Bonanza 

The adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

Creator:

David Dortort

Stars:

Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 9 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Lorne Greene	...	Ben Cartwright / ... 430 episodes, 1959-1973
Michael Landon	...	Joseph 'Little Joe' Cartwright / ... 428 episodes, 1959-1973
Dan Blocker	...	Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright / ... 415 episodes, 1959-1972
Pernell Roberts	...	Adam Cartwright 201 episodes, 1959-1965

Storyline

The Cartwright's one-thousand square mile Ponderosa Ranch is located near Virginia City, Nevada, site of the Comstock Silver Lode, during and after the Civil War. Each of the sons was born to a different wife of Ben's; none of the mothers is still alive. Adventures are typical western ones, with lots of personal relationships/problems thrown in as well.

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Plot Keywords:

apache territory | apache | apache indian | arizona territory | yuma territorial prison | 

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ponderosa

Filming Locations:

Virginia City Western Street backlot, Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

49 min (430 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

From the third season on, the Cartwrights, and nearly every other recurring character on the show, wore the same clothing in almost every episode. This was done to cut the cost of re-filming action shots (such as riding clips in-between scenes), as previously-shot stock footage could be re-used.

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Goofs

In every episode each character who wore a gun had a pistol belt with no loops for bullets. The show took place during the Civil War. Pistols were cap and ball, did not use metallic cartridges. Thus no bullet loops.

Actually, even though the belts had no loops, the pistols they carried were definitely metallic cartridge weapons. Ben carried a Remington Model 1875 Army revolver, and Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe all carried Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army revolvers. They can all be seen reloading cartridges into their weapons in numerous episodes.

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Quotes

[Hoss reluctantly agrees to serve as a temporary deputy sheriff]
Deputy Sheriff: I'll swear you in. Do you?
Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright: I do.
Deputy Sheriff: You are.

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Crazy Credits

The opening and closing credits show a picture on the screen that corresponds with whatever credit is being given ("Music by" is accompanied by a man playing a violin, "Written by" has a Mark Twain-inspired writer type holding a book with "Bonanza" written on its cover, etc.)

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Alternate Versions

Many television broadcasts and DVDs of public domain episodes currently in circulation replace the famous title theme music with generic music. Only official videos and DVDs from Artisan/Republic are uncut and contain the music as intended.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #22.15 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Bonanza
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

User Reviews

The second longest running TV Western

As a child growing up,I can recall seeing every episode at least a dozen number of times and can fondly recognize all the characters on the show. "Bonanza" was that show. For the 14 years that it ran on NBC,it has become television's second longest running western series,and the only TV show that was presented in "living color" throughout its run. The show was the equilavent of My Three Sons,with the exception that it was in the rolling hills of Nevada during the turn of the 1800's. Only during its run that Lorne Greene and Michael Landon were the original two cast members that stayed on the series in which Landon produced and directed several of the episodes. Only two other members left the show at the peak of their fame when it was in the top ten for the duration of the show(which was #1 in the Nielsen ratings during much of the 1960's). Pernell Roberts,who played big brother Adam left in 1965,and Dan Blocker who played the mighty Hoss left in 1972 due to health problems. Repeats of the series can be seen on PAX-TV along with the lost episodes that date back to the early 1970's. A Must See!