Bonanza season 14

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Bonanza
Season 14
Bonanza main cast 1959.JPG
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Starring
No. of episodes16
Release
Original network NBC
Original releaseSeptember 12, 1972 (1972-09-12) –
January 16, 1973 (1973-01-16)
Season chronology
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Season 13
List of episodes

The fourteenth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 12, 1972, with the final episode airing January 16, 1973. [1] This was the final season for the series. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season fourteen starred Lorne Greene and Michael Landon, the first season following the death of Dan Blocker. The season consisted of 16 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. [2] Season fourteen moved to a new timeslot of Tuesdays from 8:00 pm–9:00 pm on NBC. [3] The final season fell out of the top 30 in the Nielsen ratings. [4]

Contents

Synopsis

Bonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family. In season 14, this consists of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his son Joseph (Michael Landon) and Jamie Hunter Cartwright (Mitch Vogel), a teenage orphan who is adopted by Ben. Veteran actor Victor Sen Yung played the ranch cook, Hop Sing. In the ninth season, David Canary was added to the cast as ranch hand/foreman Candy Canady. Tim Matheson was introduced as ex-prisoner and newly hired ranch-hand Griff King.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Recurring

Guest cast

Background and production

Casting

Season 14 included a number of changes in casting. Dan Blocker died in May 1972 after season thirteen ended, leaving only Greene and Landon as original top billed cast. David Canary, who had left over a contract dispute after four seasons returned as Candy Canady with opening credits billing. Tim Matheson was introduced as ex-prisoner and newly hired ranch-hand Griff King.

Episodes

Bonanza, season 14 episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
4161"Forever" Michael Landon Michael LandonSeptember 12, 1972 (1972-09-12)
4172September 19, 1972 (1972-09-19)

Part 1: Little Joe falls in love with Alice Harper (played by a young Bonnie Bedelia) who he meets while rescuing her gambler brother John (Andy Robinson) from a poker game gone bad.

Part 2: After Little Joe and Alice Harper are married, she is murdered at their new home. Joe returns to find their house burnt to the ground and his beautiful bride dead.
4183"Heritage of Anger" Nicholas Webster Don Ingalls September 26, 1972 (1972-09-26)
Ben helps ex-convict John Dundee (Robert Lansing) re-adjust to society. However, Dundee's boorish attitude complicates matters.
4194"The Initiation" Alf Kjellin Douglas Day Stewart October 3, 1972 (1972-10-03)
Jamie joins an elite club. However, when a classmate dies from cardiac arrhythmia during the initiation, the club's president Ted Hoag (Ron Howard) is blamed.
4205"Riot!" Lewis Allen Robert Pirosh October 10, 1972 (1972-10-10)

Ben becomes horrified while inspecting living conditions at the Nevada State Prison. So are the frustrated inmates, who take Ben hostage and make a series of demands to improve conditions.

Note: first episode of Griff King.
4216"New Man" Leo Penn Jack B. Sowards October 17, 1972 (1972-10-17)
In this sequel episode to "Riot," Ben helps parolee Griff King adjust to life outside of prison, giving him a job as a ranch hand.
4227"Ambush at Rio Lobo" Nicholas Colasanto Joel MurcottOctober 24, 1972 (1972-10-24)
Ben and a pregnant woman (Sian Barbara Allen) are held hostage by a gang of robbers, who are plotting a stagecoach robbery and are determined to prevent interference by anyone with the name Cartwright.
4238"The 26th Grave" Nicholas Colasanto Stanley Roberts October 31, 1972 (1972-10-31)
Samuel Clemens (Ken Howard) makes his return to Virginia City, this time offering tall tales over an unsolved murder that was tied to a claim jumping.
4249"Stallion" E. W. Swackhamer Jack B. SowardsNovember 14, 1972 (1972-11-14)
Joe is given a beautiful, black stallion for his birthday present, but winds up sacrificing it when he rides to the rescue of a young boy who was accidentally shot by his outlaw father.
42510"The Hidden Enemy"Alf KjellinStanley RobertsNovember 28, 1972 (1972-11-28)
Dr. James Wills (Mike Farrell) is Virginia City's new town doctor. He can bring many new procedures to Nevada Territory. However, Dr. Wills is addicted to morphine, which results in trouble ... and in the end, tragedy.
42611"The Sound of Sadness"Michael LandonMichael LandonDecember 5, 1972 (1972-12-05)
Griff's friend, widowed farmer Jonathan May (Jack Albertson), wants to adopt two young orphans, one of whom is unable to talk. When Jonathan is told he cannot adopt the boys, Griff decides to set the adoption agency folks straight on what a loving father is.
42712"The Bucket Dog" William F. Claxton John HawkinsDecember 19, 1972 (1972-12-19)
Jamie buys an Irish setter named April. However, April was a runt and - according to its rightful owner - should be put to sleep because it is a disgrace to the breed. When April competes in a field trial, the dog's owner soon learns that it's not the size of the dog that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog.
42813"First Love"Leo Penn Richard Collins December 26, 1972 (1972-12-26)
Jamie becomes friends with Kelly Edwards (Pamela Franklin), who is abused by her husband, Dan. The catch: the husband happens to be the new teacher at the Virginia City School.
42914"The Witness"Lewis AllenStory by : Arthur Heinemann
Teleplay by : Joel Murcott and Arthur Heinemann		January 2, 1973 (1973-01-02)
A man posing as Candy robs one of Ben's elderly business associates; during the robbery, the woman suffers a fatal heart attack. Candy is quickly arrested and brought to trial.
43015"The Marriage of Theodora Duffy"William F. Claxton Ward Hawkins January 9, 1973 (1973-01-09)
Unknown to the Cartwrights, Griff is asked to be a government witness in helping to bring a gang of war criminals to justice and Griff is asked to pose as the husband of beautiful Theodora Duffy (Karen Carlson), whom the Cartwrights think Griff had abandoned years ago.
43116"The Hunter"Michael LandonMichael LandonJanuary 16, 1973 (1973-01-16)
During a delivery run, Joe meets Cpl. Bill Tanner (Tom Skerritt), who turns out to be a war-deranged madman who enjoys stalking down his helpless victims before killing them. After stealing Joe's wagon and his supplies, the psychotic Tanner explains that Joe just became his latest "prey."

Release

For season fourteen, Bonanza was moved from its previous Sunday night 9:00 pm–10:00 pm timeslot to Tuesdays from 8:00 pm–9:00 pm on NBC. [3] On Tuesdays, it was opposite Maude and Hawaii Five-O on CBS and Temperatures Rising and the Tuesday Movie of the Week on ABC. [5]

Reception

The move from Sunday to Tuesday did not help the show's declining ratings. Hawaii Five-O was already the leader on Tuesdays, at 12 overall in the Nielsen ratings for the previous season. [6] By the 1972 season, Hawaii Five-O gained in the ratings, lifting Maude along with it, topping the Tuesday ratings and securing the number 3 and 4 spots respectively overall. Bonanza fell out of the top 30. [4]

Related Research Articles

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Bonanza is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, Bonanza is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on U.S. network television, and one of the longest-running, live-action American series. The show continues to air in syndication. 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 Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson. The show is known for presenting pressing moral dilemmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorne Greene</span> Canadian actor (1915–1987)

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The Ponderosa Ranch was a theme park based on the television western Bonanza, which housed the land, timber and livestock-rich Cartwright family. The amusement park operated in Incline Village, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, from 1968 until 2004. Portions of the last five seasons of the TV series and three television films were also filmed at that location.

The Ponderosa is a television series developed by Bonanza creator David Dortort for PAX TV that ran for the 2001–2002 television season.

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<i>Bonanza</i> season 1 Season of television series

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.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 10, 1960, with the final episode airing June 3, 1961. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season two starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 34 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 17 in the Nielsen ratings.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 24, 1961, with the final episode airing May 20, 1962. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season three 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. At the start of the third season, the show was moved to Sundays at 9:00 p.m. In that time slot, the ratings soared and the series become second only to Wagon Train as the most popular program on American prime time television.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 23, 1962, with the final episode airing May 26, 1963. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season four 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. Season four was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It ranked #4 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the 1962–1963 season.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 22, 1963, with the final episode airing May 24, 1964. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season five 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. Season five was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It ranked #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the 1963-1964 season.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 6 Season of television series

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. 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. 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.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 7 Season of television series

The seventh season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 12, 1965, with the final episode airing May 15, 1966. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season seven starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. It was the first season without Pernell Roberts. The season consisted of 33 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. Season seven was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It ranked #1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1965-1966 season, the second of three straight seasons in the top spot.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 8 Season of television series

The eighth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 11, 1966, with the final episode airing May 14, 1967. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season eight 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 color. Season eight was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It was the third straight season the show held the #1 position in the Nielsen ratings.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 9 Season of television series

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.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 10 Season of television series

The tenth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 15, 1968, with the final episode airing May 11, 1969. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season ten starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 30 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. Season ten was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It was #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the season.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 11 Season of television series

The eleventh season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 14, 1969, with the final episode airing April 19, 1970. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season eleven starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 28 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. Season eleven was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It was #3 in the Nielsen ratings, behind #2 Gunsmoke.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 12 Season of television series

The twelfth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 13, 1970, with the final episode airing April 11, 1971. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season twelve starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 28 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. Season twelve was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It finished the season at #9 in the Nielsen ratings, behind #5 Gunsmoke.

<i>Bonanza</i> season 13 Season of television series

The thirteenth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 19, 1971, with the final episode airing April 2, 1972. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season thirteen starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 26 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. Season thirteen was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It fell to #20 in the Nielsen ratings.

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Shapiro 1997, pp. 107, 111.
  2. ↑ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
  3. 1 2 Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.
  4. 1 2 "TV Ratings: 1972–1973". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  5. ↑ Brooks & Marsh 2007, pp. 1594–1595.
  6. ↑ "TV Ratings: 1971–1972". classictvguide.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

Bibliography

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