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Season 1 – Bonanza

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Bonanza Sep 1959 Drama Western Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Ben Cartwright is the patriarch of an all-male Nevada ranching family. Set during and after the Civil War, "Bonanza" is the story of life on the family's thousand-acre spread, known as the Ponderosa, near Virginia City. Ben has his three sons, each with a different (and deceased) mother. Serious eldest son Adam hopes to follow in his father's footsteps; middle son Hoss is a gentle giant -- physically strong, but sometimes naive; and youngest son Little Joe is the most impetuous and romantic of the offspring.

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Bonanza — Season 1

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 07/05/2023
3.5/4
The popularity of Bonanza cannot be overstated. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Bonanza — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Lorne Greene

Ben Cartwright

Michael Landon

Little Joe Cartwright

Dan Blocker

Eric "Hoss" Cartwright

Pernell Roberts

Adam Cartwright

Victor Sen Yung

Hop Sing

Robert Middleton

Sam Bryant

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 12, 1959 A Rose for Lotta A mining tycoon holds Little Joe hostage to divide the Cartwright clan and take over the Ponderosa; guest Yvonne De Carlo. Details Episode 2 Aired Jan 10, 2024 Monsieur Henri Comstock Life on the Ponderosa with the Cartwright clan. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 19, 1959 Death on Sun Mountain A merchant tries to monopolize Virginia City's meat supply, forcing Indians to poach on the Ponderosa; guest Barry Sullivan. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 26, 1959 The Newcomers Hoss falls for an invalid (Inger Stevens) traveling with unscrupulous prospectors who want to mine the Ponderosa. Details Episode 3 Aired Jan 10, 2024 Or et Amour Life on the Ponderosa with the Cartwright clan. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 3, 1959 The Paiute War A trader's (Jack Warden) abduction of two Indian women sets off a war between Paiutes and California militia. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 10, 1959 Enter Mark Twain Newspaperman Samuel Clemens (Howard Duff), writing as Mark Twain, battles a judge involved in land fraud. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 17, 1959 Julia Bulette Story Little Joe falls for cynical saloon owner Julia Bulette, despite family objections and warnings from a rival. Details Episode 7 Aired Oct 24, 1959 The Saga of Annie O'Toole A prospector dies en route to his claim, leaving his daughter to defend her inheritance in "miner's court"; guest Ida Lupino. Details Episode 8 Aired Oct 31, 1959 The Philip Diedesheimer Story Adam helps an engineer demonstrate his new technique for logging over silver mines without causing cave-ins. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 7, 1959 Mr. Henry Comstock Henry Comstock, discoverer of the Comstock Silver Lode, seeks fortune in Nevada; Little Joe romances a Paiute girl. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 14, 1959 The Magnificent Adah The Cartwright sons misinterpret Ben's relationship with a daring performer (Ruth Roman) pursued by a former suitor. Details Episode 11 Aired Nov 21, 1959 Truckee Strip A silver baron promotes a feud between the Cartwrights and the Bishops over timber rights on disputed land; guest James Coburn. Details Episode 12 Aired Nov 28, 1959 The Hanging Posse A vengeful widower forms a posse to hunt down the murderers of his wife. Details Episode 13 Aired Dec 5, 1959 Vendetta The Morgan gang swears revenge for the death of young Billy Morgan whom Ben killed during a bank robbery. Details Episode 14 Aired Dec 12, 1959 The Sisters Accused of killing a dance hall girl, Adam tries to evade lynchers and uncover the truth; guest Buddy Ebsen. Details Episode 15 Aired Dec 19, 1959 The Last Hunt Hoss and Little Joe discover the daughter of the chief of the Shoshonis who was lost in the mountains. Details Episode 16 Aired Jan 2, 1960 El Toro Grande Outlaws attack Little Joe and Hoss on their trip to California to purchase a prize bull. Details Episode 17 Aired Jan 9, 1960 The Outcasts The clan befriends a woman ostracized because her father and brother were hanged. Details Episode 18 Aired Jan 16, 1960 A House Divided A Confederate sympathizer from Kansas makes trouble for both Virginia City and the Cartwrights; guest Cameron Mitchell. Details Episode 19 Aired Jan 23, 1960 The Gunmen Little Joe and Hoss are mistaken for gunmen while in a small Texas town; they find themselves in the middle of a dangerous feud between two families. Details Episode 20 Aired Jan 30, 1960 The Fear Merchants A potential mayoral candidate attempts to stir up trouble between majority and minority groups in town. Details Episode 21 Aired Feb 6, 1960 Spanish Grant A former dance hall girl poses as a Spanish heiress to claim a land grant that includes part of the Ponderosa; guest Sebastian Cabot. Details Episode 22 Aired Feb 13, 1960 Blood on the Land Jeb Drummond is a murderous sheep herder who has Adam taken hostage to try and force Ben to sign over a large section of Ponderosa land to him. Details Episode 23 Aired Feb 20, 1960 Desert Justice A Ponderosa ranch hand faces charges of killing the wife of the U.S. marshal who came to arrest him. Details Episode 24 Aired Feb 27, 1960 The Stranger As Ben prepares to run for governor, Joe must come to his rescue when a disabled police officer from New Orleans comes to arrest Ben on a 20-year-old murder charge. Details Episode 25 Aired Mar 5, 1960 Escape to the Ponderosa Adam is taken hostage by a band of U.S. Army prisoners who have escaped and sought refuge on the Ponderosa. Details Episode 26 Aired Mar 19, 1960 The Avenger A wanderer seeking his parents' lynchers, arrives in Virginia City as Ben and Adam are convicted of murder. Details Episode 27 Aired Mar 26, 1960 The Last Trophy Two British socialites find that they still have a lot to learn when they visit their friends, the Cartwrights. Details Episode 28 Aired Apr 2, 1960 San Francisco Shortly after the Ponderosa cattle herd arrives in San Francisco at the hands of Hoss, Joe and Ben, two of their traildrivers are shanghaied and destined for Hong Kong. Details Episode 29 Aired Apr 9, 1960 Bitter Water When a neighbor agrees to sell his property, the Cartwrights fear the loss of water rights for their cattle. Details Episode 30 Aired Apr 16, 1960 Feet of Clay The Cartwrights befriend a boy whose father has been sent to jail and whose mother has recently died. Details Episode 31 Aired Apr 23, 1960 Dark Star Little Joe falls for a girl who has been disowned by her people because they think she is a witch and, therefore, an outcast. Details Episode 32 Aired Apr 30, 1960 Death at Dawn A member of a powerful gang murders a shopkeeper; the deputized Cartwrights sentence a murderer to hang at dawn when the leader of the gang kidnaps Ben and holds him hostage. Details

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Bonanza — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
Christian Nyby, Lewis Allen, Joseph Kane, Arthur Lubin, George Blair, Paul Landres
Executive Producer
James W. Lane
Screenwriter
Thomas Thompson, David Dortort, Carey Wilber, Robert E. Thompson, Donald S. Sanford, Gene L. Coon, Al C. Ward, John Furia, Harold Shumate, Claire Huffaker, Frank Unger, Laurence Heath
Network
NBC
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Drama, Western
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 12, 1959