# Bonanza season 1

The first season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 12, 1959, with the final episode airing April 30, 1960. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season one starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 32 episodes of the series's total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. It aired on Saturdays from 7:30 pm–8:30 pm on NBC and placed at number 45 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
* Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
* Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright
* Michael Landon as Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright

### Recurring

* Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing

### Guest stars

* Philip Ahn
* Claude Akins
* Lewis Allen
* John Anderson
* Edward Ashley
* Raymond Bailey
* John Beal
* Alma Beltran
* Whitney Blake
* Sebastian Cabot
* Harry Carey Jr.
* Paul Carr
* Jack Carson
* Anthony Caruso
* James Coburn
* Ellen Corby
* Ricardo Cortez
* Walter Coy
* Hazel Court
* Kathleen Crowley
* Yvonne De Carlo
* Richard Deacon
* Philip Deidesheimer
* Don Dubbins
* Howard Duff
* Buddy Ebsen
* Chana Eden
* Bert Freed
* Jane Greer
* Alan Hale Jr.
* Stacy Harris
* Susan Harrison
* Adrienne Hayes
* James Hong
* Henry Hull
* Arthur Hunnicutt
* David Ladd
* John Larch
* Wesley Lau
* John Litel
* Jack Lord
* Ida Lupino
* George Macready
* Joe Maross
* Patricia Medina
* Don Megowan
* Adah Menkin
* Robert Middleton
* John Milford
* Mort Mills
* Cameron Mitchell
* George Mitchell
* Vic Morrow
* Lloyd Nolan
* Susan Oliver
* Paul Picerni
* Steve Rowland
* Ruth Roman
* Everett Sloane
* Fay Spain
* Inger Stevens
* Onslow Stevens
* Barry Sullivan
* Karl Swenson
* Gloria Talbott
* Jack Warden
* Helen Westcott
* David White
* Jean Willes
* Adam Williams
* Grant Williams
* Rhys Williams
* Ian Wolfe
* Morgan Woodward

## Production
### Development

By 1959, RCA had made progress in producing color television, but American consumers were not adopting the new technology. As the owner of NBC, they sought to produce a pioneer color program. David Dortort created the concept as an hour-long show. It was the first Western to be released in color.
Season one, episode 26, "The Avenger", was the pilot for an unsold spinoff.

### Casting

The character of Hoss was the first to be cast, then Little Joe, with Michael Landon being chosen to appeal to the teenage audience. Dortort had worked with both of the actors in The Restless Gun. After seeing Lorne Greene on an episode of Wagon Train, Dortort chose him for the role of Ben Cartwright, having felt Greene had the qualities he was seeking for the family patriarch. Originally, Dortort wanted Guy Williams for the role of Adam, but he was already committed to Disney's Zorro at the time, so Pernell Roberts was cast instead.
NBC originally wanted guest stars, but the costs of filming the show in color cut into the budget significantly. Instead, Dortort would select a guest cast of unknowns.

### Writing

Dortort had input on most of the script writing. He was credited with four of the scripts in the first season.

### Production design

Sets were designed by Hal Pereira, Earl Hedrick, and David Dortort. Set decoration was handled by Grace Gregory.

### Filming

Dortort originally planned to shoot on location, but film costs related to color production also cut into the budget for filming, resulting in the compromise of filming annually in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Most of the filming was done at Paramount Studios.
Other filming locations included:
* Los Angeles and surrounding areas (episode 1)
* Iverson Movie Ranch (episodes 2, 4)
* Big Bear, California (episodes 3, 11, 15)
* Bronson Canyon (episode 7)

### Music

Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote the original theme song. It was originally planned that the leads would sing the lyrics while riding out of Virginia City, but ultimately, the song was used instrumentally. Dortort, not liking the lyrics, agreed to use the song under the provision that it would not be used within the episodes. Dortort selected composer David Rose to write the music for the show, who scored the show's music with a 35 member orchestra.

## Themes

The show focused more on relationships than gun fights. It also tackled social issues. "The Fear Merchants" addressed bigotry against Chinese immigrants.
Occasionally, scripts would be based on true events, albeit loosely, as often the historical events would not have taken place in the time period of the show. "The Paiute War" was based on the Paiute War that occurred in May and June 1860. "The Julia Bulette Story" was based on the murder of Julia Bulette, which occurred in 1867 in Virginia City. "The Saga of Annie O'Toole" was based on true events. "The Philip Deidesheimer Story" tells the story of Philip Deidesheimer's work developing square-set mining in the Comstock Lode's Ophir Mine in Virginia City in 1860.

## Episodes

Bonanza, season 1 episodes :
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "A Rose for Lotta" | Edward Ludwig | David Dortort | September 12, 1959 (1959-09-12) |
| 2 | 2 | "Death on Sun Mountain" | Paul Landres | Gene L. Coon and David Dortort | September 19, 1959 (1959-09-19) |
| 3 | 3 | "The Newcomers" | Christian Nyby | Thomas Thompson | September 26, 1959 (1959-09-26) |
| 4 | 4 | "The Paiute War" | Paul Landres | Gene L. Coon | October 3, 1959 (1959-10-03) |
| 5 | 5 | "Enter Mark Twain" | Paul Landres | Harold Shumate | October 10, 1959 (1959-10-10) |
| 6 | 6 | "The Julia Bulette Story" | Christian Nyby | Al C. Ward | October 17, 1959 (1959-10-17) |
| 7 | 7 | "The Saga of Annie O'Toole" | Joseph Kane | Thomas Thompson | October 24, 1959 (1959-10-24) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Philip Deidesheimer Story" | Joseph Kane | Thomas Thompson | October 31, 1959 (1959-10-31) |
| 9 | 9 | "Mr. Henry Comstock" | John Brahm | David Dortort | November 7, 1959 (1959-11-07) |
| 10 | 10 | "The Magnificent Adah" | Christian Nyby | Donald S. Sanford | November 14, 1959 (1959-11-14) |
| 11 | 11 | "The Truckee Strip" | Christian Nyby | Herman Groves | November 21, 1959 (1959-11-21) |
| 12 | 12 | "The Hanging Posse" | Christian Nyby | Carey Wilber | November 28, 1959 (1959-11-28) |
| 13 | 13 | "Vendetta" | Joseph Kane | Robert E. Thompson | December 5, 1959 (1959-12-05) |
| 14 | 14 | "The Sisters" | Christian Nyby | Carey Wilber | December 12, 1959 (1959-12-12) |
| 15 | 15 | "The Last Hunt" | Christian Nyby | Donald S. Sanford | December 19, 1959 (1959-12-19) |
| 16 | 16 | "El Toro Grande" | Christian Nyby | John Tucker Battle | January 2, 1960 (1960-01-02) |
| 17 | 17 | "The Outcast" | Lewis Allen | Thomas Thompson | January 9, 1960 (1960-01-09) |
| 18 | 18 | "A House Divided" | Lewis Allen | Al C. Ward | January 16, 1960 (1960-01-16) |
| 19 | 19 | "The Gunmen" | Christian Nyby | Carey Wilber | January 23, 1960 (1960-01-23) |
| 20 | 20 | "The Fear Merchants" | Lewis Allen | Story by : Frank Unger Teleplay by : Frank Unger and Thomas Thompson | January 30, 1960 (1960-01-30) |
| 21 | 21 | "The Spanish Grant" | Christian Nyby | Story by : Morris Lee Green Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman and David Dortort | February 6, 1960 (1960-02-06) |
| 22 | 22 | "Blood on the Land" | Felix Feist | Robert E. Thompson | February 13, 1960 (1960-02-13) |
| 23 | 23 | "Desert Justice" | Lewis Allen | Donald S. Sanford | February 20, 1960 (1960-02-20) |
| 24 | 24 | "The Stranger" | Christian Nyby | Story by : Oliver Crawford Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | February 27, 1960 (1960-02-27) |
| 25 | 25 | "Escape to Ponderosa" | Charles F. Haas | Story by : Bill Barrett and Malcolm Stuart Boylan Teleplay by : Robert E. Thompson | March 5, 1960 (1960-03-05) |
| 26 | 26 | "The Avenger" | Christian Nyby | Clair Huffaker | March 19, 1960 (1960-03-19) |
| 27 | 27 | "The Last Trophy" | Lewis Allen | Bill S. Ballinger | March 26, 1960 (1960-03-26) |
| 28 | 28 | "San Francisco" | Arthur Lubin | Thomas Thompson | April 2, 1960 (1960-04-02) |
| 29 | 29 | "Bitter Water" | George Blair | Harold Jack Bloom | April 9, 1960 (1960-04-09) |
| 30 | 30 | "Feet of Clay" | Arthur Lubin | John Furia Jr. | April 16, 1960 (1960-04-16) |
| 31 | 31 | "Dark Star" | Lewis Allen | Anthony Lawrence | April 23, 1960 (1960-04-23) |
| 32 | 32 | "Death at Dawn" | Charles Haas | Laurence E. Mascott | April 30, 1960 (1960-04-30) |

## Release

The season aired on Saturdays from 7:30 pm–8:30 pm on NBC. The timeslot was deliberate. It was a time when many people were shopping in department stores, and they could see the show displayed on color televisions at period when color television sets had not yet been widely adopted. However, many people watching at home were still tuning in to Perry Mason in that timeslot.

## Reception

The first season lost the Saturday night ratings to Perry Mason. Released at a time when television was saturated with Westerns, the premier episode garnered the following review from Variety:
   Another western is just what Saturday night television needs least, and that's what Bonanza appears to be -- just another western. For all its pretensions, with a large cast, name guests, color and an hour's length, proves to be little more than a patch work of stock oater ideas without a fresh twist to distinguish it...
Poor ratings and high production costs led to NBC considering cancellation early in the process, leading to rumors that the show actually was cancelled; but fans wrote in and NBC realized it did have a viable audience.
The first season of the series failed to break the Nielsen ranking top 30.