The Oregon Trail 

In 1842, a widower leaves his Illinois farm and heads west towards Oregon with his three children to seek a better life.

Stars:

Rod Taylor, Andrew Stevens, Tony Becker

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Rod Taylor	...	Evan Thorpe 14 episodes, 1976-1977
Andrew Stevens	...	Andrew Thorpe 14 episodes, 1976-1977
Tony Becker	...	William Thorpe 14 episodes, 1976-1977
Gina Smika Hunter	...	Rachel Thorpe 14 episodes, 1976-1977
Charles Napier	...	Luther Sprague 13 episodes, 1977
Darleen Carr	...	Margaret Devlin 13 episodes, 1977

Storyline

In 1842, widower Evan Thorpe decides to leave behind his Illinois farm and head west with his three children, Andy (age 17), William (age 12), and Rachel (age 10) and travel to the Oregon Territory to search for a new life in the wilderness. By joining a wagon train, they encounter a variety of bad enemies standing in their way, from bad weather, rough terrain, unfriendly Indians, and devious con men.

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Weg nach Oregon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Spoofed in Math Munchers Deluxe (1995)

User Reviews

For Oregon's our goal

Ever since Pierre Radisson for the British and Lewis&Clark for the Americans, the Oregon territory was the preserve of the fur industry where solitary mountain men trapped beaver pelts to be made into warm hats for easterners. The boundary was more or less unsettled. But before it was in 1846 the USA won the race to flood the area with settlers who wanted to have farms in that rich and untapped soil that never saw a plow.

Rod Taylor starred in this sadly limited western series where he plays a typical Oregon pioneer traveling west with his kids, Andrew Stevens, Tony Becker, and Gina Smiku Hunter and a new wife, Blair Brown in the pilot and Darleen Carr in the series. The usual problems of settling and travel to the frontier were explored thoroughly.

Sadly like many series it did not find its audience. I think it should have been given a better chance with a few more stories. Taylor and the kids were engaging and the stories for the episodes filmed were fine.