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Bonanza season 9

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bonanza
Season 9
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Starring
No. of episodes34
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 17, 1967 (1967-09-17) –
July 28, 1968 (1968-07-28)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 8
Next →
Season 10
List of episodes

The ninth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 17, 1967, with the final episode airing July 28, 1968.[1] The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season nine starred Lorne Greene, 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 colour.[2] Season nine was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. After three straight seasons at number one, it slipped to #6 in the Nielsen ratings.[3]

Synopsis

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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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Main cast

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Recurring

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Guest cast

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Production

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Filming

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On location filming took place at the following:

The episode "Showdown at Tahoe" used the M. S. Dixie II, an operating tour vessel on Lake Tahoe.[5]

Episodes

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Bonanza, season 9 episodes
No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
2701"Second Chance"Leon BensonStory by : Paul Schneider
Teleplay by : John Hawkins and Paul Schneider
September 17, 1967 (1967-09-17)
Ben joins an Army patrol to try and save Hoss and Joe from Indians. When Joe is wounded, they meet a dying doctor who is willing to help them. James Gregory guest stars.
2712"Sense of Duty"William WitneyStory by : Gil Lasky and Abe Polsky
Teleplay by : John Hawkins
September 24, 1967 (1967-09-24)
Ben leads a militia troop unit that takes Paiute Indian Wabuska (Michael Forest), a man who is seen as a God by the Indians, to prison. (The first episode to feature David Canary as Candy Canady).
2723"The Conquistadores"Leon BensonWalter BlackOctober 1, 1967 (1967-10-01)
Joe is kidnapped by a band of Mexicans miners searching for gold and held for ransom, but thieves are out to take the gold for themselves. John Saxon, John Kellogg and Carlos Rivera guest star.
2734"Judgement at Olympus"John RichWalter BlackOctober 8, 1967 (1967-10-08)
Candy is framed for the murder of A.Z. Wheelock's (Arch Johnson) son in the town of Olympus, so Joe and Hoss try to clear him.
2745"Night Of Reckoning"Leon BensonWalter BlackOctober 15, 1967 (1967-10-15)
A band of outlaws, previously involved in wounding Donnie Buckler (Ron Hayes), take Joe, Hoss, and Candy hostage as they search the Ponderosa for holdup money taken by one of their own.
2756"False Witness"Michael MooreEric NordenOctober 22, 1967 (1967-10-22)
Billy Slater (Michael Blodgett) and Doug Slater (Bill Fletcher)'s gang stalk Joe, Hoss, Candy and a woman since they witnessed one of their crimes.
2767"The Gentle Ones"Harry HarrisFrank ChaseOctober 29, 1967 (1967-10-29)
An animal-loving cowboy (Robert Walker Jr.) must stand up to his brutish older brother in order to prove to a widow that he's not a coward.
2778"Desperate Passage"Leon BensonJohn HawkinsNovember 5, 1967 (1967-11-05)
The Cartwrights encounter two survivors of an Indian raid—a suspected murderer and a woman (Tina Louise) who knows he's innocent.
2789"The Sure Thing"William WitneyStory by : Robert Vincent Wright
Teleplay by : Robert Vincent Wright and Sidney Ellis
November 12, 1967 (1967-11-12)
A young woman, Trudy Loughlin (Kim Darby), has a dream of riding her stallion in a big-stakes race, but this is jeopardized when her father, Burt Laughlin (Tom Tully), associates himself with a gambler.
27910"Showdown At Tahoe"Gerald MayerThomas ThompsonNovember 19, 1967 (1967-11-19)
Candy sets a trap for a band of outlaws bent on robbing Ben's timber operation.
28011"Six Black Horses"Donald R. DavesStory by : William Jerome
Teleplay by : William Jerome and Michael Landon
November 26, 1967 (1967-11-26)
An Irishman uses luck to outwit greedy businessmen.
28112"Check Rein"Leon BensonStory by : Robert I. Holt
Teleplay by : Olney Sherwood and Robert I. Holt
December 3, 1967 (1967-12-03)
The Cartwrights get involved in a man's fight to save his inheritance and himself from his greedy uncle.
28213"Justice Deferred"Gerald MayerJack MillerDecember 17, 1967 (1967-12-17)
Hoss realizes that his testimony has led to the hanging of an innocent man, so he sets out to convict the real killer.
28314"The Gold Detector"Donald R. DavesWard HawkinsDecember 24, 1967 (1967-12-24)
After buying a gold detector, Hoss tries to prove its worth and protect it from thieves. Guest starring Wally Cox, and Caroline Richter.
28415"The Trackers"Marc DanielsStory by : Frederick Louis Fox
Teleplay by : Reuben Bercovitch
January 7, 1968 (1968-01-07)
Ben, Candy and Hoss try to protect a recently-released prisoner suspected of robbery and murder.
28516"A Girl Named George"Leon BensonWilliam H. WrightJanuary 14, 1968 (1968-01-14)
The Cartwrights investigate a mystery involving an altered photograph.
28617"The Thirteenth Man"Leon BensonWalter BlackJanuary 21, 1968 (1968-01-21)
The Cartwrights clash with a range detective (Albert Salmi) who pressures his suspects into drawing first so he can kill them.
28718"The Burning Sky"John RichStory by : Carol Saraceno
Teleplay by : William H. Wright
January 28, 1968 (1968-01-28)
A ranch hand (Michael Murphy) causes trouble when he arrives with his Indian bride (Dawn Wells).
28819"The Price of Salt"Leon BensonB. W. SandefurFebruary 4, 1968 (1968-02-04)
A woman (Kim Hunter) who has a monopoly on the salt needed for cattle sets off the buyers when she raises the price. James Best guest stars.
28920"Blood Tie"Seymour RobbieArthur Dales[B]February 18, 1968 (1968-02-18)
One of three men tricks the Cartwrights into hiring him so he and his cohorts can rob them.
29021"The Crime of Johnny Mule"Leon BensonJoel MurcottFebruary 25, 1968 (1968-02-25)
Johnny Mule (Noah Beery, Jr.), the man Hoss refused to convict for murder, breaks out of prison.
29122"The Late Ben Cartwright"Leon BensonWalter BlackMarch 3, 1968 (1968-03-03)
An assassin complicates Ben's fight to prevent a corrupt tycoon's lackey from being elected governor.
29223"Star Crossed"William F. ClaxtonThomas ThompsonMarch 10, 1968 (1968-03-10)
Candy falls for a girl (Tisha Sterling) being harassed by a former lawman-turned-blackmailer (William Windom).
29324"Trouble Town"Leon BensonDavid LangMarch 17, 1968 (1968-03-17)
The Cartwrights must find out why Candy is being held in River Bend on a minor charge without bail.
29425"Commitment at Angelus"Leon BensonPeter GermanoApril 7, 1968 (1968-04-07)
Joe gets involved in a miners' strike after the death of a friend leaves the miners without a leader.
29526"A Dream to Dream"William F. ClaxtonMichael LandonApril 14, 1968 (1968-04-14)
When a man's guilt over his son's death lead him to drinking, his wife and other children pay more attention to Hoss.
29627"In Defense of Honor"Marc DanielsStory by : Richard Wendley and William Douglas Lansford
Teleplay by : William Douglas Lansford
April 28, 1968 (1968-04-28)
An outcast jeopardizes negotiations with the Indians when he decides to rejoin the tribe he rejected his whole life.
29728"To Die in Darkness"Michael LandonMichael LandonMay 5, 1968 (1968-05-05)
Ben and Candy are trapped in a mine shaft by a vengeful ex-prisoner (James Whitmore), who wrongly served time based on the testimony of the pair.
29829"The Bottle Fighter"Leon BensonStory by : Colin MacKenzie and S. H. Barnett
Teleplay by : John Hawkins
May 12, 1968 (1968-05-12)
The only lawyer (Albert Dekker) who can defend Hoss in the case of a murdered cattle buyer is an alcoholic.
29930"The Arrival of Eddie"Marc DanielsJohn M. Chester and Ward HawkinsMay 19, 1968 (1968-05-19)
Hoss seeks forgiveness from Eddie MaKay (Jan-Michael Vincent) for killing his father.
30031"The Stronghold"Leon BensonJohn Hawkins and William Riley BurnettMay 26, 1968 (1968-05-26)
Joe and Candy are swindled out of a herd of cattle by the Farrell brothers (Paul Mantee, Michael Witney), so they follow the sparring brothers back to their Arizona hideout.
30132"Pride of a Man"William F. ClaxtonWard Hawkins and Helen B. HicksJune 2, 1968 (1968-06-02)
Joe takes a job as a substitute teacher and must deal with two incorrigible boys and their father, who doesn't think his boys need an education.
30233"A Severe Case of Matrimony"Lewis AllenMichael FessierJuly 7, 1968 (1968-07-07)
A band of Gypsies arrives on the Ponderosa and one of them wishes to marry a Cartwright. Guest stars: J. Carrol Naish as Anselmo, Susan Strasberg as Rosalita, and Andre Philippe as Paco
30334"Stage Door Johnnies"William F. ClaxtonAlex SharpJuly 28, 1968 (1968-07-28)
Hoss and Joe allow their rivalry for the affections of an attractive singer (Kathleen Crowley) to get them into damage suits.

Release

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Season nine aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[11]

Reception

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After three straight seasons in the number one spot, it slipped to #6 in the Nielsen ratings.[3]

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 129, 134.
  2. ^ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
  3. ^ a b
    • "TV Ratings: 1964–1965". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
    • "TV Ratings: 1965–1966". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
    • "TV Ratings: 1966–1967". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
    • "TV Ratings: 1967–1968". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 128.
  5. ^ a b c Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 129.
  6. ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 131.
  7. ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 134.
  8. ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 138.
  9. ^ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 135.
  10. ^ a b Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 136.
  11. ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.

Bibliography

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