Bonanza (season 3)

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Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Starring
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 34
Release
Original network NBC
Original release September 24, 1961 (1961-09-24) – May 20, 1962 (1962-05-20)
List of Bonanza episodes

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[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 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

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See also: List of Bonanza characters

Main cast

Recurring

Guest stars

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Production

Writing

Season three's writing introduced changes into Lorne Greene's character, Ben Cartwright, after Greene threatened to leave the show.[4] Originally written as a Bible-quoting codger who vowed to shoot anyone who came on his land, Ben Cartwright was a tyrant of a father.[5] Greene wanted a more relatable character with a sense of humor and a healthy relationship with his sons.[4] Dortort revised the character to be a warmer father, and focused more on family and personal justice.[5] The changes contributed to the show's success as the new season moved into the #2 spot in ratings.[3][4]

This season marked the beginning of script writing for Michael Landon. His initial treatment was a handwritten script of about 30 pages. Frank Chase helped him complete the script, which ultimately became the April 2, 1962 episode, "The Gamble".[6]

Filming

While filming episode 31, "The Dowry", on location, Pernell Roberts's horse, Sport, slipped and fell while going downhill on a muddy path. After Sport fell, Blocker's horse, Chub, who was following closely, stumbled over him. Roberts and Blocker jumped off their mounts as they had been trained to do, but both actors were injured. Roberts sprained his neck, while Blocker broke his collarbone and shoulder and would miss one episode then wear a sling for the remainder of the season.[citation needed]

Location shoots for the season included Incline Village for episode 9, "The Countess",[7] and Iverson's Movie Ranch for episode 27, "The Gamble".[8]

Episodes

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See also: List of Bonanza episodes
<templatestyles src="Screen reader-only/styles.css" />Bonanza, season 3 episodes
No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
67 1 "The Smiler" Thomas Carr Lewis Reed September 24, 1961 (1961-09-24)
68 2 "Springtime" Christian Nyby John Furia Jr. October 1, 1961 (1961-10-01)
69 3 "The Honor of Cochise" Don McDougall Elliott Arnold October 8, 1961 (1961-10-08)
70 4 "The Lonely House" William Witney Frank Chase October 15, 1961 (1961-10-15)
71 5 "The Burma Rarity" William Witney N.B. Stone Jr. October 21, 1961 (1961-10-21)
72 6 "Broken Ballad" Robert Butler John T. Kelly October 29, 1961 (1961-10-29)
73 7 "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch" Robert Altman Robert Vincent Wright November 5, 1961 (1961-11-05)
74 8 "The Friendship" Don McDougall Frank Chase November 12, 1961 (1961-11-12)
75 9 "The Countess" Robert Sparr William R. Cox and William D. Powell November 19, 1961 (1961-11-19)
76 10 "The Horse Breaker" Don McDougall Frank Chase November 26, 1961 (1961-11-26)
77 11 "Day of the Dragon" Don McDougall John T. Dugan December 3, 1961 (1961-12-03)
78 12 "The Frenchman" Christian Nyby Norman Lessing December 10, 1961 (1961-12-10)
79 13 "The Tin Badge" Lewis Allen Don Ingalls December 17, 1961 (1961-12-17)
80 14 "Gabrielle" Thomas Carr Anthony Lawrence December 24, 1961 (1961-12-24)
81 15 "Land Grab" David Orrick McDearmon Ward Hawkins December 31, 1961 (1961-12-31)
82 16 "The Tall Stranger" Don McDougall Ward Hawkins January 7, 1962 (1962-01-07)
83 17 "The Lady from Baltimore" John Peyser Elliott Arnold January 14, 1962 (1962-01-14)
84 18 "The Ride" Don McDougall Ward Hawkins January 21, 1962 (1962-01-21)
85 19 "The Storm" Lewis Allen Denne Petitclerc January 28, 1962 (1962-01-28)
86 20 "The Auld Sod" William Witney Charles Lang February 4, 1962 (1962-02-04)
87 21 "Gift of Water" Jesse Hibbs Borden Chase February 11, 1962 (1962-02-11)
88 22 "The Jackknife" William Witney Frank Chase February 18, 1962 (1962-02-18)
89 23 "The Guilty" Lewis Allen Clifford Irving February 25, 1962 (1962-02-25)
90 24 "The Wooing of Abigail Jones" Christian Nyby Norman Lessing March 4, 1962 (1962-03-04)
91 25 "The Lawmaker" Christian Nyby Story by: John A. Johns
Teleplay by: Dick Nelson		 March 11, 1962 (1962-03-11)
92 26 "Look to the Stars" Don McDougall Robert M. Fresco and Paul Rink March 18, 1962 (1962-03-18)
93 27 "The Gamble" William Witney Story by: Michael Landon
Teleplay by: Frank Cleaver and Michael Landon		 April 1, 1962 (1962-04-01)
94 28 "The Crucible" Paul Nickell John T. Dugan April 8, 1962 (1962-04-08)
95 29 "Inger, My Love" Lewis Allen Story by: Anthony Lawrence
Teleplay by: Frank Cleaver and David Dortort		 April 15, 1962 (1962-04-15)
96 30 "Blessed Are They" Don McDougall Story by: Borden Chase
Teleplay by: Borden Chase and Frank Cleaver		 April 22, 1962 (1962-04-22)
97 31 "The Dowry" Christian Nyby Robert Vincent Wright April 29, 1962 (1962-04-29)
98 32 "The Long Night" William Witney George Stackalee and E. M. Parsons May 6, 1962 (1962-05-06)
99 33 "The Mountain Girl" Don McDougall John Furia May 13, 1962 (1962-05-13)
100 34 "The Miracle Maker" Don McDougall Story by: Lewis Reed
Teleplay by: Frank Cleaver and Preston Wood		 May 20, 1962 (1962-05-20)

Release

The season aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[9] This was a move from the season one and two timeslot of Saturdays from 7:30 pm–8:30 pm on NBC.[9]

Reception

In its new season three time slot, the ratings soared and the series become second only to Wagon Train as the most popular program on American prime time television.[3]

As the show became more popular, celebrities requested to do the show. A November 11, 1961 episode of Maverick, "Three Queens Full", parodied the show using Jim Backus as Joe Wheelwright, who, along with his sons Henry, Moose, and Small Paul, all lived on their ranch known as the Subrosa.[10]

Awards and nominations

Award Year[lower-alpha 1] Category Nominee(s) / Work Result Ref(s)
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards 1962 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Television Haskell Boggs and Walter Castle Nominated [11]
  1. ↑ Indicates the year of ceremony.

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Shapiro 1997, pp. 77, 81.
  2. ↑ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 17.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shapiro 1997, p. 8.
  6. ↑ Greenland 2015.
  7. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 54.
  8. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 61.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.
  10. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 19.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

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External links

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