The Chisholms: Complete TV Series

there was a continuity problem from season to season. the series got better as it went along and i ended up really liking it overall. will watch again someday.

The 13-episode serial "The Chisholms" is probably the best and most historically accurate portrayal of the experience of people following the Oregon Trail out to Oregon and California. The first 11 episodes are one continuous story that rarely falls back into weak potboiler plots to keep things moving along.The last two episodes, although quite entertaining, depart from the serial format and slip into situation drama, each a complete story with familiar characters and setting and its own somewhat trivial plot.Of course it could be better. The tale could easily have been four times as long, with scenes where we learn the route the Chisholm family followed and many more challenges depicted. The story is great as it is, but to really understand the setting and why the Chisholms choose the routes they do, you'll need to a lot of your own research into the history of pioneers and the Oregon Trail while studiously avoiding all the poplib trolls who claim to know oh so much more about events of 300 years ago than the people who were actually there.I suspect that budget was the reason they simplified a lot the tale and left out whole parts of it. For example, the story jumps across the Mississippi River with no mention of either the river or the growing town of St. Louis, Missouri. Then a couple of episodes later, it spans the entire Rocky Mountain range in one grand discontinuity. One moment we're in Missouri and then-*blink*-we're suddenly on the other side of the Rockies in what was to become Idaho.The family arrives in the Sacramento Valley in California just when American history was on the cusp of the Texas Republic joining the United States. (Texas had won its independence from Mexico a decade earlier and became a sovereign nation. Look up the Battle of San Jacinto.) That would have made for some grand historical adventure because the event touched off the Mexican-American War which led to the USA purchasing California from Mexico; but it seems the TV series ran out of money long before it ran out potential.There are many tales yet to be told about those experiences, but alas, no responsible production company exists today that would be capable of creating the stories.

12.4+ hours, 13 episodes of The Chisholms beginning with the original miniseries. One calamity after another, one romance leads to the next, greed drives men, births bring joy and trouble, there's peril, heartache, yet the Western Hope. A fictional account of normal likelihood while on the trek of seeking a new life in the Pacific region. Many tried and did; others died for their dream.The picture quality seems better than the remembered 1979-80 TV showings, but then our TV is much better also. Fun historical American content, great nostalgic TV, many stars no longer working or living. Not as realistic by today's high standards, but a fun look back, well worth my investment.Main cast: Robert Preston, Ben Murphy, James Van Patten, Rosemary Harris, Delta Burke, Brian Kerwin, & Stacey Nelkin all play a Chisholm, but not all survive the series. Donald Moffat, Leslie Nielsen and Mitchell Ryan appear in several episodes of discs 2-3.NO SDH SUBTITLES or CC (closed captioning). Unrated but certainly a family viewable content.Miniseries 1 - 1843 Chisholm Virginia wedding, then after July 4 celebrations it's Westward Ho!2 - The journey takes a river crossing & some boat travel.3 - A friendly meeting with Indians, a buffalo herd.4 - 1 year since the Chisholms took to the west, a birth.TV series- Siege - Starving Sioux trouble and a huge Chisholm change.Betrayal - Back on the trail after Ft Laramie with constant renegade threat.Endless Desert - Chisholms leave the wagon train with a desert ahead in their new path.Vengeance - September brings bandits, no water, & weather threat.Death in the Sierras - A race to Sutter's Fort against snow & death.The Promised Land - Events unexpected in the 1845 California arrival.The Suitor - With a month of settling; eyes of society look to a Chisholm.Chains - A slave run-away encounters the Chisholm clan.The Siren Song - Religion in the wine country.Period TV never gets old. Owning this DVD set is cheaper than streaming.

I've been searching for this series for years and years.To finally be able to have it it's like a dream come true.The movie's image is nice though there are here and there some horizontal lines typical for old videos.There are no subtitles of any kind and the movie doesn't play on region 2 DVD-players.There are three discs inside the sealed case containing 13 episodes.Thank you again for the movie. I only wish they have put some English H O H subtitles.

Although this story is quite a nice one I was distracted by the rather poor video and most of all audio quality. There was a constant noise in the background. Although this was a late 70's series, it just doesn't't seem to be very well preserved. Alias Smith and Jones for instance (beginning 70's ) has excellent video/audio quality. But perhaps this was only just my copy.

I remember watching this series back in the early 80's when I was a girl. Loved it then, love it now.

Enjoyable show great actors and characters !

Very good series