Bonanza. A well made family oriented western that hit all of the marks allowed at that time. If we were not in church on Sunday night for some reason, we watched Bonanza.
Having said that, I do not wish to speak ill of the dead but I cannot bring myself to watch it now. More than then, I enjoy programs that promote family values. There was a remake of it a few years ago called "Ponderosa" that only lasted two years and should still be going but that is fodder for another review.
I cannot watch Bonanza for the same reason Pernell Roberts left the series. He said it could have been a lot better if the bean counters were not totally focused on wringing every dollar out of it. They could have replaced him after a couple of years but the three remaining stars did not want to divide the pie in four pieces again. His leaving disrupted the rhythm of the show and the hole was never filled successfully. Also, it looks like about that time, Michael Landon was running everything. It was on for 14 years and none of the sons (before Dan Blocker's tragic death) grew or progressed in their characters. The show was stuck in a time warp and such a path for a show would not succeed today. In other words, after 5+ years, three adults sons would not still be living in the home place with their father and still acting like they were not quite adults yet. Like Pernell Roberts said, he felt that Adam should marry and have his own house, maybe on another part of the Ponderosa and start his own family.
It was not safe to be a woman who fell in love with a Cartwright. She would either die or fall in love with someone else, or one of them would change their mind. Also, I would not write Adam as they did in that he was a bit stuck on himself. It was a given that Hoss was not as smart as Adam but today, that would not be a source of amusement as it often was then. He certainly was not stupid. By the time 12 years had arrived: Adam, Hoss, and Joe would have married and started families. Remember, they got there around the time of the Mexican-American war and people got married and started families a lot earlier then than they do now. By that time, Ben would have probably taken a fourth try at marriage. If anyone wants to try to do Bonanza again, hopefully they will take these things into consideration.
Having said that, I do not wish to speak ill of the dead but I cannot bring myself to watch it now. More than then, I enjoy programs that promote family values. There was a remake of it a few years ago called "Ponderosa" that only lasted two years and should still be going but that is fodder for another review.
I cannot watch Bonanza for the same reason Pernell Roberts left the series. He said it could have been a lot better if the bean counters were not totally focused on wringing every dollar out of it. They could have replaced him after a couple of years but the three remaining stars did not want to divide the pie in four pieces again. His leaving disrupted the rhythm of the show and the hole was never filled successfully. Also, it looks like about that time, Michael Landon was running everything. It was on for 14 years and none of the sons (before Dan Blocker's tragic death) grew or progressed in their characters. The show was stuck in a time warp and such a path for a show would not succeed today. In other words, after 5+ years, three adults sons would not still be living in the home place with their father and still acting like they were not quite adults yet. Like Pernell Roberts said, he felt that Adam should marry and have his own house, maybe on another part of the Ponderosa and start his own family.
It was not safe to be a woman who fell in love with a Cartwright. She would either die or fall in love with someone else, or one of them would change their mind. Also, I would not write Adam as they did in that he was a bit stuck on himself. It was a given that Hoss was not as smart as Adam but today, that would not be a source of amusement as it often was then. He certainly was not stupid. By the time 12 years had arrived: Adam, Hoss, and Joe would have married and started families. Remember, they got there around the time of the Mexican-American war and people got married and started families a lot earlier then than they do now. By that time, Ben would have probably taken a fourth try at marriage. If anyone wants to try to do Bonanza again, hopefully they will take these things into consideration.