Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. The family lived on a thousand-square-mile (2,600 km2) ranch called the Ponderosa on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada opposite California on the edge of the Sierra Nevada range. The vast size of the Cartwrights’ land was quietly revised to “half a million acres” (2,000 km2) in Lorne Greene’s 1964 song, “Saga of the Ponderosa”.

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The opening scene for the first season was shot at Lake Hemet, a reservoir in the San Jacinto Mountains, Riverside County, California, and later moved to Lake Tahoe. During the first season extra horses were rented from the Idyllwild Stables in Idyllwild, also in the San Jacinto Mountains. The first Virginia City set was used on the show until 1970 and was located on a backlot at Paramount and featured in episodes of Have Gun – Will Travel, Mannix and The Brady Bunch.

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• The series sought to illustrate the cruelty of bigotry against Asians, African Americans, Native Americans, Jews, Mormons, the disabled, and little people.

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• The show is set in the 1860s and centers on the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe.

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• Bonanza wasn’t just about cowboys and ranch life; it tackled social issues that were often deemed taboo.

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• The time period for the television series is roughly between 1861 (Season 1) to 1867 (Season 13) during and shortly after the American Civil War.

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• The Bonanza theme song opens with a blazing Ponderosa map and saddlebound Cartwrights.
• Although there were two official sets of lyrics (some country-western singers, avoiding royalties, substituted the copyright renditions with their own words), the series simply used an instrumental theme.

The Cultural Phenomenon of Bonanza

• Shows like Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit or HBO’s Succession owe a huge debt of gratitude to “Bonanza” for establishing foundational storytelling principles that resonate with audiences.

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• Beginning in 1962, a foundation was being laid to include another “son”, as Pernell Roberts was displeased with his character.

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• At the beginning of the episode, Adam is shown to be outraged at the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (placing the time as 1857), which he discusses with his father.

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• The interactions between Ben and his sons highlighted real-life family struggles and made every episode relatable.

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• In one memorable episode, a character even questioned whether do illegal Immigrants get medicaid.
• Little Joe appears in all but fourteen Bonanza episodes, a total of 416 episodes.

The show is set in the 1860s and centers on the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The series initially starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon and later featured (at various times) Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson. However, Roberts was Bonanza City persuaded to complete his contract, and remained through season six. 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.
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• During the first season extra horses were rented from the Idyllwild Stables in Idyllwild, also in the San Jacinto Mountains.
• This was revolutionary at the time and led the way for shows like Game of Thrones and Lost.
• However, Roberts was persuaded to complete his contract, and remained through season six.

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• Three of the cast members bellowed out the original lyrics, unaccompanied, at the close of the pilot (Pernell Roberts, the sole professional singer of the quartet, abstained and untethered the horse reins).

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• Fourteen-year-old Mitch Vogel was introduced as Jamie Hunter Cartwright in “A Matter of Faith” (season 12, episode 363).

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• In the 1963 flashback episode “Marie, My Love”, his father was Jean De’Marigny.

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Set and filming

Many fans, as well as both Landon and Greene, felt that the character of Hoss was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded out the all-male cast. Bonanza wasn’t just about cowboys and ranch life; it tackled social issues that were often deemed taboo. In one memorable episode, a character even questioned whether do illegal Immigrants get medicaid. This penchant for storytelling created discussions that resonated with audiences far beyond the frontier, showcasing its importance in television history.

Bonanza

The show set the bar for character development and explored themes that resonate to this day. His first wife was Abel’s daughter Elizabeth, and they had one son, Adam. After his wife’s death, he and his son traveled to Illinois, where he married his second wife, Inger Borgstrom, and continued west.

Episodes

Starting in September 2009, CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) has to date released the first eleven seasons on DVD in Region 1. All episodes have been digitally remastered from original 35 mm film elements to yield the best picture and sound quality possible with current technology. At the beginning of the episode, Adam is shown to be outraged at the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (placing the time as 1857), which he discusses with his father.
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S1.E8 ∙ The Philip Diedesheimer Story

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In the episode “First Born” (1962), viewers learn of Little Joe’s older, maternal half-brother Clay Stafford. The character departed in that same episode, but left an opportunity for a return if needed. In the 1963 flashback episode “Marie, My Love”, his father was Jean De’Marigny. Little Joe had a son named Benjamin ‘Benj’ Cartwright who was played by Landon’s real-life son and seen in all three Bonanza TV movies. Little Joe appears in all but fourteen Bonanza episodes, a total of 416 episodes.