The Torkelsons 1991-1992
Connie Ray as Millicent Torkelson
Olivia Burnette as Dorothy Jane Torkelson
Aaron Michael Metchik as Steven Floyd Torkelson
Lee Norris as Chuckie Lee Torkelson
Rachel Duncan as Mary Sue Torkelson
Anna Slotky as Ruth Ann Torkelson
William Schallert as Wesley Hodges
Paige Gosney as Kirby
Michael Landes as Riley Roberts

Almost Home 1992-1993 
(new cast members)
Brittany Murphy als Molly Morgan
Jason Marsden als Gregory Morgan
Perry King als Brian Morgan

Technical note:  The Torkelsons originally aired on NBC in 1991. It was reintroduced as Almost Home in 1993. The show is now in syndication on The Disney Channel.

Summary:  The Torkelsons is a sweet and wholesome show incorporating down-home hospitality and old fashioned family values. Like a Little House on the Prairie for the 1990's. Described by executive producer Michael Jacobs as the kind of sitcom Tennessee Williams might have written: a show with heart, a "Grapes of Laughter" about a family making the best of bad times.   

Pyramid Corners, Oklahoma - Perched in the moon lit window sill of a dilapidated plantation house, you will find a dainty young lady named Dorothy Jane Torkelson. She is pouring her heart and soul out to "the man in the moon" an imaginary god-like figure that she confides to every night.     

Dorothy Jane's private room, her only luxury, is truly her sanctuary from the storm.  It is where she reads books about places that she would love to visit and writes stories about men she would love to romance. In her diaries, she reveals her hope and dreams . . . her fears and frailties.  She has created a fantasy world to digress to when harsh reality becomes too grim. She is afraid to come out of her shell knowing that others have more money, sophistication, and "class" than her rag-tag family.

When Dorothy Jane strives to hang around with the elite classes (wealthy, athletic, and popular kids) she is often torn apart by the snobs. Especially since her wardrobe consists of thrift shops discards and dresses that were once bed sheets or window curtains. At first she allows her oppressive situation contribute to her low self esteem. But as she evolves, Dorothy Jane discovers that true grandeur exists in ones intelligence and accomplishments as opposed to their social status.       

Dorothy Jane's mother, Millicent Torkelson, is quite extraordinary, even if Dorothy Jane does appreciated her at first. From her teenage eyes mom is an embarrassment for making homemade preserves, haggling at the flea market, and cementing the washer and dryer to the floor so the bill collectors can't repossess them. She also forces the family to participate in corny family bonding activities. However Millicent's sunny, eccentric disposition is what keeps her from depression. She must raise her five kids alone after her deadbeat husband ran off three years ago.

This charming series had disappointingly low ratings when it premiered Saturday nights on NBC and even less when it was moved to Sundays. To boost the rating The Torkelsons was revamped as "Almost Home". Millicent moves the family to Seattle and becomes the nanny for the wealthy Morgan family, raising the bratty kids Molly and Brian. The new series mostly pitted conservative family values against liberal family values. The content is still positive but the magic is lost due to the fact the Torkelsons seemed like proverbial "country bumpkins" in the big city environment.