Apple's Way

I have to admit I only remember little bits and pieces of the show, but they do stand out, and in reading the other comments about the show it is really coming back to mind. I remember that it came on right after "The Wonderful World of Disney" in our area and in those day (being raised by my grandparents) there was only the one TV in our house and you had to watch what everybody else was watching and I remember that show really hitting home. I can sort of remember the entry into the show was something with this house and there was this big huge tree in front of it and then it panned around to the house and the family running out the door out to a picnic table and sitting down to dig into a meal.

I have tried to remember the name of the show for many years as that part of the show has stood out and I remembered it came on after Disney and no one I would ever talk to about it could/or did remember it. I have felt like I was the only one in the world that had ever seen it and then a couple months ago I was talking about it again with some new people at my work and one of them blurted out the name and she said that she loved the show because she was in love with the father in the show.

I think that what initially started me search for the name the past couple of years is that there was this show a couple years back about this family that lived in Florida and they took care of this zoo and it seemed that it reminded me of "Apple's Way". Now, I can't remember the name of that show either, but I remember one of the teen characters was not wanting to participate in caring and taking care of the family zoo and he wanted to play guitar and sing in a band. He is a pretty well known actor - a girls heart-throb. I think his last name is Mathisen or something like that.

Anyway, that show, for some odd reason started me thinking about "Apple's Way" again and now I really wish that I had known that it had played on TVLand. I do understand that a lot of shows from that era don't seem like they were when we originally watched them, but there must have been a reason that they touched our hearts then or we watched them (like a love interest), so we shouldn't be so quick to downplay them now. Example- one of my favorite all-time shows from when I was that age was Land of the Lost. I loved the Sleestacks, so I just recently ran across the first season on DVD and bought it and watching it now makes me wonder why I ever did as the graphics and special effects looks as if a 2 year old did it, and I almost turned it off, but then I kept watching it and I started getting into it again and pretty soon the bad filming wasn't being paid attention to, but rather the lives of the characters and them trying to save themselves and find their way back to the real world. I would love to have a chance to see "Apple's Way" again, and if anyone knows of a way that I can accomplish that, please get a hold of me at: gary2002@comcast.net. Thanks for listening....

"Apple's Way" was an enjoyable family show. Unfortunately it appeared on Sunday nights, the "Death Slot" and only lasted one season.

It was a trend-defying series that focused on the family relationships of the Apples, who left Big-City life for a slower pace and a better environment for their children in rural Iowa. It struck a chord because the mood in America at that time was "malaise" after Vietnam, Watergate, gas lines, inflation, recession, drugs, and the overall erosion of family values. The parents wanted to give their children a more wholesome life without the peer pressures for sex, drugs, booze, and other temptations so popular at the time.

Overall, I thought the parents succeeded. . The three Apple children made friends with their classmates and managed to have a good time down on the family farm. They grew up with a better attitude. Having the grandfather added another dimension, a frame of reference that the kids would not otherwise have had. In the days of double-digit inflation, they were astonished to hear of 25-cent movies and nickel ice cream cones. As a World War I veteran, he told them about patriotism at a time when our Vietnam misadventure soured nearly everyone on the military.

The cast did a great job. Ronny Cox was perfect as the laid-back, patient father. Vincent van Patten came across very well as the teenage son trying to understand life. In one episode, Paul spends a lot of time playing tennis and falling in love with a young woman a few years older. The ending was sad.

The episode I remember best sums it all up for me. Another family they knew in L.A. spends a week with the Apples and becomes quite fond of the less-stressful way of life. They even think about moving to Kansas to start over. On their last day, however, the father, a corporate VP, is needed back in the office. Although he tries to buy time with the President, the company sends a helicopter to bring him back. As he flies off, the rest of his family realizes that they are, unfortunately, captives of their wealthy urban lifestyle, and drive back home.

I didn't watch it every week, but I enjoyed this sleeper of a show. It wasn't a hilarious comedy or a deep drama. With good scripts and acting, this show made a statement about life in the 1970s.

Some interesting recollections about APPLE'S WAY. One comment: Regarding the Sunday-night "deathslot" for this program … as APPLE'S WAY aired on CBS, it would not have been "clobbered" by 60 MINUTES, if only because 60 MINUTES was also a CBS program. Also—per Alex McNeil's TOTAL TELEVISION book (second edition, 1984)—60 MINUTES became a regular Sunday-at-7 p.m. show starting in the fall of 1975, a year _after_ APPLE'S WAY launched (60 MINUTES had various time slots before fall 1975). As for the show itself, I have vague recollections of watching the first few episodes. My family were fans of THE WALTONS, and no doubt that's why we gave APPLE'S WAY a look. But, also no doubt, APPLE'S WAY suffered in our home—and in many others—from airing opposite hour two of THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF Disney on NBC. For what it's worth.

i watched this show a couple of times when i was 7 years old. The only scene that sticks in my mind that i remember is i believe it was the Tornado episode where i keep thinking there's a scene where George and the Grandfather were in the station wagon car (i think it was) and somehow , George was driving the car in the storm and somehow it flipped over and landed on its roof and then it went into a commercial.

When this show was out, i remember hanging out with this kid i knew and the song "The Night Chicago Died" was always on the radio. And at that time , my favorite TV series "The Six Million Dollar Man" was in its 1st season. I had memories as a kid. Apples Way was kind of a memory but not as big as some of the big shows that were out in the 1974-75 season.

I suspect that were I to see this show today I'd find it hokey and corny and wonder what I ever liked about it back in the day. I saw an afterschool special w/Kristy McNichol about 5 years ago & I was like "Oh this is so unreal. That would never happen in real life that the divorced dad only sees his kids every other Sun afternoon & doesn't invite his kids to his wedding" I think seeing this would bring on similar comments.

The Apple family, as I recall, left the big city to live in the country (IA or some such). I remember Ronny Cox in the tree and I recall Franny Michael being replaced by Kristy McNichol & preferring Franny.

I remember well Ronny Cox in the tree. Must have been their biggest episode b/c several remember it. I also remember the family in a basement or something and singing corny songs to pass the time. One of the girls was cranky about it and I don't remember if they were locked in or hiding from a tornado. I don't remember the grandpa at all.

I mainly recall the thrill I got when I wrote to complain about the show being canceled and they sent me an autographed photo of the cast. I had the biggest crush on Vincent Van Patten.

BTW, the person above was wrong. Vincent Van Patten was never on "Eight is Enogh" unless it was a one time guest role. They must be thinking of Willie Aames