Aired: 1978-1979
DAD: Zeb Macahan (James Arness) / Single
DAD’S JOB: Pioneer Homesteader
KIDS: Luke (Bruce Boxleitner), Laura (Kathryn Holcomb), Josh (William Kirby Cullen), Jessie (Vicki Schreck)
WHERE’S MOM?: Dead.
STAND-IN “MOM”: Molly Culhane (Fionnula Flanagan) / Aunt
Sure, The Oregon Trail didn’t work AT ALL, but would that stop a network from building a GIGANTIC series starring TV icon James Arness in the lead TV Single Dad role?
Zeb Macahan, homesteading pioneer guy, wound up with custody of his brother’s kids after the brother went back East to fight in the Civil War The kids had all kinds of problems: Luke, for example, was on the lam from the law, due to his being wanted for killing a few guys in self-defense.