| Bonanza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Ponderosa |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | David Dortort |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "Bonanza" |
| Ending theme | "Bonanza" |
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 14 |
| No. of episodes | 432(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 49-50 minutes (excluding commercials) |
| Production company | NBC Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 12, 1959 (1959-9-12) – January 16, 1973 (1973-1-16) |
Bonanza is an AmericanWestern television series that ran onNBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes,Bonanza is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series onAmerican network television (behind CBS'sGunsmoke), and one of the longest-running, live-action American series. The show continues to air insyndication. The show is set in the 1860s and centers on the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the vicinity ofVirginia City, Nevada, borderingLake Tahoe. The series initially starredLorne Greene,Pernell Roberts,Dan Blocker andMichael Landon and later featured (at various times)Guy Williams,David Canary,Mitch Vogel andTim Matheson. The show is known for presenting pressing moral dilemmas.[1]
The title "Bonanza" is a term used by miners in regard to a large vein or deposit of silver ore,[2] from Spanishbonanza (rich ore body) and commonly refers to the 1859 revelation of theComstock Lode of rich silver ore mines under the town of Virginia City, not far from the fictionalPonderosa Ranch that the Cartwright family operated. The show's theme song, also titled "Bonanza", became a hit song. Only instrumental renditions, withoutRay Evans's lyrics, were used during the series's long run.[3]
In 2002,Bonanza was ranked No. 43 onTV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time,[4] and in 2013TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.[5] The time period for the television series is roughly between 1861 (Season 1) and 1867 (Season 13) during and shortly after theAmerican Civil War, coinciding with the periodNevada Territory became a U.S. state.
During the summer of 1972, NBC aired reruns of episodes from the 1967–1970 period in prime time on Tuesday evening under the titlePonderosa.[6]
The show chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by the thrice-widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene). He had three sons, each by a different wife: the eldest was the urbane architect Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts), who built the ranch house; the second was the warm and lovable giant Eric "Hoss" Cartwright (Dan Blocker); and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph, or "Little Joe" (Michael Landon). Through exposition[7] and flashback episodes, the viewer learns that each wife was accorded a different ancestry: English,[8] Swedish,[9] and French Creole,[10] respectively. The family's cook was Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung).
The family lived on a thousand-square-mile (2,600 km2) ranch called thePonderosa on the eastern shore ofLake Tahoe inNevada oppositeCalifornia on the edge of theSierra Nevada range.[7] The vast size of the Cartwrights' land was quietly revised to "half a million acres" (2,000 km2) in Lorne Greene's 1964 song, "Saga of the Ponderosa". The ranch name refers to thePinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine), common in the West. The nearest town to the Ponderosa wasVirginia City, where the Cartwrights would go to converse withSheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actorRay Teal), or his deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell).
Bonanza was considered an atypical Western for its time, as the core of the storylines dealt less about the range but more with Ben and his three dissimilar sons, how they cared for one another, their neighbors and just causes.
"You always saw stories about family on comedies or on an anthology, butBonanza was the first series that was week-to-week about a family and the troubles it went through.Bonanza was a period drama that attempted to confront contemporary social issues. That was very difficult to do on television. Most shows that tried to do it failed because the sponsors didn't like it, and the networks were nervous about getting letters," explains Stephen Battaglio, a senior editor forTV Guide magazine.[11]
Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first television generation. The order of billing at the beginning of the broadcast appeared to be shuffled randomly each week, with no relation whatsoever to the current episode featured that week.
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least one season of the series.
| Performer | Character | Seasons | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| Lorne Greene | Ben Cartwright | Main | |||||||||||||
| Pernell Roberts | Adam Cartwright | Main | |||||||||||||
| Dan Blocker | Eric "Hoss" Cartwright | Main | |||||||||||||
| Michael Landon | Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright | Main | |||||||||||||
| David Canary | "Candy" Canaday | Recurring | Main | Guest | Main | ||||||||||
| Mitch Vogel | Jamie Hunter Cartwright | Main | |||||||||||||
| Tim Matheson | Griff King | Main | |||||||||||||
| Performer | Character | Seasons | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| Victor Sen Yung | Hop Sing | Recurring | Guest | Recurring | |||||||||||
| Roy Engel | Dr. Paul (J.P.) Martin[a] | Recurring | Guest | Recurring | |||||||||||
| Grandon Rhodes | Guest | Guest | Recurring | Guest | |||||||||||
| Harry Holcombe | Guest | Recurring | |||||||||||||
| Ray Teal | Sheriff Roy Coffee | Recurring | |||||||||||||
| Bing Russell | Deputy Clem Foster | Recurring | Guest | Recurring | |||||||||||
| Kathie Browne | Laura Dayton | Recurring | |||||||||||||
| Katie Sweet | Peggy Dayton | Recurring | |||||||||||||
| Guy Williams | Will Cartwright | Recurring | |||||||||||||
| Lou Frizzell | Dusty Rhodes | Guest | Recurring | Guest | |||||||||||
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Rating | Average viewership (in millions) | Timeslot (ET) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||||
| 1 | 32 | September 12, 1959 (1959-9-12) | April 30, 1960 (1960-4-30) | — | — | — | Saturday 7:30 p.m. | |
| 2 | 34 | September 10, 1960 (1960-9-10) | June 3, 1961 (1961-6-3) | 17 | 24.8 | 11.7[12] | TBA | |
| 3 | 34 | September 24, 1961 (1961-9-24) | May 20, 1962 (1962-5-20) | 2 | 30.0 | 14.6[13] | Sunday 9:00 p.m. | |
| 4 | 34 | September 23, 1962 (1962-9-23) | May 26, 1963 (1963-5-26) | 4 | 29.8[a] | 15.0[14] | TBA | |
| 5 | 34 | September 22, 1963 (1963-9-22) | May 24, 1964 (1964-5-24) | 2 | 36.9 | 19.0[15] | TBA | |
| 6 | 34 | September 20, 1964 (1964-9-20) | May 23, 1965 (1965-5-23) | 1 | 36.3 | 19.1[16] | TBA | |
| 7 | 33 | September 12, 1965 (1965-9-12) | May 15, 1966 (1966-5-15) | 1 | 31.8 | 17.1[17] | TBA | |
| 8 | 34 | September 11, 1966 (1966-9-11) | May 14, 1967 (1967-5-14) | 1 | 29.1 | 16.0[18] | TBA | |
| 9 | 34 | September 17, 1967 (1967-9-17) | July 28, 1968 (1968-7-28) | 4 | 25.5[b] | 14.5[19] | TBA | |
| 10 | 30 | September 15, 1968 (1968-9-15) | May 11, 1969 (1969-5-11) | 3 | 26.6 | 15.5[20] | TBA | |
| 11 | 28 | September 14, 1969 (1969-9-14) | April 19, 1970 (1970-4-19) | 3 | 24.8 | 14.5[21] | TBA | |
| 12 | 28 | September 13, 1970 (1970-9-13) | April 11, 1971 (1971-4-11) | 9 | 23.9 | 14.4[22] | TBA | |
| 13 | 26 | September 19, 1971 (1971-9-19) | April 2, 1972 (1972-4-2) | 20 | 21.9 | 13.6[23] | TBA | |
| 14 | 16 | September 12, 1972 (1972-9-12) | January 16, 1973 (1973-1-16) | 50[24] | 17.0[25] | — | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | |
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The opening scene for the first season was shot atLake Hemet, a reservoir in the San Jacinto Mountains, Riverside County, California, and later moved to Lake Tahoe. After moving to Lake Tahoe, the opening sequence with theme music was filmed on the east side of Lake Tahoe in Bourne's meadow near Round Hill, Nevada. During the first season extra horses were rented from the Idyllwild Stables in Idyllwild, also in the San Jacinto Mountains. The first Virginia City set was used on the show until 1970 and was located on a backlot at Paramount and featured in episodes ofHave Gun – Will Travel,Mannix andThe Brady Bunch. In the 1970 premiere episode of the 12th season titled "The Night Virginia City Died", Deputy Clem Foster's pyromaniac fiancée levels the town in a series of fires (reflecting a real 1875 fire that destroyed three-quarters of Virginia City). This allowed for a switch to the less expensive Warner studios from September 1970 through January 1973. The script was initially written for the departing David Canary's Candy, but was rewritten for actors Ray Teal (Sheriff Roy Coffee) and Bing Russell (Deputy Clem Foster), who rarely appeared together on the show.
The program's Nevada set, thePonderosa Ranch house, was recreated inIncline Village, Nevada, in 1967, and remained a tourist attraction until its sale thirty-seven years later in September 2004.
The series was also partially filmed inWildwood Regional Park inThousand Oaks, California.[26][27][28]
From the third season on, the Cartwrights and nearly every other recurring character on the show wore the same clothing in almost every episode. The reason for this is twofold: it made duplication of wardrobe easier for stunt doubles (Hal Burton, Bob Miles, Bill Clark, Lyle Heisler, Ray Mazy) and it cut the cost of refilming action shots (such as riding clips in-between scenes), as previously shot stock footage could be reused. Below is a survey of costumes employed:
It was not unusual for Little Joe Cartwright and Candy Canaday to appear shirtless in various scenes involving manual labor.
The horse saddles used by the Bonanza cast were made by theBona Allen Company of Buford, Georgia.[29]
In 1968, Blocker began wearing a toupee on the series, as he was approaching age 40 and his hair loss was becoming more evident. He joined the ranks of his fellow co-stars Roberts and Greene, both of whom had begun the series with hairpieces. (Greene wore his modest frontal piece in private life too, whereas Roberts preferred not wearing his, even to rehearsals/blocking.) Landon was the only original cast member who was wig-free throughout the series, as even Sen Yung wore an attached rattail-queue.[30]
Bonanza features a memorabletheme song byJay Livingston andRay Evans that was orchestrated byDavid Rose and arranged byBilly May for the television series. Members of theWestern Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[31]
TheBonanza theme song opens with a blazing Ponderosa map and saddlebound Cartwrights. The melodic intro, emulating galloping horses, is one of the most recognized television scores. Variations of the theme were used for 12 seasons on the series. Although there were two official sets of lyrics (some country-western singers, avoiding royalties, substituted the copyright renditions with their own words), the series simply used an instrumental theme. Three of the cast members bellowed out the original lyrics, unaccompanied, at the close of the pilot (Pernell Roberts, the sole professional singer of the quartet, abstained and untethered the horse reins). Before the pilot aired (on September 12, 1959), the song sequence, deemed too campy, was edited out of the scene and instead the Cartwrights headed back to the ranch whooping and howling. In a 1964 song, the Livingston-Evans lyrics were revised by Lorne Greene with a more familial emphasis, "on this land we put our brand, Cartwright is the name, fortune smiled the day we filed the Ponderosa claim" ("Bonanza", Bear Family Boxed set, Disc #2). In 1968, a slightly revamped horn and percussion-heavy arrangement of the original score introduced the series, which was used until 1970. A new theme song, called "The Big Bonanza" was written in 1970 by episode scorer David Rose, and was used from 1970 to 1972. Action-shot pictorials of the cast replaced the galloping trio with the order of the actors rotating from episode to episode, resulting in Blocker or Landon often getting top billing over Greene. Finally, a faster rendition of the original music returned for the 14th and final season, along with action shots of the cast (sans Dan Blocker, who had died by this point).
In the fall of 1972, NBC movedBonanza to Tuesday nights—where reruns from the 1967–1970 period had been broadcast the previous summer under the titleThe Ponderosa[6]—opposite theAll in the Family spinoff show,Maude, which was a virtual death sentence for the program. The scheduling change, as well as Dan Blocker's death in May 1972, resulted in plunging ratings for the show. David Canary returned to his former role of Candy (to offset Hoss' absence), and a new character named Griff King (played byTim Matheson) was added in an attempt to lure younger viewers. Griff, in prison for nearly killing his abusive stepfather, was paroled into Ben's custody and given a job as a ranch hand. Several episodes were built around his character, one that Matheson never had a chance to fully develop before the show was abruptly cancelled in November 1972 (with the final episode airing January 16, 1973). Many fans, as well as both Landon and Greene, felt that the character of Hoss was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded out the all-male cast.
For 14 years,Bonanza was the premier Western on American television. Reruns of the series have aired on several cable networks such asTV Land, INSP, Family Channel, theHallmark Channel andGreat American Faith & Living.
Episodes ranged from high drama[32] to broad comedy[33] and addressed issues such as the environment,[34]substance abuse,[35]domestic violence,[36] anti-war sentiment,[37] andillegitimate births.[38] The series sought to illustrate the cruelty of bigotry against Asians,[39][40]African Americans,[41][42][43]Native Americans,[44]Jews,[45]Mormons,[46] thedisabled,[47] andlittle people.[48]
Bonanza is uniquely known for having addressedracism, not typically covered onAmerican television during the time period, from acompassionate,humanitarian point-of-view.
Bigotry, includingantisemitism, was the subject of the episode "Look to the Stars". A bigoted school teacher Mr. Norton (oblivious to his prejudice) routinely expels minority students. When he expels the brilliant Jewish studentAlbert Michelson, ascientific genius whose experiments on the streets of Virginia City often cause commotion, Ben Cartwright steps in and confronts Norton on his bigotry. Ashamed, the schoolteacher vows to reform. A coda to the episode reveals that Michelson went on to win theNobel Prize for Physics.[45]
In the episode "Enter Thomas Bowers", the Cartwright family helps the opera singerThomas Bowers, anAfrican-Americanfreedman, after he encounters prejudice while in Virginia City to perform. Bowers winds up arrested as a fugitive slave. At the beginning of the episode, Adam is shown to be outraged at theSupreme Court'sDred Scott v. Sandford decision (placing the time as 1857), which he discusses with his father.[41] According to David Dortort, sponsorGeneral Motors was anxious about the episode. As producer, Dortort ensured that the episode re-aired during the summer rerun seasons, though two TV stations in the South refused to air it.
In the episode "The Wish", directed byMichael Landon, Hoss protects an African-American former slave's family when confronted with racism after theAmerican Civil War.[42] In "The Fear Merchants", discrimination againstChinese immigrants who attempt to assimilate in American society is addressed.[39] "The Lonely Man" presents the controversialinterracial marriage between the Cartwrights' longtime Chinese chef (Hop Sing) and a white woman (Missy).[40]
Initially,Bonanza aired on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, oppositeDick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show andJohn Gunther's High Road onABC, andPerry Mason onCBS.Bonanza's initial ratings were respectable, often coming in behind Mason but ahead of the ABC lineup. Ironically, executives considered canceling the show before its premiere because of its high cost. NBC kept it becauseBonanza was one of the first series to be filmed and broadcast incolor, including scenes of picturesqueLake Tahoe, Nevada. NBC's corporate parent,Radio Corporation of America (RCA), used the show to spur sales of RCA-manufactured color television sets (RCA was also the primary sponsor of the series during its first two seasons).
For Season 3, NBC movedBonanza to Sundays at 9:00 pm Eastern with new sponsorChevrolet (replacingThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show). The new time slot causedBonanza to soar in the ratings, and it eventually reached number one by 1964, an honor it would keep until 1967. By 1970,Bonanza was the first series to appear in the Top Five list for nine consecutive seasons (a record that would stand for many years) and thus established itself as the most consistent strong-performing hit television series of the 1960s.Bonanza remained high on theNielsen ratings until 1971, when it finally fell out of the Top Ten.
During the summer of 1972, NBC broadcast reruns of episodes of the show from the 1967–1970 era on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. under the titlePonderosa while also rerunning more recent episodes on Sunday evenings in the show's normal time slot asBonanza.[6] In the fall of 1972, off-network episodes were released inbroadcast syndication to local stations by NBC under thePonderosa name. After the series was canceled in 1973, the syndicated reruns reverted to theBonanza name.
A handful of early episodes have fallen into the public domain. These episodes have been released by several companies in different configurations, with substandard picture and sound quality, edited, and by legal necessity with the copyright-protected Evans–Livingston theme song replaced with generic western music.
In 1973, NBC sold its NBC Films syndication division, and with it the rights to the series, along with the rest of its pre-1973 library, toNational Telefilm Associates,[49] which changed its name to Republic Pictures in 1984. Republic would become part of theSpelling Entertainment organization in 1994 throughWorldvision Enterprises. Select episodes ("The Best of Bonanza") were officially released in North America in 2003 on DVD through then-Republic video licenseeArtisan Entertainment (which was later purchased byLionsgate Home Entertainment). Republic (throughCBS Media Ventures, which holds the television side of Republic's holdings) still retains the syndication distribution rights to the series.CBS Home Entertainment (underParamount Home Media Distribution) is the official home video rights distributor at present.
Starting in September 2009,CBS Home Entertainment (distributed byParamount) has to date released the first eleven seasons on DVD in Region 1. All episodes have been digitally remastered from original 35 mm film elements to yield the best picture and sound quality possible with current technology. CBSHE has released each season in two-volume sets (available together and separately). On May 23, 2023, the remaining seasons 12, 13 and 14 were released on DVD, as well as a box set of the complete series containing all 431 episodes on 112 DVDs.
In Region 2,AL!VE AG released the first seven seasons on DVD in Germany between 2008 and 2010. These releases are now out of print as AL!VE has lost the rights. In 2011,StudioCanal acquired the rights to the series and have begun re-releasing it on DVD, and all seasons have now been released but have not been remastered.
Episodes of the series have also been officially released as part-works on DVD in France and the United Kingdom.
Bonanza "the official first season" was released inScandinavia during 2010. The first season is released in 4 volumes. The first two volumes were released on October 20, 2010, and the second two volumes on April 27, 2011.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Official 1st Season, Vol. 1 | 16 | September 15, 2009[50] |
| The Official 1st Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | September 15, 2009 |
| The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 1 | 18 | December 7, 2010[51] |
| The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | October 11, 2011[52] |
| The Official 3rd Season, Vol. 1 | 18 | July 17, 2012 |
| The Official 3rd Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | July 17, 2012 |
| The Official 4th Season, Vol. 1 | 18 | October 2, 2012 |
| The Official 4th Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | October 2, 2012 |
| The Official 5th Season, Vol. 1 | 18 | February 12, 2013 |
| The Official 5th Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | February 12, 2013 |
| The Official 6th Season, Vol. 1 | 18 | July 9, 2013 |
| The Official 6th Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | July 9, 2013 |
| The Official 7th Season, Vol. 1 | 15 | September 2, 2014 |
| The Official 7th Season, Vol. 2 | 18 | September 2, 2014 |
| The Official 8th Season, Vol. 1 | 18 | June 2, 2015 |
| The Official 8th Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | June 2, 2015 |
| The Official 9th Season, Vol. 1 | 16 | May 7, 2019 |
| The Official 9th Season, Vol. 2 | 18 | May 7, 2019 |
| The Official 10th Season, Vol. 1 | 15 | December 17, 2019 |
| The Official 10th Season, Vol. 2 | 15 | December 17, 2019 |
| The Official 11th Season, Vol. 1 | 16 | October 27, 2020 |
| The Official 11th Season, Vol. 2 | 12 | October 27, 2020 |
| The Official 12th Season | 28 | May 23, 2023 |
| The Official 13th Season | 26 | May 23, 2023 |
| The Official 14th Season | 16 | May 23, 2023 |
| The Official Complete Series | 431 | May 23, 2023 |
| Season | Release dates | |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Scandinavia | |
| Season 1 | December 8, 2011 | December 20, 2010 April 27, 2011 |
| Season 2 | February 16, 2012 | No release of seasons 2–14 |
| Season 3 | April 19, 2012 | |
| Season 4 | June 21, 2012 | |
| Season 5 | August 23, 2012 | |
| Season 6 | October 18, 2012 | |
| Season 7 | November 1, 2012 | |
| Seasons 1–7 | December 6, 2012 | |
| Season 8 | January 24, 2013[53] | |
| Season 9 | February 21, 2013[54] | |
| Season 10 | April 18, 2013[55] | |
| Season 11 | June 6, 2013 | |
| Season 12 | August 1, 2013 | |
| Season 13 | October 2, 2013 | |
| Season 14 | November 21, 2013 | |
| Seasons 8–14 | December 5, 2013 | |
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 32 | November 2, 2011 |
| Season 2 | 34 | February 8, 2012 |
| Season 3 | 34 | May 9, 2012 |
| Season 4 | 34 | October 3, 2012 |
| Season 5 | 34 | January 15, 2014 |
| Season 6 | 34 | February 10, 2016 |
| Season 7 | 33 | May 4, 2016 |
| Season 8 | 34 | February 6, 2019[56] |
| Season 9 | 34 | August 7, 2019[57] |
| Season 10 | 30 | March 18, 2020[58] |
| Season 1-4 | 134 | November 18, 2020[59] |
| Season 11 | 28 | February 17, 2021[60] |
| Season 12 | 28 | August 23, 2023[61] |
Bonanza was revived for a series of three made-for-television movies featuring the Cartwrights' children:Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988),Bonanza: The Return (1993) andBonanza: Under Attack (1995).Michael Landon Jr. played Little Joe's son Benji while Gillian Greene, Lorne Greene's daughter, played a love interest. In the second movie, airing on NBC, a one-hour retrospective was done to introduce the drama. It was hosted by both Michael Landon Jr. andDirk Blocker, who looks and sounds almost exactly like his father, Dan Blocker, albeit without his father's towering height. According to the magazineTV Guide, producer David Dortort told Blocker he was too old to play the Hoss scion, but gave him the role of an unrelated newspaper reporter. Clips of the younger Blocker's appearance and voice were heavily used in advertisements promoting the "second generation" theme, perhaps misleading audiences to believe that Blocker was playing Hoss' heir. Hoss' son Josh was born out of wedlock, as it is explained that Hoss drowned without knowing his fiancėe was pregnant. Such a storyline might have been problematic in the original series. (The Big Valley, however, had a major character in Heath, who was presented as illegitimate.) TheGunsmoke movies of the early 1990s employed a similar theme whenMarshal Matt Dillon learned he had siredMichael Learned's character's daughter in a short-lived romance. The initial story was first introduced in 1973, when depiction of fornication courted protests, so CBS insisted their hero Matt have the encounter when he had amnesia. As was the style of television Westerns, gunfights played a major role in the movies which featured notoriously inaccurate shooting as well as unlimited ammunition.
In 2001, there was an attempt to revive theBonanza concept with a prequel,Ponderosa—not to be confused with the 1972 summer reruns under the same title[6]—with a pilot directed bySimon Wincer and filmed in Australia. Covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam and Hoss were teenagers and Joe a little boy, the series lasted 20 episodes and featured less gunfire and brawling than the original.Bonanza creatorDavid Dortort approved PAX TV (now Ion TV)'s decision to hireBeth Sullivan, formerly ofDr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which some believe gave the series more depth as well as a softer edge. The Hop Sing character is depicted not only as a cook but also a family counselor andherbal healer. The series takes place inNevada Territory in 1849, which is actually an anachronism. The Nevada Territory did not split from theUtah Territory until 1861, meaning that until at least the 5th season (the episode "Enter Thomas Bowers" establishes that year as 1857),Bonanza is also set in what in real life would have been Utah Territory.
Bonanza has had a highly profitable merchandising history. Currently, Bonanza Ventures, Inc. grants merchandising and licensing rights worldwide. The original series has spawned several successful novelty western/folk albums from 1962 to 1965 including "Bonanza, Christmas on the Ponderosa" which charted at #35 onBillboard's Christmas Record album chart;[62] three dozenDell andGold Key comic books from 1962 through 1970; a short-lived comic book adaptation by Dutch comics artistHans G. Kresse between 1965 and 1966,[63]Jim Beam Whiskey Ponderosa Ranch decanters 1964–1966; a series of"Big-Little" books from 1966 to 1969; Revel Bonanza model character sets from 1966 to 1968; a chain ofBonanza and Ponderosa steakhouses from 1963–present; theLake Tahoe-based "Ponderosa" theme park from 1967 to 2004; a line of American Characteraction figures in 1966–1967;Aladdin lunch buckets and thermos bottles in 1966–1968;View Master slide sets in 1964, 1971; Ponderosa tin cups from 1967 to 2004; a series of Hamilton collector plates in 1989–1990; and most recently,Breyer Fiftieth Anniversary Ponderosa Stable sets, with horses and Cartwright figures in 2009–2011.
FourteenBonanza novels have been published:
There is also a collection of Bonanza stories:The Best of Bonanza World: A Book of Favorite Stories, published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2012), and in the late 1960s and early 1970s,Whitman Books published several hardcover novels aimed at young readers, such asKiller Lion by Steve Frazer (1966).Bonanza Gold (2003–2009), a quarterly magazine, featured detailed information about the show, including interviews with guest actors and other production personnel, articles about historical events and people depicted in the series, fan club information andfan fiction. All 14 seasons of the show (as of 5/2023) are available on DVD, as well as 31 non-successive public-domain episodes (without original theme music). The public domain episodes consist of the last 14 episodes of season one, and the first 17 episodes of season two. Additionally, the prequel series,The Ponderosa, as well as the three sequel movies (see below), are all available on DVD.
In the TV seriesMaverick episode "Three Queens Full", Bart (Jack Kelly) is blackmailed by Joe Wheelwright (Jim Backus), owner of the Subrosa ranch, into escorting mail order brides for Wheelwright's three sons Aaron, Moose and Small Paul.[64]
| Award | Year[a] | Category | Nominee(s) / Work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Cinema Editors (ACE)Eddie Awards | 1964 | Best Edited Television Program | Marvin Coil(for "Hoss and the Leprechaun") | Nominated | |
| 1970 | Best Edited Television Program | Danny B. Landres(for "Dead Wrong") | Nominated | ||
| Bambi Awards | 1969 | TV series International | Lorne Greene,Dan Blocker,Michael Landon andPernell Roberts | Won | |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1964 | Best Series – Drama | Bonanza | Nominated | |
| Best TV Star – Male | Lorne Greene | Nominated | |||
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 1962 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Television | Haskell Boggs and Walter Castle | Nominated | [65] |
| 1963 | Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design | Earl Hedrick (scenic designer) andHal Pereira (art director) | Nominated | [65] | |
| 1965 | Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Cinematographer | Haskell Boggs and William Whitley | Nominated | [65] | |
| Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Color Consultant | Edward Ancona | Won | [65] | ||
| 1966 | Outstanding Dramatic Series | David Dortort (producer) | Nominated | [65] | |
| Individual Achievements in Music – Composition | David Rose | Nominated | [65] | ||
| Individual Achievements in Cinematography – Cinematography | Haskell Boggs and William F. Whitley | Nominated | [65] | ||
| Individual Achievements in Cinematography – Special | Edward Ancona (color coordinator) | Nominated | [65] | ||
| Individual Achievements in Film Editing | Marvin Coil,Everett Douglas andEllsworth Hoagland | Won | [65] | ||
| 1967 | Individual Achievements in Cinematography – Cinematography | Haskell Boggs and William F. Whitley | Nominated | [65] | |
| 1971 | Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition – For a Series or a Single Program of a Series (First Year of Music's Use Only) | David Rose(for "The Love Child") | Won | [65] | |
| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming – For a Series or a Single Program of a Series | Ted Voigtlander(for "The Love Child") | Nominated | [65] | ||
| Troféu Imprensa Awards | 1965 | Best Series (Melhor Série) | Bonanza | Won | |
| 1966 | Best Series (Melhor Série) | Bonanza | Nominated | ||
| TV LandIcon Awards | 2003 | Best in the West | Bonanza | Won | |
| 2006 | Favorite Made-for-TV Maid | Victor Sen Yung | Nominated | ||
| TV WeekLogie Awards | 1964 | Best Overseas Show (Australia) | Bonanza | Won | [66] |
| Western Heritage Awards | 1970 | Bronze Wrangler Award for Fictional Television Drama | David Dortort, Michael Landon,Richard Collins, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker,Ossie Davis,Roy Jenson,Harrison Page, Barbara Parrio, George Spell and Jerry Summers(for "The Wish") | Won | [67] |
| Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards | 1961 | Episodic, Longer than 30 Minutes in Length | Donald S. Sanford(for "The Last Hunt") | Nominated |
| Year | Organization | Title | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) | Television Hall of Fame: Productions | Inductee | [68] |
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