First acting role for River Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, and Liberty Phoenix.
MGM and CBS TV initially ordered 6 programs after approving the 90 minute pilot. The original film musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" established the basis for a musical TV series, which was to include a musical (staged song and dance) sequence in the one hour long scenario. David Gerber had established a location filming company on a distant location far from Culver City: Murphys (where he owned the Murphys Hotel), and in Angels Camp, Sonora, all located in the Mother Lode foothills of the Sierra Mountains, in the heart of Calaveras County. Building this musical segment into each hour program was difficult based upon rehearsing music, dance moves, and placing the number in a location where the number could be performed. Plus the fact the seven lead brothers were neither dancers nor singers! Although the ratings numbers for CBS were fairly good, the prospect of the series renewal was facing the actor-leads demanding a raise in salary; with another demand of each featured cast being provided with a star motor home dressing room (plus Terri = 8 total motor home trailer-vehicles). The producers ploy of offering a six show location deal to the crew for minimum pay, which included location $$ for being on location, was an incentive under the low job market-summer prospects in Hollywood. After four programs were in the can, with two to complete, the producers announced an additional four shows had been ordered. This maneuver continued until a full twenty two episodes were completed (for a full show order). The original company had been assembled in Murphys in late April. The show wrapped up in Murphys, in January 1983. The cast and crew would have to wait until late Spring for a renewal order. CBS TV canceled the show in May 1983.
With local Murphys and Sonora town exteriors establishing the "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" locations, the construction-paint-decorating departments made major alterations to existing sites; requiring removal of 6' high board fences, shrubs, awnings, existing signs, masking exterior adjacent buildings or parking lots. Asphalt covered parking areas were masked by being covered with dirt for the horses' action scenes, split rail fences added for an improved "Western" locale. Repainting location sight buildings, including roofs, with patina aging the exterior's "new paint" treatment. Specific scenarios required painting distant background grass fields and hills with green paint, specifically to cover the golden brown "dry" grass covered Northern California landscapes. Filming during July through October, usually all the exteriors turned golden brown due to lack of rain fall! The construction coordinator Larry Verne was required to build new roads, and bridges, to create sight access for production vehicles, in order to move the "company" into filming locations. Special balsa wood fences replaced existing corals for stunt stampeded action scenes. Ironically, cows do not follow stunt stampede directions, always stopping at the split rail fence! The cow wranglers, off and outside of camera range, had to "push" the cows through the fences! Building "new" OLD barns on ranch sites, which had to burn down during the plot, required extensive coordination with property owners, Sheriff and Fire Department staff, and local County Government filming permits.
This show was based on the eponymous 1954 MGM musical, which was in turn based on Stephen Vincent Benét's 1937 short story "The Sobbin' Women"--which was itself based based on the ancient-historical story of the abduction and rape of a group of Sabine women by Roman men.
One show story line involved an airplane. The scenario involved a vintage biplane which crashes on a barren mountain top, the pilot jumping from the cockpit, off the bottom wing, onto the ground, running for safety from the burning biplane. A yellow vintage biplane was located for the aerial takeoff and flight photography, including the biplane's falling smoking descent towards the ground. An airplane salvage yard located in Fresno provided an airplane fuselage, two pairs of wings, and was trucked to the show's stage facility, where the construction crew prepared the airplane parts, to assemble on the remote mountain top location sight. Larry Verne, the construction coordinator, and his crew had to grade and build a road into the mountain top location for all the production vehicles to drive onto the top of the mountain hill sight location. The transportation captain provided a water reservoir tanker truck to put out the fire after the scene had been staged and photographed. The pilot owner of the hero vintage yellow biplane, valued (in 1982) at $75,000.00, had volunteered to let the construction crew prop and angle his vintage "hero yellow biplane", raising the tail section twelve feet in the air, allowing special effects to build a fire beneath the plane, for the filming sequence. The production designer, Hub Braden and Larry Verne did not trust the effects team. The assembled parts duplicated the biplane based upon photographs provided by the biplane owner. On the arrival of the "hero biplane", the construction crew copied the distinct biplane's tail section wings in plywood, attaching the pieces on sight. When the company began filming the crash and fire sequence, the director insisted on filming the pilot's escape jump three times. The brush which surrounded the crash sight started a slow burn. After the third retake, the water reservoir tanker truck's battery was dead, nor could the water tanker be moved to put out the fire underneath the "hero biplane" mock-up. The prop biplane completely burned up. The prop biplane was beyond salvage. Instead of a Fresno Air Salvage rental, the show bought the airplane parts.