Bonanza season 6
Bonanza | |
---|---|
Season 6 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 34 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | September 20, 1964 May 23, 1965 | –
Season chronology | |
The sixth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 20, 1964, with the final episode airing May 23, 1965.[1] The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season six starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 34 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color.[2] Season six was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It moved up to capture the #1 spot in the Nielsen ratings for the 1964-1965 season, a position it would hold for three straight seasons.[3]
Synopsis
[edit]Bonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam, Eric ("Hoss"), and Joseph ("Little Joe"). A regular character is their ranch cook, Hop Sing.
Cast and characters
[edit]Main cast
[edit]- Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
- Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
- Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright
- Michael Landon as Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright
Recurring
[edit]- Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing
- Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
- Bing Russell as Deputy Clem Foster
Guest cast
[edit]- Lola Albright
- Hoyt Axton
- Noah Beery Jr.
- Charles Bronson
- Bruce Cabot
- Rory Calhoun
- Anthony Caruso
- Barrie Chase
- Steve Cochran
- John Conte
- Susanne Cramer
- Elaine Devry
- Dan Duryea
- Eddie Firestone
- Joan Freeman
- James Gregory
- Joan Hackett
- Mariette Hartley
- Kathryn Hays
- Earl Holliman
- Steve Ihnat
- Richard Jaeckel
- Henry Jones
- Barry Kelley
- George Kennedy
- Henry Kulky
- Sue Ane Langdon
- Viveca Lindfors
- Fabrizio Mioni
- Andrew Prine
- Aldo Ray
- Michael Rennie
- Cesar Romero
- Telly Savalas
- Jacqueline Scott
- Brenda Scott
- Everett Sloane
- Guy Stockwell
- Harold J. Stone
- Ernest Truex
- Warren Vanders
- Jean Willes
- Grant Williams
- Ed Wynn
- Bruce Yarnell
- Tony Young
Production
[edit]Filming
[edit]On location shooting for season six was completed at the following sites:
- Baldwin Gold Mine, Holcomb Valley - "The Hostage"[4]
- Red Rock Canyon - "The Wild One"[4]
- Golden Oak Ranch - "Logan's Treasure",[5] "Women of Fire",[6] "The Spotlight"[7]
- Vasquez Rocks - "Between Heaven and Earth"[8]
- Iverson's Movie Ranch - "The Far, Far Better Thing"[9]
Episodes
[edit]No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
169 | 1 | "Invention of a Gunfighter" | John Florea | Daniel B. Ullman | September 20, 1964 | |
Joe teaches to his friend Johnny Chapman (Guy Stockwell) how to use a six-shooter, only for the man to embark on a career as a ruthless bounty hunter. | ||||||
170 | 2 | "The Hostage" | Don McDougall | Don Mullally | September 27, 1964 | |
Ben is taken hostage by a band of outlaws demanding a ransom of $100,000. The Cartwrights formulate a plan to rescue their father. Harold J. Stone and Jacqueline Scott guest star. | ||||||
171 | 3 | "The Wild One" | William Witney | Jo Pagano | October 4, 1964 | |
Hoss is looking for a wild stallion for breeding and he chooses a gruff mountaineer (Aldo Ray), who is later confronted by the wife (Kathryn Hays) he left long ago. | ||||||
172 | 4 | "Thanks for Everything, Friend" | Christian Nyby | Jerry Adelman | October 11, 1964 | |
Tom Wilson (Rory Calhoun), who's an expert in cards and women, saves Adam from drowning. This event begins a friendship that Adam will later regret. | ||||||
173 | 5 | "Logan's Treasure" | Don McDougall | Story by : Robert Sabaroff Teleplay by : Ken Pettus | October 18, 1964 | |
Sam Logan (Dan Duryea) gets out of prison and tries to avoid those who are certain he's hidden a cache of stolen gold somewhere. Ben believes him and invites him to stay at the Ponderosa. | ||||||
174 | 6 | "The Scapegoat" | Christian Nyby | Rod Peterson | October 25, 1964 | |
Hoss befriends suicidal man Waldo Watson (George Kennedy), who turns out to be a scapegoat for three men who intend to do him harm. | ||||||
175 | 7 | "A Dime's Worth of Glory" | William F. Claxton | Richard Shapiro and Esther Mayesh | November 1, 1964 | |
Ben and Adam capture a known outlaw that tried to hold up the stage they were passengers on. After this episode, Ben turns down a dime novelist's offer to make the Cartwrights famous, so the novelist gives it to aging Sheriff Laramore (Bruce Cabot). | ||||||
176 | 8 | "Square Deal Sam" | Murray Golden | Jessica Benson and Murray Golden | November 8, 1964 | |
The Cartwrights fall for the schemes of con artist Samuel T. Washburn, nicknamed Square Deal Sam (Ernest Truex). | ||||||
177 | 9 | "Between Heaven and Earth" | William Witney | Ed Adamson | November 15, 1964 | |
Joe and his friend Mitch Devlin (Richard Jaeckel) are chasing a sheep-killing puma and Joe has to climb a steep slope, but something goes wrong. | ||||||
178 | 10 | "Old Sheba" | John Florea | Alex Sharp | November 22, 1964 | |
Hoss injured traveling circus wrestler Bearcat Samspon (Henry Kulky). When the owner of the traveling circus squanders Hoss's winnings in a wrestling match, Joe and Hoss receive an elephant as payment. | ||||||
179 | 11 | "A Man to Admire" | John Florea | Mort R. Lewis | December 6, 1964 | |
Hoss is accused of murdering a scheming businessman, and then has to rely on his new friend, an alcoholic lawyer (James Gregory), to clear him. | ||||||
180 | 12 | "The Underdog" | William F. Claxton | Don Mullally | December 13, 1964 | |
Joe tries to help half Native American Harry Starr (Charles Bronson), who is accused of being a chronic horse thief. | ||||||
181 | 13 | "A Knight to Remember" | Vincent McEveety | Robert V. Barron | December 20, 1964 | |
A knight in shining armor who calls himself King Arthur (Henry Jones) scares away bandits trying to rob a stagecoach carrying Adam. | ||||||
182 | 14 | "The Saga of Squaw Charlie" | William Witney | Warren Douglas | December 27, 1964 | |
Old Indian Squaw Charlie (Anthony Caruso) befriends a little girl in spite of the townspeople ridiculing him. After she goes missing, the whole town wants his blood. | ||||||
183 | 15 | "The Flapjack Contest" | William F. Claxton | Story by : Tom Davison Teleplay by : Frank Cleaver | January 3, 1965 | |
Hoss has to stay on a strict diet before a flapjack-eating contest: he has to win against champion Big Ed Simpson (Mel Berger). | ||||||
184 | 16 | "The Far, Far Better Thing" | Bernard McEveety | Mort R. Lewis | January 10, 1965 | |
Joe competes with ranch hand Tuck (Warren Vanders) for the affections of Lucy Melviney (Brenda Scott), an Eastern girl with a thirst for adventure. | ||||||
185 | 17 | "Woman of Fire" | William F. Claxton | Suzanne Clauser | January 17, 1965 | |
Shakespeare-inspired Adam takes care of a temperamental señorita (Joan Hackett) while her father finds her a husband. | ||||||
186 | 18 | "The Ballerina" | Don McDougall | Frank Chase | January 24, 1965 | |
An aspirant ballerina (Barrie Chase) falls for her teacher and faces resistance from her father, who is a traveling violinist. | ||||||
187 | 19 | "The Flannel-Mouth Gun" | Don McDougall | Leo Gordon and Paul Leslie Peil | January 31, 1965 | |
Desperate ranchers hire a gunman to take care of rustlers; tragedy follows and Sherman Clegg (Earl Holliman) is accused of murder. | ||||||
188 | 20 | "The Ponderosa Birdman" | Herbert L. Strock | Blair Robertson and Hazel Swanson | February 7, 1965 | |
An eccentric inventor (Ed Wynn) plans to take flight with his meticulously crafted wings. Hoss tries to help him and his overly-protective granddaughter. | ||||||
189 | 21 | "The Search" | William F. Claxton | Frank Cleaver | February 14, 1965 | |
Adam searches for his troublesome lookalike Tom Burns. His search lands him in the Placerville jail. Lola Albright and Elaine Devry guest star. | ||||||
190 | 22 | "The Deadliest Game" | Gerd Oswald | Jo Pagano | February 21, 1965 | |
Aging circus aerialist Guido Borelli (Cesar Romero) grows jealous of his partner Petina's (Ilze Taurins) attraction to Joe, but he's quick to comfort her after a fistfight with her boyfriend Carlo (Fabrizio Mioni) lands Joe in prison. | ||||||
191 | 23 | "Once a Doctor" | Tay Garnett | Martha Wilkerson | February 28, 1965 | |
A vengeful Englishman comes after Doctor P.A. Mundy (Michael Rennie), nicknamed Professor Poppy, that he blames for the death of his wife. | ||||||
192 | 24 | "Right Is the Fourth R" | Virgil Vogel | Jerry Adelman | March 7, 1965 | |
Adam tries to teach a course in frontier history and learns some unsettling facts about the territory's founders. Everett Sloane, Mariette Hartley and Barry Kelley guest star. | ||||||
193 | 25 | "Hound Dog" | Ralph E. Black | Alex Sharp | March 21, 1965 | |
Cousin Muley Jones (Bruce Yarnell) returns along with hound dogs, but Tracy Ledbetter (Sue Ane Langdon) claims he stole them from her. | ||||||
194 | 26 | "The Trap" | William Witney | Ken Pettus | March 28, 1965 | |
Married man Burk (Steve Cochran) sets a trap to keep Joe away from his wife (Joan Freeman), but when his plan backfires and he ends up dead, his twin brother decides to finish the job. | ||||||
195 | 27 | "Dead and Gone" | Robert Totten | Paul Schneider | April 4, 1965 | |
Adam tries to help wandering troubadour Howard Mead (Hoyt Axton) overcome his habit of stealing after he tried to rob Johann Brunner (Steve Ihnat) and his sister Hilda (Susanne Cramer). | ||||||
196 | 28 | "A Good Night's Rest" | William F. Claxton | Story by : Jeffrey Fleece Teleplay by : Frank Cleaver | April 11, 1965 | |
After dealing with Hoss' snoring, Adam's guitar playing and Little Joe's courting shenanigans, Ben checks into a hotel to try to get a good night's sleep. Eddie Firestone and Jean Willes guest star. | ||||||
197 | 29 | "To Own the World" | Virgil Vogel | Ed Adamson | April 18, 1965 | |
Wealthy tycoon Charles Augustus Hackett (Telly Savalas) is out to get the Ponderosa. | ||||||
198 | 30 | "Lothario Larkin" | William Witney | Warren Douglas | April 25, 1965 | |
Infamous womanizer Lothario Larkin (Noah Beery, Jr.) returns to Virginia City, to the displeasure of the fathers and the sheriff. | ||||||
199 | 31 | "The Return" | Virgil Vogel | Story by : Frank Chase & Ken Pettus Teleplay by : Ken Pettus | May 2, 1965 | |
Ex-convict Trace Cordell (Tony Young) returns to town, but no one is glad to see him, especially Paul Dorn (John Conte), the banker he crippled in a bank robbery. | ||||||
200 | 32 | "Jonah" | William F. Claxton | Preston Wood | May 9, 1965 | |
Ranch hand George Whitman (Andrew Prine) is offered a job on the Ponderosa when he saves Hoss's life, but rumors state that he's a jinx. | ||||||
201 | 33 | "The Spotlight" | Gerd Oswald | Richard Carr | May 16, 1965 | |
Ben tries to talk retired opera star Angela Bergstrom (Viveca Lindfors) into resuming her career on the stage. | ||||||
202 | 34 | "Patchwork Man" | Ralph E. Black | Don Tait and William Koenig | May 23, 1965 | |
Hoss hires recluse Albert 'Patch' Saunders (Grant Williams) to work on the Ponderosa. After learning about Patch's past, Hoss decides to help him. |
Release
[edit]Season six aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[10]
Reception
[edit]Season six was the first season the show captured the #1 position in the Nielsen ratings. It held that position for the three straight seasons.[3]
Awards and nominations
[edit]Award | Year[a] | Category | Nominee(s) / Work | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 1965 | Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment—Cinematographer | Haskell Boggs and William Whitley | Nominated | [11] |
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment—Color Consultant | Edward Ancona | Won | [11] |
- ^ Indicates the year of ceremony.
References
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 95, 100.
- ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
- ^ a b
- "TV Ratings: 1964–1965". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- "TV Ratings: 1965–1966". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- "TV Ratings: 1966–1967". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 89.
- ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 90.
- ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 94.
- ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 99.
- ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 91.
- ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 93.
- ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.
- ^ a b "Television Academy Emmy Awards & Nominations—Bonanza". emmys.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- 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.
- Greenland, David R. (2010). Bonanza: A Viewer's Guide to the TV Legend. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-62933-722-7.
- Greenland, David R. (2015). Michael Landon: The Career and Artistry of a Television Genius. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-785-0.
- Leiby, Bruce R.; Leiby, Linda F. (2015). A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel, and Broadcast History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 9781476600758.
- 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.