Bonanza

Bonanza
Bonanza title screen.jpg
Also known as Ponderosa
Genre Western
Created by David Dortort
Starring

Lorne Greene
Pernell Roberts


Dan Blocker
Michael Landon
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
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 14
No. of episodes 430
Production
Executive producer(s) David Dortot
Mark Roberts
Producer(s) Fred Hamilton
Running time 49 minutes.
Production company(s) NBC
Distributor Paramount Television
Broadcast
Original channel NBC 4:3
Picture format NTSC
Audio format Mono
Original run September 12, 1959 (1959-09-12) – January 16, 1973 (1973-01-16)
Status Ended

Bonanza is an American western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons, it is among the longest running western series (second behind Gunsmoke) and continues to air in syndication, starring Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon and David Canary.

Contents

Premise

The show chronicled the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by the thrice-widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright (played by Lorne Greene). He had three sons, each by a different wife: the eldest was the urbane architect Adam Cartwright (played by Pernell Roberts) who built the ranch house; the second was the warm and lovable giant Eric, better known by his nickname "Hoss" (played by Dan Blocker); and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe" (played by Michael Landon). The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (played by Victor Sen Yung). 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 then 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).

The family lived on a thousand-square-mile [1] ranch called Ponderosa on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The massive size of the Cartwright's 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). 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). 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.

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.

The show's title "Bonanza" is a term used by miners in regards to a large vein or deposit of ore[2], and most likely refers to The Comstock Lode.

The cast

The cast of Bonanza

Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first TV generation.

Lorne Greene – Ben Cartwright

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, gravelly voice. 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 a stint 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 U.S. to pursue his 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 futuristic Adama in the original "Battlestar Galatica" series. 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 TV father in 50 years of TV history (behind Cliff Huxtable).

Pernell Roberts - Adam Cartwright

Georgia-born Pernell Roberts played the black-clad, eldest son Adam, an architectural engineer with a university education. Adam built the impressive ranch house ("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." 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. During Roberts' Bonanza years, he recorded numerous folk and western songs (which are available on compact disc, only as part of the fourth disc of the Bonanza 4-CD boxed set on Bear Family Records).

Attempts to fill Adam's void were made via Ben's stepson and nephew. Maverick Clay Stafford (Barry Coe) briefly played Ben's stepson and Little Joe's wayward, maternal half-brother. 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 felt that grafting-in new Cartwrights might threaten their own contract negotiations (Bonanza Gold, July 2006).

Roberts would gain renewed celebrity in the lead role of the CBS drama "Trapper John MD", from 1979-86.

Dan Blocker – Hoss Cartwright

Three hundred pound Dan Blocker played the gentle middle son Eric a.k.a. Hoss. Born in Texas, he was a teacher before Hollywood. The Hoss character had a warm heart and a penchant for lost causes. The character was originally conceived as "lovable but slow-witted." Blocker, however, was the only cast member with an advanced degree, a Masters in Dramatic Arts. Prior to starring in Bonanza, Dan had a recurring role as Tiny Budinger in the 1958–1959 TV 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 1971, the actor grew to 365 pounds. In 1972, Blocker died suddenly from a post-op blood-clot to the lungs, following surgery to remove kidney stones. The show's producers chose to simply mention the character's death in passing (TV 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). Hoss's horse was Chub, a Thoroughbred/ Quarter horse standing 15.3 hands high and weighing 1,250 lb. Chub had a stripe face marking.

Michael Landon – Little Joe Cartwright

It was young Michael Landon who received most of the fan mail, and was seen in female-oriented teen magazines. In addition to acting, Landon began to develop his skills in writing and directing Bonanza episodes, starting with "The Gamble." Some of the shows Landon directed are considered to be the most moving including, "The Wish," "He Was Only Seven," and "Forever." According to David Dortort, Landon himself 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" (Bear Family boxed CD liner notes). 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 made into a breyer animal creations model in 2009.

In the episode, "Marie, My Love" (1963), the episode detailing Ben Cartwright's wooing of Little Joe's mother, we learn that Little Joe has an older half-brother named Clay Stafford, who later spends some time at the ranch. On Lorne Greene's 1964 song "Saga of the Ponderosa" ("Bonanza" set, Bear Family Records, disk 1), Marie's first husband was "Big Joe" Collins who dies saving Ben. 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 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 a series of movies. The second series was Highway to Heaven which ran from 1984-1989.

David Canary – Candy Canaday

In 1967, David Canary joined the cast as "Candy" Canaday, a plucky army-brat turned cowboy, who became the Cartwrights' confidant, ranch foreman and timber vessel captain. The character vanished in 1970 after Canary himself 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. The actor would gain acclaim on the ABC daytime drama, "All My Children", from 1983-2010. Creating the dual roles of cunning millionaire Adam Chandler, and his warm but timid brother Stuart, provided the actor with five Emmy awards. Canary retired from the series in 2010, shortly after its studios moved from New York City to Los Angeles. 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" (Paulette Cohn, "Bonanza: TV Trailblazer", American Profile Magazine, p. 12, June 5, 2009).

Victor Sen Yung - Hop Sing

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 one of Charlie Chan's crime-solving sons from 1938-42. 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 five 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 finger prints 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 Yung was a passenger was hijacked. The FBI attacked the hijackers, and in the ensuing gunfire Sen Yung was shot in the back. He and another wounded passenger survived, but a third passenger and the two hijackers died. In 1975, Yung appeared on Gary 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. Yung occasionally found work on other series, such as "Man From Uncle", and "Kung Fu". The actor died mysteriously in his own home in 1980.

Mitch Vogel – Jamie Hunter/Cartwright

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 TV shows, and was even cast in an earlier 1967 Bonanza episode as a ten-year-old in a besieged ghost town. 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 featured in an interview in Bonanza Gold magazine, and recently participated in both the 2005 Bonanza Convention and the May 2010 British Bonanza 50th Anniversary Convention.

Ratings

Year Ranking Year Ranking Year Ranking
1960–1961[3] 17 1964–1965[4] 1 1968–1969[5] 3
1961–1962[6] 2 1965–1966[7] 1 1969–1970[8] 3
1962–1963[9] 4 1966–1967[10] 1 1970–1971[11] 8
1963–1964[12] 2 1967–1968[13] 4 1971–1972[14] 20

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 Sunday nights 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 the mid-'60s. By 1970, it had become the first series to ever wind up in the Top Five for nine consecutive seasons (a record which would stand for decades) and thus established itself as the single biggest hit TV series of the 1960s. It remained high on the Nielsen ratings until 1971, when it finally fell out of the top ten.

Production

Costumes

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, and it cut the cost of refilming action shots (such as riding clips in-between scenes), as previously shot stock footage could be reused.

Hair styles

In 1968, Blocker began wearing a toupee on the series as he was approaching forty and losing hair. He joined the ranks of his fellow co-stars Pernell Roberts and Lorne 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). Michael Landon was the only original cast member who was wig-free throughout the series, as even Victor Sen Yung's Hop Sing wore an attached queue (pony tail).

Cancellation

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' 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 sudden cancellation in January 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.

TV movies

Bonanza was brought back for three made-for-TV 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' heir. Hoss' son Josh was born out-of-wedlock, as it is explained that Hoss drowned without knowing his fiancee was pregnant. Such a storyline may 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 sired Michael Learned's daughter via 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).

Prequel

In 2001, there was an attempt to revive the series' concept with a prequel, Ponderosa, with a pilot directed by Kevin James Dobson 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.

Theme song

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 TV series.

The Bonanza theme is one of the best known pieces of made-for-television music, and variations of it were used for twelve seasons of the series. Only in the pilot episode was the vocal version used, where at the closing shot, three of the four Cartwrights would vocalize the song, but without music ("Adam" didn't sing, ironically, considering Pernell Roberts had the best singing voice of the quartet). 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. In 1968, a new percussion-heavy arrangement of the original theme 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 version was a vocal version issued on RCA Victor in 1960 (recorded in 1959) in an album of then-recent new TV theme songs played by Buddy Morrow and his Orchestra. The album was called DOUBLE IMPACT. In December, 1960, another vocal version was issued only in the UK by Johnny Gregory and his Orchestra and Chorus released on the Fontana label. All aforementioned vocal versions, including the TV pilot, used lyrics written by Livingston and Evans contained in the sheet music for the song, though not all the lyrics were sung. In between those two were two instrumental versions recorded by David Rose who had done the theme for the actual TV series. In 1960, he first recorded a version released on his EXODUS album on MGM. It was soon followed by a newly orchestrated version for a soundtrack lp directly related to the TV show. One of those versions made it to single release by November, 1960.

The biggest hit version is a guitar instrumental by Al Caiola, which reached number 19 on Billboard in 1961, having debuted by April. Billy Vaughn would offer up an instrumental version in early 1962 as a track on his Dot lp, CHAPEL BY THE SEA. 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 rewrote 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. Singer Ralf Paulsen recorded a German-language version of the song in 1963, released in mid-June, 1963 on Capitol Records in the US. His German version (lyrics attributed to "Nicolas") was sung in the same style and mood that Cash had recorded it, and was fairly close in translation.

In 1962, a shortened instrumental version (0:39 seconds) was recorded for the opening track of PONDEROSA PARTY TIME, which featured all four of the Cartwrights (in character) offering songs in a party atmosphere, singing together and as solos. In late 1963, Lorne Greene would record an album, WELCOME TO THE PONDEROSA which contained a lyrically brand new version of "Bonanza", still composed by Livingston and Evans. One line from the original composition was recycled though: "If anyone fights anyone of us, he's gotta fight with me". This version was eventually released as the flip side to a single release of another song from the album, "Ringo" by October, 1964 where "Ringo" went all the way to #1 in Billboard in the first week of December. Later issues of the album would feature an added balloon on the front cover stating FEATURING THE BIG HIT "RINGO" (not noted on the album's earlier releases). The album also featured spoken introductions to each of the songs, though separately tracked (not found on the single issue).

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 didn't 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.

Set

The first Virginia City set was used on the show until 1970 and was located on a backlot at Paramount and turned up in episodes of Have Gun – Will Travel, Mannix and The Brady Bunch. On a 1970 Bonanza episode entitled "The Night Virginia City Died," Deputy Clem Foster's pyromaniac fiancee leveled 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 worldwide until its sale in September 2004.

Merchandising

Bonanza has had a highly profitable merchandising history. Currently, Bonanza Ventures, Inc. grants merchandising and licensing rights worldwide. The original series spawned successful novelty folk albums from 1962–65, three dozen Dell and Gold Key Comic books from 1962 through 1970, a series of "Big-Little" books from 1966–1969, a chain of Bonanza and Ponderosa steakhouses from 1963–present, the Lake Tahoe-based "Ponderosa" theme park from 1967–2004; a line of action figures, lunch buckets and View Master sets from 1965–1973, a series of Hamilton collector plates 1989–1990. 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) & 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.

Home video

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 sub-par picture and sound quality, and by legal necessity with the copyright protected Evans-Livingston theme song replaced with generic western music.

In 1973, NBC ceded distribution rights to the series to National Telefilm Associates, which changed its name to Republic Pictures in the 1980s. Republic would become part of the Spelling Entertainment organization in 1994. Select episodes ("The Best of Bonanza") were officially released in North America in 2003 on DVD via 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. CBS DVD is now the home video rights holder, while the series copyright remains with NBC Universal. Bonanza Ventures, however, remains a co-licensee of the Bonanza material with both NBC and CBS.

CBS/Paramount announced on June 1, 2009 that the first season of Bonanza would be released to DVD on September 15 of the same year. The first season was issued in two, half-season volumes available separately or bundled together.[15] This release is one of the few CBS DVD box sets to be issued uncut, in their original broadcast versions with all the original music as telecast. Newly re-mastered from original 35mm film elements, the episodes' visual and audio quality is outstanding. Also included are numerous extras including original network and sponsor elements and trailers. 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, Get Smart, is actually owned by HBO (via Talent Associates/Time-Life), and thus DVD rights are held by HBO Home Entertainment, with distribution through Warner Home Video. Seasons 1–7 has also been released on dvd in Germany, uncut with both German language dub and original English language audio tracks.

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

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ mentioned in first scene of first episode
  2. ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bonanza
  3. ↑ TV Ratings: 1960
  4. ↑ TV Ratings: 1964
  5. ↑ TV Ratings: 1968
  6. ↑ TV Ratings: 1961
  7. ↑ TV Ratings: 1965
  8. ↑ TV Ratings: 1969
  9. ↑ TV Ratings: 1962
  10. ↑ TV Ratings: 1966
  11. ↑ TV Ratings: 1970
  12. ↑ TV Ratings: 1963
  13. ↑ TV Ratings: 1967
  14. ↑ TV Ratings: 1971
  15. ↑ Lambert, David (June 26, 2009). "Bonanza – Package Art Rides In for Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 of The Official 1st Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bonanza-Season-1-Box-Art/12194. Retrieved February 27, 2010. 

Bibliography

External links