The Road West is an American television Western series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from September 12, 1966, to May 1, 1967.

Overview

Ben Pride moves with his children Timothy, Midge, and Kip, his new wife Elizabeth, his father Tom, and his brother-in-law Chance from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

during the 1860s. The show centers around the difficulties the family faces taming the land and homesteading.

Cast

Episodes

Production

Executive producer Macdonnell regarded the show's storyline as being identifiable to the viewing audience, with an essential family unit comprising family members "bound to the other by either a true familiar relationship or by an intangible camaraderie". A core idea of the show was to present a realistic portrayal of the real struggles faced by settlers who traveled 'The Road West', with extreme temperatures in each of the summer and winter seasons. The show's lead actor,

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...

, was marking his fourth series and described the show as being "a piece of pioneer literature". He had previously expressed that he would never star in a weekly television series again, although he warmed to the show when he began working closely with the cast and crew. Having spent long periods of time driving an old wagon for the show, Sullivan decided to take lessons and spent seven consecutive Saturdays in

Antelope Valley, California The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and the ...

perfecting the driving technique. Production moved away from Kansas in 1967, with it reported that the shift in location was always the plan, although happened sooner than anticipated due to the show's future being at risk. Ratings struggled against other shows including ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempte ...

'' and ''

The Felony Squad ''The Felony Squad'' is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969, a span encompassing seventy-three episodes. Overview The program starred Howard Duff (as Sergeant Sa ...

'', while Seel's character Tom Pride was killed off to reduce costs.

Filming

Sullivan said in an interview that scripts for the show would be provided several weeks in advance, which allowed time to absorb the scripts in order to perfect their lines and character portrayals.

Reception

The show was highly anticipated by ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' writer Paul Jones, who predicted that the show would "be the most successful new show of the television season", based on his opinion that there had not been a western show flop for considerable time and of his high rating for producer

Norman Macdonnell Norman Scarth Macdonnell (November 8, 1916 – November 28, 1979) was an American producer for radio, television, and feature films. He is best known for co-creating with writer John Meston the Western series ''Gunsmoke'', which was broadcast on ...