The Byrds of Paradise (1994)

Sam Byrd, the family's father, accepts a headmaster's position at a private school in Hawaii, which his children attend along with local students. All of the Byrds interact with local characters, some of whom speak pidgin and reflect a far more realistic portrait of Hawaii's culture than usually shown in film and television depictions of Hawaii. This tendency includes the romantic interests of the Byrds, who are local characters rather than mainland transplants. Topics such as teenage pregnancy and underage drinking featured as usually presented in a television show with teens as central characters.

One of the more distinctive aspects of The Byrds of Paradise was the role of Dr. Murray Rubinstein, an unpretentious beachside psychiatrist. Originally doctor to Franny, the temperamental middle child who is the most obviously traumatized by her mother's death, Murray eventually treats Sam, the children's father, also suffering from the loss of his wife. A voice of reason who counsels his patients with an unconventional bedside manner, the doctor makes significant progress with Franny and Sam.

Again in a more realistic rather than idealized representation of Hawaii, a tsunami strikes mid-season, threatening the lives of several characters. The doctor's residence is destroyed, prompting him to continue his practice on chairs in the sand while he is rebuilding his house.

While the finished episodes were not aired in their entirety on the mainland, one of the sole season's last episodes, entitled Twelfth Night o' Whatevah, featuring a school production of Shakespeare presented entirely in pidgin, was aired in Hawaii.