Bonanza season 14
| Bonanza | |
|---|---|
| Season 14 | |
 Cast of Bonanza in 1959 | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 12, 1972 – January 16, 1973 |
| Season chronology | |
Bonanza is an American Western television series developed and produced by David Dortort and broadcast in the United States for 14 seasons on the NBC network. The entire run of the series' 431 hour-long episodes was produced in color.[1] The premiere was on September 12, 1959, and the final episode broadcast on January 16, 1973.[2] In its initial season, Bonanza aired on Saturday evenings and placed at number 45 in the Nielsen ratings. During its second season, the series moved up to number 17.[3] Bonanza was moved to Sundays at 9:00 PM Eastern Time at the start of its third season. In that time slot, the ratings soared and the series become second only to Wagon Train as the most popular program on American prime time television.[4] It remained in the top ten of the ratings through its twelfth season and ranked at number one in its sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons.
Synopsis
Bonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric "Hoss" (Dan Blocker), and Joseph (Michael Landon). Veteran actor Victor Sen Yung played the ranch cook, Hop Sing. In 1964, Pernell Roberts began expressing a desire to leave the series, and so prospective replacements were introduced via Barry Coe as Little Joe's wayward maternal half-brother Clay, and Guy Williams as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright. However, Roberts was persuaded to complete his contract, and remained through season six. The characters of Clay and Will were discontinued. In the ninth season, David Canary was added to the cast as ranch hand/foreman Candy Canady. After four years with the series, Canary left due to a contract dispute. In the twelfth season, Mitch Vogel joined the cast as Jamie Hunter, a teenage orphan who is adopted by Ben Cartwright.[5][6] Following Dan Blocker's death in May 1972 after season thirteen ended, Greene, Landon, and Vogel continued the series into a fourteenth season, with Canary returning as Candy (reportedly approached by Landon) and Tim Matheson was introduced as ex-prisoner and newly hired ranch-hand Griff King.[5][6] The program was moved to Tuesday nights where it slipped badly in the ratings to number 52 and was subsequently cancelled.[5][6] Bonanza has, however, continued to be popular in syndication. From 1964–1967, Bonanza became the most watched show in the U.S.
Cast and characters
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 416 | 1 | "Forever: Episode 1" | Michael Landon | Michael Landon | September 12, 1972 | |
|
Little Joe falls in love with Alice Harper (played by a young Bonnie Bedelia) who he meets while rescuing her gambler brother John (Andy Robinson) from a poker game gone bad. | ||||||
| 417 | 2 | "Forever: Episode 2" | Michael Landon | Michael Landon | September 19, 1972 | |
|
After Little Joe and Alice Harper are married, she is murdered at their new home. Joe returns to find their house burnt to the ground and his beautiful bride dead. | ||||||
| 418 | 3 | "Heritage of Anger" | Nicholas Webster | Don Ingalls | September 26, 1972 | |
|
Ben helps ex-convict John Dundee (Robert Lansing) re-adjust to society. However, Dundee's boorish attitude complicates matters. | ||||||
| 419 | 4 | "The Initiation" | Alf Kjellin | Douglas Day Stewart | October 3, 1972 | |
|
Jamie joins an elite club. However, when a classmate dies from cardiac arrhythmia during the initiation, the club's president Ted Hoag (Ron Howard) is blamed. | ||||||
| 420 | 5 | "Riot!" | Lewis Allen | Robert Pirosh | October 10, 1972 | |
|
Ben becomes horrified while inspecting living conditions at the Nevada State Prison. So are the frustrated inmates, who take Ben hostage and make a series of demands to improve conditions. Note: first episode of Griff King. | ||||||
| 421 | 6 | "New Man" | Leo Penn | Jack B. Sowards | October 17, 1972 | |
|
In this sequel episode to "Riot," Ben helps parolee Griff King adjust to life outside of prison, giving him a job as a ranch hand. | ||||||
| 422 | 7 | "Ambush at Rio Lobo" | Nicholas Colasanto | Joel Murcott | October 24, 1972 | |
|
Ben and a pregnant woman (Sian Barbara Allen) are held hostage by a gang of robbers, who are plotting a stagecoach robbery and are determined to prevent interference by anyone with the name Cartwright. | ||||||
| 423 | 8 | "The 26th Grave" | Nicholas Colasanto | Stanley Roberts | October 31, 1972 | |
|
Samuel Clemens (Ken Howard) makes his return to Virginia City, this time offering tall tales over an unsolved murder that was tied to a claim jumping. | ||||||
| 424 | 9 | "Stallion" | E. W. Swackhamer | Jack B. Sowards | November 14, 1972 | |
|
Joe is given a beautiful, black stallion for his birthday present, but winds up sacrificing it when he rides to the rescue of a young boy who was accidentally shot by his outlaw father. | ||||||
| 425 | 10 | "The Hidden Enemy" | Alf Kjellin | Stanley Roberts | November 28, 1972 | |
|
Dr. James Wills (Mike Farrell) is Virginia City's new town doctor. He can bring many new procedures to Nevada Territory. However, Dr. Wills is addicted to morphine, which results in trouble ... and in the end, tragedy. | ||||||
| 426 | 11 | "The Sound of Sadness" | Michael Landon | Michael Landon | December 5, 1972 | |
|
Griff's friend, widowed farmer Jonathan May (Jack Albertson), wants to adopt two young orphans, one of whom is unable to talk. When Jonathan is told he cannot adopt the boys, Griff decides to set the adoption agency folks straight on what a loving father is. | ||||||
| 427 | 12 | "The Bucket Dog" | William F. Claxton | John Hawkins | December 19, 1972 | |
|
Jamie buys an Irish setter named April. However, April was a runt and - according to its rightful owner - should be put to sleep because it is a disgrace to the breed. When April competes in a field trial, the dog's owner soon learns that it's not the size of the dog that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog. | ||||||
| 428 | 13 | "First Love" | Leo Penn | Richard Collins | December 26, 1972 | |
|
Jamie becomes friends with Kelly Edwards (Pamela Franklin), who is abused by her husband, Dan. The catch: the husband happens to be the new teacher at the Virginia City School. | ||||||
| 429 | 14 | "The Witness" | Lewis Allen | Story by : Arthur Heinemann Teleplay by : Joel Murcott and Arthur Heinemann | January 2, 1973 | |
|
A man posing as Candy robs one of Ben's elderly business associates; during the robbery, the woman suffers a fatal heart attack. Candy is quickly arrested and brought to trial. | ||||||
| 430 | 15 | "The Marriage of Theodora Duffy" | William F. Claxton | Ward Hawkins | January 9, 1973 | |
|
Unknown to the Cartwrights, Griff is asked to be a government witness in helping to bring a gang of war criminals to justice and Griff is asked to pose as the husband of beautiful Theodora Duffy (Karen Carlson), whom the Cartwrights think Griff had abandoned years ago. Note: This episode features the final appearances of Candy Canaday and Griff King and Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing. Note: Last episode filmed, but broadcast second to last based on edict from NBC that a season finale episode could not be focused on character(s) that weren't Cartwrights. | ||||||
| 431 | 16 | "The Hunter" | Michael Landon | Michael Landon | January 16, 1973 | |
|
During a delivery run, Joe meets Cpl. Bill Tanner (Tom Skerritt), who turns out to be a war-deranged madman who enjoys stalking down his helpless victims before killing them. After stealing Joe's wagon and his supplies, the psychotic Tanner explains that Joe just became his latest "prey." | ||||||
References
Footnotes
- ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
- ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 65, 157.
- ^ "TV Ratings: 1960–1961". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ "TV Ratings: 1961–1962". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Bonanza World Home". Bonanza World. Bonanza Ventures, Inc., and NBC, Inc. 2002–2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c Erickson, Hal (2010). "Bonanza". AllMovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
Bibliography
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- Shapiro, Melany (1997). Bonanza: The Definitive Ponderosa Companion. Cyclone Books. ISBN 978-1-890723-18-7.