# Bonanza season 9

The ninth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 17, 1967, with the final episode airing July 28, 1968. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season nine starred Lorne Greene, 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 colour. Season nine was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. After three straight seasons at number one, it slipped to #6 in the Nielsen ratings.

## 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 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
### Main cast

* Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
* Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright
* Michael Landon as Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright
* David Canary as "Candy" Canaday

### Recurring

* Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing
* Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
* Bing Russell as Deputy Clem Foster

### Guest cast

* Noah Beery Jr.
* James Best
* Michael Blodgett
* Wally Cox
* Kathleen Crowley
* Kim Darby
* Albert Dekker
* Michael Forest
* James Gregory
* Ron Hayes
* Kim Hunter
* Arch Johnson
* John Kellogg
* Tina Louise
* Paul Mantee
* Michael Murphy
* J. Carrol Naish
* Andre Philippe
* Carlos Rivera
* Albert Salmi
* John Saxon
* Tisha Sterling
* Susan Strasberg
* Tom Tully
* Jan-Michael Vincent
* Robert Walker Jr.
* Dawn Wells
* James Whitmore
* Michael Witney
* William Windom

## Production
### Filming

On location filming took place at the following:
* Ponderosa Ranch at Incline Village - "Desperate Passage", "Showdown at Tahoe"
* Lake Tahoe - "Showdown at Tahoe"
* Vasquez Rocks - "The Thirteenth Man"
* Franklin Lake - "Star Crossed", "A Severe Case of Matrimony"
* Bronson Canyon - "Commitment at Angelus", "In Defense of Honor", "To Die in Darkness"
The episode "Showdown at Tahoe" used the M. S. Dixie II, an operating tour vessel on Lake Tahoe.

## Episodes

Bonanza, season 9 episodes :
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 270 | 1 | "Second Chance" | Leon Benson | Story by : Paul Schneider Teleplay by : John Hawkins and Paul Schneider | September 17, 1967 (1967-09-17) |
| Ben joins an Army patrol to try and save Hoss and Joe from Indians. When Joe is wounded, they meet a dying doctor who is willing to help them. James Gregory guest stars. ||||||
| 271 | 2 | "Sense of Duty" | William Witney | Story by : Gil Lasky and Abe Polsky Teleplay by : John Hawkins | September 24, 1967 (1967-09-24) |
| Ben leads a militia troop unit that takes Paiute Indian Wabuska (Michael Forest), a man who is seen as a God by the Indians, to prison. (The first episode to feature David Canary as Candy Canady). ||||||
| 272 | 3 | "The Conquistadores" | Leon Benson | Walter Black | October 1, 1967 (1967-10-01) |
| Joe is kidnapped by a band of Mexicans miners searching for gold and held for ransom, but thieves are out to take the gold for themselves. John Saxon, John Kellogg and Carlos Rivera guest star. ||||||
| 273 | 4 | "Judgement at Olympus" | John Rich | Walter Black | October 8, 1967 (1967-10-08) |
| Candy is framed for the murder of A.Z. Wheelock's (Arch Johnson) son in the town of Olympus, so Joe and Hoss try to clear him. ||||||
| 274 | 5 | "Night Of Reckoning" | Leon Benson | Walter Black | October 15, 1967 (1967-10-15) |
| A band of outlaws, previously involved in wounding Donnie Buckler (Ron Hayes), take Joe, Hoss, and Candy hostage as they search the Ponderosa for holdup money taken by one of their own. ||||||
| 275 | 6 | "False Witness" | Michael Moore | Eric Norden | October 22, 1967 (1967-10-22) |
| Billy Slater (Michael Blodgett) and Doug Slater (Bill Fletcher)'s gang stalk Joe, Hoss, Candy and a woman since they witnessed one of their crimes. ||||||
| 276 | 7 | "The Gentle Ones" | Harry Harris | Frank Chase | October 29, 1967 (1967-10-29) |
| An animal-loving cowboy (Robert Walker Jr.) must stand up to his brutish older brother in order to prove to a widow that he's not a coward. ||||||
| 277 | 8 | "Desperate Passage" | Leon Benson | John Hawkins | November 5, 1967 (1967-11-05) |
| The Cartwrights encounter two survivors of an Indian raid—a suspected murderer and a woman (Tina Louise) who knows he's innocent. ||||||
| 278 | 9 | "The Sure Thing" | William Witney | Story by : Robert Vincent Wright Teleplay by : Robert Vincent Wright and Sidney Ellis | November 12, 1967 (1967-11-12) |
| A young woman, Trudy Loughlin (Kim Darby), has a dream of riding her stallion in a big-stakes race, but this is jeopardized when her father, Burt Laughlin (Tom Tully), associates himself with a gambler. ||||||
| 279 | 10 | "Showdown At Tahoe" | Gerald Mayer | Thomas Thompson | November 19, 1967 (1967-11-19) |
| Candy sets a trap for a band of outlaws bent on robbing Ben's timber operation. ||||||
| 280 | 11 | "Six Black Horses" | Donald R. Daves | Story by : William Jerome Teleplay by : William Jerome and Michael Landon | November 26, 1967 (1967-11-26) |
| An Irishman uses luck to outwit greedy businessmen. ||||||
| 281 | 12 | "Check Rein" | Leon Benson | Story by : Robert I. Holt Teleplay by : Olney Sherwood and Robert I. Holt | December 3, 1967 (1967-12-03) |
| The Cartwrights get involved in a man's fight to save his inheritance and himself from his greedy uncle. ||||||
| 282 | 13 | "Justice Deferred" | Gerald Mayer | Jack Miller | December 17, 1967 (1967-12-17) |
| Hoss realizes that his testimony has led to the hanging of an innocent man, so he sets out to convict the real killer. ||||||
| 283 | 14 | "The Gold Detector" | Donald R. Daves | Ward Hawkins | December 24, 1967 (1967-12-24) |
| After buying a gold detector, Hoss tries to prove its worth and protect it from thieves. Guest starring Wally Cox, and Caroline Richter. ||||||
| 284 | 15 | "The Trackers" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Frederick Louis Fox Teleplay by : Reuben Bercovitch | January 7, 1968 (1968-01-07) |
| Ben, Candy and Hoss try to protect a recently-released prisoner suspected of robbery and murder. ||||||
| 285 | 16 | "A Girl Named George" | Leon Benson | William H. Wright | January 14, 1968 (1968-01-14) |
| The Cartwrights investigate a mystery involving an altered photograph. ||||||
| 286 | 17 | "The Thirteenth Man" | Leon Benson | Walter Black | January 21, 1968 (1968-01-21) |
| The Cartwrights clash with a range detective (Albert Salmi) who pressures his suspects into drawing first so he can kill them. ||||||
| 287 | 18 | "The Burning Sky" | John Rich | Story by : Carol Saraceno Teleplay by : William H. Wright | January 28, 1968 (1968-01-28) |
| A ranch hand (Michael Murphy) causes trouble when he arrives with his Indian bride (Dawn Wells). ||||||
| 288 | 19 | "The Price of Salt" | Leon Benson | B. W. Sandefur | February 4, 1968 (1968-02-04) |
| A woman (Kim Hunter) who has a monopoly on the salt needed for cattle sets off the buyers when she raises the price. James Best guest stars. ||||||
| 289 | 20 | "Blood Tie" | Seymour Robbie | Arthur Dales | February 18, 1968 (1968-02-18) |
| One of three men tricks the Cartwrights into hiring him so he and his cohorts can rob them. ||||||
| 290 | 21 | "The Crime of Johnny Mule" | Leon Benson | Joel Murcott | February 25, 1968 (1968-02-25) |
| Johnny Mule (Noah Beery, Jr.), the man Hoss refused to convict for murder, breaks out of prison. ||||||
| 291 | 22 | "The Late Ben Cartwright" | Leon Benson | Walter Black | March 3, 1968 (1968-03-03) |
| An assassin complicates Ben's fight to prevent a corrupt tycoon's lackey from being elected governor. ||||||
| 292 | 23 | "Star Crossed" | William F. Claxton | Thomas Thompson | March 10, 1968 (1968-03-10) |
| Candy falls for a girl (Tisha Sterling) being harassed by a former lawman-turned-blackmailer (William Windom). ||||||
| 293 | 24 | "Trouble Town" | Leon Benson | David Lang | March 17, 1968 (1968-03-17) |
| The Cartwrights must find out why Candy is being held in River Bend on a minor charge without bail. ||||||
| 294 | 25 | "Commitment at Angelus" | Leon Benson | Peter Germano | April 7, 1968 (1968-04-07) |
| Joe gets involved in a miners' strike after the death of a friend leaves the miners without a leader. ||||||
| 295 | 26 | "A Dream to Dream" | William F. Claxton | Michael Landon | April 14, 1968 (1968-04-14) |
| When a man's guilt over his son's death lead him to drinking, his wife and other children pay more attention to Hoss. ||||||
| 296 | 27 | "In Defense of Honor" | Marc Daniels | Story by : Richard Wendley and William Douglas Lansford Teleplay by : William Douglas Lansford | April 28, 1968 (1968-04-28) |
| An outcast jeopardizes negotiations with the Indians when he decides to rejoin the tribe he rejected his whole life. ||||||
| 297 | 28 | "To Die in Darkness" | Michael Landon | Michael Landon | May 5, 1968 (1968-05-05) |
| Ben and Candy are trapped in a mine shaft by a vengeful ex-prisoner (James Whitmore), who wrongly served time based on the testimony of the pair. ||||||
| 298 | 29 | "The Bottle Fighter" | Leon Benson | Story by : Colin MacKenzie and S. H. Barnett Teleplay by : John Hawkins | May 12, 1968 (1968-05-12) |
| The only lawyer (Albert Dekker) who can defend Hoss in the case of a murdered cattle buyer is an alcoholic. ||||||
| 299 | 30 | "The Arrival of Eddie" | Marc Daniels | John M. Chester and Ward Hawkins | May 19, 1968 (1968-05-19) |
| Hoss seeks forgiveness from Eddie MaKay (Jan-Michael Vincent) for killing his father. ||||||
| 300 | 31 | "The Stronghold" | Leon Benson | John Hawkins and William Riley Burnett | May 26, 1968 (1968-05-26) |
| Joe and Candy are swindled out of a herd of cattle by the Farrell brothers (Paul Mantee, Michael Witney), so they follow the sparring brothers back to their Arizona hideout. ||||||
| 301 | 32 | "Pride of a Man" | William F. Claxton | Ward Hawkins and Helen B. Hicks | June 2, 1968 (1968-06-02) |
| Joe takes a job as a substitute teacher and must deal with two incorrigible boys and their father, who doesn't think his boys need an education. ||||||
| 302 | 33 | "A Severe Case of Matrimony" | Lewis Allen | Michael Fessier | July 7, 1968 (1968-07-07) |
| A band of Gypsies arrives on the Ponderosa and one of them wishes to marry a Cartwright. Guest stars: J. Carrol Naish as Anselmo, Susan Strasberg as Rosalita, and Andre Philippe as Paco ||||||
| 303 | 34 | "Stage Door Johnnies" | William F. Claxton | Alex Sharp | July 28, 1968 (1968-07-28) |
| Hoss and Joe allow their rivalry for the affections of an attractive singer (Kathleen Crowley) to get them into damage suits. ||||||

## Release

Season nine aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.

## Reception

After three straight seasons in the number one spot, it slipped to #6 in the Nielsen ratings.