Androcles and the Lion (play) run from his Roman persecutors. While hiding in the forest he comes upon a wild lion who approaches him with a wounded paw. His wife runs off. Androcles sees that the cause of the animal's distress is a large thorn embedded in its paw, which he draws out while soothing the lion in baby language. Androcles is captured and is sent to the Colosseum to be executed with other Christians in gladiatorial combat. They are joined by a new Christian convert called Ferrovius, who struggles to reconcile his Christian principles with his violent inclinations. The Roman captain guarding them is
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years a religious, rapid-talking gossip-bearer. Luke turns from a drunken womaniser who hangs around his mates all day to a loner who lives by himself on a farm. Father Ralph offers to leave the church and marry Meggie, something that he never implied in the original. She finally gets the love she was hungering for, and Father Ralph breaks his vow of chastity. Meggie has two surviving brothers in the original: Jack and Bob, while in the "Missing Years" Frank and Jack are mentioned. The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years is a CBS miniseries that