| Bonanza | |
|---|---|
| Season 6 | |
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
| |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 34 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 20, 1964 (1964-09-20) – May 23, 1965 (1965-05-23) |
| Season chronology | |
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| List of episodes | |
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.
On location shooting for season six was completed at the following sites:
| No. overall | No.in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 169 | 1 | "Invention of a Gunfighter" | John Florea | Daniel B. Ullman | September 20, 1964 (1964-09-20) | |
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Joe teaches to his friend Johnny Chapman (Guy Stockwell) how to use a six-shooter, only for the man to embark on a career as a ruthless bounty hunter.
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| 170 | 2 | "The Hostage" | Don McDougall | Don Mullally | September 27, 1964 (1964-09-27) | |
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Ben is taken hostage by a band of outlaws demanding a ransom of $100,000. The Cartwrights formulate a plan to rescue their father. Harold J. Stone and Jacqueline Scott guest star.
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| 171 | 3 | "The Wild One" | William Witney | Jo Pagano | October 4, 1964 (1964-10-04) | |
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Hoss is looking for a wild stallion for breeding and he chooses a gruff mountaineer (Aldo Ray), who is later confronted by the wife (Kathryn Hays) he left long ago.
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| 172 | 4 | "Thanks for Everything, Friend" | Christian Nyby | Jerry Adelman | October 11, 1964 (1964-10-11) | |
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Tom Wilson (Rory Calhoun), who's an expert in cards and women, saves Adam from drowning. This event begins a friendship that Adam will later regret.
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| 173 | 5 | "Logan's Treasure" | Don McDougall | Story by : Robert Sabaroff Teleplay by : Ken Pettus | October 18, 1964 (1964-10-18) | |
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Sam Logan (Dan Duryea) gets out of prison and tries to avoid those who are certain he's hidden a cache of stolen gold somewhere. Ben believes him and invites him to stay at the Ponderosa.
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| 174 | 6 | "The Scapegoat" | Christian Nyby | Rod Peterson | October 25, 1964 (1964-10-25) | |
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Hoss befriends suicidal man Waldo Watson (George Kennedy), who turns out to be a scapegoat for three men who intend to do him harm.
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| 175 | 7 | "A Dime's Worth of Glory" | William F. Claxton | Richard Shapiro and Esther Mayesh | November 1, 1964 (1964-11-01) | |
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Ben and Adam capture a known outlaw that tried to hold up the stage they were passengers on. After this episode, Ben turns down a dime novelist's offer to make the Cartwrights famous, so the novelist gives it to aging Sheriff Laramore (Bruce Cabot).
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| 176 | 8 | "Square Deal Sam" | Murray Golden | Jessica Benson and Murray Golden | November 8, 1964 (1964-11-08) | |
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The Cartwrights fall for the schemes of con artist Samuel T. Washburn, nicknamed Square Deal Sam (Ernest Truex).
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| 177 | 9 | "Between Heaven and Earth" | William Witney | Ed Adamson | November 15, 1964 (1964-11-15) | |
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Joe and his friend Mitch Devlin (Richard Jaeckel) are chasing a sheep-killing puma and Joe has to climb a steep slope, but something goes wrong.
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| 178 | 10 | "Old Sheba" | John Florea | Alex Sharp | November 22, 1964 (1964-11-22) | |
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Hoss injured traveling circus wrestler Bearcat Samspon (Henry Kulky). When the owner of the traveling circus squanders Hoss's winnings in a wrestling match, Joe and Hoss receive an elephant as payment.
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| 179 | 11 | "A Man to Admire" | John Florea | Mort R. Lewis | December 6, 1964 (1964-12-06) | |
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Hoss is accused of murdering a scheming businessman, and then has to rely on his new friend, an alcoholic lawyer (James Gregory), to clear him.
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| 180 | 12 | "The Underdog" | William F. Claxton | Don Mullally | December 13, 1964 (1964-12-13) | |
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Joe tries to help half Native American Harry Starr (Charles Bronson), who is accused of being a chronic horse thief.
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| 181 | 13 | "A Knight to Remember" | Vincent McEveety | Robert V. Barron | December 20, 1964 (1964-12-20) | |
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A knight in shining armor who calls himself King Arthur (Henry Jones) scares away bandits trying to rob a stagecoach carrying Adam.
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| 182 | 14 | "The Saga of Squaw Charlie" | William Witney | Warren Douglas | December 27, 1964 (1964-12-27) | |
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Old Indian Squaw Charlie (Anthony Caruso) befriends a little girl in spite of the townspeople ridiculing him. After she goes missing, the whole town wants his blood.
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| 183 | 15 | "The Flapjack Contest" | William F. Claxton | Story by : Tom Davison Teleplay by : Frank Cleaver | January 3, 1965 (1965-01-03) | |
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Hoss has to stay on a strict diet before a flapjack-eating contest: he has to win against champion Big Ed Simpson (Mel Berger).
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| 184 | 16 | "The Far, Far Better Thing" | Bernard McEveety | Mort R. Lewis | January 10, 1965 (1965-01-10) | |
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Joe competes with ranch hand Tuck (Warren Vanders) for the affections of Lucy Melviney (Brenda Scott), an Eastern girl with a thirst for adventure.
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| 185 | 17 | "Woman of Fire" | William F. Claxton | Suzanne Clauser | January 17, 1965 (1965-01-17) | |
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Shakespeare-inspired Adam takes care of a temperamental señorita (Joan Hackett) while her father finds her a husband.
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| 186 | 18 | "The Ballerina" | Don McDougall | Frank Chase | January 24, 1965 (1965-01-24) | |
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An aspirant ballerina (Barrie Chase) falls for her teacher and faces resistance from her father, who is a traveling violinist.
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| 187 | 19 | "The Flannel-Mouth Gun" | Don McDougall | Leo Gordon and Paul Leslie Peil | January 31, 1965 (1965-01-31) | |
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Desperate ranchers hire a gunman to take care of rustlers; tragedy follows and Sherman Clegg (Earl Holliman) is accused of murder.
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| 188 | 20 | "The Ponderosa Birdman" | Herbert L. Strock | Blair Robertson and Hazel Swanson | February 7, 1965 (1965-02-07) | |
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An eccentric inventor (Ed Wynn) plans to take flight with his meticulously crafted wings. Hoss tries to help him and his overly-protective granddaughter.
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| 189 | 21 | "The Search" | William F. Claxton | Frank Cleaver | February 14, 1965 (1965-02-14) | |
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Adam searches for his troublesome lookalike Tom Burns. His search lands him in the Placerville jail. Lola Albright and Elaine Devry guest star.
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| 190 | 22 | "The Deadliest Game" | Gerd Oswald | Jo Pagano | February 21, 1965 (1965-02-21) | |
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Aging circus aerialist Guido Borelli (Cesar Romero) grows jealous of his partner Petina's (Ilze Taurins) attraction to Joe, but he's quick to comfort her after a fistfight with her boyfriend Carlo (Fabrizio Mioni) lands Joe in prison.
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| 191 | 23 | "Once a Doctor" | Tay Garnett | Martha Wilkerson | February 28, 1965 (1965-02-28) | |
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A vengeful Englishman comes after Doctor P.A. Mundy (Michael Rennie), nicknamed Professor Poppy, that he blames for the death of his wife.
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| 192 | 24 | "Right Is the Fourth R" | Virgil Vogel | Jerry Adelman | March 7, 1965 (1965-03-07) | |
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Adam tries to teach a course in frontier history and learns some unsettling facts about the territory's founders. Everett Sloane, Mariette Hartley and Barry Kelley guest star.
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| 193 | 25 | "Hound Dog" | Ralph E. Black | Alex Sharp | March 21, 1965 (1965-03-21) | |
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Cousin Muley Jones (Bruce Yarnell) returns along with hound dogs, but Tracy Ledbetter (Sue Ane Langdon) claims he stole them from her.
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| 194 | 26 | "The Trap" | William Witney | Ken Pettus | March 28, 1965 (1965-03-28) | |
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Married man Burk (Steve Cochran) sets a trap to keep Joe away from his wife (Joan Freeman), but when his plan backfires and he ends up dead, his twin brother decides to finish the job.
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| 195 | 27 | "Dead and Gone" | Robert Totten | Paul Schneider | April 4, 1965 (1965-04-04) | |
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Adam tries to help wandering troubadour Howard Mead (Hoyt Axton) overcome his habit of stealing after he tried to rob Johann Brunner (Steve Ihnat) and his sister Hilda (Susanne Cramer).
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| 196 | 28 | "A Good Night's Rest" | William F. Claxton | Story by : Jeffrey Fleece Teleplay by : Frank Cleaver | April 11, 1965 (1965-04-11) | |
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After dealing with Hoss' snoring, Adam's guitar playing and Little Joe's courting shenanigans, Ben checks into a hotel to try to get a good night's sleep. Eddie Firestone and Jean Willes guest star.
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| 197 | 29 | "To Own the World" | Virgil Vogel | Ed Adamson | April 18, 1965 (1965-04-18) | |
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Wealthy tycoon Charles Augustus Hackett (Telly Savalas) is out to get the Ponderosa.
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| 198 | 30 | "Lothario Larkin" | William Witney | Warren Douglas | April 25, 1965 (1965-04-25) | |
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Infamous womanizer Lothario Larkin (Noah Beery, Jr.) returns to Virginia City, to the displeasure of the fathers and the sheriff.
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| 199 | 31 | "The Return" | Virgil Vogel | Story by : Frank Chase & Ken Pettus Teleplay by : Ken Pettus | May 2, 1965 (1965-05-02) | |
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Ex-convict Trace Cordell (Tony Young) returns to town, but no one is glad to see him, especially Paul Dorn (John Conte), the banker he crippled in a bank robbery.
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| 200 | 32 | "Jonah" | William F. Claxton | Preston Wood | May 9, 1965 (1965-05-09) | |
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Ranch hand George Whitman (Andrew Prine) is offered a job on the Ponderosa when he saves Hoss's life, but rumors state that he's a jinx.
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| 201 | 33 | "The Spotlight" | Gerd Oswald | Richard Carr | May 16, 1965 (1965-05-16) | |
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Ben tries to talk retired opera star Angela Bergstrom (Viveca Lindfors) into resuming her career on the stage.
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| 202 | 34 | "Patchwork Man" | Ralph E. Black | Don Tait and William Koenig | May 23, 1965 (1965-05-23) | |
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Hoss hires recluse Albert 'Patch' Saunders (Grant Williams) to work on the Ponderosa. After learning about Patch's past, Hoss decides to help him.
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Season six aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[10]
Season six was the first season the show captured the #1 position in the Nielsen ratings. It held that position for the three straight seasons.[3]
| Award | Year[a] | Category | Nominee(s) / Work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 1965 | Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment—Cinematographer | Haskell Boggs and William Whitley | Nominated | [11] |
| Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment—Color Consultant | Edward Ancona | Won | [11] |
