This series had major production problems before even getting on the air, in part because NBC-TV, which was broadcasting it, demanded that the producers introduce happy endings for each show. This significantly changed at least one real-life story dramatized on the series ("The Bad Girl") in the book became ("Everybody's Girl") on the series. TV Guide reviewer Robert MacKenzie, who had read the book, commented that several of the stories' forced happy endings transformed the show from "steak into hamburger."
This TV series was inspired by the bestselling book by David Wallechinsky and Michael Medved. David Wallechinsky is the son of international celebrated novelist Irving Wallace. Wallechinsky was the original family name from Russia. When David's grandfather, Illya Wallechinsky (aka Alex) immigrated to America at the age of 14, an immigration officer on Ellis Island said, "Illya Wallechinsky? That's not an American name. Your name is now Alex Wallace." David took back the original family name. David and his father, along with David's sister Amy Wallace, collaborated on a number of nonfiction books, including the hugely successful book series The People's Almanac and The Book of Lists.