At the recommendation of my naughty uncle with the wood burning stove we have been watching the miniseries Centennial. This ranks right up there with the all-time best TV events. It is loaded with great actors and the scenery is amazing. It isn't officially available on DVD yet but if you look around you can find it.
Our other favorites in the miniseries genre are Shogun, I Claudius, Lonesome Dove and the first two in the North and South series. I am sure I am forgetting one.