ABC (MON, March 5, 9 P.M. ET)
B
Rick (formerly "Ricky") Schroder stars in a fact-based drama as Terry O'Kelley, the Georgia teenager who vowed to his dying mother that he would watch over his six younger brothers. Rick is wracked with trials. The boys' wastrel father (David Andrews) all but deserts them. His grandfather (Donald Moffat), on whose chicken farm they live, dies. Fires burn them out twice and the hens won't lay. Okay, I made up that last part, but times are hard.
This production goes beyond being a tearjerker: It puts a lien on your tear ducts. But it comes by its emotional tugs naturally, without being overly mawkish. A Son's Promise is also stocked with good performances, but no one is as affecting as Schroder.
Your Reaction
