The essential episodes of Bonanza
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Bonanza — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Western chronicling the adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons. When Ben refuses to sell his timber to Troy, he recruits Lotta to kidnap Ben's son.
- 02
When antelopes are slaughtered by poachers, the Cartwright's agreement is desecrated and sets events in motion which could start an Indian war.
- 03
The Cartwrights help Virginia City reporter Samuel Langhorne Clemens investigate suspected shady goings-on between a railroad company and a local judge.
- 04
Annie asks Adam to help her open a restaurant in her father's honour, but they face stiff competition from an old friend staking a claim to her deeds.
- 05
Ben considers marrying an actress when she comes to town, but his sons have some issues. The woman's former lover creates trouble when he also arrives in town.
- 06
When an Indian saves Ben Cartwright's life from a near fatal knife attack by another Indian, Ben later gives the Indian and his pregnant wife a strip of fertile farming land. Unfortunately the land is next to a very racist farmer and things turn deadly.
- 07
Gunnar is a long-lost relative of the Cartwright family. When Gunnar arrives at the Ponderosa, the family takes him in for the evening. Gunnar is the brother to one of Ben Cartwright's late wives. Unbeknownst to the Cartwright family, Gunnar is also the leader of a band of criminals called The Comancheros. Little Joe is visiting his girlfriend away from the ranch. When Little Joe and his girlfriend are kidnapped by The Comancheros, the Cartwrights and Gunnar are forced into a difficult situation
- 08
When their spring-fever antics injure miserly businessman, Jedediah Milbank, requiring recuperation at the Ponderosa, Ben orders each of his sons to carry out one of Mr. Milbank's seemingly simple tasks, unaware that they may prove impossible for the kind-hearted Cartwright boys to complete.
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