Bonanza season 10

Bonanza
Season 10
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Starring
No. of episodes30
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 15, 1968 (1968-09-15) –
May 11, 1969 (1969-05-11)
Season chronology
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Season 9
Next →
Season 11
List of episodes

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]

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 (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

See also: List of Bonanza characters

Main cast

Recurring

Guest cast

Episodes

See also: List of Bonanza episodes
Bonanza, season 10 episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
3041"Different Pines, Same Wind"Leon BensonSuzanne ClauserSeptember 15, 1968 (1968-09-15)
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.
3052"Child"Leon BensonJack B. SowardsSeptember 22, 1968 (1968-09-22)
Hoss, charged with robbery and murder, has to break out of jail in order to escape a lynch mob.
3063"Salute to Yesterday"Leon BensonJohn HawkinsSeptember 29, 1968 (1968-09-29)
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.
3074"The Real People of Muddy Creek"Leon BensonAlf HarrisOctober 6, 1968 (1968-10-06)
Ben is left alone with his prisoner (Joe Don Baker) to face a murderous and notorious gang after frightened citizens bail out.
3085"The Passing of a King"Leon BensonB. W. SandefurOctober 13, 1968 (1968-10-13)
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.
3096"The Last Vote"Joseph PevneyRobert Vincent WrightOctober 20, 1968 (1968-10-20)
Hoss and Little Joe act as campaign managers for opposing mayoral candidates (Tom Bosley and Wally Cox) who are devoted friends.
3107"Catch as Catch Can"Robert L. FriendDavid LangOctober 27, 1968 (1968-10-27)
The Cartwrights are accused of being deadbeats in an effort to discredit their good name.
3118"Little Girl Lost"Don RichardsonMichael FessierNovember 3, 1968 (1968-11-03)
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.
3129"The Survivors"Leon BensonJohn Hawkins, Colin MacKenzie, S. H. BarnettNovember 10, 1968 (1968-11-10)
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.
31310"The Sound of Drums"Robert L. FriendWilliam F. LeicesterNovember 17, 1968 (1968-11-17)
A stubborn landowner defies his family and neighbors by allowing Native Americans to live on his land.
31411"Queen High"Leon BensonMichael FessierDecember 1, 1968 (1968-12-01)
Little Joe and Candy win a damaged ore processing mill in a poker game and encounter opposition from their competitor.
31512"Yonder Man"Leo PennMilton S. GelmanDecember 8, 1968 (1968-12-08)
Ben's reunion with an old friend is marred when he learns that the man is wanted for stealing cattle and political crimes.
31613"Mark of Guilt"Leon BensonWard Hawkins, Frank TelfordDecember 15, 1968 (1968-12-15)
When a rancher that Little Joe fought with is found dead, he's arrested for murder.
31714"A World Full of Cannibals"Gunnar HellströmPreston WoodDecember 22, 1968 (1968-12-22)
Gunmen kidnap Little Joe and offer him in exchange for a grand jury witness.
31815"Sweet Annie Laurie"Don RichardsonJackson Gillis, John Hawkins, Jess Carneol, Kay LenardJanuary 5, 1969 (1969-01-05)
Hoss takes a frightened young wife (Joan Van Ark) to the Ponderosa to protect her from her estranged outlaw husband (James Olson).
31916"My Friend, My Enemy"Leon BensonStanley Roberts, Jack B. SowardsJanuary 12, 1969 (1969-01-12)
Candy has to rely on the testimony of a Native American horse thief to prove his innocence on a murder charge.
32017"Mrs. Wharton and the Lesser Breeds"Leon BensonPreston WoodJanuary 19, 1969 (1969-01-19)
A British widow (Mildred Natwick) involves Candy in her plan to recover valuables she lost in a holdup.
32118"Erin"Don RichardsonSandy SummerhayesJanuary 26, 1969 (1969-01-26)
Hoss announces his intention to marry a girl (Mary Fickett) who was raised by Native Americans.
32219"Company of Forgotten Men"Leon BensonJess Carneol, Kay LenardFebruary 2, 1969 (1969-02-02)
A group of retired Army veterans plan to rob a mint with the help of Candy. James Gregory guest stars.
32320"The Clarion"Lewis AllenJohn Hawkins, Frank ChaseFebruary 9, 1969 (1969-02-09)
Ben buys a newspaper from a widow and proceeds to launch an exposé of an unscrupulous town boss.
32421"The Lady and the Mountain Lion"Joseph PevneyLarry MarkesFebruary 23, 1969 (1969-02-23)
A magician (Richard Haydn) plots to involve the Cartwright boys with his identical twin daughters in a swindling plot.
32522"Five Candles"Lewis AllenKen TreveyMarch 2, 1969 (1969-03-02)
Ben and four companions are trapped in a collapsing courthouse and are forced to rely on an accused murderer for help.
32623"The Wish"Michael LandonMichael LandonMarch 9, 1969 (1969-03-09)
Hoss tries to help a freed slave (Ossie Davis) cope with bigots of a white community.
32724"The Deserter"Leon BensonB. W. Sandefur, John DunkelMarch 16, 1969 (1969-03-16)
Candy tries to help an army sergeant locate a hidden arms plant.
32825"Emily"Leon BensonElliot Gilbert, Preston WoodMarch 23, 1969 (1969-03-23)
Hoping to save her broken marriage, a woman accuses Little Joe of theft and trying to run off with her.
32926"The Running Man"Leon BensonWard HawkinsMarch 30, 1969 (1969-03-30)
Little Joe and Candy try to protect a murder witness. Will Geer guest stars.
33027"The Unwanted"Herschel DaughertyThomas Thompson, Suzanne ClauserApril 6, 1969 (1969-04-06)
A marshal's daughter steals her father's money and runs off with an ex-convict.
33128"Speak No Evil"Leon BensonNorman Katkov, B. W. SandefurApril 20, 1969 (1969-04-20)
Ben and Hoss mediate a custody battle among relatives of a teenager who inherited a gold mine.
33229"The Fence"Lewis AllenWard Hawkins, Milton S. GelmanApril 27, 1969 (1969-04-27)
Ben and Hoss aid an ex-Confederate prison commandant who's being threatened by his former captives. Larry Linville guest stars.
33330"A Ride in the Sun"Leon BensonJohn Hawkins, Peter GermanoMay 11, 1969 (1969-05-11)
Bank robbers use the Cartwrights as dupes in a plot to loot the Virginia City bank.

Release

Season ten aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[4]

Reception

It was #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the season.[3]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 135, 140.
  2. ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
  3. ^ a b "TV Ratings: 1968–1969". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.

Bibliography