The Texas Wheelers

The Texas Wheelers is an American sitcom that aired in 1974 and 1975. The series, produced by MTM Enterprises, is about the cantankerous but lovable Zack Wheeler, a long-lost father who returned to raise his children Truckie, Doobie, Boo, and T.J. in rural Texas after their mother died.

The Texas Wheelers
Mark Hamill, Gary Busey and Jack Elam (1974)
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Dale McRaven
Starring	Jack Elam Gary Busey Mark Hamill Karen Obediear Tony Becker
Theme music composer	John Prine
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Chris Hayward
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	MTM Enterprises
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 13, 1974 (1974-09-13) – July 24, 1975 (1975-07-24)

The show was not successful, due to being broadcast against the second half of NBC's Top 20 hit The Rockford Files, and was canceled after four episodes in the fall of 1974. An additional four episodes were aired in June and July 1975. There were an additional 5 unaired episodes. The show is notable as one of MTM's few flops, and for the well-known actors in its cast, including Jack Elam as Zack, Gary Busey as Truckie, Mark Hamill as Doobie, Tony Becker as T.J., and Lisa Eilbacher as the Wheelers' friend Sally.

The theme song for the show was "Illegal Smile" by John Prine while the closing theme was "Flashback Blues."

Cast

Mark Hamill in The Texas Wheelers (1975)

• Jack Elam as Zack Wheeler
• Gary Busey as Truckie Wheeler
• Karen Obediear as Boo Wheeler
• Mark Hamill as Doobie Wheeler
• Tony Becker as T.J. Wheeler

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Wailin' Wheeler Is Dead"	Unknown	Dale McRaven	September 13, 1974 (1974-09-13)
Truckie Wheeler, oldest brother and chief provider for his younger brothers and sisters, is faced with a school mutiny and the return of "irresponsible but lovable daddy."
2	"The X-Rated Movie"	Unknown	Dale McRaven	September 20, 1974 (1974-09-20)
Doobie watches an X-rated movie to get ready for a date, is repulsed by it and seeks advice from older brother Truckie.
3	"The Accident"	Unknown	George Atkins	September 27, 1974 (1974-09-27)
When Truckie discovers a dent in his truck, Zack denies doing it, although he used it the night before.
4	"The Twister"	Unknown	Dale McRaven	October 4, 1974 (1974-10-04)
As a tornado approaches Lamont, Truckie takes the kids to safety while Zack and Doobie are trapped together in the Wheeler basement.
5	"The Bookmobile"	Unknown	Dale McRaven	July 3, 1975 (1975-07-03)
Truckie falls hard for a pretty librarian, but he has a difficult time reconciling his feelings for her with her "wanderlust" spirit.
6	"The Music Box"	Stuart Margolin	Jerry Belson	July 10, 1975 (1975-07-10)
Zack has an antique sale when he discovers the pile of junk in his barn is considered valuable, but inadvertently sells his daughter's cherished music box.
7	"The Call"	Jackie Cooper	Dale McRaven	July 17, 1975 (1975-07-17)
When Zack gets a wandering foot and attempts to find the Lost Dutchman gold mine, his daughter Boo demands to accompany him, much to his chagrin.
8	"The Rebel"	Jackie Cooper	John Regier & Gary Markowitz	July 24, 1975 (1975-07-24)
While working several jobs in order to support the family, Truckie calls it quits and goes on strike.

References

• Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (7th ed. 1999), p. 1013.

External links

• The Texas Wheelers at IMDb