‘The New Lassie’ Is a Family-Friendly TV Series Free on YouTube

Introduction

She's back, but this time we're leaving the farm behind. In this reboot, a new family, a suburban setting, and a very familiar Collie, bring fresh stories packed with old school heart from lessons on honesty and generosity to loyalty, friendship, and family bonds. This short-lived treasure delivered big where it counted, right when TV was beginning to leave shows like this behind. If you loved the original or just miss feel good stories with a moral backbone, this one's worth watching.

Welcome to Wholesome TV Picks. If you're tired of wasting time searching for clean, family friendly entertainment, you're in the right place. I'm your host Jennifer, a lifelong TV enthusiast who grew up on the kind of shows. I now spotlight for parents like you. So skip the scrolling because I'm here to help you discover timeless classics and forgotten TV shows that are perfect for your family.

Welcome back listeners. So today I'm gonna talk about The New Lassie. Now, I did a previous episode on the original Lassie, and I'll leave a link below in the show notes where you can go catch episode five and learn about the original Lassie. So, here we are in the nineties, and we're in a whole new setting in a suburban neighborhood, a new family, called the McCulloch's and Lassie.

The McCulloch Family

So, let me introduce you to the McCulloch family.

We have Dee, Chris, Will and Megan. Dee is played by Dee Wallace Stone. Christopher Stone plays Chris McCulloch, Will Nipper plays Will and Wendy Cox plays Megan McCulloch. What I think is a really cool thing about this show because it is very much family focused, is that both Dee Wallace Stone and Christopher Stone were real life husband and wife. I think that adds a really nice touch and really brought that family togetherness into the show. And of course we have Lassie. Lassie is just a fantastic dog and of course the type of trained dog any family would want.

I absolutely adored Lassie and I was a really big fan of this show too, because it was so nice to see Lassie back on TV. I thought Lassie was the coolest dog on the planet and I wanted my own Lassie. We have so many lessons on this show, which I'll come back to in a few minutes with a couple of my favorite episodes.

Cast Members from the Original Lassie Series

But I also wanted to note that if you watch the original Lassie. You may recognize some of the characters in The New Lassie because they bring back Jon Provost and Jon Provost played the original Timmy back on the original Lassie. It was really cool to see John Provost as an adult on this show, and he plays Uncle Steve.

We also have some guest stars, like, Tom Reddig. Tommy Reddig played Jeff on Jeff's Collie, which that show eventually transitioned to just Lassie with Timmy and the Martin family. So Tom Reddig guest stars as a university professor studying dogs and gets to be in a scene with Jon Provost, which they were together back on the original Lassie. And now here they are back together in this episode. It's really neat that they brought them back together.

We also have June Lockhart who played Jon Provost's or Timmy's mom in the original Lassie. And she just plays a woman who thinks that Lassie still belongs to her and wants her back. It's really nice to see Timmy and his TV mom back together.

Special Guest Stars

If you're a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, you might find it interesting to see him in his younger years when he was just starting to get into tv. Oh, we also have Roddy McDowell, who makes a couple of appearances on this show.

For those of you , who are unfamiliar, Roddy McDowell played in the original "Lassie Come Home" movie alongside Elizabeth Taylor. And he plays a writer that befriends the McCulloch's. There's a couple of episodes that he's on. These are just some of the notable guest stars on this show, and I really love how the writers brought back all these past actors that have ties to the original Lassie. It really made this Lassie reboot special.

Personal Connection

So, we had the TV show called Life Goes On, which was popular back in the nineties, , which was about the Thatcher family, which starred Kelly Martin, Chris Burke, and Patty LuPone and Bill Smitrovich, I think was his name.

Kelly Martin's boyfriend was played by a guy named Tommy Puett. Tommy Puett and his sister Devin Puett went to my high school. They both graduated from my high school. Now, Devin Puett was a star on the Disney Show "Kids Incorporated" and I believe she was a cheerleader , and her brother, Tommy Puett was the TV star on Life Goes On. I just wanted to share that little tidbit with you guys.

Lessons Kids Can Learn

So what in the world can your kids learn from this show? It's lessons like on safety and empathy, forgiveness, honesty, and so much more. The kids are great role models of what it means to be a good brother, or a good sister, daughter, son, friend, and to be the best person you can be in society. How to treat neighbors and those in our community and thinking about other people and being sincere.

Let's see. Will and Megan get into some mischief and causing problems that could have been avoided if they had just obeyed their parents. You see some little conflicts with their friends that they have to learn to figure out on their own without their parents intervening and helping the situation.

There's a couple episodes where Will puts other people ahead of himself and sacrificing what he wants for the good of other people. I think that's a really good lesson to teach our kids that life isn't always about what we want. It's about how to serve other people.

Series Length and Recommendation

Unfortunately, the show was very short lived. It was only on for three seasons. Even though it was short lived, I think it has some very powerful lessons and is worth watching with your family. Now, some people may think it's a little slow or a little cheesy ? I don't see it that way, but I'm coming from the perspective that I grew up with the show, so I'm a little biased. You don't even have to necessarily watch the shows in a particular order because there aren't any storylines that continue from one episode to the next.

I think most of us all have very busy schedules. We have a never ending to-do list that we just can never seem to get everything checked off. I know the TV can sometimes be a great babysitter for our kids when we're just trying to get stuff done. We've all done it, I've done it. And I know most of you don't have time to vet every single show that your kids watch, and you just hope that it's something good, and that your kids won't pick up anything inappropriate. You just want your children to have something that they can enjoy and that you can trust. And that's what I wanna do with this show in particular. This is definitely a show you can trust your children watching alone without parental supervision . And I think it does a really good job of teaching children that family is above all is the most important thing in life.

I highly recommend giving this show a try, and I hope you fall in love with it and enjoy it as much as my family and I enjoy it. There's no way you can't fall in love with Lassie. I love this show. My children love this show. We still watch it at least once or twice a week. They're just fun shows to watch, simpler times.

Where to Watch

So where can you watch the new Lassie? I have not found The New Lassie being streamed on any major platform. The only way I know of watching this is on YouTube, so you can watch it for free and I'll leave the link below in the show notes where you can watch The New Lassie.

Next Episode Preview

Next week, join me for another special episode. It's Parents Night and we're spotlighting a crime drama where detectives dig into long forgotten homicides and bring justice decades later. Each case takes viewers on a journey through time with clues and flashbacks spanning different eras, it's part mystery, part-time capsule.

Closing

That brings us to the end of this episode of Wholesome TV Picks. I hope you enjoyed learning about the new Lassie. Join me next week for another special Parents night episode. Grab your Spouse and try to solve a few mysteries together. We're stepping into a world where every case is a doorway into another decade. It's not just about solving mysteries. It's about uncovering the choices, secrets and moments that shaped a life. With brilliant storytelling, a cast that brings each era to life and unforgettable music that captures every moment. This is a show that pulls you in and keeps you coming back. Get ready to discover a series you'll want to rewatch even after all the cases are closed.

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Thanks again for listening. Take care. Have a great week and I will catch you on the next episode.