Ever heard of a series that is evergreen. Bonanza is one of those series where the audience never gets bored watching it no matter how old the TV Show is. Yes, we are not talking about normal old, we are talking about 1950’s old times. The series Bonanza have ever since the release of its first season been loved by every fan on Earth. To know more about the series, let us keep reading, Shall we?
About Bonanza T.V. Series
From September 12, 1959, until January 16, 1973, Bonanza was an American Western television series that aired on NBC. Bonanza is NBC’s longest-running western, with 14 seasons and 431 episodes. It is also the second-longest-running western series on American network television (after CBS’s Gunsmoke), and one of the top ten longest-running live-action American series.
The show is still broadcast in syndication. The show is set in the 1860s and centers on the wealthy Cartwright family of Virginia City, Nevada, on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon appeared in the first season, followed by Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel, and Tim Matheson. The show is known for tackling difficult moral questions.
The term “bonanza” is a term used by miners to describe a large vein or deposit of silver ore. It is derived from the Spanish term bonanza, which means “prosperity,” and relates to the discovery of the Comstock Lode of rich silver ore mining beneath the town of Las Vegas in 1859 Virginia City, not far from the Cartwright family’s fictional Ponderosa Ranch. The theme song for the show, also titled “Bonanza,” became a smash. During the series’ long run, only musical renditions were utilized, with no words by Ray Evans.
Bonanza was voted No. 43 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002, and it was also included in the 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time in 2013. The television series takes place between 1861 (Season 1) and 1867 (Season 13), roughly during and immediately after the American Civil War, and coincides with the time when Nevada Territory became a United States state.
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The Storyline Of The Bonanza
The sitcom chronicles the monthly exploits of the Cartwright family, led by the thrice-widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene). He had three children, each by a different wife: the eldest, the urbane architect Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts), who designed the ranch house; the second, the warm and loving Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts); and the third, the warm and lovely Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts), giant Eric “Hoss” Cartwright (Dan Blocker); and the youngest, Joseph or “Little Joe” Cartwright (Dan Blocker) (Michael Landon).
Each wife was given a different heritage via exposition and flashback episodes: English, Swedish, and French Creole, respectively. Hop Sing, a Chinese immigrant, was the family’s cook (Victor Sen Yung). Greene, Roberts, Blocker, and Landon were all given equal billing, with the opening titles alternating between the four performers.
The family lived on the Ponderosa, a 1,000-square-mile ranch on the eastern bank of Lake Tahoe in Nevada, just across the border from California, on the edge of the Sierra Nevada range. On Lorne Greene’s 1964 song “Saga of the Ponderosa,” the immense expanse of the Cartwrights’ land was quietly changed to “half a million acres.” The ponderosa pine, which is prevalent throughout the West, is the inspiration for the ranch’s name.
The Cartwrights would go to Virginia City, the closest town to the Ponderosa, to speak with Sheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actor Ray Teal) or his deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell). The stories in Bonanza were more about Ben and his three dissimilar kids, how they cared for one another, their neighbors, and righteous causes than they were about the range. It was considered an unconventional western for its time.
Bonanza Season 2 Release Date
Season 2 of the series was released in September 1960. The Season has a total of 34 episodes. The Rating of season 2 was quite higher than season 1.
In total, the T.V. Show Bonanza has 14 Seasons all of them were better than the previous one. Let’s hope that we get some news on the renewal of one of the Most watched T.V. shows. You can still watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
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