The Oregon Trail

Jim 1970s

Aired: 1977
Oregon Trail

NBC

DAD: Evan Thorpe (Rod Taylor) / Widower

DAD’S JOB: Wagon Train Pioneer Guy

KIDS: Andrew Thorpe (Andrew Stevens) (17), William Thorpe (Tony Becker) (12), Rachel Thorpe (Gina Marie Smika) (10)

WHERE’S MOM?: Dead.

STAND-IN “MOM”: Margaret Devlin (Darleen Carr) / Girlfriend

Perhaps this is another motif buried in TV Single Dad shows: the idea of the Single Dad taking the Jed Clampett route: “moving away from thar” and heading West. Evan Thorpe packed up his family and headed to Oregon with a wagon train. They were only on the trail for a month when the show got cancelled, though. Too bad.

And no, they didn’t all die of dysentery.