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Major Dad
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Major Dad was an American television series created by Richard C. Okie and John G. Stephens that ran from September 17, 1989 to September 13, 1993 on CBS, starring Gerald McRaney as Major John McGillis and Shanna Reed as his wife Polly. The cast also included Beverly Archer, Nicole Dubuc, Chelsea Hertford, Matt Mulhern, and Marisa Ryan.
Plot
The first season is set at Camp Pendelton where hard-headed Major John “Mac” McGillis (Gerald McRaney) is commander of the infantry training school. MacGillis's life is changed when he falls in love with a liberal journalist, Polly Cooper (Shanna Reed). The show follows the Major 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 (Marisa Ryan), Robin (Nicole Dubuc), and Casey(Chelsea Hertford).
At the beginning of season 2, the MacGillis family moves to Camp Hollister where the Major must adapt to the role of Staff Secretary (or, “Staff Weenie”) and the crazy antics of commanding general Marcus C. Craig (
Jon Cypher), Aid-de-Camp Lt. Eugene Holowachuk, and Gunnery Sgt. Alva Bricker (
Beverly Archer).
Trivia
At the end of the opening of the show in season one, the youngest daughter would take McGillis's hat off his head and put it on her own. However, the
Marine Corps protested that, so in the second season, they show the girl reaching for the hat and McGillis looking at her like "no". The third and subsequent seasons would have her not having anything to do with the hat. Despite the protest from the Marine Corps, all of the season one and two openings have been left as-is in later reruns, thus allowing the viewer to know which season any episode came from.