The Torkelsons
Season 1
1991 • 20 Episodes
In the small town of Pyramid Corners, Oklahoma, Millicent Torkelson is struggling to raise her five children with no money after her husband abandoned the family. While she's busy trying to put food on the table, the kids are often getting into and out of trouble in ways that test her patience. Elderly loner Wesley Hodges pays for room and board to help them out, and becomes a quasi-family member before long.
Episodes
1. Fence Neighbors
September 21, 1991
A homespun family led by a single mom tries to get by, but teenage daughter Dorothy Jane isn't thrilled when her mom's forced to take in a border to make ends meet.
2. The Cotillion
September 28, 1991
Dorothy Jane hopes for a fairy-tale resolution to a school-dance, but she has no dress, no date, and Riley, her Prince Charming next door, seems oblivious.
3. A Kiss is Still a Kiss
October 5, 1991
Dorothy Jane would like a romance between Millicent and the new pastor but when he comes calling, its only to report that Steven Floyd nearly turned a hayride into a roll in the hay.
4. For Love or Money
October 12, 1991
Millicent deems it necessary to be regularly employed, giving Dorothy Jane the job of looking after the other kids.
5. Poetry in Motion
October 19, 1991
A blackmailing Ruth Ann reveals Dorothy Jane's private poems of passion to the world, but the unveiling ends up emboldening lovelorn Dorothy Jane.
6. An American Almost in Paris
October 26, 1991
Dorothy Jane wants desperately to bid adieu to Oklahoma and say bonjour to Paris, and she might, if she's selected the winner in a student-exchange competition.
7. Men Don't Leave
November 2, 1991
Randall Torkelson blows in from Texas after more than a year away, but his arrival is an ill wind to Dorothy Jane, and she may be the last gasp of his marriage to Millicent.
8. Thanksgivingmesomething
November 24, 1991
Pastor Langley and his assistant will be guests for Thanksgiving, prompting Dorothy Jane to push Millicent to play up her femininity.
9. Return to Sender
November 24, 1991
Wesley's estranged former daughter-in-law who, along with his granddaughter, is reunited with Wesley thanks to some goodhearted butting in by Millicent.
10. I Fought the Law
December 1, 1991
Millicent stands up for the American way, and the right to sell homemade pickled goods, by insisting on operating her annual roadside stand without a license.
11. A Sigh is Just a Sigh
December 8, 1991
Steven Floyd goes to bat for Millicent by beating up a school big mouth - but she doesn't know that until after she's chewed him out and he's run away.
12. Educating Millicent
December 22, 1991
Millicent had her reasons for not finishing high school, but there's no good reason why she couldn't take an equivalency exam now.
13. Double Date
January 9, 1992
Radio "Love Professor" Kitty Drysdale wires into the affairs of Dorothy Jane and Millicent's hearts and jump-starts their dating lives.
14. The Ice Princess
January 12, 1992
Dorothy Jane resolves to become the kind of girl who makes guys melt, and she looks to the school's resident ice princess for guidance.
15. Swear Not By the Moon
January 19, 1992
Never was there a story of more woe (except maybe one) than of Dorothy Jane's trial playing Juliet in the school play opposite her Romeo, Riley Roberts.
16. Say Uncle
February 16, 1992
Dorothy Jane and Millicent get a double dose of relentless wooing by two Scroggins men - Kirby and his big-talkin' uncle, who takes a liking to Millicent.
17. The Long Goodbye
May 2, 1992
Randall Torkelson returns with a big hello for Millicent and the kids, but Dorothy Jane is fretting over college-bound Riley, who didn't say goodbye.
18. The Egg and I
May 23, 1992
Dorothy Jane and Kirby learn parenthood isn't all it's cracked up to be when a school assignment requires them to care for an egg.
19. It's My Party
May 30, 1992
Dorothy Jane is exposed to the perils of popularity when she throws a party to increase her social standing, but leaves a new friend standing out in the cold.
20. Aunt Poison
June 13, 1992
Millicent's aunt leaves her a diverse inheritance...and lots of unanswered questions.