[6] A second pilot attempt was made in December 1976 with Young Pioneers' Christmas,[7] but ranked lower at #37 in the Nielsen ratings.
[9] David and Molly Beaton, 18-years-old and 16-years-old respectively, marry and leave their native Iowa to make a life for themselves as homesteaders in the Dakota Territory of the early 1870s.
[11] The young couple manages to survive government and railroad corruption,[12] and perseveres through blizzards, a grasshopper invasion, crop destruction, and giving birth in a sod house among other challenges.
[13] The project was developed and produced by Ed Friendly for ABC Circle Films with the script written by Blanche Hanalis and directed by Michael O'Herlihy.
[15] 400 actors and actresses were interviewed before Linda Purl and Roger Kern were offered the lead roles of Molly and David Beaton.