The Byrds of Paradise
The Byrds of Paradise is an American drama television series that ran on ABC from March 3 to June 23, 1994, during the 1993–94 season. One of the few series executive produced by Steven Bochco that he did not help create, the hour-long drama centers on a father and his three children, abruptly relocated to Hawaii from New Haven, Connecticut after 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 Paradise was unique in the inclusion of the local culture of Hawaii in the lives of the originally mainland Byrd 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 a headmaster'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 speak pidgin 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 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 of The Byrds of Paradise was the role of Dr. Murray Rubinstein, an unpretentious beachside psychiatrist. 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, a tsunami strikes 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 of Shakespeare presented entirely in pidgin, was aired in Hawaii.
Cast
- Timothy Busfield as Sam Byrd
- Seth Green as Harry Byrd
- Jennifer Love Hewitt as Franny Byrd
- Ryan O'Donohue as Zeke Byrd
- Arlo Guthrie as Alan Moon
- Elizabeth Lindsey as Healani Douglas
- Bruce Weitz as Dr. Murray Rubinstein