This excellent Bonanza-mentary aired in November of 1993 on NBC as a warm up to the new "Bonanza Return to the Ponderosa" movie.Perhaps it was the networks way of keying in younger viewers who werent familiar enough with the original to know what was going on.Needless to say the movie was a dull flop but the documentary was something else altogether.Hosted by Dirk Blocker and Michael Landon Jr.,real life sons of 'Hoss' and 'Little Joe',the retrospective features a kaleidescope of clips from the 440 episode series and is well researched and detailed going far enough behind the scenes to give viewers a hint of what it was like on the set of the classic 1960's series.It also gives a good assumption of series creator David Dortort's vision of bringing a vibrant color series to the dull black and white world of 1959 television.Bonanza was and is an enduring classic which will be rerun on television for many years to come.I only wish that this excellent memory refresher were available on video for fans to enjoy as well.
3 Reviews
The Best of the Best
mybuddy19752 January 2006
This wonderful retrospect paid homage to the most amazing series in television history. It focused on the years that featured the original cast, a time when the "family" was complete, and quite frankly, Bonanza at its very best. A lovely tribute to Bonanza creator, David Dortort, and his dream team of Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright, Dan Blocker as Hoss Cartwright, and Michael Landon as Little Joe Cartwright. This ensemble cast, together, made television history, made a difference in so many lives that they touched with their humanity and warmth...Bonanza was at its best with these four original "Cartwrights", and this tribute was true to the original cast and concept. There were four Cartwrights and anything less than that was not Bonanza at its best. These four actors in both dramatic and comedic episodes, were as good as it will ever get. No other TV show will ever match or surpass what these four gentlemen brought to the viewing audience.
Back To Bonanza
jeremylr3 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
When this NBC 1-hour special aired in November 1993, I had just turned 10. The only Bonanza episodes I'd seen were "Rose For Lotta" (1959; debut episode) & "The Underdog" from 1964 with Charles Bronson. Out of 431 episodes, that seems very minute, but even then I knew Bonanza was something special.
Today (July '09) I found a copy of this at my local video store, much to my surprise. A company called Vidmark Entertainment apparently only released it on VHS shortly after it first aired in 1993.
Coming 2 years after Michael Landon's death, the special was certainly bittersweet to many fans. Michael Landon, Jr. & Dirk Blocker, Hoss's real-life son, hosted the special. It was basically put together in order to let younger viewers learn about the show, which had been off the air exactly 20 years since its cancellation in January 1993.
Backpedaling a little bit, in 1987 a made-for-TV movie, Bonanza: The Next Generation, aired. By 1993, NBC decided to make another one, & this special also served to re-introduce the original show to viewers. In 1995 a 3rd & final TV movie aired. By the way, actor Ben Johnson took over the Ponderosa for the 1993 & 1995 TV movies.
Now, back to the special. It's excellent in my opinion. The show focuses on 1959--1965, the Adam (Pernell Roberts) years. It also incorporates scenes from the 1963 episode "The Legacy," the one where Ben's shot & his sons separately go after the guys who did it.
In that episode, after Ben is shot, he's rescued by a peddler, & Ben proceeds to tell him about his 3 sons. These scenes do an excellent job at weaving together just exactly who & what the Cartwrights stood for in the special. Dirk Blocker & Michael Landon, Jr. are in less than 5 minutes of the special, with the special letting Ben (Lorne Greene) do the talking.
It was very surreal to watch this special after nearly 16 years, & this time recognize the episodes that the various scenes came from. After all these years, I still remembered the scene with Adam & Lee Marvin in the desert & the guest stars shown at the end (The Crucible episode from 1962).
I would have liked to have seen more emphasis on 1965--1973, the years after Adam. Seems like a Part II needs to be done. Candy (David Canary) is shown in a couple of very brief scenes, that's all, & Jaime Cartwright (Mitch Vogel) doesn't get any mention.
A big plus about the special was that it devoted sections to each Cartwright, featuring scenes that highlighted their personalities. The special was very linear, focused, & the editing was superb. Plenty of dramatic moments along with hilarious ones also underscored why this show is still popular today in TV runs on networks including TVLand.
Even though I'd recommend the special most definitely, I didn't like the cheesy, overly dramatic, annoying early '90s music that accompanied certain scenes. Perhaps the copyrights to the original music cost too much; regardless, they didn't use the original music.
By 1993, Pernell Roberts was already the last surviving Cartwright, & it was unfortunate that he didn't participate in the special. Mitch Vogel & David Canary are still alive, too, & hopefully a new DVD will collect their remembrances before it's too late. Try to find it if you can.
Today (July '09) I found a copy of this at my local video store, much to my surprise. A company called Vidmark Entertainment apparently only released it on VHS shortly after it first aired in 1993.
Coming 2 years after Michael Landon's death, the special was certainly bittersweet to many fans. Michael Landon, Jr. & Dirk Blocker, Hoss's real-life son, hosted the special. It was basically put together in order to let younger viewers learn about the show, which had been off the air exactly 20 years since its cancellation in January 1993.
Backpedaling a little bit, in 1987 a made-for-TV movie, Bonanza: The Next Generation, aired. By 1993, NBC decided to make another one, & this special also served to re-introduce the original show to viewers. In 1995 a 3rd & final TV movie aired. By the way, actor Ben Johnson took over the Ponderosa for the 1993 & 1995 TV movies.
Now, back to the special. It's excellent in my opinion. The show focuses on 1959--1965, the Adam (Pernell Roberts) years. It also incorporates scenes from the 1963 episode "The Legacy," the one where Ben's shot & his sons separately go after the guys who did it.
In that episode, after Ben is shot, he's rescued by a peddler, & Ben proceeds to tell him about his 3 sons. These scenes do an excellent job at weaving together just exactly who & what the Cartwrights stood for in the special. Dirk Blocker & Michael Landon, Jr. are in less than 5 minutes of the special, with the special letting Ben (Lorne Greene) do the talking.
It was very surreal to watch this special after nearly 16 years, & this time recognize the episodes that the various scenes came from. After all these years, I still remembered the scene with Adam & Lee Marvin in the desert & the guest stars shown at the end (The Crucible episode from 1962).
I would have liked to have seen more emphasis on 1965--1973, the years after Adam. Seems like a Part II needs to be done. Candy (David Canary) is shown in a couple of very brief scenes, that's all, & Jaime Cartwright (Mitch Vogel) doesn't get any mention.
A big plus about the special was that it devoted sections to each Cartwright, featuring scenes that highlighted their personalities. The special was very linear, focused, & the editing was superb. Plenty of dramatic moments along with hilarious ones also underscored why this show is still popular today in TV runs on networks including TVLand.
Even though I'd recommend the special most definitely, I didn't like the cheesy, overly dramatic, annoying early '90s music that accompanied certain scenes. Perhaps the copyrights to the original music cost too much; regardless, they didn't use the original music.
By 1993, Pernell Roberts was already the last surviving Cartwright, & it was unfortunate that he didn't participate in the special. Mitch Vogel & David Canary are still alive, too, & hopefully a new DVD will collect their remembrances before it's too late. Try to find it if you can.
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