Bonanza: A Classic for Every Season (Summer of MeTV)

 

Note: This review is part of the Summer of MeTV Classic TV Blogathon hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Click here to check out this blogathon's complete schedule.

After two years, it's long past time that Comfort TV saddled up for a visit to the old west. 

I know that for some classic TV fans, westerns are the only comfort viewing that resonates. The genre thrived in the 1950s, survived the turbulent ‘60s and all but faded out by the disco era. But as with comedies and legal procedurals and medical dramas, its best shows – like Bonanza – are as enjoyable now as in those thrilling days of yesteryear.

America first met the Cartwrights of the Ponderosa on September 12, 1959. Back then there were 27 other westerns airing on the three major networks, which may explain why their adventures were initially lost in the shuffle. But ratings soared after a time slot switch to avoid competition from Perry Mason.  Bonanza became television’s second longest-running western (after Gunsmoke), lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes. From 1964 to 1967, it was television’s top-rated program.

What made this particular western so popular? It starts with appealing characters, portrayed by an outstanding ensemble cast. 

Eric Cartwright, better known as Hoss (Dan Blocker) was the series’ heart and soul, and despite his imposing presence he was particularly beloved by younger viewers. Ben (Lorne Greene) was a rock of stability, faith and optimism, despite being three-times widowed. Adam (Pernell Roberts) was the intelligent but brooding eldest son. Handsome Joe (Michael Landon) was the youngest, the most hotheaded, and the Cartwright most often left heartbroken by a girlfriend’s death or betrayal.

But Little Joe wasn't alone at being unlucky in love. The inability of any Cartwright to hold on to a girl for more than one episode became a running joke among fans. The series even had its own variation on Star Trek’s doomed red-shirted crewmen; if a woman appears on Bonanza in a blue dress, she will almost certainly disappear or die before the closing credits. 

But it wasn’t all romance and loss on the Ponderosa, nor was it always the same old saloons and shootouts. Bonanza mixed comedies and tragedies, action-packed outings with social commentary. Viewers never knew what type of story they’d find from week to week, which helped the series avoid the formulaic stories of some TV westerns and contributed to its remarkable longevity.

As evidence of Bonanza’s consistency and versatility, I’ve selected one classic episode from each of its 14 seasons – watch for them on MeTV. 

Season 1: “The Henry Comstock Story”

Written by series creator David Dortort, this flashback episode features a memorable performance from Jack Carson as prospector Henry Comstock, one of the founders of Virginia City.

Season 2: “The Gift”

Martin Landau and Jim Davis guest star in this adventure in which Joe is attacked by Comancheros while returning from Arizona with a special present for his father.

Season 3: “The Crucible”

Pernell Roberts is featured in what is arguably the series’ best episode. Robbed and left for dead in the desert, Adam is apparently rescued by prospector Peter Kane, played by Lee Marvin. Adam’s relief turns to terror when Kane is revealed as a madman, who seeks to prove through torture that a morally upright man can be driven to murder. Their twisted battle of wills is riveting. 

Season 4: “Any Friend of Walter’s”

Hoss, en route to see his girlfriend Bessie Sue, is forced to take shelter in a rundown shack that is home to Obie, a mangy prospector (yes, the Cartwrights met quite a few prospectors in their day) and his dog, Walter. Obie insists that the mutt is one of the smartest dogs in the West, but when bandits attack Walter proves he ain’t no Lassie.

Season 5: “Calamity Over the Comstock”

The Cartwrights meet western legends Doc Holliday and Calamity Jane (played with va-voomish appeal by Stefanie Powers).

Season 6: “Old Sheba”

There’s an elephant on the Ponderosa, and no one is quite sure how to get rid of him. This is one of the better comic outings to feature Lorne Greene.

Season 7: “The Other Son”

The Wages of Fear, Bonanza-style. Ben hires an explosives expert to help transport nitroglycerin across a mountain range to the site of a mine disaster. This is one of the series’ most suspenseful episodes. 

Season 8: “A Christmas Story”

I’m always a sucker for holiday episodes – this one has Hoss playing Santa Claus and Wayne Newton singing “Silent Night.”

Season 9: “Showdown at Tahoe”

Ben and Candy (David Canary) square off against an outlaw gang on a paddle-wheel steamboat.

Season 10: “The Wish”

Michael Landon wrote and directed this episode, in which Hoss helps an African-American family (headed by guest star Ossie Davis) fix their farm and deal with racist threats from a neighboring town. 

Season 11: “Caution: Easter Bunny Crossing”

This choice will likely tick off a few fans, but I can’t help it. While it’s been years since I’ve caught this episode, I have never forgotten the sight of Hoss, dressed as a giant bunny, throwing Easter eggs at a gang of stagecoach robbers.

Season 12: “Kingdom of Fear”

The Cartwrights are abducted and forced to work on a chain gang by a sadistic judge. Shot in the week following Robert Kennedy’s assassination, this Michael Landon-penned episode was originally deemed too brutal for broadcast and didn’t air until 3 years later.

Season 13: “The Lonely Man”

The series’ best Hop Sing episode finds the Cartwrights’ loyal cook in love. Sadly, his romance doesn’t fare any better than those of his employers.

Season 14: “Forever”

A heartbreaking story written and directed by Michael Landon that serves as an unofficial tribute to Dan Blocker, who died prior to the season’s start. When Ben and Joe grieve for the latest in a long line of Joe’s ill-fated love interests, their tears were really in memory of their departed costar and friend. 

(Dis)Comfort TV: Classic Halloween #1

 Sometime around 1995, Halloween hijacked the month of October. Last year, with the exception on one Munsters vs. Addams piece, Comfort TV sat out this annual tradition. But this year I’ve caught the spirit and will be offering recommendations on some classic Halloween episodes and some off-the-wall holiday specials.

This week, let’s take a look at five Comfort TV episodes that, while not specifically Halloween-themed, were still more frightening than a Miley Cyrus video.

“Living Doll”

The Twilight Zone

Choosing just one episode of The Twilight Zone for a piece on unsettling television is like trying to choose the worst episode of Small Wonder. There are just too many exceptional nominees. But even among such classic stories as “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “Long Distance Call,” “The After Hours,” “Twenty Two” and “Eye of the Beholder,” the TZ story that lingered longest in my memory was “Living Doll.” Telly Savales played the abusive stepfather to a little girl who had a doll named Talky Tina. And Tina did not like Telly.

Do we need spoilers for a 50 year-old episode? If you haven’t seen it but are familiar with the Child’s Play movies, you probably have some idea where the story is going. Savales’s heightened desperation, an ominous Bernard Herrmann score and the voice of June Foray as Tina create an escalating mood of tension that plays with the viewer’s loyalties. We enjoy watching the mean old stepdad get his, but the zinger at the end of the episode suggests that Tina may have already chosen her next victim.

“Twilight Town”

Bonanza

As the title suggests, “Twilight Town,” seems inspired by The Twilight Zone. The episode opens with Little Joe (Michael Landon) being knocked unconscious by a horse thief, and wandering into the mysterious town of Martinville. At first, he thinks the town long abandoned, but gradually Joe discovers he is not alone. After being nursed back to health, he is urged to become Martinville’s new sheriff.

The scares come not from quick cuts to frightening images, but from the slow realization of being trapped in a nightmare, in which everything seems normal on the surface but not quite right if you look a little closer. The climax seems to provide a logical explanation for what happens to Joe, but then there’s a little twist at the end that blurs the line between what’s real and imaginary.

“Fright Night”

The Brady Bunch

Whether it was building houses of cards, or Greg running against Marsha for class president, the “boys vs. the girls” episodes of The Brady Bunch usually ranked among the series’ best. Here, a ghost in the backyard frightens Jan and Cindy. They later discover that their brothers created it. The three very lovely girls plot their revenge and the usual hijinks ensue.

Maybe some suspension of disbelief is required to believe that the cellophane ghost rising from the trunk could really be that terrifying. But the attic sequence is certainly fun, and there’s an amusing climax when all six kids put their differences aside and team up to scare Alice. Also, watch for Maureen McCormick’s amusingly unsuccessful attempt to pronounce the word “werewolves.” 

“The Ghost of A. Chantz”

The Dick Van Dyke Show

A reservation glitch at a mountain cabin lands Rob, Laura, Buddy and Sally in the same isolated cottage for one night, and strange things start to happen. Some of the scares are surprisingly intense for a breezy sitcom, particularly the sinister faces that appear in the mirrors.

Morey Amsterdam plays the Lou Costello role to perfection, and the mystery is resolved in an unexpected and satisfying manner. 

“Assignment #1”

Sapphire and Steel

There were just six episodes, aired between 1979 and 1982, but the British sci-fi series Sapphire and Steel still retains a loyal cult following, and has just been released for a second time on DVD. David McCallum and Joanna Lumley, both better known for other TV roles, play inter-dimensional agents assigned to correct any unnatural breaks in the timeline.

In the atmospheric first episode, Sapphire (Lumley) and Steel (McCallum) arrive at a remote 18^th century farmhouse to help two children whose parents have disappeared. The story unfolds over six half-hour episodes in which the two leads remain stubbornly enigmatic, and even brusque with the frightened kids they are ostensibly there to aid. The story is deliberately paced, which is usually a polite way of saying ‘slow.’ But if you have the patience for Jon Pertwee era Doctor Who, and don’t mind rudimentary visual effects in the service of intriguing stories and characters, the eerie, foreboding tone that emanates from this tale will draw you under its spell. 

Next week, I’ll look at five memorable episodes that were directly inspired by All Hallow’s Eve.