Matt
and Jenny on the Wilderness Trail 1850 was better known to American audiences
as simply, Matt and Jenny when it aired on Nickelodeon in the early 1980’s.
In
the first episode we meet newly orphaned Matt and Jenny Tanner who have just
learned that their mother has died from typhoid fever while immigrating from Bristol,
England. Deciding to jump ship at the next port the Tanners are aided by a
young man on the ship, but trouble ensues when they are mistaken for thieves and
make a run for it.
While
on the run they, quite literally, run into Mr. Adam Cardston, the gentlemen from
the ship who had tried to save their mother. Mr. Cardston feels responsible for
the children and decides to help them find their Uncle Bill Tanner who had
arrived in Canada about five years before Matt and Jenny had. Along the way
they meet a kind stranger named Kit who is a bit of a wanderer.
After
trouble breaks out at the abandoned Tanner Farm Kit and Mr. Cardston decide to
help Matt and Jenny look for family vowing that one, or both of them, would be
with them at all times. The children agree, and together they set out to find
their family.
Filmed
mainly at the Toronto International Studios lot at Kleinburg, Ontario viewers
are taken back to 1850’s Canada with it’s beautiful scenery. Matt and Jenny helps
us all to remember to value our families whether they are near or far and is a
lesson that that we should all keep very close to our hearts especially in
today’s troubling world.
Cast
Megan Follows – Jenny
Neil Dainard – Adam Cardston
Duncan Regehr – Kit
Created
by – William Davidson
Directed
by – Joseph L. Scanlan, René Bonnière, & Francis Chapman
Theme
music composer – Ron Harrison
Country
of origin – Canada
David
Gideon Thompson for Polytel Film Ltd.
Producer(s)
– William Davidson
Original
release – October 21, 1979 – 1980
