Father Murphy

This article is about the television drama. For the Irish rebel leader, see John Murphy (priest). For the traditional Irish song, see Come All You Warriors.

Father Murphy
Genre	Western
Created by	Michael Landon
Directed by	Michael Landon William F. Claxton Maury Dexter Victor French Leo Penn
Starring	Merlin Olsen Moses Gunn Katherine Cannon Timothy Gibbs Byron Thames Lisa Trusel Richard Bergman Ivy Bethune
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	34
Production
Executive producer	Michael Landon
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	NBC Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	November 3, 1981 (1981-11-03) – September 18, 1983 (1983-09-18)

Father Murphy is an American Western drama television series that aired on the NBC network from November 3, 1981 to September 18, 1983. Michael Landon created the series, was the executive producer, and directed the show in partnership with William F. Claxton, Maury Dexter, Victor French, and Leo Penn.

Synopsis

The series stars former NFL Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle football player and Little House on the Prairie actor Merlin Olsen as an 1870s frontiersman named John Michael Murphy who teams up with prospector Moses Gage (Moses Gunn) to shelter a group of orphans who are being threatened with internment in a workhouse. Murphy disguises himself as a priest and befriends a schoolmarm to help the children find a home.

At the end of the first season, John's true identity is revealed to the head of the workhouse, and the orphans seem destined for a life of labor. Instead, Murphy marries the schoolmarm and they get custody of the children.

Production

Many of the episodes were filmed at the Old Tucson Studios and theme park just outside Tucson, Arizona. The main village featured in the show was located at Big Sky Movie Ranch in Simi Valley, California; this was also the filming location for the television series Little House on the Prairie. The village was located approximately 200 yards (180 m) uphill from the Ingalls' farm set.

Father Murphy is an NBC production and is syndicated outside of the U.S. by MGM Worldwide Television, but MGM does not own the video rights.

Cast

• Merlin Olsen as John Michael Murphy^[1]
• Moses Gunn as Moses Gage
• Katherine Cannon as Mae Woodward/Murphy^[2]
• Timothy Gibbs as Will Adams^[3]
• Scott Mellini as Ephram Winkler
• Lisa Trusel as Lizette Winkler^[4]
• Kirk Brennan as David Sims
• Byron Thames as Matt Sims^[5]
• Chez Lister as Eli Matthews
• Richard Bergman as Father Joe Parker
• Charles Tyner as Howard Rodman
• Ivy Bethune as Evelyn Tuttle
• Burr DeBenning as Paul/Richard Garrett
• Ted Markland as Frank
• Charles Cooper as Sheriff Caleb
• Warren Munson as Dr R.G. Thompson

Notable guest appearances on the series include: Shannen Doherty, Mykelti Williamson, Kellie Martin, John M. Pickard, Eddie Quillan, Christina Applegate, Amanda Peterson, Donna Wilkes, Tina Yothers, Mary Beth Evans, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jerry Hardin, James Cromwell, and Christopher Stone.

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released		Nielsen Rank	Nielsen Rating	Average viewership (in millions)
			First released	Last released
1	21		November 3, 1981 (1981-11-03)	April 11, 1982 (1982-04-11)	52[6]	TBA	TBA
2	13		September 28, 1982 (1982-09-28)	September 18, 1983 (1983-09-18)	66[7]	TBA	TBA

Season 1 (1981–82)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
1	1	"Pilot"	Michael Landon	Michael Landon	November 3, 1981 (1981-11-03)	101-102
2	2
Two-hour (with commercials) movie.
3	3	"Eggs, Milk and a Dry Bed"	Michael Landon	Michael Landon	November 10, 1981 (1981-11-10)	103
4	4	"Establish Thou the Works of Our Hands"	Leo Penn	Paul W. Cooper	November 17, 1981 (1981-11-17)	104
5	5	"A Horse from Heaven"	William F. Claxton	Frank K. Telford	November 24, 1981 (1981-11-24)	105
6	6	"By the Bear That Bit Me: Part 1"	William F. Claxton	Ron Bishop & Steve Hayes & Michael Landon	December 1, 1981 (1981-12-01)	106
7	7	"By the Bear That Bit Me: Part 2"	William F. Claxton	Ron Bishop & Steve Hayes & Michael Landon	December 8, 1981 (1981-12-08)	107
8	8	"False Blessings"	Leo Penn	Vince R. Gutierrez	December 15, 1981 (1981-12-15)	108
9	9	"The Ghost of Gold Hill"	William F. Claxton	John T. Dugan	December 22, 1981 (1981-12-22)	109
10	10	"Graduation"	William F. Claxton	Peter Dixon	January 5, 1982 (1982-01-05)	110
11	11	"Will's Surprise"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	January 12, 1982 (1982-01-12)	111
12	12	"Eighty-Eight Keys to Happiness"	Victor French	George Atkins	January 19, 1982 (1982-01-19)	TBA
13	13	"Knights of the White Camelia"	William F. Claxton	Don Balluck	February 2, 1982 (1982-02-02)	TBA
14	14	"The Parable of Amanda"	William F. Claxton	Paul W. Cooper	February 9, 1982 (1982-02-09)	TBA
15	15	"The Spy"	William F. Claxton	Michael Landon	February 16, 1982 (1982-02-16)	TBA
16	16	"The Heir Apparent"	William F. Claxton	Michael Landon	February 23, 1982 (1982-02-23)	TBA
17	17	"In God's Arms"	William F. Claxton	Paul W. Cooper	March 2, 1982 (1982-03-02)	TBA
18	18	"The Dream Day"	Maury Dexter	Michael Landon	March 14, 1982 (1982-03-14)	TBA
19	19	"Laddie"	William F. Claxton	Larry Bischof	March 21, 1982 (1982-03-21)	TBA
20	20	"Matthew and Elizabeth"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	March 28, 1982 (1982-03-28)	TBA
21	21	"The First Miracle: Part 1"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	April 4, 1982 (1982-04-04)	TBA
22	22	"The First Miracle: Part 2"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	April 11, 1982 (1982-04-11)	TBA

Season 2 (1982–83)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
23	1	"Happiness Is..."	William F. Claxton	Renee and Harry Longstreet	September 28, 1982 (1982-09-28)
24	2	"The Father Figure"	Joseph Pevney	Michael McGreevey	October 5, 1982 (1982-10-05)
25	3	"Stopover in a One-Horse Town"	William F. Claxton	Lee Sheldon	October 26, 1982 (1982-10-26)
26	4	"Outrageous Fortune"	Joseph Pevney	Lee Sheldon	November 9, 1982 (1982-11-09)
27	5	"The Reluctant Runaway: Part 1"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	November 16, 1982 (1982-11-16)
28	6	"The Reluctant Runaway: Part 2"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	November 23, 1982 (1982-11-23)
29	7	"Buttons and Beaux"	William F. Claxton	Gerry Day	November 30, 1982 (1982-11-30)
30	8	"John Michael Murphy, R.I.P."	Joseph Pevney	Michael Landon	December 7, 1982 (1982-12-07)
31	9	"The Witness"	Maury Dexter	Paul W. Cooper	December 14, 1982 (1982-12-14)
32	10	"Blood Right"	William F. Claxton	Don Buday	December 21, 1982 (1982-12-21)
33	11	"Sweet Sixteen"	William F. Claxton	Chris Abbott	December 28, 1982 (1982-12-28)
34	12	"The Rockets' Red Glare"	Joseph Pevney	Paul W. Cooper	June 1, 1983 (1983-06-01)
35	13	"The Matchmakers"	Joseph Pevney	Vince R. Gutierrez	September 18, 1983 (1983-09-18)

Home media

Image Entertainment (under license from NBC Studios) released both seasons of Father Murphy on DVD in Region 1 in 2004/2005.

DVD Name		Ep #	Release Date
	Season 1	22	October 26, 2004
	Season 2	13	January 25, 2005

References

1. "Merlin Olsen". IMDb.com.
2. "Katherine Cannon". IMDb.com.
3. "Timothy Gibbs". IMDb.
4. "Lisa Trusel". IMDb.
5. "Byron Thames". IMDb.
6. Lina. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1981-82 Ratings History -- Primetime is Awash in a Bubble Bath as Nighttime Soaps Become the Rage". Retrieved 1 April 2018.
7. Lina. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1982-83 Ratings History -- Soap Bubbles Rise, Several Veterans Part and NBC Renews Poorly Rated Masterpieces". Retrieved 1 April 2018.

External links

• Father Murphy at IMDb
• Father Murphy at epguides.com