Dr. James K. Howard, known as Jim, is an anthropology professor at Josiah Kessel College, the small-town institution of higher learning founded by his grandfather Josiah Kessel in the fictional town of Easy Valley in
Northern California. Jim — whose middle name is Kessel — lives with his wife of 30 years, Martha, and their eight-year-old son Teddy. Jim also has a 29-year-old son, Peter J. Howard, Sr., known as "P.J.," who owns the Easy Valley Construction Company, where his pretty and perky wife Wendy assists him. P.J. and Wendy also have an eight-year-old son, Peter J. "Jake" Howard, Jr., who is Teddy's nephew but finds it strange to refer to Teddy as his uncle; the two boys often bicker over what to call one another and who should show greater respect to whom. Jim's easygoing life becomes complicated when he inadvertently burns down P.J. and Wendy's house and he and Martha invite P.J., Wendy, and Jake to move in with them temporarily. Jim is good-natured, and the two families do the best they can to get along in the overcrowded house, but conflicts are inevitable. Nonetheless, the two men are good friends. One of Martha's projects is a portrait of Luther, which she has been painting for a long time but never seems to finish. Woodrow Yamada is the Howards' talkative
milkman. In the show's opening credits, Stewart (as Professor Howard) bicycles through the community. Stewart speaks directly to the camera and out of character at the beginning of each episode, introducing himself as "Jim Stewart" and telling the audience the title of the episode. At the end of each episode, he again speaks to the viewers, expressing the hope that they will return for the following week's show and wishing them "peace and love and laughter". In some episodes, he speaks to the viewers at other times as well, in character as Jim Howard, with any other actors in the scene behaving as if Jim is talking to himself. Episodes occasionally include flashbacks depicting Jim Howard's grandfather, Josiah Kessel. In these flashbacks, Stewart portrays Kessel and Stewart's real-life wife,
Gloria Stewart, plays Kessel's wife. ==Cast==