What Might've Been: The Oregon Trail (1977)

NBC thought they could put together a solid Western block----in 1977, when Westerns were no longer in vogue.

Apparently, no one bothered to explain to the programmers that The Life & Times of Grizzly Adams, which led off the block, wasn't a Western per se, and that ill-conceived thinking may have doomed The Oregon Trail.

Rod Taylor, last seen in Bearcats! six years earlier, not only co-starred, but, along with co-star Charles Napier, co-wrote the show's theme song with vocalist Danny Darst. Too bad "Oregon Bound" didn't make the charts, as that would've made Darst's career. Andrew Stevens (Stella's son) was the 3rd lead. 14 episodes were produced, but NBC pulled the plug a wee bit early. All 14 episodes did air----in England.

Never saw the show, so there's not going to be a rating, so we'll leave you with a sample episode, "Suffer The Children", which didn't air here, with guest stars Brandon Cruz (ex-The Courtship of Eddie's Father) and Robert Fuller (Emergency!):