| Bonanza | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Ponderosa |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | David Dortort Comic Book: John Broome Gil Kane |
| Starring | Lorne Greene Michael Landon Pernell Roberts Dan Blocker Victor Sen Yung Guy Williams David Canary Mitch Vogel Ray Teal Bing Russell Tim Matheson |
| Theme music composer | Ray Evans Jay Livingston |
| Opening theme | "Bonanza" |
| Composer(s) | David Rose Walter Scharf Harry Sukman Fred Steiner (12.21) William Lava |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 14 |
| No. of episodes | 430 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Dortort Mark Roberts |
| Producer(s) | Fred Hamilton |
| Running time | 49 minutes. |
| Production company(s) | NBC |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original run | September 12, 1959 – January 16, 1973 |
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series (behind Gunsmoke) and still continues to air in syndication, The show centers on the Cartwright family, which lived in the area around Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The show stars Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, and David Canary. The show's title "Bonanza" is a term used by miners in regards to a large vein or deposit of ore,[1] and commonly refers to The Comstock Lode. In 2002, Bonanza was ranked #43 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[2]
Contents |
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" (Dan Blocker); and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe" (Michael Landon). Each wife was given a different ethnicity: English, Swedish and French Creole respectively. The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung). Greene, Roberts, Blocker, and Landon were billed equally. The opening credits would alternate the order among the four stars. As the series advanced, writers began to showcase one or two Cartwrights in each episode, while the others would be seen briefly in the prologue and epilogue. Not only did this provide for more thorough character development, it also gave all four actors more free time. The family lived on a thousand-square-mile [3] ranch called Ponderosa on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The vast size of the Cartwrights' land was quietly revised to "half a million acres" on Lorne Greene's 1964 song, "Saga of the Ponderosa" ("Bonanza" set liner notes, Bear Family Records, disk 1), which if taken literally is still enormous, being slightly more than 781 square miles (2023 km²). The ranch name refers to the Ponderosa Pine, common in the West. The nearest town to the Ponderosa was Virginia City, where the Cartwrights would go to converse with Sheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actor Ray 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, but Bonanza was the first series that was week-to-week about a family and the troubles it went through. Another thing about Bonanza that is interesting is that it is a period drama, but it 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 for TV Guide magazine (Paulette Cohn, "Bonanza: TV Trailblazer", American Profile Magazine, p. 12, June 5, 2009).
Episodes ranged from high drama ("Bushwached", 1971; "Shanklin", 1972) to broad comedy ("Hoss and the Leprechauns", 1964; "Caution, Bunny Crossing", 1969) and addressed such meaty issues as the environment ("Different Pines, Same Wind", 1968), substance abuse ("The Hidden Enemy", 1972), domestic violence ("First Love", 1972), anti-war sentiment ("The Weary Willies", 1970), out-of-wedlock births ("Love Child", 1970; "Rock-A-Bye Hoss", 1971), and bigotry against- Asians ("The Fear Merchants", 1960; "The Lonely Man", 1969), blacks ("Enter Thomas Bowers", 1964; "The Wish", 1968; "Child", 1969), Native Americans ("To Kill A Buffalo", 1966; "The Survivors", 1968), the handicapped ("Tommy", 1966) and "little people" ("It's A Small World", 1968).
Originally, the Cartwrights tended to be depicted as put-off by outsiders. Lorne Greene, however, objected to this, pointing out that as the area's largest timber and livestock producer, the family should be less clannish. The producers agreed with this observation and changed the Cartwrights to be more amiable.
Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first television generation.
Canadian-born Lorne Greene began his career as the chief radio announcer for CBC radio from 1939 to 1942, becoming known as the "Voice of Doom" for his deep, stentorian vocal readings of the names of the current war dead each week. Although his distinctive voice had propelled him into newscasting, he had earlier shown an interest in acting during his education at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. After serving briefly in the military in 1945, Lorne co-founded the Academy of Radio Arts in Canada as well as the Jupiter Theatre.
In 1953 he moved to the United States to pursue an acting career, making numerous appearances on various telecasts before landing the role of Ben Cartwright on Bonanza in 1959, a role he would continue to play for the next 14 years. Early in the show's history, Ben Cartwright recalls each of his late wives in flashback episodes. A standard practice with most westerns was to introduce some romance but avoid matrimony. Few media cowboys (save Roy Rogers and Fess Parker's Daniel Boone) had on-screen wives. Any time one of the Cartwrights seriously courted a woman, she died from a malady, was slain, or left with someone else.
In 1974, shortly after Bonanza's cancellation, Greene costarred with Ben Murphy in the police-drama "Griff". In 1978 he played the role of Commander Adama in the original " Battlestar Galactica" series, and later a drama, "Code Red". In the 1980s, the actor hosted the documentary series, "Lorne Greene's New Wilderness". Greene died in 1987 at age 72. In TV Guide's Book Of Lists (Running Press, Philadelphia, 2007, p. 198), Ben Cartwright was listed as the #2 television father in 50 years of television history - just behind Cliff Huxtable.
Georgia-born Pernell Roberts played the black-clad, eldest son Adam, an architectural engineer with a university education. Adam built the impressive ranch house ("The Philip Diedesheimer Story", Oct. 31, 1959 and "Bonanza: The Return", NBC TV, 1993). Roberts was widely known for his life-long activism, which included participation in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965, and pressuring NBC to refrain from hiring whites to portray minority characters. The actor disdained the assembly-line mindset of serial television, and fought with series writers regarding Adam's lack of independence. Bonanza's creator/ executive producer David Dortort described Roberts as, "Aloof, rebellious and outspoken," and as one who "could make any scene he was in better." Despite the show’s success, Roberts departed the series following the 1964-65 season (after 202 episodes) because he wanted to return to theater. The series continued for another eight years (228 episodes) without him.
Roberts was the only accomplished singer of the original cast, though David Canary, who joined Bonanza in 1967, had a background in voice and performed on Broadway (David Canary: New Boy On Bonanza", TV Guide, March 3, 1968). During Roberts's Bonanza years, he recorded numerous folk and western songs (Bonanza Boxed Disc Set, Bear Family Records, Disc #4). Attempts to fill Adam's void were made with Ben's stepson and nephew. Maverick Clay Stafford (Barry Coe) was introduced as Ben's stepson and Little Joe's wayward, maternal half-brother ("First Born", September 1962). Nephew Will Cartwright (Guy Williams), son of Ben's late brother John, was welcomed into the household with open arms. Neither character survived, as two of the remaining stars, (especially Landon) felt that grafting-in new Cartwrights could threaten their own future contract negotiations (Bonanza Gold, July 2006; "Bonanza: Scenery Of The Ponderosa, Cast Biographies: Guy Williams").
Roberts would gain renewed celebrity in the lead role of the CBS drama Trapper John, M.D., from 1979-86. Roberts died of pancreatic cancer on Jan 24, 2010 at age 81.
Weighing over 14 pounds at birth, Texan Bobby Don Blocker (later Dan Blocker) was six foot four, and over three hundred pounds when chosen to play the gentle middle son Eric, also known as Hoss. In the pilot the nickname is explained as "Horse" because he was so big at birth. In the first season episode "El Toro" the name is a joke to the Mexicans, who call him "El Caballo" (Spanish for "horse"). In "Inger My Love" (episode #95), Ben Cartwright recalls his journey to the west in flashback. He meets Eric's Swedish mother, Inger. Her brother, Gunnar, says he is sometimes called "Horse", which means "big friendly man." (The "r" is noticeable.) In "Journey Remembered" (episode 142), another flashback story about Eric's birth, Inger names him Eric after her father. To satisfy young Adam, Inger and Ben agree to try a second name "to see which sticks". They choose "Hoss", which Inger says "In the mountain country, that is the name for a big, friendly man." (The "r" sound is missing.) Many characters, perhaps due to dialect, go on to call him "Hoss" throughout the series.
Blocker had intended on an academic career and was a teacher before Hollywood. The Hoss character had a penchant for lost causes, and was originally conceived as "lovable but slow-witted." Blocker, however, was the only cast member with an advanced degree, a Masters in Dramatic Arts (Sul Ross State Teachers' College, Alpine, Texas).
Before starring in Bonanza, Blocker had a recurring role as Tiny Budinger in the 1958–1959 television western series Cimarron City starring George Montgomery, also on NBC. That series' cancellation after only one season freed him to be cast as Hoss Cartwright, his most famous role.
By late 1971, the actor grew to over 365 pounds ("Bonanza Scenery of the Ponderosa", Scene Guide, Season 14). In May 1972, Blocker died suddenly from a post-operative pulmonary embolism (blood clot of the lungs), following surgery to remove a diseased gall bladder. The show's producers chose to simply mention the character's death in passing (television producer Sheldon Leonard was the first to "kill off" major characters, starting in 1956 with Make Room For Daddy and in 1963 with The Real McCoys, wherein the female leads of each show chose not to renew their contracts). It was not until the movie, "Bonanza: The Next Generation" (Syndicated, 1988) that it was revealed that Hoss had drowned attempting to save another's life. Hoss's horse was Chub, a Thoroughbred/Quarter horse standing 15.3 hands high and weighing 1,250 lb (570 kg). Chub had a stripe face marking.
Michael Landon was born in New York as Eugene Orowitz on October 31, 1936, Landon was raised in New Jersey, coming to California to attend U.S.C. on an athletic scholarship (track and field/javelin). Injury forced him to pursue another career, which led to acting. In addition to acting, Landon began to develop his skills in writing and directing Bonanza episodes, starting with "The Gamble." Several of the shows Landon wrote and directed are among the most powerful emotionally, including "The Wish", "He Was Only Seven", and "Forever". According to David Dortort, Landon grew difficult during the last five seasons the show ran. "Nearly every line, every scene, every set up… everything would halt for endless story conferences on the set… it got increasingly bitter toward the end" ("Bonanza" Box Set liner notes, Bear Family Records/CD collection). In a 1992 memorial retrospective directed by the star's son Michael Jr., "Michael Landon: Memories with Laughter and Love," cast member David Canary said that the one word that most described Landon to him was "fearless." Landon appeared in all but fourteen Bonanza episodes for its 14 year run, a total of 416/430 episodes. Little Joe's horse was Cochise, a black and white pinto. Cochise was the inspiration for a Breyer Animal Creations model in 2009.
In the episodes "First Born" (1962) and "Marie, My Love" (1963), viewers learn of Little Joe's older, half-brother Clay Stafford, born to his French Creole mother Marie. In Lorne Greene's 1964 song "Saga of the Ponderosa" ("Bonanza" Box Set, Bear Family Records/ CD Collection, disc 1), Marie's first husband was "Big Joe" Collins who dies saving Ben's life. After Ben marries Marie, they chose to call their son "Little Joe". Whether to Stafford or Collins, Marie Cartwight was previously married.
After Bonanza, Landon produced, wrote and starred in two other successful NBC series, the first being the pioneer adventure, Little House on the Prairie, which aired for roughly nine and a half seasons between 1974 and 1983. Landon's character was absent the ninth season with the final half season being a series of movies. The second series was Highway to Heaven which ran from 1984-1989. Landon died in July 1991, three months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Several weeks before his passing, he discussed his mortality with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, after being greeted by a long, standing ovation.
In 1967, David Canary joined the cast as "Candy" Canaday, a plucky army-brat turned cowboy ("Sense of Duty", episode 271, September 24, 1967), who became the Cartwrights' confidant, ranch foreman, and timber vessel captain. Dortort was impressed by Canary's talent and overall aura, and "made use of Canary's rugged looks to contrast hearthrob Michael Landon's heavenly face" (Ponderosasceneryhomestead.com; Bonanza: Scenery of the Ponderosa- Bonanza Casting). The character vanished in 1970 after Canary had a contract dispute with Dortort. He would later return after co-star Dan Blocker's May 1972 death, reportedly having been approached by Michael Landon. He gained acclaim, and multiple Emmys, on the ABC daytime drama, "All My Children", from 1983–2010, by portraying the dual roles of cunning millionaire Adam Chandler, and his kind but timid twin brother Stuart. He last appeared, in costume as Candy, in a 2002 PAX Bonanza special. "I think what made 'Bonanza' such a successful show was that it was a family show, it was well done, and it had a sense of drama to it," states Canary. "The characters were real. You had a sense of the family members fighting for the good of their family and the community. Michael, Dan, Pernell, and Lorne were very fine actors, and you always knew who to root for -the Cartwrights." (Paulette Cohn, "Bonanza: TV Trailblazer", American Profile Magazine, p. 12, June 5, 2009). Canary is a descendant of Jane Canary also called "Calamity Jane" ("Bonanza Gold", April 2006). Stefanie Powers played the folk-heroine on episode 141, "Calamity Over the Comstock" in 1963.
Born Sen Yew Cheung on October 18, 1915, Chinese-American actor Victor Sen Yung played the Cartwrights' happy-go-lucky cook, whose blood pressure rose when the family came late for dinner. Sen Yung gained fame as two of Charlie Chan's crime-solving sons (Jimmy and Tommy, under two Charlie Chan actors) from 1938-1949. Cast here as the faithful domestic Hop Sing, the comedic character had little to do beyond chores. Though often referenced, he appeared in an average of seven to eight shows each season. As a semi-regular, the actor was only paid per episode. After 14 years he was widely known, but financially struggling. The character was central in only two episodes: "Mark Of Guilt" (#316), in which he uses fingerprints to absolve Joe of a murder charge, and "The Lonely Man" (#404), in which he unlawfully becomes engaged to a white woman.
In 1972, a Pacific Southwest Airlines plane on which Sen Yung was a passenger was hijacked. The FBI attacked the hijackers, and in the ensuing gunfire the actor was shot in the back. He and another wounded passenger survived, but a third passenger and the two hijackers died. In 1975, Sen Yung appeared on Garry Moore's "To Tell The Truth" show and related the events of the hijack. Dressed in a sport coat and flanked by two dissimilar impostors, none of the four panelists were able to choose him as the character actor. Sen Yung occasionally found work on other series, such as "Man From Uncle", and "Kung Fu". He died from a gas leak emanating from his home-based pottery business in 1980.
Absent Canary in mid 1970, the writers sought a fresh outlet for Ben's fatherly advice, and so a teen boy was introduced. Fourteen-year-old Mitch Vogel joined the series as Jamie Hunter, the orphan son of a roving rainmaker. Jamie is introduced in the 363rd episode of Bonanza, "A Matter of Faith", which aired September 20, 1970. Ben adopted Jamie in a 1971 episode. Vogel had appeared in numerous 1960s television shows, and was even cast in an earlier 1968 Bonanza episode as a ten-year-old in a besieged ghost town, ("The Real People of Muddy Creek"). Vogel returned to Bonanza's homestead in 2002 for the Travel Channel's "TV Road Trip", in which he narrated a tour of the Ponderosa Ranch at Incline Village, near Lake Tahoe, Nevada. In 2004, Vogel was interviewed for Bonanza Gold magazine. The affable actor attended all Bonanza Conventions held since 1999, including the May 2010 British Bonanza 50th Anniversary Convention. On the 2010 PBS documentary, "Pioneers of Television: Westerns", Vogel spoke to the series' appeal and his fondness of his fellow cast members, especially Dan Blocker.
| Year | Timeslot | Ranking | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959–1960 | Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. | #45 | N/A |
| 1960–1961[4] | #17 | 24.8 | |
| 1961–1962[5] | Sundays at 9:00 p.m. | #2 | 30 |
| 1962–1963[6] | #4 | 29.8 | |
| 1963–1964[7] | #2 | 36.9 | |
| 1964–1965[8] | #1 | 36.3 | |
| 1965–1966[9] | 31.8 | ||
| 1966–1967[10] | 29.1 | ||
| 1967–1968[11] | #4 | 25.5 | |
| 1968–1969[12] | #3 | 26.6 | |
| 1969–1970[13] | 24.8 | ||
| 1970–1971[14] | #8 | 23.9 | |
| 1971–1972[15] | #20 | 21.9 | |
| 1972-1973 | Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. | #52 | N/A |
As a Top 30 series, Bonanza has an average rating of 28.5.
Initially, the series aired on Saturday evenings opposite Perry Mason. The Saturday night ratings were dismal and Bonanza was soon targeted for cancellation. It was kept on the air as it was one of the first series to be filmed and broadcast in color, including scenes of picturesque Lake Tahoe Nevada. NBC's corporate parent 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). Given one last chance, it was moved to Sundays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, for new sponsor Chevrolet (replacing The Dinah Shore Chevy Show). The new time slot caused the series to soar, and it eventually reached number one by 1964, an honor it would keep until 1967. By 1970, it had become the first series ever to wind up in the Top Five for nine consecutive seasons (a record that would stand for decades) and thus established itself as the single biggest hit television series of the 1960s. It remained high on the Nielsen ratings until 1971, when it finally fell out of the top ten.
According to New York Times columnist Gail Collins, 1960's television westerns, including the Bonanza series, gave a message that women's duties were to stay home and take care of children. In the original Bonanza series, particularly, there were no leading women, as Ben Cartwright's wives had all died. Collins stated that during the 1960's as television became popular, women as primary characters decreased, compared to the 1950's, while men came to dominate leading roles.[16]
Bonanza is uniquely known for having addressed racism, not typically covered on American television during the time period, from a liberal, humanistic point-of-view.
Bigotry, and specifically anti-semitism, was the subject of the episode "Look to the Stars" (Season 3, Episode 26; original air date 18/3/62). A bigoted school teacher (oblivious to his prejudice) routinely expels minority students. When he expels the brilliant Jewish student Albert Michaelson, a scientific genius whose experiments on the streets of Virginia City often cause commotion, Ben Cartwright steps in and confronts Norton on his bigotry. Ashamed, the school teacher vows to reform.[17] A coda to the episode reveals that Michaelson went on to win the Nobel Prize for Physics.
In the episode "Enter Thomas Bowers" (Season 5, Episode 30; original air date 26/4/64), the Cartwright family helps the opera singer Bowers, an African American freeman, 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 the Supreme Court's Dredd Scott v. Sandford decision (placing the time as 1857), which he discusses with his father. According to David Dortort, sponsor General 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. [18]
In the The Wish episode, directed by Michael Landon, Hoss protects an African American former slave's family when confronted with racism after the American Civil War. In The Fear Merchants episode, discrimination against Chinese immigrants who attempt to assimilate in American society is addressed.[19][20]
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) 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:
In 1968, Blocker began wearing a toupee on the series, as he was approaching 40 and losing hair. He joined the ranks of his fellow co-stars Roberts and Greene, both of whom began 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 queue.
Bonanza also featured a memorable theme song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans that was orchestrated by David Rose and arranged by Billy May for the television series.
The Bonanza theme, emulating galloping horses, is one of the best known pieces of made-for-television music, and variations of it were used for twelve seasons of the series. Three of the cast members sang the original lyrics, sans music, on 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 was edited out of the scene and the Cartwrights headed back to the Ponderosa whooping. Five years later, a rendition more reflective of the show was introduced in Lorne Greene's song, "Bonanza", (Bear Box set, 1964). In 1968, a new percussion-heavy arrangement of the original theme music was introduced; the new version 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 1970–1972. A faster rendition of the original theme returned for the 14th and final season.
The theme song has been recorded by numerous artists in a diverse variety of styles. The first recorded and released version was an instrumental by Marty Gold, on his 1960 album Swingin' West. This was followed by the February, 1960 single by Buddy Morrow and his Orchestra, which included vocals. Morrow's version also appeared on his 1960 album Double Impact which featured several other then-recent television themes. In December, 1960, another vocal version was issued only in the United Kingdom by Johnny Gregory and his Orchestra and Chorus released on the Fontana label. All aforementioned vocal versions, including the television pilot, used lyrics written by Livingston and Evans contained in the first published sheet music for the song, though not all the lyrics were sung. A Bonanza soundtrack album released in late 1961 included a version by David Rose; Rose also had a 1960 single and included the theme on his 1961 album Exodus in a different mix. The biggest hit version is a guitar instrumental by Al Caiola, which reached number 19 on Billboard in 1961. Other versions were released by Billy Vaughn, Valjean, Lorne Green, and Nelson Riddle.
Country singer Johnny Cash was first to record a full length vocal version of the theme song. He and Johnny Western discarded the original Livingston and Evans lyrics, and wrote new ones. The song first saw release by September, 1962 as a single. Sometime after June, 1963, it was released as a track on his sixteenth album: Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. This version was later covered by Faron Young for his 1963 album Aims at the West. Singer Ralf Paulsen recorded a German-language version of the song in 1963, released in mid-June, 1963 on Capitol Records in the United States. His German version (lyrics attributed to "Nicolas") was sung in the same style and mood in which Cash had recorded it, and was fairly close in translation.
Bad Manners did a ska version of the song, as did the Hurtin' Buckaroos. Michael Richards, as Stanley Spadowski, sang a bit of the theme song while being held hostage by Channel 8's news goons in UHF (he did not know the words to the song he was originally supposed to sing, "Helter Skelter"). Michael Feinstein was the last to record the song in 2002 on his Songs of Evans and Livingston tribute CD. The Little House on the Prairie theme (also by Rose), was heard first in a 1971 episode of Bonanza. The overture for The High Chaparral composed by Harry Sukman can be heard briefly at the start of the 1966 episode "Four Sisters from Boston".
The opening scene for the first season was shot at Lake Hemet, a reservoir in the San Jacinto Mountains, Riverside County, California, and later moved to Lake Tahoe. 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 of Have Gun – Will Travel, Mannix, and The Brady Bunch. In the 1970 premiere episode of the twelfth season entitled "The Night Virginia City Died," Deputy Clem Foster's pyromaniac fiancée levels the town in a series of fires. (Chosen, in part, as a real 1875 fire 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. It is rare, in that both actors Ray Teal (Sheriff Roy Coffee) and Bing Russell (Deputy Clem Foster) appear together.
The program's Nevada set, the Ponderosa Ranch house, was recreated in Incline Village, Nevada, in 1967, and remained a tourist attraction until its sale in September 2004.
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 1962–1965; three dozen Dell and Gold Key comic books from 1962 through 1970; Jim Beam Whiskey Ponderosa Ranch decanters 1964-1966; a series of "Big-Little" books from 1966–1969; Revel Bonanza model character sets from 1966-1968; a chain of Bonanza and Ponderosa steakhouses from 1963–present; the Lake Tahoe-based "Ponderosa" theme park from 1967–2004; a line of American Character action figures in 1966-1967; Aladdin lunch buckets and thermos bottles in 1966-1968; View Master slide sets from 1965–1973; Ponderosa tin cups from 1967–2004; 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. Six Bonanza novels have been published: Bonanza: One Man With Courage by Thomas Thompson (1966); The Ponderosa Spirit by Stephen Calder (1988); The Ponderosa Empire by Stephen Calder (1991); Bonanza: High Steel Hazard by Stephen Calder (1993); Bonanza: Felling of the Sons by Monette B. Reinhold (2005), and Bonanza: Mystic Fire by Monette B. Reinhard (2009). 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, and fan fiction. The first two seasons are available on DVD, as well as several non-successive public-domain episodes (sans original theme music). The prequel series, The Ponderosa (see above), is also available on DVD.
In the fall of 1972, Bonanza was moved to Tuesday nights opposite the All In The Family spinoff, Maude. The scheduling change, as well as Dan Blocker's death several months earlier, resulted in plunging ratings for the show. David Canary returned to his former role of Candy (to offset Hoss's absence), and a new character named Griff King (played by Tim Matheson) was added to lure younger viewers. Griff, in prison for nearly killing his abusive stepfather, was paroled into Ben's custody and got 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's abrupt cancellation in November 1972 (with last episode airing January 16, 1973). Many fans felt that the Hoss character was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded out the all-male cast.
For 14 years, the Cartwrights were the premier western family on American television and have been immensely popular on cable networks such as TV Land, ION (formerly PAX), Family Channel, and the Hallmark Channel. The series currently airs on Me-TV TV Land and My Family TV.
Bonanza was brought back for three made-for-television movies featuring the Cartwrights' offspring: Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988), Bonanza: The Return (1993), and Bonanza: Under Attack (1995). Michael Landon, Jr., played Little Joe's son Benji while Gillian Greene, Lorne'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., and Dirk Blocker. According to TV Guide, NBC told Blocker he was too old to play the Hoss scion, but was given the role of an unrelated newspaper reporter. Clips of his appearance were heavily used in advertisements promoting the "second generation" theme, perhaps misleading audiences to believe that he was playing Hoss's heir. Hoss's 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. The Gunsmoke movies of the early 1990s employed a similar theme when Matt Dillon learned he had sired Michael Learned'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.)
In 2001, there was an attempt to revive the series' concept with a prequel, Ponderosa, with a pilot directed by Simon Wincer and filmed in Australia. Covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam was a teenager and Joe a little boy, the series lasted 20 episodes and featured less gunfire and brawling than the original. Bonanza creator David Dortort approved PAX TV's decision to hire Beth Sullivan, a producer from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which some believe gave the series more depth as well as a softer edge. Missing from the new series were the stentorian voices of Greene and Roberts as well as Dan Blocker's unusual southern accent. Had the prequel lasted as long as the original show, the same time frame would have wound up being covered by the new cast.
The last few episodes of Season One and the first episodes of Season Two have fallen into the public domain. These episodes have been released by many different companies in different configurations and usually with substandard picture and sound quality, and by legal necessity with the copyright protected Evans-Livingston theme song replaced with generic western music.
In 1973, NBC sold the rights to the series, along with the rest of its pre-1973 library, to National Telefilm Associates, which changed its name to Republic Pictures in 1986. Republic would become part of the Spelling Entertainment organization in 1994 through Worldvision Enterprises. Select episodes ("The Best of Bonanza") were officially released in North America in 2003 on DVD through then-Republic video licensee Artisan Entertainment (which was later purchased by Lionsgate Home Entertainment). Republic (through CBS Television Distribution, which holds the television side of Republic's holdings) still retains the syndication distribution rights to the series. Incidentally, the TV Land repeats still end with the 1995 logos of both Republic and Paramount Domestic Television, while the Me-TV repeats vary between ending with the logos for Republic, Worldvision or CBS Television Distribution. A few 1959-60 episodes even aired on Me-TV with the original "NBC Color Presentation" logo coming before the CBS Television Distribution logo. CBS Home Entertainment (under Paramount Home Video) is the official home video rights distributor at present.
CBS Home Entertainment announced on June 1, 2009 that the first season of Bonanza would be released to DVD in North America on September 15 of the same year. The first season was issued in two, half-season volumes available separately or bundled together.[21] This is the first pre-1973 NBC show (part of the NTA package) to be distributed on DVD by CBS and Paramount, as the first such show to get any sort of release. The first 7 seasons have been released in Germany on DVD with English audio and German audio. Episodes of the series have also been released officially on DVD in France and the United Kingdom. The Official 2nd season, Volume 1 was released in North America on December 7, 2010.[22] Season 2, volume 2 was released in North America on October 11, 2011.[23]
Bonanza "the official first season" were released in Scandinavia during 2010. The first season will be released in 4 volumes. The first two volumes were released on October 20, 2010, and the last two volumes on April 27, 2011. More seasons are scheduled to be released during 2012 and 2013.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Official 1st Season, Vol. 1 | 16 | September 15, 2009 |
| The Official 1st Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | September 15, 2009 |
| The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 1 | 15 | December 7, 2010 |
| The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 2 | 16 | October 11, 2011 |
|
||||||||||||||