''The Torkelsons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television network from September 21, 1991, to June 6, 1993. Produced by

Walt Disney Television The first and original incarnation of Walt Disney Television was an American production company and the original/former television production division of the Walt Disney Company, which was active from April 18, 1983 to 2003. Productions from ...

in season 1 and

Touchstone Television The second incarnation of Touchstone Television, formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios, was an American television production company and a subsidiary of the Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of the Disney Media Networks business s ...

in season 2, the series starred Connie Ray,

Olivia Burnette Olivia Burnette (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress who began her career as a child actress at the age of six. She is perhaps best known for her role in the NBC sitcom '' The Torkelsons'' (1991–1993), Homeless Woman in ''Sons of Ana ...

, and

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on ''Richard Diamond, Private ...

. For the second and final season, the series was retooled and renamed ''Almost Home''. The series lasted a total of two seasons, consisting of 33 episodes.

Cast

Main

* Connie Ray as Millicent Torkelson *

as Dorothy Jane Torkelson, Millicent's first daughter * Elizabeth Poyer (pilot) & Anna Slotky as Ruth Ann Torkelson, Millicent's second daughter (season 1) * Benj Thall (pilot) & Aaron Michael Metchik as Steven Floyd Torkelson, Millicent's first son (season 1) *

Lee Norris Lee Michael Norris (born September 25, 1981) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Stuart Minkus on ''Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aire ...

as Chuckie Lee Torkelson, Millicent's second son * Rachel Duncan as Mary Sue Torkelson, Millicent's third daughter *

Ernie Lively Ernie Lively (born Ernest Wilson Brown Jr.; January 29, 1947 – June 3, 2021) was an American actor and acting coach, the adoptive father of actors Lori Lively, Jason Lively, and Robyn Lively, and father of actors Eric Lively and Blake Live ...

(pilot) as Jacob Presley (season 1) *

as Wesley Hodges (season 1) *

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer, known for her work in both comedy and drama. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue a career in a ...

as Molly Morgan, Brian's daughter (season 2) *

Jason Marsden Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director and producer, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He is best known for his voice roles as the ...

as Gregory Morgan, Brian's son (season 2) *

Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rema ...

as Brian Morgan (season 2)

Recurring

* Paige Gosney as Kirby Scroggins (season 1) *

Michael Landes Michael Christopher Landes (born September 18, 1972) is an American actor of television and film. Personal life Michael Christopher Landes was born to Patricia and Bernard Landes on September 18, 1972, in The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the no ...

as Riley Roberts (season 1) * Ronnie Claire Edwards as Bootsie Torkelson (season 1) *

Alyson Kiperman ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series '' Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself ...

as Dreama (season 1) * Mother Love as Kitty Drysdale (season 1) * Peter Van Norden as Mel (season 2) *

Alyson Hannigan Allison Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974), known professionally as Alyson Hannigan, is an American actress and television presenter. She began her film career with supporting roles in the comedy films '' Impure Thoughts'' (1986) and '' My Step ...

as Samantha (season 2)

Notable guest stars

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own Situa ...

in the season 1 episode "Say Uncle" (his first appearance in a TV sitcom) *

Patty Duke Anna Marie Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016), known professionally as Patty Duke, was an American actress. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ...

in the season 1 episode "Return to Sender" (reuniting with William Schallert, who played her father in ''

The Patty Duke Show ''The Patty Duke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966. The series was developed as a vehicle for teenage star Patty Duke, who ha ...

'') *

Kevin Clash Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer best known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1985 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', ''Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and vari ...

Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

in the season 1 episode "Educating Millicent" *

Joey Lawrence Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III (born April 20, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, podcaster, and game show host. He was a child actor in the early 1980s and portrayed Joey Russo in '' Blossom'' and Joe Longo ...

as Dorothy Jane and Molly's boss in the season 2 episode "Girls and Boy" * Erin Gray in the season 2 episode "Sleeping with the Enemy" as Mr. Morgan's love interest *

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

in the season 2 episode "Is That All There Is?" as a basketball player who falls in love with Dorothy Jane *

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in Jared Leto filmography, a variety of roles, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Jared Leto, numerous accolade ...

in the season 2 episode "The Fox and the Hound" as a football player at a party that Molly throws, whom Dorothy Jane thinks is cute *

Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian-American film and television actor. He played the starring role of Sean Finnerty on the sitcom '' Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005), and Detective Harvey Bullock on the DC Comics adapta ...

in the season 2 episode "Hot Ticket" as a musician named "Tommy Tom"

Production notes

Series creator Lynn Montgomery claims to have gotten the name "Torkelson" from a real life Steven Floyd Torkelson, who had shown her his bug collection, and shared his first kiss with her thirty years earlier.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1991–92)

Season 2 (1993)

Syndication

The

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

aired reruns of ''The Torkelsons'' and ''Almost Home'' on their weekday and weekend lineups from January 1994 to late 1999. All Disney Channel advertising for the shows packaged both seasons under ''The Torkelsons'' name, but when the ''Almost Home'' episodes aired in circulation, the title was never altered in the opening credits. The Disney Channel also aired the series' episodes in production order.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torkelsons, The 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1991 American television series debuts 1993 American television series endings American English-language television shows Fictional families Television series by Disney Television shows set in Oklahoma Television shows set in Seattle Television series about families Television series by ABC Studios NBC sitcoms