Our House (American TV series)

For other uses, see Our House.

Our House
Genre	Drama
Created by	James Lee Barrett
Starring	Wilford Brimley Deidre Hall Shannen Doherty Chad Allen Keri Houlihan Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Theme music composer	Billy Goldenberg
Composer	Joel McNeely
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	46
Production
Producer	Frank Fischer
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Blinn/Thorpe Productions Lorimar-Telepictures
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 11, 1986 (1986-09-11) – May 8, 1988 (1988-05-08)

Our House is an American drama television series that aired on NBC for two seasons from September 11, 1986 to May 8, 1988. The series centers on the Witherspoon family and the challenges they face adjusting to life with three generations living in the same house.

The series was created by James Lee Barrett, who died the year after its cancellation.

Synopsis

After his son John dies, retired widower Gus Witherspoon (Wilford Brimley) invites his daughter-in-law Jessica Witherspoon (Deidre Hall) and her three children to move to California and live with him until Jessie gets back on her feet financially.

Despite protests from her children—15-year-old daughter Kris (Shannen Doherty); 12-year-old son David (Chad Allen); and 8-year-old daughter Molly (Keri Houlihan)—they, Jessie, and their basset hound Arthur leave Fort Wayne, Indiana, to start life anew in California. As they settle in with Gus, they realize just how difficult he can be to live with. The majority of the plots each week centered on the conflicts which tend to arise when an extended family must live together in the same house. As man of the house, Gus imposed rules on his three grandkids the same way he had raised John (and also John's brother Ben, who was seen in a two-part episode); ultimately, however, he learned ways of conveying lessons to the kids without being gruff. Jessie and the kids eventually learned that beneath Gus's stern facade was a wise man, well-versed in the ways of the world, who cared about them very much.

In a feature reminiscent of the 1960s T.V. series The Wild Wild West, each of the episode's five acts (before the commercial break) ended with a freeze-frame shot which then occupied one of several rooms in an abstract rendering of a house figure. As the episode unfolded, more rooms were filled until finally—when the dilemma had been resolved—the final piece was put in place, completing the house.

John Witherspoon (played by Patrick Duffy) was seen in one episode and in the occasional flashback.

Cast

• Wilford Brimley as Gus Witherspoon
• Deidre Hall as Jessica "Jessie" Witherspoon
• Shannen Doherty as Kris Witherspoon
• Chad Allen as David Witherspoon
• Keri Houlihan as Molly Witherspoon
• Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Joe Kaplan

Episodes

Season 1 (1986–87)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Home Again"	Unknown	Unknown	September 11, 1986 (1986-09-11)
2	2	"The Money Machine"	Unknown	Unknown	September 14, 1986 (1986-09-14)
3	3	"Families and Friends"	Unknown	Unknown	September 21, 1986 (1986-09-21)
4	4	"That Lonesome Old Caboose"	Unknown	Unknown	September 28, 1986 (1986-09-28)
5	5	"The Third Question"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 1986 (1986-10-05)
6	6	"See You in Court"	Unknown	Unknown	October 12, 1986 (1986-10-12)
7	7	"Small Steps up a Small Mountain"	Unknown	Unknown	October 19, 1986 (1986-10-19)
8	8	"Choices"	Unknown	Unknown	October 26, 1986 (1986-10-26)
9	9	"First Impressions"	Unknown	Unknown	November 2, 1986 (1986-11-02)
10	10	"Different Habits"	Unknown	Unknown	November 9, 1986 (1986-11-09)
11	11	"Off We Go..."	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 1986 (1986-11-16)
12	12	"Heart of a Dancer"	Unknown	Unknown	November 23, 1986 (1986-11-23)
13	13	"Green Christmas"	Unknown	Unknown	December 14, 1986 (1986-12-14)
14	14	"Family Secrets"	Unknown	Unknown	January 4, 1987 (1987-01-04)
15	15	"A Point of View"	Unknown	Unknown	January 11, 1987 (1987-01-11)
16	16	"The Best Intentions"	Unknown	Unknown	January 18, 1987 (1987-01-18)
17	17	"The 100 Year Old Weekend"	Unknown	Unknown	February 1, 1987 (1987-02-01)
18	18	"Past Tense, Future Tense: Part 1"	Ray Austin	Unknown	February 8, 1987 (1987-02-08)
19	19	"Past Tense, Future Tense: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	February 15, 1987 (1987-02-15)
20	20	"Friends"	Unknown	Unknown	February 22, 1987 (1987-02-22)
21	21	"Giving 'em the Business"	Unknown	Unknown	March 1, 1987 (1987-03-01)
22	22	"Growing Up, Growing Old"	Unknown	Unknown	March 15, 1987 (1987-03-15)
23	23	"The Road out of Briarpatch"	Unknown	Unknown	March 22, 1987 (1987-03-22)
24	24	"The Children's Crusade"	Unknown	Unknown	May 3, 1987 (1987-05-03)

Season 2 (1987–88)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
25	1	"Sounds from a Silent Clock: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	September 13, 1987 (1987-09-13)
26	2	"Sounds from a Silent Clock: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	September 20, 1987 (1987-09-20)
27	3	"A Silent, Fallen Tree"	Unknown	Unknown	September 27, 1987 (1987-09-27)
28	4	"Dancing in the Dark"	Unknown	Unknown	October 4, 1987 (1987-10-04)
29	5	"The Witherspoon War"	Unknown	Unknown	October 18, 1987 (1987-10-18)
30	6	"The Haunting"	Unknown	Unknown	October 25, 1987 (1987-10-25)
31	7	"Candles and Shadows"	Chuck Arnold	William Blinn	November 1, 1987 (1987-11-01)
32	8	"The Springtown Treasure"	Chuck Arnold	E. F. Wallengren	November 15, 1987 (1987-11-15)
33	9	"They Also Serve"	Ray Austin	Kim C. Friese	November 22, 1987 (1987-11-22)
34	10	"Like Father, Like Son"	Unknown	Unknown	November 29, 1987 (1987-11-29)
35	11	"Sunday's Hero, Monday's Goat"	Unknown	Unknown	December 6, 1987 (1987-12-06)
36	12	"Balance of Power"	Unknown	Unknown	January 10, 1988 (1988-01-10)
37	13	"Call It a Draw"	Ray Austin	Michael Marks	January 17, 1988 (1988-01-17)
38	14	"Finish the Day"	Unknown	Unknown	January 24, 1988 (1988-01-24)
39	15	"Two-Beat, Four-Beat"	Unknown	Unknown	February 7, 1988 (1988-02-07)
40	16	"Trouble in Paradise: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	February 14, 1988 (1988-02-14)
41	17	"Trouble in Paradise: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	February 21, 1988 (1988-02-21)
42	18	"Out of Step"	Unknown	Unknown	February 28, 1988 (1988-02-28)
43	19	"The Ashton Street Gang"	Unknown	Unknown	March 6, 1988 (1988-03-06)
44	20	"The Fifth Beatle"	Unknown	Unknown	March 13, 1988 (1988-03-13)
45	21	"Neighborhood Watch"	Unknown	Unknown	May 1, 1988 (1988-05-01)
46	22	"Artful Dodging"	Unknown	Unknown	May 8, 1988 (1988-05-08)

Reception

Upon the show's 1986 premiere, the Associated Press called it "a family show suitable for framing." Despite positive reviews, the series was not a ratings success, likely owing to being scheduled Sundays at 7 PM (EST) opposite CBS's powerhouse 60 Minutes and numerous overruns by NFL games on its own network. The series ranked 59th in its first season (12.9 rating) and 70th in its second season (11.1 rating). Viewers who saw the show gave it mixed reviews, with some viewers liking the show a lot, and others hating it.

The Inspiration Network re-aired syndicated episodes of Our House in the US from October 18, 2010, to December 31, 2011. Prior to that, reruns of the show aired on The Family Channel in the early 1990s and on the Faith & Values Channel, Pax TV and Odyssey Channel later that decade.

External links

• Our House at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Our House at epguides.com
• Our House at TV Guide