The Oregon Trail is an American Western television series aired on NBC from September 21 until October 26, 1977, except for its pilot episode that aired the previous year. The series was filmed in the Flagstaff, Arizona area.[1]
| The Oregon Trail | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western drama |
| Created by |
|
| Written by | E. Jack Neuman Nicholas Corea |
| Directed by | Bill Bixby |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "Oregon Bound" performed by Danny Darst |
| Composer | Don Costa |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (7 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 21 – October 26, 1977 |
Synopsis
editIn the pilot, Evan was recently widowed and remarried. Evan's father was also recently widowed. Beginning with the series, the second wife was too dead; Evan's love interest is now Margaret Devlin. The father character was dropped, and the scout character (Luther Sprague) was added.
Cast
edit- Rod Taylor as Evan Thorpe
- Andrew Stevens as Andy Thorpe
- Gina Marie Smika as Rachael Thorpe
- Blair Brown as Jessica Thorpe (pilot)
- Darleen Carr as Margaret Devlin (main season)
- Douglas Fowley as Eli Thorpe (pilot)
- Charles Napier as Luther Sprague (main season)
- Tony Becker as William Thorpe
Episodes
edit| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TVM | "The Oregon Trail" | Boris Sagal | Michael Gleason | January 10, 1976 | |
| 1 | "Hard Ride Home" | Burt Brinckerhoff & Herb Wallerstein | Michael Gleason & Eugene Price | September 21, 1977 | |
| 2 | "The Last Game" | Herb Wallerstein | Eugene Price | September 21, 1977 | |
| 3 | "The Waterhole" | Virgil W. Vogel | Story by : Parker Browning Teleplay by : Nicholas J. Corea | September 28, 1977 | |
|
Guest stars: Lonny Chapman and Kim Hunter | |||||
| 4 | "Trapper's Rendezvous" | Hollingsworth Morse | Story by : William Kelley & Robert Boxberger & Nicholas J. Corea Teleplay by : Nicholas J. Corea | October 12, 1977 | |
|
Guest star: Claude Akins | |||||
| 5 | "The Army Deserter" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : Stanley Roberts & Eugene Price Teleplay by : Eugene Price | October 19, 1977 | |
|
Guest stars: Clu Gulager and Kevin McCarthy | |||||
| 6 | "Hannah's Girls" | Don Richardson | Nicholas J. Corea | October 26, 1977 | |
|
Guest star: Stella Stevens | |||||
| 7 | "Return from Death" | Richard Benedict | Story by : John W. Bloch Teleplay by : Robert Pirosh | UNAIRED (U.S.) November 23, 1977 (United Kingdom) | |
| 8 | "The Scarlet Ribbon" | Bill Bixby | Story by : E. Jack Neuman Teleplay by : Nicholas J. Corea | UNAIRED (U.S.) November 30, 1977 (United Kingdom) | |
| 9 | "The Gold Dust Queen" | William Wiard | Richard Collins | UNAIRED (U.S.) December 7, 1977 (United Kingdom) | |
|
Guest star: Susan Howard | |||||
| 10 | "Return of the Baby" | Alan J. Levi | Story by : Lester William Berke & S.S. Schweitzer Teleplay by : S.S. Schweitzer | UNAIRED (U.S.) December 14, 1977 (United Kingdom) | |
|
Guest stars: Kim Darby and Gerald McRaney | |||||
| 11 | "Evan's Vendetta" | Paul Stanley | Nicholas J. Corea & John Austin Based on a novel by Burt & Budd Arthur | UNAIRED (U.S.) January 17, 1978 (United Kingdom) | |
|
Guest star: William Smith | |||||
| 12 | "Suffer the Children" | John C. Champion | Story by : Norman Jolley & Richard H. Bartlett & Robert Hamilton Teleplay by : Robert Hamilton | UNAIRED (U.S.) January 24, 1978 (United Kingdom) | |
|
Guest star: Robert Fuller | |||||
| 13 | "Wagon Race" | Lewis Allen | Elizabeth V. Wilson | UNAIRED (U.S.) January 31, 1978 (United Kingdom) | |
|
Guest stars: Mariette Hartley and Andrew Prine | |||||
Production
editTerry Wilson (Bill Hawks in Wagon Train) served as production supervisor on the series, and series stars Rod Taylor and Charles Napier co-wrote the theme song, "Oregon Bound", with singer Danny Darst.
The budget for the series was a reported $380,000 an episode.[2]
NBC cancelled the show after six episodes, but the remaining seven episodes were later aired on BBC 2 in the UK,[3] and the entire series was shown in the UK on BBC1 from November 1977 to January 1978.
Release
editBroadcast
editNBC broadcast a single, 90-minute pilot episode in 1976. The series then ran 13 episodes during the 1977-1978 season.
Home media
editOn April 13, 2010, Timeless Media Group (TMG) released the show on six DVDs, running 750 minutes. The set includes 14 original episodes, including the feature-length pilot and the six episodes that did not air on NBC.[4]
References
edit- ^ Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 629
- ^ Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood (Bear Manor Media, 2010) p198
- ^ "The Oregon Trail". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ^ Lambert, David (March 12, 2010). "The Oregon Trail - The '70s NBC Show Starring Rod Taylor Comes to DVD with Unaired Episodes". TV Shows on DVD. TV Guide Online. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.