History Series / TheTorkelsons

* DomCom: Both seasons were about a familiy in one household (the first, about the original family of six; the second, about the two blended families sharing a house). In Season 2, the ''domestic'' seemed to be used very literally, as that season didn't feature any scenes outside of the Morgan / Torkelson house, apart from one episode having some scenes in Dorothy Jane & Molly's workplace "Chicken in a Hat".

** Season 1: In a sort of love triangle, in Kirby has an intense crush on Dorothy Jane, which is not requited (this seems to have been going on from even before they were teens, and it sometimes borders stalkerish territory). Dorothy Jane herself has a crush on Riley, but as he (painfully, for her) tells her after this has going on for some time, he himself does not feel the same about her.
** Season 2: Both Dorothy Jane and Molly have a crush on their boss, and even go into a DesignatedGirlFight over him on their workplace. To the viewer it's pretty clear is isn't interested in both of them in any other way than as employees. Dorothy Jane and Molly only realize this when he introduces them to his girlfriend.

* UrExample: InUniverse, Dorothy Jane calls the book Literature\JaneEyre this.

* ADayInTheLimeLight: Boarder Hodges is a minor character who isn't given any backstory or a clear personality - except for one episode in which it is revealed that he's a widower, and that after his wife's death he had met another woman which he had rejected - something he still regrets. The episode ends with him contacting this woman.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: For a teenage girl, Dorothy Jane speaks with remarkably difficult words and formal language. Brought on by her being a bookworm, and very serious at schoolwork. It wasn't so much present in the Season 1, but in Season 2 it was, especially to contrast her to BrattyTeenageDaughter Molly, who's often played as dumb (and it often leads to Molly not understanding or misunderstanding what Dorothy Jane says). See also {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
* ShoutOut: What's the difference between Louisiana and Oklahoma? One's [[Theatre/{{Oklahoma}} a musical.]]

* AmbiguouslyChristian: The Torkelson family in the first Season are clearly committed members of some Protestant denomination; they clearly go to church every week, and attend church social occasions (e.g. Steven Floyd going on a hay ride organized by the church). Also, the opening theme song (by the Judds) mentions God: "People say God looks out for the working man; Sure hope He's looking out for me...". On the other hand, there isn't any dialogue directly mentioning God, the Bible, etc. The Trope is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] anyway during Season 2, when church-going isn't mentioned at all anymore.
* AnAesop: In the first Season, the Torkelson kids (mostly Dorothy Jane and Steven Floyd) frequently learned life lessons. Once it became "Almost Home" and the Morgan family came into play, it was mostly the Morgan kids (due to their being played as spoiled and not well parented by their father) who learned the Aesops, from Millicent and sometimes even Dorothy Jane.

** Season 1: Millicent and the handsome, single Reverend Wilson clearly were romantically attracted to each other, but this never lead to anything during the first Season (probably because Millicent, though separated and abandoned, was still legally married to her husband, and still emotionally attached to him).
** Season 2: There's tension between Millicent and Brian Morgan.

** Molly was this is spades, to the point it almost was a parody: shallow, dumb (or played as that initially - it's later implied she's actually lazy instead of dumb, and has HiddenDepths), spoiled, boy-obsessed and gossipy.
** Season 1: Dreama is this; in contrast to Molly, she's also mean, bullying Dorothy Jane for wearing a dress she [Dreama] deems inferior.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: When the family moved to Seattle and the show's name changed to ''Almost Home'', Steven Floyd and Ruth Ann evidently got left behind in Oklahoma and were never spoken of again.
** As well as their boarder, Wesley Hodges. Justified in that he wasn't a family member, but rather just a tenant renting out the basement.

* CrackDefeat: Dorothy Jane Torkelson is in the finals of a contest whose winner will get to be a foreign exchange student in Paris. Her family situation gets high marks, and the judges do seem to like her... but still [[DiabolusExMachina loses anyway because the family in France wanted a boy]]. Thus making the finals [[ShaggyDogStory completely meaningless]] since there was only one boy out of the three finalists.
** Mind you, when Dorothy first meets said finalist, she pretty much says, "[[TemptingFate There's no way I'll lose to you]]" before getting concerned at the other finalist.

* DudeNotFunny: Characters frequently accused each other of this, e.g.:

* FamilyThemeNaming: All five (original) Torkelson kids have double names: Dorothy Jane, Steven Floyd, Ruth Ann, Chuckie Lee, Mary Sue (and it even extended to Mary Sue's doll, that (whom?) she named Martha Lou). Molly [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this:

** She also at a certain point is given a Jane Austen book to read by Dorothy Jane, which she reads, and then admits to liking (again an OOCIsSeriousBusiness).
** In a PlayedForLaughs way, she confides to Dorothy Jane (making a big point about that she's never told anyone this), that more than anything she wants to become a weather girl (which makes Dorothy Jane burst out laughing hysterically).

** In a sort of love triangle, Kirby has an intense crush on Dorothy Jane, which is not requited. She herself has a crush on Riley, but as he (painfully, for her) tells her after this has going on for some time, he himself does not feel the same about her.
** Season 2: both Dorothy Jane and Molly both have a crush on their boss, and even go into a DesignatedGirlFight over him on their workplace. Turns out he doesn't feel the same about ''either'' of them, and has a girlfriend.

* MoodWhiplash: Happened beteween the first "Torkelsons" season and the second, "Almost Home". After it got completely retooled, the tone of the show changed drastically from more [[PlayedForDrama dramatic]], to more pure [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]].

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In the pilot episode, Dorothy Jane is shown to feel embarrassed by her family. At the end of it, when a store-owner Millicent and Dorothy Jane deem to be in the wrong, brushes off Millicent, Dorothy Jane goes on a tirade defending her mother ([[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by immediately following that with saying "...I can't believe I said that...", and later when Millicent thanks her for it, her answering "It will never happen again").

* PhoneaholicTeenager: Molly is on the phone a lot (goes with her being a BrattyTeenageDaughter). Her father Brian, though he doesn't fit the age of the Trope, is also phonealholic (mostly for his business; often his taking phone calls interferes with talks with, and parenting of, his children). Between Molly and Brian, the phone of the household was used ''a lot'' (especially considering this was pre cell-phone age, and the family shared one land line).

** Season 1: Dorothy Jane (shy, into poetry) was this to her younger sister Ruth Ann (more brash and self-confident).
** Plus, Stephen Floyd (tough boy and almost a jock - Red Oni) compared to his younger brother Chuckie Lee (who came across slightly nerdy, and socially insecure).

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The single mother-of-five has a sometimes-mentioned husband she's separated from after his abandoning the family. He makes an appearance in two episodes in the first season - one of which ends in them signing their divorce papers, giving some closure; but he bails out again each time and isn't really mentioned again in the rest of the season. Once the family sells their Oklahoma family home and moves across country to Seattle, he is not mentioned at all again. One might even ask if he ever got their change of address; or, FridgeHorror: he was actually always on the move without means of communication (...this was all before e-mail and mobile phones existed), so he probably never ''did'' get their change of address.

* DudeNotFunny: When Molly asks Gregory to give her a ride over to her friend Heather and Gregory takes the opportunity to make fun of her (multiple) friend(s) Heather:
-->'''Gregory:''' Are you talking about: Teen-talk Heather? Or, flunked-out-of homeroom Heather? Or, my personal favorite, 21-and-still-a-junior Heather?! ''[[[LaughingAtYourOwnJokes Laughs at his own joke]]]''
-->'''Molly:''' ''[Annoyed / SarcasmMode]'' You think you're ''so'' funny, Gregory.

** Season 1: Dorothy Jane (shy, into poetry) was this to her younger sister Ruth Anne (more brash and self-confident).

** Once Ruth Anne [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome disappeared]] and Molly made an entrance, Dorothy Jane was the Blue Oni to Red Oni Molly (who was much more outspoken and confident and less brainy).

* GlobalIgnorance: In the first episode of ''Almost Home'', Molly mistakenly states that the Torkelsons are from Arkansas, only to be corrected by Gregory, leading to a ShoutOut.

* ShoutOut: What's the difference between Arkansas and Oklahoma? One's [[Theatre/{{Oklahoma}} a musical.]]

** An episode is dedicated to Dorothy Jane dating the most popular, jock boy of her school but not being attracted to him, resulting in her rejecting him. In the very last shot, after just having rejected him and him giving her a kiss as a good-bye, she suddenly says "Oh, wait..." and goes running after him. It's strongly implied she at least went to kiss him again, and ''possibly'' they became more seriously romantically revolved. However, in a WhatHappenedToTheMouse way, the boy (played by a [[RetroactiveRecognition then yet-unknown Ben Affleck]] is never mentioned again during the rest of the series), so it's unclear what happened between Dorothy Jane and him.

* Season 1: Millicent and the handsome, single Reverend Wilson clearly were romantically attracted to each other, but this never lead to anything during the first Season (probably because Millicent, though separated and abandoned, was still legally married to her husband, and still emotionally attached to him).
* Season 2: There's tension between Millicent and Brian Morgan.

* BadLiar: What Millicent thinks of Brian, comparing him to her (apparently ConsummateLiar) ex-husband Randall, after Brian comes home extremely late after a date and tells a contrived story for the reason for this to Millicent and his teenage daughter Molly.
-->'''Millicent:''' ''That'''s the best that you can do? I was married to the Mark Twain of long-winded excuses; he could have done better than ''that'' in a ''coma''.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Millicent and the handsome, single Reverend Wilson clearly were romantically attracted to each other, but this never lead to anything during the first Season (probably because Millicent, though separated and abandoned, was still legally married to her husband, and still emotionally attached to him). In the "Almost Home" Season, there's tension between Millicent and Brian Morgan.

** In the first season, Dreama is this; in contrast to Molly, she's also mean, bullying Dorothy Jane for wearing a dress she [Dreama] deems inferior.

* FamilyThemeNaming: All five (original) Torkelson kids have double names: Dorothy Jane, Steven Floyd, Ruth Ann, Chuckie Lee, Mary Sue. It even extended to Mary Sue's doll, whom she named Martha Lou. Molly [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this:

** In Almost Home, both Dorothy Jane and Molly both have a crush on their boss, and even go into a DesignatedGirlFight over him on their workplace. Turns out he doesn't feel the same about ''either'' of them, and has a girlfriend.

** In the original series, Dorothy Jane (shy, into poetry) was this to her younger sister Ruth Anne (more brash and self-confident).

* FamilyThemeNaming: All five (original) Torkelson kids have double names: Dorothy Jane, Steven Floyd, Ruth Ann, Chuckie Lee, Mary Sue. It even extended to Mary Sue's doll, whom she named Martha Lou.

* FamilyThemeNaming: All five (original) Torkelson kids have double names: Dorothy Jane, Steven Floyd, Ruth Ann, Chuckie Lee, Mary Sue.

** In the first season, Callie is this; in contrast to Molly, she's also mean, bullying Dorothy Jane for wearing a dress she [Callie] deems inferior.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: When the family moved to Seattle and the show's name changed to ''Almost Home'', Steven Floyd and Ruth Ann evidely got left behind in Oklahoma and were never spoken of again.