The Byrds of Paradise

The Byrds of Paradise
Genre	Drama
Created by	Charles H. Eglee Channing Gibson
Starring	Timothy Busfield Seth Green Jennifer Love Hewitt Ryan O'Donohue Arlo Guthrie Elizabeth Lindsey Bruce Weitz
Opening theme	Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	1
No.of episodes	13 (1 unaired)(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Steven Bochco Charles H. Eglee
Running time	47 minutes
Production companies	Steven Bochco Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 3(1994-03-03)– June 23, 1994(1994-06-23)

The Byrds of Paradiseis an Americandramatelevision series that ran onABCfrom March 3 to June 23, 1994, during the 1993–94 season. One of the few series executive produced bySteven Bochcothat he did not help create, the hour-long drama centers on a father and his three children, abruptly relocated toHawaiifromNew Haven, Connecticutafter the sudden death of the children's mother. Much of the show dealt with the titular Byrd family adjusting to their lives in an entirely new environment as they recovered from their loss.

Filmed on location in the state of Hawaii,The Byrds of Paradisewas unique in the inclusion of thelocal culture of Hawaiiin the lives of the originallymainlandByrd family, rather than their maintaining a lifestyle nearly indistinguishable from that on the mainland with Hawaii's tropical]scenery serving primarily as an attractive background.

Plot

Sam Byrd, the family's father, accepts aheadmaster's position at a private school in Hawaii, which his children attend along with local students. All of the Byrds interact with local characters, some of whom speakpidgin(performed with varying degrees of authenticity) and reflect a far more realistic portrait of Hawaii's culture than is usually shown in film and television depictions of Hawaii. This tendency includes the romantic interests of the Byrds, who are local characters (played by local actors) rather than mainland transplants. Topics such as teenage pregnancy and underage drinking were featured, as are usually presented in a television show with teens as central characters.

One of the more distinctive aspects ofThe Byrds of Paradisewas the role of Dr. Murray Rubinstein, an unpretentious beachsidepsychiatrist.Originally doctor to Franny, the temperamental middle child who is the most obviously traumatized by her mother's death, Murray eventually treats Sam, the children's father who is also suffering from the loss of his wife. A voice of reason who counsels his patients with an unconventional bedside manner, the doctor makes significant progress with Franny and Sam.

Again in a more realistic rather than idealized representation of Hawaii, atsunamistrikes mid-season, threatening the lives of several characters. The doctor's residence is destroyed, prompting him to continue his practice on chairs in the sand while he is rebuilding his house.

While the finished episodes were not aired in their entirety on the mainland, one of the last episodes, entitled "Twelfth Night o' Whatevah", featuring a school production ofShakespearepresented entirely in pidgin, was aired in Hawaii.

Cast

• Timothy Busfieldas Sam Byrd
• Seth Greenas Harry Byrd
• Jennifer Love Hewittas Franny Byrd
• Ryan O'Donohueas Zeke Byrd
• Arlo Guthrieas Alan Moon
• Elizabeth Lindseyas Healani Douglas
• Bruce Weitzas Dr. Murray Rubinstein

Reception

Varietytelevision critic Tony Scott describes the series as a 'viable if familiar concept for family viewing' that 'plays comfortably and attractively.' He further states that the realistic treatment of the difficulties faced by a family moving from the mainland to Hawaii 'give the program heft.'Ken Tucker ofEntertainment Weeklyfound the series to be 'at once charming and predictable.' Tucker found Busfield's character to be more confident and decent than his other roles, in particular Elliot Weston onthirtysomething.'When Busfield plays nice, his natural glow dims somewhat.'Benjamin Svetkey, also fromEntertainment Weekly,describes the series as a 'shockingly wholesome new drama' fromSteven Bochco.Svetkey quotes Bochco describing the series, 'We're not pushing the envelope. We're just doing a show about how families wire up to each other in the 1990s.'Jerry Schwartz of theAssociated Pressdescribes the series as 'an archipelago in a sea of earnestness' that does have 'an occasionally quirky sense of humor.'Scott D. Pierce ofDeseret Newsdescribes the series as 'a quality hour drama about a family. It is far from a perfect family, but it is an engaging one.' He cautions that parents may want to screen this for their younger children but then goes on to say 'Byrds of Paradiseis the sort of family show viewers have been insisting they want to see.'

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
1	"Pilot"	Bradley Silberling	Charles H. Eglee&Channing Gibson	March 3, 1994(1994-03-03)	OP01
2	"The Nenes Have It"	Joe Ann Fogle	Nick Harding	March 10, 1994(1994-03-10)	OP02
3	"Moon, Man"	Stephen Cragg	Charles H. Eglee & Channing Gibson	March 17, 1994(1994-03-17)	OP03
4	"This Band is My Band"	Dennis Dugan	Nick Harding	March 24, 1994(1994-03-24)	OP04
5	"The Secret Life of Underpants"	Oz Scott	Grace McKeaney	March 31, 1994(1994-03-31)	OP05
6	"In Todd We Trust"	John Fleckenstein	Nick Harding	April 7, 1994(1994-04-07)	OP06
7	"Mi Casa es Tsunami"	Félix Enríquez Alcalá	Story by : Nick Harding & Channing Gibson & Charles H. Eglee Teleplay by :Jon Harmon Feldman	April 14, 1994(1994-04-14)	OP07
8	"The Bottle Show"	Mark Horowitz	Charles H. Eglee & Channing Gibson	April 21, 1994(1994-04-21)	OP08
9	"Back in the Saddle"	Daniel Attias	Story by : Channing Gibson & Charles H. Eglee Teleplay by : Nick Harding	April 28, 1994(1994-04-28)	OP09
10	"Kimo the Magnificent"	Charles Haid	Charles H. Eglee & Channing Gibson	May 5, 1994(1994-05-05)	OP10
11	"Hair Today, Gone to Maui"	Dennis Dugan	Elaine Aronson	June 16, 1994(1994-06-16)	OP11
12	"He Hawai'i Kakou I Ka Pu'uwai"	Joe Ann Fogle	Charles H. Eglee & Channing Gibson	June 23, 1994(1994-06-23)	OP13
13	"Da Play's Da T'ing" "Twelfth Night o' Whatevah"	TBD	Nick Harding	Unaired	OP12

External links

• The Byrds of ParadiseatIMDb