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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
| Bonanza | |
|---|---|
| Season 10 | |
 Cast of Bonanza in 1959 | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 15, 1968 – May 11, 1969 |
| Season chronology | |
Synopsis
editBonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric "Hoss" (Dan Blocker), and Joseph (Michael Landon). Veteran actor Victor Sen Yung played the ranch cook, Hop Sing. In 1964, Pernell Roberts began expressing a desire to leave the series, and so prospective replacements were introduced via Barry Coe as Little Joe's wayward maternal half-brother Clay, and Guy Williams as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright. However, Roberts was persuaded to complete his contract, and remained through season six. The characters of Clay and Will were discontinued. In the ninth season, David Canary was added to the cast as ranch hand/foreman Candy Canady.
Cast and characters
editMain cast
edit- Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
- Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright
- Michael Landon as Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright
- David Canary as "Candy" Canaday
Recurring
edit- Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing
- Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
- Bing Russell as Deputy Clem Foster
Guest cast
editEpisodes
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 304 | 1 | "Different Pines, Same Wind" | Leon Benson | Suzanne Clauser | September 15, 1968 | |
|
Little Joe tries to convince an ailing recluse that she needs to file a legal claim to her remote property to prevent a timber tycoon from logging on her land. | ||||||
| 305 | 2 | "Child" | Leon Benson | Jack B. Sowards | September 22, 1968 | |
|
Hoss, charged with robbery and murder, has to break out of jail in order to escape a lynch mob. | ||||||
| 306 | 3 | "Salute to Yesterday" | Leon Benson | John Hawkins | September 29, 1968 | |
|
Possession of an Army payroll brings danger to the Cartwrights, Candy and a small Army unit, with some of Candy's past coming to light in the process. | ||||||
| 307 | 4 | "The Real People of Muddy Creek" | Leon Benson | Alf Harris | October 6, 1968 | |
|
Ben is left alone with his prisoner (Joe Don Baker) to face a murderous and notorious gang after frightened citizens bail out. | ||||||
| 308 | 5 | "The Passing of a King" | Leon Benson | B. W. Sandefur | October 13, 1968 | |
|
Ben is cheated out of a valuable bull by the son (Jeremy Slate) of one of his old friends (Denver Pyle), a cattle baron who has been declared legally incompetent. | ||||||
| 309 | 6 | "The Last Vote" | Joseph Pevney | Robert Vincent Wright | October 20, 1968 | |
|
Hoss and Little Joe act as campaign managers for opposing mayoral candidates (Tom Bosley and Wally Cox) who are devoted friends. | ||||||
| 310 | 7 | "Catch as Catch Can" | Robert L. Friend | David Lang | October 27, 1968 | |
|
The Cartwrights are accused of being deadbeats in an effort to discredit their good name. | ||||||
| 311 | 8 | "Little Girl Lost" | Don Richardson | Michael Fessier | November 3, 1968 | |
|
The serenity of the Ponderosa is disrupted by a small relative of the Cartwrights, an unruly tomboy (Linda Sue Risk) who's the subject of a custody battle. Antoinette Bower guest stars. | ||||||
| 312 | 9 | "The Survivors" | Leon Benson | John Hawkins, Colin MacKenzie, S. H. Barnett | November 10, 1968 | |
|
A young woman endures scorn when she returns to Virginia City with a child fathered by a Native American after four years of captivity by renegade Indians. | ||||||
| 313 | 10 | "The Sound of Drums" | Robert L. Friend | William F. Leicester | November 17, 1968 | |
|
A stubborn landowner defies his family and neighbors by allowing Native Americans to live on his land. | ||||||
| 314 | 11 | "Queen High" | Leon Benson | Michael Fessier | December 1, 1968 | |
|
Little Joe and Candy win a damaged ore processing mill in a poker game and encounter opposition from their competitor. | ||||||
| 315 | 12 | "Yonder Man" | Leo Penn | Milton S. Gelman | December 8, 1968 | |
|
Ben's reunion with an old friend is marred when he learns that the man is wanted for stealing cattle and political crimes. | ||||||
| 316 | 13 | "Mark of Guilt" | Leon Benson | Ward Hawkins, Frank Telford | December 15, 1968 | |
|
When a rancher that Little Joe fought with is found dead, he's arrested for murder. | ||||||
| 317 | 14 | "A World Full of Cannibals" | Gunnar Hellström | Preston Wood | December 22, 1968 | |
|
Gunmen kidnap Little Joe and offer him in exchange for a grand jury witness. | ||||||
| 318 | 15 | "Sweet Annie Laurie" | Don Richardson | Jackson Gillis, John Hawkins, Jess Carneol, Kay Lenard | January 5, 1969 | |
|
Hoss takes a frightened young wife (Joan Van Ark) to the Ponderosa to protect her from her estranged outlaw husband (James Olson). | ||||||
| 319 | 16 | "My Friend, My Enemy" | Leon Benson | Stanley Roberts, Jack B. Sowards | January 12, 1969 | |
|
Candy has to rely on the testimony of a Native American horse thief to prove his innocence on a murder charge. | ||||||
| 320 | 17 | "Mrs. Wharton and the Lesser Breeds" | Leon Benson | Preston Wood | January 19, 1969 | |
|
A British widow (Mildred Natwick) involves Candy in her plan to recover valuables she lost in a holdup. | ||||||
| 321 | 18 | "Erin" | Don Richardson | Sandy Summerhayes | January 26, 1969 | |
|
Hoss announces his intention to marry a girl (Mary Fickett) who was raised by Native Americans. | ||||||
| 322 | 19 | "Company of Forgotten Men" | Leon Benson | Jess Carneol, Kay Lenard | February 2, 1969 | |
|
A group of retired Army veterans plan to rob a mint with the help of Candy. James Gregory guest stars. | ||||||
| 323 | 20 | "The Clarion" | Lewis Allen | John Hawkins, Frank Chase | February 9, 1969 | |
|
Ben buys a newspaper from a widow and proceeds to launch an exposé of an unscrupulous town boss. | ||||||
| 324 | 21 | "The Lady and the Mountain Lion" | Joseph Pevney | Larry Markes | February 23, 1969 | |
|
A magician (Richard Haydn) plots to involve the Cartwright boys with his identical twin daughters in a swindling plot. | ||||||
| 325 | 22 | "Five Candles" | Lewis Allen | Ken Trevey | March 2, 1969 | |
|
Ben and four companions are trapped in a collapsing courthouse and are forced to rely on an accused murderer for help. | ||||||
| 326 | 23 | "The Wish" | Michael Landon | Michael Landon | March 9, 1969 | |
|
Hoss tries to help a freed slave (Ossie Davis) cope with bigots of a white community. | ||||||
| 327 | 24 | "The Deserter" | Leon Benson | B. W. Sandefur, John Dunkel | March 16, 1969 | |
|
Candy tries to help an army sergeant locate a hidden arms plant. | ||||||
| 328 | 25 | "Emily" | Leon Benson | Elliot Gilbert, Preston Wood | March 23, 1969 | |
|
Hoping to save her broken marriage, a woman accuses Little Joe of theft and trying to run off with her. | ||||||
| 329 | 26 | "The Running Man" | Leon Benson | Ward Hawkins | March 30, 1969 | |
|
Little Joe and Candy try to protect a murder witness. Will Geer guest stars. | ||||||
| 330 | 27 | "The Unwanted" | Herschel Daugherty | Thomas Thompson, Suzanne Clauser | April 6, 1969 | |
|
A marshal's daughter steals her father's money and runs off with an ex-convict. | ||||||
| 331 | 28 | "Speak No Evil" | Leon Benson | Norman Katkov, B. W. Sandefur | April 20, 1969 | |
|
Ben and Hoss mediate a custody battle among relatives of a teenager who inherited a gold mine. | ||||||
| 332 | 29 | "The Fence" | Lewis Allen | Ward Hawkins, Milton S. Gelman | April 27, 1969 | |
|
Ben and Hoss aid an ex-Confederate prison commandant who's being threatened by his former captives. Larry Linville guest stars. | ||||||
| 333 | 30 | "A Ride in the Sun" | Leon Benson | John Hawkins, Peter Germano | May 11, 1969 | |
|
Bank robbers use the Cartwrights as dupes in a plot to loot the Virginia City bank. | ||||||
Release
editSeason ten aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[4]
Reception
editIt was #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the season.[3]
References
editFootnotes
edit- ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 135, 140.
- ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
- ^ a b "TV Ratings: 1968–1969". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.
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.