"Stagecoach West" was in no way similar to "Wagon Train". Probably the closest thing to it would have been the very short-lived "Overland Trail" which came and went before "Stagecoach West" premiered in the fall of 1960. (The other show was a mid-season replacement that ran from Feb-June 1960.
Both shows featured an older driver and a younger, good-looking sidekick. (Overland Trail had William Bendix as the seasoned driver and Doug McClure as his sidekick; Stagecoach West had Robert Bray and Wayne Rogers respectively.)
The stagecoach provided the plot device to get them into a new location every week to look for trouble.
"Stagecoach West" benefitted from the fact that its two leads were far more believable in their roles than "Overland Trail"; after years of "Life of Riley", nobody bought William Bendix as a Western lead, and McClure's character was a goofy skirt chaser. Bray didn't have a signature role in a sitcom to live down, and Wayne Rogers a decade or so before HIS signature role as Trapper John played his sidekick part more seriously with a bit more grit. The addition of Richard Eyer as Bray's young son added another dimension to the action.
Sadly, both these shows were simply lost in the shuffle of far too many westerns that the TV studios were cranking out right and left. Proof indeed you CAN have too much of a good thing.
Review of Stagecoach West
