The tenth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 15, 1968, with the final episode airing May 11, 1969. The series was developed and produced by David Dortort. Season ten starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 30 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color. Season ten was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It was #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the season.
Synopsis
Bonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric "Hoss" (Dan Blocker), and Joseph (Michael Landon). Veteran actor Victor Sen Yung played the ranch cook, Hop Sing. In 1964, Pernell Roberts began expressing a desire to leave the series, and so prospective replacements were introduced via Barry Coe as Little Joe's wayward maternal half-brother Clay, and Guy Williams as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright. However, Roberts was persuaded to complete his contract, and remained through season six. The characters of Clay and Will were discontinued. In the ninth season, David Canary was added to the cast as ranch hand/foreman Candy Canady.
Cast and characters
Main cast Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright Michael Landon as Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright David Canary as "Candy" Canaday
Recurring Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee Bing Russell as Deputy Clem Foster
Guest cast
Episodes
Release Season ten aired on Sundays from 9:00pm10:00pm on NBC.
Reception It was #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the season.
References Footnotes
Bibliography
External links
Bonanza season 10 at TV Guide