Great show. Unfortunately, we had little time to really see the true talents of Diana Hyland due to her untimely death in the first season. The producers chose to handle it by acknowledging her death at the beginning of the second season, but other than that, barely mentioning the subsequent death of her Joan Bradford character. I felt viewers needed to say goodbye to Joan properly first with a farewell episode of some kind. Choosing to replace rather than recast the character I felt was a wise decision. Of all the conflicts that arose between new stepmom Abby and the Bradford kids, it also showed the struggles of the children coping with their mother's death and Abby's ability to try and fill the gaping void that Joan's death left behind.

--TV Hawk, Pittsburgh