Major Dad

Major Dad is an American sitcom television series created by Richard C. Okie and John G. Stephens, developed by Earl Pomerantz, that originally ran from September 17, 1989, to May 17, 1993, on CBS, starring Gerald McRaney as Major John D. MacGillis and Shanna Reed as his wife Polly. The cast also includes Beverly Archer, Matt Mulhern, Jon Cypher, Marisa Ryan, Nicole Dubuc, and Chelsea Hertford.

Major Dad
The cast of Major Dad.
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	John G. Stephens Richard C. Okie
Developed by	Earl Pomerantz
Starring	Gerald McRaney Shanna Reed Beverly Archer Jon Cypher Nicole Dubuc Chelsea Hertford Matt Mulhern Marisa Ryan
Composers	Roger Steinman Steve Dorff
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	96 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Rick Hawkins Gerald McRaney Richard C. Okie Earl Pomerantz
Producers	Jim Evering Barry Gold Janet Leahy Liz Sage Todd Stephens
Editors	Skip Collector John William Heath Augie Hess
Camera setup	35mm Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	S.B.B. Productions Spanish Trail Productions Universal Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 17, 1989 (1989-09-17) – May 17, 1993 (1993-05-17)

Synopsis

The first season is set at the fictional Camp Singleton (meant to represent Camp Pendleton),^{[citation needed]} where hard-charging United States Marine Corps Major John D. "Mac" MacGillis is commander of the infantry training school's acquisition division. MacGillis's life is changed when he falls in love with a liberal journalist, Polly Cooper. The show follows Mac in his work life, where he deals with Lt. Eugene Holowachuk (Matt Mulhern), Sgt. Byron James (Marlon Archey), and Merilee Gunderson (Whitney Kershaw), as well as his home life, as he learns to live with Polly's three daughters, Elizabeth, Robin, and Casey.

At the beginning of the second season, the MacGillis family moves to Camp Hollister (based on Marine Corps Base Quantico), where Mac must adapt to the role of staff secretary (or "staff weenie") and the crazy antics of Commanding (Brigadier) General Marcus C. Craig, Aide-de-Camp 1st Lt. Eugene Holowachuk (who transferred with Major MacGillis from Camp Singleton), and Gunnery Sgt. Alva "Gunny" Bricker, the General's secretary, a no-nonsense Marine, who despite her brusque nature and unprepossessing physical appearance, is the target of many enthusiastic (and unseen) suitors. Character development increased during the second season, such as the revelation that MacGillis is a former member of the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon.

Major Dad incorporated the 1991 Persian Gulf War into storylines, depicting Mac staying stateside instead of going to Saudi Arabia as he wanted. Scenes with Polly writing in her diary were shot as late as possible to incorporate breaking news.^[1] After rewriting the last six episodes of the 1990-1991 season because of the war, the show had to again modify episodes because the war ended sooner than expected.^[2]

Cast

• Gerald McRaney as Maj. John D. "Mac" MacGillis
• Shanna Reed as Pollyanna "Polly" Esther Cooper MacGillis
• Marisa Ryan as Elizabeth Cooper MacGillis
• Nicole Dubuc as Robin Cooper MacGillis
• Chelsea Hertford as Casey Cooper MacGillis
• Matt Mulhern as Lt. Eugene "Gene" Holowachuk
• Marlon Archey as Sgt. Byron James (season one)
• Jon Cypher as Brig. Gen. Marcus C. Craig (seasons two-four)
• Whitney Kershaw as Merilee Gunderson (season one)
• Beverly Archer as GySgt. Alva "Gunny" Bricker (seasons two-four)
• Timothy Schnabel as Billy Sparling (some episodes)

Episode guide

Main article: List of Major Dad episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired		Rank	Rating
			First aired	Last aired
1	26		September 17, 1989 (1989-09-17)	May 21, 1990 (1990-05-21)	39 [3]	13.2 [4]
2	24		September 17, 1990 (1990-09-17)	May 13, 1991 (1991-05-13)	21	14.9 (Tied with In the Heat of the Night)
3	24		September 16, 1991 (1991-09-16)	May 11, 1992 (1992-05-11)	9	16.8
4	22		September 25, 1992 (1992-09-25)	May 17, 1993 (1993-05-17)	69 [5]	9.8 [6]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1992	BMI Film & TV Award	Won	BMI TV Music Award	Steve Dorff
1992	Emmy Award	Nominated	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music	Steve Dorff
1990	Young Artist Awards	Nominated	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	Chelsea Hertford
		Won	Best New Television Series	-
1991		Nominated	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	Marisa Ryan
			Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	Chelsea Hertford
			Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	Nicole Dubuc
			Best Young Actor Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series	Chance Michael Corbitt
1992		Nominated	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	Marisa Ryan
1993		Nominated	Outstanding Actress Under Ten in a Television Series	Chelsea Hertford

References

1. Tucker, Ken (February 22, 1991). "The War and 'Major Dad'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
2. Herbert, Steven (March 11, 1991). "'Major Dad' Gets a Change of Orders : Television: The end of the Gulf War forces the CBS military sitcom to revise episodes that were altered when war began". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
3. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1989-90 Ratings History".
4. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1989-90 Ratings History".
5. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1992-93 Ratings History".
6. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1992-93 Ratings History".

External links

• Major Dad at IMDb
• Major Dad at epguides.com
• Major Dad introduction (video clip)