Dennis Weaver returns Monday to episodic TV with a show that appealed to his sense of family and allows him time to pursue his top cause: the environment.

Weaver plays the retired head of a thoroughbred racing horse ranch in "Wildfire," which premieres at 9 p.m. MDT on the ABC Family network.

"It wasn't too heavy. I have time off for ecolonomics," Weaver said in a phone interview from his home in Ridgway, Colo.

Weaver, 81, founded the Ecolonomics Institute in Ridgway. In fact, he coined the term "ecolonomics" to emphasize that businesses and the economy can benefit from environmentally friendly approaches. He has been an advocate of hybrid cars, and he and Willie Nelson recently appeared together in South Carolina to promote the use of biodiesel at truck stops.

In between his efforts for the environment, Weaver manages to squeeze in hosting duties on the Encore-Western channel and, now, acting in "Wildfire."

Filmed in Albuquerque, N.M., "Wildfire" stars Genevieve Cortese as Kris Furillo, a troubled young woman who finds something she cares about: a horse.

"She did something she shouldn't have done: She steals a car and does time for that (at a juvenile hall)," Weaver said.

Weaver plays Henry Ritter, the father-in-law of Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"). Jean is the current head of the Raintree Horse Ranch, which is struggling to stay in business.

Kris gets a second chance by working at the ranch, where she finds something that interests her: Wildfire, a horse with which she develops a special bond.

"But that horse is not a good racing horse. He's put up for auction and goes to a slaughterhouse," Weaver said.

The series premiere concerns Kris' efforts to save Wildfire and, not surprisingly, the horse will help to save her by giving her a purpose.

Weaver said his character isn't a mentor to Kris, although he sees that possibly happening in the future. "I wouldn't call him eccentric by any means. He's interested in horses and young people," Weaver said.

Weaver, a longtime actor best known for "Gunsmoke" and "McCloud," said "Wildfire" isn't a Western. "We have horses and hot rods."

But Weaver said he hopes the success of "Into the West," the TNT limited series that is doing well in the ratings, will lead to a renewed interest in the genre that has embodied Weaver's career.

"The Western is still a viable product," he said.

But is that genre needed in this time of sci-fi and action-adventure hits?

"That's why we need Westerns . . . because we have the other genres. We don't want to watch the same thing," Weaver said. "I get tired of science fiction, because they're so involved with the special effects and digital technology. Sometimes they get so caught up . . . they forget about the story."

Westerns like "Gunsmoke" succeeded because they were about a family of characters, and viewers cared about them, Weaver said. "They wanted to know what was going on between Doc and Chester (Weaver's character on the show) or between Kitty and Mr. (Matt) Dillon or the relationship between Chester and Mr. Dillon."