TV Show Review: Father Murphy, Season 2

When we left Father Murphy at the end of Season 1, the residents at Gold Hill were embarking upon new adventures. With John Murphy (Merlin Olsen) and schoolmarm, Mae Woodward (Katherine Cannon), now man and wife, and legal guardians to all the children at Gold Hill, there are due to be some ups and downs.


In these 13 unforgettable episodes, families can enjoy the love of family that is destined to win out against the trials of frontier life.

At the opening of Season 2, our favorite characters--Murphy, Mae, and their friend Moses Gage (Moses Gunn)--find life changing. Gage experiences a bout of jealousy when the children want to make special presents for Murphy on Father's Day. Gold Hill opens its doors and hearts to an angry young boy who has gotten expelled from school. Will runs away after the birth of Murphy and Mae's baby girl. Eli, David and Ephram (Scott Mellini) send away for a mail-order bride for Moses, hoping he'll be happy like the Murphys.

Despite winning awards and receiving multiple nominations during its two season run, Father Murphy  was cancelled. Having watched both seasons after more than 20 years of the show being off the air, and considering Little House on the Prairie (LHOP) was still on the air at that time--even if it was at the tail end of its run--I can see why Father Murphy didn't make it. While the acting was superb, how much frontier family drama did viewers in the early 80's want? It didn't have a TV sweetheart like Melissa Gilbert to be the focus of the series. While Will Adams (Timothy Gibbs) definitely had talent and has successfully transitioned into an acting adult, he didn't grow on viewers the way Gilbert did.  I think part of that is because the relationship between Murphy and Will is very different from the one between Charles Ingalls and his daughter, Laura. There wasn't as much crying in Father Murphy. I only mention that because so many LHOP fans talk about the tear-jerking episodes of this classic family television show. The characters in Father Murphy also weren't seen in church all the time.

As I said in my review of Season 1, Father Murphy  was an edgier version of Little House on the Prairie. Murphy was a very different father figure than Charles Ingalls, even though they had some of the same traits. If the show had aired after LHOP was cancelled, I wonder if it would have been more successful. The Young Pioneers Christmas, which is based upon a book written by Rose Wilder Lane, spurred a short-lived series in 1978 titled, The Young Pioneers. Maybe the family western drama was dying out in the late 70's and early 80's, but LHOP being on the air may have impacted those shows. Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman starring Jane Seymour and Joe Lando ran for six seasons and two movies, starting in 1993. I believe it was the only frontier family series on during that time.

For whatever reason, Father Murphy didn't catch on. It's definitely better TV than what is on today, but at the time, it didn't make the cut. Merlin Olsen and Moses Gunn are both gone now. Katherine Cannon has retired from acting, as have many of the child stars from the series. James Cromwell, who guest starred on Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy, is perhaps one of the biggest names connected with show. Other notable guests include: Shannen Doherty, Christina Applegate, Tina Yothers, Eddie Quinlan, and Kellie Martin.

Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC 

Language: English 

Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 

Number of discs: 5 

Rated: NR (Not Rated) 

Studio: Image Entertainment 

DVD Release Date: January 25, 2005 

Run Time: 624 minutes

Limited availability through eBay and Amazon sellers.

I purchased Season 2 of this series through an Amazon seller last year. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

TV Show Review: Father Murphy, Season 1

Father Murphy was created and produced by TV great, Michael Landon. It tells the story of frontiersman John Michael Murphy (Merlin Olsen), who partners up with prospector Moses Gage (Moses Gunn) to mine for gold. Having met orphan Will Adams (Timothy Gibbs), they take the boy on to handle domestic chores like cleaning and cooking while Murphy and Gage pan for gold.

Schoolmarm Mae Woodward (Katherine Cannon) came to the mining camp with a local priest to provide schooling for the children. When a large gold nugget is discovered, the man who owns most of the town, Mr. Garrett (Burr DeBenning), blows up the mining camp, leaving the priest dead and most of the children, orphaned. When Miss Woodward, Moses and Murphy attempt to set up an orphanage to care for the children, they soon find Mr. Rodman (Charles Tyner) and Miss Tuttle (Ivy Bethune) knocking on their door. If the church doesn't take over financial support of the orphanage, Rodman will see the children are sent to the workhouse. Unable to wait for word from the diocese, Murphy poses as a priest, which temporarily saves the day. But the worst troubles are still ahead of them.

Father Murphy ran for two seasons. Michael Landon, who made pioneering western era TV famous with his roles in Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie (LHOP), created and produced this series, which starred Merlin Olsen, who worked with him on LHOP. Anyone familiar with both series, will see many actors played roles in both.

While LHOP had a somewhat romanticized view of the pioneering era, focusing more on the love of family, how pulling together could make anything possible, and the importance of faith, Father Murphy portrayed an edgier side to the 1870s. While both shows had similar themes, it is how they approached them that made them different. Charles Ingalls didn't drink, but Murphy is seen visiting the saloon in the first episode. He's not opposed to the occasional beer for refreshment. Charles is a man of deep faith, but Murphy, who was orphaned as a child, is not one who will be quoting Bible verses left and right. The latter is also not opposed to using his brawn when it's helpful. When Charles got into a fight, it was usually to protect or defend a family member. Charles never seemed to have a problem expressing his feelings, but Murphy can't find the right words or wonders if he should pull up stakes when things get rough.

In addition, the towns are very different. Walnut Grove is this nice quiet place. There's no saloon. The townsfolk are happy. They all love their little town with the grove of trees that gave the town its name. Jackson, on the other hand, is a rough place. Not only does it have a saloon, night time there means, fights and guns. The number of good people in Jackson are definitely outnumbered by the not so nice ones. They don't even want a church in town, because then the saloon would need to be closed on Sundays.

I remember being more enamored with Father Murphy when it aired in the 80s, but it's still quality family television, which doesn't exist much today. I'm glad I purchased both seasons last year.

Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 6
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Release Date: October 26, 2004
Run Time: 1175 minutes
SRP:  $49.99

I purchased this DVD set from Amazon. I received no monetary compensation for my review.