945, 1946, and 1947. The show's theme song, "Accentuate the Positive", was written by Johnny Mercer and performed by Jack Sheldon. Forty-two episodes were broadcast in the United States over two seasons from 1991 to 1993. TV Guide, Abigail Van Buren, and fans showed determination in getting ABC to continue the show for a third season before it was cancelled.
The Jamie Foxx Show
Texas native Jamie King is an aspiring actor who heads to Hollywood in hopes to find fame and fortune in the entertainment industry. To support himself, he works at his Aunt Helen and Uncle Junior's Los Angeles hotel, the King's Towers.
Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, and Karen Grassle, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s.
The Lost Prince
The life of Prince John, youngest child of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary, who died at the age of 13 in 1919.
Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere takes a job as a housekeeper with an American family headed by George Owens.
The Other Two
A former professional dancer, Brooke, and her brother Cary, an aspiring actor, try to find their place in the world while wrestling with their feelings about their 13-year-old brother Chase's sudden rise to internet fame.
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom series about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career.
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963 to April 27, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke. A total of 104 episodes were produced, most written by Sidney Sheldon.
Perry Mason
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
Project Runway
Aspiring fashion designers compete for a chance to break into the industry. Each week, a designer is eliminated from the competition after exhibiting their work in front of a judges' panel.
Queer As Folk
Brash humor and genuine emotion make up this original series revolving around the lives, loves, ambitions, careers and friendships of a group of gay men and women living on Liberty Avenue in contemporary Pittsburgh, PA. The show offers an unapologetic look at modern, urban gay and lesbian lives while addressing the most critical health and political issues affecting the community. Sometimes racy, sometimes sensitive and always straight to the heart.
Road to Avonlea
In the fictional small town of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, in the early 20th century, 10-year-old Montreal heiress Sara Stanley is sent by her wealthy father to live with her two maiden aunts, Hetty and Olivia King, to be near her late mother's side of the family.
Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations is a television miniseries, introduced in 1979, continuing, from 1882 to the 1960s, the fictionalized story of the family of Alex Haley and their life in Henning, Lauderdale County, Tennessee, USA. This sequel to the 1977 miniseries is based on the last seven chapters of Haley's novel entitled Roots: The Saga of an American Family plus additional material by Haley. Roots: The Next Generations was produced with a budget of $16.6 million, nearly three times as large as that of the original.
Six Feet Under
A darkly comic look at members of a dysfunctional L.A. family that run a funeral business. When death is your business, what is your life? For the Fisher family, the world outside of their family-owned funeral home continues to be at least as challenging as--and far less predictable than--the one inside.
The Terminal List
Navy SEAL Commander James Reece turns to vengeance as he investigates the mysterious forces behind the murder of his entire platoon. Free from the military’s command structure, Reece applies the lessons he’s learned from nearly two decades of warfare to hunt down the people responsible.
Three Rivers
Three Rivers is an American television medical drama that debuted on CBS on October 4, 2009, starring Alex O'Loughlin in the role of an infamous transplant surgeon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On November 30, 2009, after just eight episodes of the season had aired, CBS announced that Three Rivers had been pulled from their schedule with no plans to have it returned, and the series was later officially cancelled. However, the series later returned to the network on June 5, 2010 to burn off the remaining unaired episodes.
Trauma
When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco City Hospital is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city's Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives, and give meaning to their own existence in the process.
The Virginian
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.
Nash Bridges
Fun-loving San Francisco Police Department investigator Nash Bridges is part of the elite Special Investigations Unit. He tackles crime using his keen sense of humor and charm. Joe Dominguez comes out of retirement to become Bridges' wisecracking yet more rule-abiding partner.
Border Security: Australia's Front Line
Border Security: Australia's Front Line is an Australian television program that airs on the Seven Network. The show follows the work of officers of Australian Customs and Border Protection, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship as they enforce Australian customs, quarantine, immigration and finance laws. Most of the programme is filmed at Sydney and Melbourne airports. Occasionally, the program features other locations such as Brisbane Airport, Perth Airport, seaports, international mail centres, raids on workplaces suspected of employing persons contrary to the restrictions of their visa or immigrant status and the work of Customs vessels and aircraft in the waters of Northern Australia.
Pride and Prejudice
The arrival of a young, well-off, eligible man named Mr. Bingley sends the Bennet household--with five girls of a marrying age--into a tizzy. But it's the introduction of Mr. Bingley's friend, Mr. Darcy, that sets in motion the fate of Elizabeth Bennet, resolved only after a labyrinth of social and personal complexities.
Bewitched
Samantha Stephens is a seemingly normal suburban housewife who also happens to be a genuine witch, with all the requisite magical powers. Her husband Darrin insists that Samantha keep her witchcraft under wraps, but situations invariably require her to indulge her powers while keeping her bothersome mother Endora at bay.
10.5: Apocalypse
Deadly seismic activities that peaked with a 10.5 earthquake and devastated the West Coast have altered the core structure of the earth and now threaten to jeopardize North America and the Western hemisphere. In a desperate bid to save lives - and the country - President Hollister calls once again upon one of the nation's top seismologists, controversial scientist Dr. Samantha Hill and her supervisor and former boyfriend Dr. Jordan Fisher, to interpret the latest onslaught of quakes.
Harry O
After being shot in the line of duty, Harry Orwell was forced to retire from the San Diego Police Department. To supplement his police pension, Harry runs a private detective agency out of his beach house... The series starred David Janssen and was executive produced by Jerry Thorpe.
Family Business
Family Business was an American reality TV series produced for the cable network Showtime. Based in Los Angeles, the series focused on the pornography industry and the life of Adam Glasser, a reality porn star and video director who uses the stage name "Seymore Butts". Also featured on the series were his son, Brady, along with his mother, Lila Glasser, and his older cousin, Stevie Glasser, both of whom help Adam run the eponymous "family business" of the series, which in this case is a successful porn video production and distribution house in the San Fernando Valley, known for the "Seymore Butts" line of videos. The series first aired in 2003. In Canada it is broadcast on The Movie Network, Movie Central, and Showcase Television, in the UK on Channel 4, and in Latin America on FX. The first two seasons are currently available on DVD in North America. The series ran for four seasons. The series won the 2005 AVN award for 'Best Alternative Release'.
WWII in HD
WWII in HD is a 10-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 on the History Channel. The program focuses on the firsthand experiences of twelve American service members during World War II, including an Army nurse, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second generation Japanese American and prisoner of war, and an Austrian Jewish immigrant. The twelve members recorded their time in both theaters and some had later interviews; found footage from the battlefield was paired with the stories of the twelve service members. The episodes premiered on five consecutive days, with two episodes per day. The series is narrated by Gary Sinise and was produced by Lou Reda Productions in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.
Terriers
Ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth partners with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack, in an unlicensed private investigation business. The series is set in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, although it is portrayed as a distinct town, with Dolworth having once been a member of the fictional Ocean Beach Police Department.
Mistral's Daughter
Beautiful and naïve Maggy Lunel arrives in Paris completely broke. She becomes an artist's model and the toast of Paris, attracting the attention of Picasso-like painter Julien Mistral, an arrogant and selfish man who places his work above everything. Their paths diverge as Mistral's art catches the eye of a rich American woman who becomes his patroness and eventually his wife. During the war years in France, Mistral collaborates with the Nazis in order to continue with his work, a decision that will come back to haunt him years later. In the meantime, Maggy has a daughter named Teddy who grows up and falls in love with Mistral with whom she has a child named Fauve. As Mistral ages, he comes to terms with his selfish past and wartime betrayal through his art, leaving a beautiful legacy for his daughter, Fauve.
The Cazalets
The Cazalets is a 2001 five-episode television drama series about the life of a large privileged family in the years 1937 to 1947. Most of the action takes place in London, and at the family's large estate in Sussex. The drama was based on the novels of Elizabeth Jane Howard, and adapted by the screenwriter Douglas Livingstone. The series was originally produced by Cinema Verity for BBC One and is available on DVD.
The Third Reich: The Rise & Fall
An intimate, authentic portrait of Hitler's Germany as recorded by the people who lived it. Never-before-seen home movies, Nazi propaganda films and personal recollections culled from German's diaries, journals and letters provide a rare look inside the darker pages of world history.
Finding Your Roots
Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.
The World Wars
The story of three decades of war told through the eyes of various men who were its key players: Roosevelt, Hitler, Patton, Mussolini, Churchill, Tojo, DeGaulle and MacArthur. The series examines the two wars as one contiguous timeline starting in 1914 and concluding in 1945 with these unique individuals coming of age in World War I before ultimately calling the shots in World War II.
World War II in HD Colour
World War II In HD Colour is a 13-episode television documentary miniseries recounting the events of World War II narrated by Robert Powell. The show covers the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Pacific War. It is on syndication in America on the Military Channel. This series is in full color, combining both original and colorized footage.
World War Two: Behind Closed Doors
Documentary series using dramatic reconstructions and testimony from witnesses to reveal the 'behind closed doors' politics of the Second World War.
The Men Who Built America
Influential builders, dreamers and believers whose feats transformed the United States, a nation decaying from the inside after the Civil War, into the greatest economic and technological superpower the world had ever seen. The Men Who Built America is the story of a nation at the crossroads and of the people who catapulted it to prosperity.
Roadkill
Ride along with Hot Rod's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan as they continue their love/hate relationship with hot rods, street machines and other highly strung performance vehicles. In Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan hit the road in everything from a 1968 Ford Ranchero to a 1500 horsepower Camaro called the F-Bomb. Just getting to their destination is an adventure.
Blackbeard
Bristol, England, 1717. Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy scouts the seas in order to restore safe passage to the sea lanes. He meets his match when he's taken by a fearsome hulk of a menace in the West Indies—a pirate sailing off the Island of St. Vincent. Edward Teach has no plans for retirement. In fact, his goal-to find and lay claim to the fabled treasures of Captain Kidd.
The Passing Bells
At the outbreak of World War I, two teenage boys - one German and one British - defy their parents to sign up. An epic historical drama spanning the five years of the First World War, as seen through the eyes of two ordinary young soldiers.
The Furchester Hotel
Welcome to this (nearly) world-class hotel run by (incompetent) Muppets. They are joined by Elmo and the Cookie Monster (guest reader on Bedtime Stories) who has landed his dream job as a waiter.
Dirt Every Day
Finally, a show for all you dirt heads out there! Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road Technical Editor Fred Williams introduces the new Dirt Every Day show with a brief overview of what it's all about and where it's headed. Check back in every other Thursday as Fred continues his crusade against asphalt.
Flesh and Blood
Three adult siblings find their family thrown into disarray when their recently widowed mother, Vivien, declares she is in love with a new man. The tension his presence creates threatens to drag the whole family towards tragedy, and perhaps crime.
Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World
An excellent narration of oil industry since early days to 20th century and up to today. How oil changed the world and shaped our modern world today.
Home Fires
The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.
Animal Kingdom
17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody moves in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Headed by boot-tough matriarch Janine "Smurf" Cody and her right-hand Baz, who runs the business and calls the shots, the clan also consists of Pope, the oldest and most dangerous of the Cody boys; Craig, the tough and fearless middle son; and Deran, the troubled, suspicious "baby" of the family.
Got What it Takes?
Lauren Platt guides eight teen singers through the highs and lows of the music industry, and there's a twist... their Mums are the judges!
The Great Depression
A 7-part series telling dramatic and diverse stories of struggle and survival during the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. From the producers of Eyes on the Prize, this series was met with critical acclaim and won both an Emmy Award for writing and a duPont-Columbia Award.
Tokyo Trial
In the wake of World War II, 11 Allied judges are tasked with weighing the fates of Japanese war criminals in a tense international trial.
Five Came Back
The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”
The Defiant Ones
A four-part documentary series that tells the stories of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre -- one the son of a Brooklyn longshoreman, the other straight out of Compton - -- and their improbable partnership and surprising leading roles in a series of transformative events in contemporary culture.
Man in an Orange Shirt
A love story in two films charts the very different challenges to happiness for Michael and Thomas in the aftermath of World War 2, and to Adam and Steve in the present day.
The Cars That Made America
The histories of famous American automobiles and their equally iconic manufacturers are explored.
LEGO Masters
British version of the reality contest where some of the most skilled brick fanatics do battle to be crowned LEGO Master.
Hold the Dream
The follow-up to A Woman of Substance with Emma Harte at age eighty in the last winter of her life and dealing with her granddaughter Paula, as well as her respected advisor Henry Rossiter and Blackie O'Neill.
World War Two
Follow the deadliest conflict in human history in real time, week by week, blow by blow.
World on Fire
The story of World War II told through the intertwining fates of ordinary people from all sides of this global conflict as they grapple with the effect of the war on their everyday lives.
Our Miracle Years
In a politically, morally and economically destroyed country, three sisters of an industrialist family in post-war Germany reinvent themselves and set the course for their future.
Flatbush Misdemeanors
Neighborhood best friends and urban millennials Dan and Kevin hilariously climb the ladder to nowhere in Flatbush, Brooklyn. But even inside the losing, they find there are little wins that come from tackling hipsters, mental health issues and the rising tide of gentrification.
American Auto
In the headquarters of a major American automotive company in Detroit, a floundering group of executives at Payne Motors must adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard.
90 Day: The Single Life
Six singles from the various 90 Day Fiancé series give dating another shot. Letting go of their past proves difficult as they have to go through first dates and falling in love all over again. The singles seek out the help of dating coaches, events, apps, friends and family.
Lost & Found, NY
An original series about an immigrant actress navigating through life in New York. Recipient of two Best Web Series awards and selected by over 15 international film festivals. Filmed in New York and Sofia by an international cast and crew.
Empire State of Mind
Writer Sathnam Sanghera travels across the country exploring the effects of the British Empire on modern Britain
Laurel Avenue
A weekend in the life of the Arnett family. The events of a forty eight hour period in St. Paul, MN, have a rainbow of incidents. From a preacher to a drug dealer; from an innocent young school girl to a reformed drug addict gone bad. The same scenario that millions of American families encounter each day in suburbia; both black and white and brown and yellow. There are no racial boundaries to the ups and downs of the real American life.
The Craftsman
Master craftsman and woodworker Eric Hollenbeck is in the restoration business, taking historic homes and forgotten treasures around his hometown of Eureka, California, and giving them new life.
A Small Light
Twentysomething Miep Gies didn't hesitate when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne’s Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
British Planes That Won the War with Rob Bell
A look at how four iconic British-built planes became masters of the sky and pioneered a new era of flight, making heroes of the pilots who flew them. Military experts, historians and pilots reveal what made each aircraft so influential.
Faraway Downs
The story of an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley, who inherits a large cattle ranch in Australia after her husband dies. When Australian cattle barons plot to take her land, she joins forces with a cattle drover to protect her ranch.
The Way Home
When three generations of women reunite after being estranged for more than two decades, they embark on an enlightening – and surprising – journey toward healing none of them could have imagined as they learn how to find their way back to each other.
Super Turbo Story Time
Super Turbo Story Time is about legendary cars and the crazy stories surrounding them. Anything goes, from races and wrecks to triumphs and tragedies, along with corporate automaking gone wrong. Stories are told from one special guest to another, like car tales over a campfire, while they're reenacted with historical photos, found footage and animation.
Miners' Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain
Forty years after, through the eyes of those directly involved, this powerful series explores the bitterly divisive strike that wounded the soul of the nation
Victory at Sea
Victory at Sea is a documentary television series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally broadcast by NBC in the USA in 1952–1953. It was condensed into a film in 1954. Excerpts from the music soundtrack, by Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett, were re-recorded and sold as record albums. The original TV broadcasts comprised 26 half-hour segments—Sunday afternoons at 3pm in most markets—starting October 26, 1952 and ending May 3, 1953. The series, which won an Emmy award in 1954 as "best public affairs program", played an important part in establishing historic "compilation" documentaries as a viable television genre. Over 13,000 hours of footage gathered from US, British, German and Japanese navies during World War II were perused in the making of these compelling episodes.
This Is Us
Follows the lives and families of three adults living and growing up in the United States of America in present and past times. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday - and so much more than anyone would expect.