"Torkelsons" is sort of a silly sounding name, but "The Torkelsons" is a surprisingly good new sitcom.
The family in question is of the dirt poor, Oklahoma variety. And the lead Torkelson is 14-year-old Dorothy Jane (Olivia Burnette), who's usually mortified by whatever her mother, Millicent (Connie Ray), two brothers and two sisters are doing.After an encounter with her mother, Dorothy Jane (who has a tendency to narrate her own life), says, "Years later, passers-by will pause in the street and point to this window and ask, `Isn't that the room where that poor, sensitive girl died of embarrassment?' Others in the street will nod sadly and say, `Yes, I do believe the mother was the cause.' "
The Torkelsons are just struggling to get by ("I'm the only girl in school whose clothes all started out as something else," Dorothy Jane laments), and Millicent is more than thrilled to welcome a kindly boarder (TV veteran William Schallert) into their home.
Millicent is the outgoing, exuberant type despite her precarious financial position. She loves everybody - to extremes, in the opinion of her daughter.
"Mom, they're just an unsuspecting, innocent family," Dorothy Jane says of the new neighbors. "Please don't turn into the welcome wagon from hell."
What makes this show so winning are the performances of Burnette and Ray. They're a perfect mother-daughter combination - both loving and lovable.
Give this one a chance. It'll grow on you.Elsewhere on the tube this weekend:
MOVIES: Real-life couple Gerald McRaney and Delta Burke star in the mystery/comedy Love and Curses . . . and All That Jazz (Sat., 7 p.m., Ch. 5), which wasn't available for preview.
Martin Sheen turns in a strong performance in Guilty Until Proven Innocent (Sun., 8 p.m., Ch. 2). He's a foster father who at first provides no support when his son is accused of a killing, then fights to free the wrongfully convicted young man.
Former Utahn Susan Griffiths has the title role in Marilyn & Me (Sun., 8 p.m., Ch. 4), the allegedly fact-based story of a man who was married to Monroe for five days. Griffiths is pretty good, but the movie isn't.
Donna Mills de-glamourizes herself for another fact-based movie, Runaway Father (Sun., 8 p.m., Ch. 5). She portrays a mother who finally tracks down her jerk of an ex-husband who abandoned the family 17 years earlier.
NEW SHOW: Ian McShane stars as antiques dealer/detective Lovejoy (Sun., 6 p.m., A&E) as this BBC product comes to America with an episode featuring his former "Dallas" co-star, Linda Gray.
SEASON PREMIERES: Rose thinks Blanche had an affair with her late husband on The Golden Girls (Sat., 7 p.m., Ch. 2); Barbara wants to become a mom on Empty Nest (Sat., 8 p.m., Ch. 2); Teddy starts drinking again on Sisters (Sat., 9 p.m., Ch. 2); MacGyver (Sun., 4 p.m., Ch. 4) gets mixed up in a plot involving a high-tech helicopter; there's a fire at the restaurant on Life Goes On (Sun., 6 p.m., Ch. 4); America's Funniest Home Videos (Sun., 7 p.m., Ch. 4) promises more clips than ever; In Living Color (Sun., 7 p.m., Ch. 13) adds some new cast members; and America's Funniest People (Sun., 7:30 p.m., Ch. 4) features NBA players.
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Jennifer and Johnny return to save the day on the second of a two-part WKRP in Cincinnati (Sat., 6:30 p.m., Ch. 2); the dopey P.S.I LUV U (Sat., 9 p.m., Ch. 5) moves to its regular time slot; Star Trek: The Next Generation (Sun., 5 p.m., Ch. 13) repeats last season's cliffhanger; the dogs in Eerie, Indiana (Sun., 6:30 p.m., Ch. 2) are up to something; Jessica tries to solve a campus killing on Murder, She Wrote (Sun., 7 p.m., Ch. 5).
SPORTS: There's one live local college football game this weekend - BYU at Penn State (Sat., 6 p.m., Ch. 4) - and one on tape - Oregon at Utah (Sun., 9 a.m., Ch. 7).
DOCUMENTARY: The outstanding six-part series The Second Russian Revolution begins (Sun., 7 p.m., Discovery).