bonanza

　 　

WordNet

1. an especially rich vein of precious ore

PrepTutorEJDIC

1. (鉱山中の)富鉱帯 / 《話》(富鉱帯を堀りあてたような)大当たり,思いがけない大幸運;宝庫

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出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2015/01/13 22:45:45」(JST)

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Bonanza

作者	保木邦仁
最新版	The Final / 2013年7月22日 （2013-07-22）
プログラミング言語	C言語、Perl
対応OS	Windows
対応言語	英語
種別	コンピュータ将棋
公式サイト	www.geocities.jp/bonanza_shogi/

Bonanza（ボナンザ）は、コンピュータ将棋のプログラム。Windows用のフリーウェアとして公開されており、誰でも無償でダウンロードして利用できる。ソースコードも公開されている。

概要

作者は公開当時カナダ在住だった日本人の化学者保木邦仁。作成当時は将棋についてはほとんど知らないことも話題となった。後に発行した本では、自らの棋力を「11級」と評した。

2005年6月にver.1.0が公開。その棋力の高さは公開直後から渡辺明が自身のブログで「プロが平手で餌食になった」「奨励会有段者クラスがコロコロ負けているらしい」とたびたび話題にし、渡辺自身も「10秒将棋だと10回に1、2回はやられる」と述べた。また、コンピュータらしくない自然な手を指すとの評が確立した。棋力の指標となる将棋倶楽部24でのレイティングは2006年当時で2400以上（アマチュア五段相当＝主要アマチュア棋戦の県代表争いレベル）に達した。

メジャーアップデートされたver.2.0は2006年5月に行われた第16回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権大会にBonanzaとして初出場し、歴戦の将棋ソフトが居並ぶ中で初優勝した。高性能なワークステーションで参加する者も多い中、Bonanzaは一般向けのノートパソコン (VAIO SZ-90S)、筐体を冷却するのは小型USB扇風機と、低スペックの環境での優勝であった。この赤い扇風機は、後に市販された初回限定版に同梱されるなどBonanzaの象徴となり、後述する渡辺との対局でも、Bonanzaのシンボルマークとして筐体の上に設置された（風は送っていない）。既に草創期を脱し強豪ソフトが固定化されてきた中、初出場での優勝、ノートパソコンでの優勝、フリーウェアの優勝という三重の「初づくし」は、コンピュータ将棋界に巨大な衝撃を与えた。

ソースコード公開後

2006年11月11日の第11回 ゲーム・プログラミングワークショップ2006にて、アルゴリズムの詳細が発表された。

2009年1月、保木はBonanza Version 4.0.3の思考ルーチンのソースプログラムを公開し、他の開発者の利用を認めた。これにより、Bonanzaの思考ルーチンの詳細が明らかになった。これを利用し、2009年5月の第19回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権には電気通信大学の開発チームが、乱数によって異なる思考を行う複数のBonanzaライブラリの合議制アルゴリズムによって指し手を決定する「文殊」を開発して初出場し、本家Bonanzaに直接対決では敗れたものの、総合成績ではBonanzaの5位を上回る3位となった。

2010年5月の第20回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権では、保木と文殊チームが連合し合議制アルゴリズムを採用した「Bonanza Feliz」（Ver.5.0に相当）を擁して出場し5位となったほか、3チームがBonanza4.0.3ライブラリ採用のソフトで出場し、「ボンクラーズ」が本家を上回る4位、芝浦工業大学の「芝浦将棋」が初出場ながら決勝に進出して7位となった。

2011年5月の第21回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権では、電気通信大学の特任助教に就任した保木が単独名義において、ver.6.0でエントリーし2位となる。この大会では、総計17台132コアのコンピュータによる並列処理を行い、うち1台はこれまで搭載していなかった長手数の詰将棋専用のルーチンを搭載して即詰みに対応した。また、保木以外に3チームがBonanzaライブラリ採用のソフトで参加した。

2012年5月の第22回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権では、保木は前年を上回る総計26台288コアのコンピュータを用意し、前年から取り組んでいる「合議法、クラスター並列探索、詰将棋専用マシンによる疎結合並列化」を推し進めたが、二次予選で9位となり、Bonanzaは初めて大会の決勝に残ることができなかった。この大会では6チームがBonanza6.0のライブラリを採用し、ボンクラーズから名称を変更した「Puella α」が2位に入った。

2013年5月の第23回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権では、保木は31台388コアのクラスタ構成で大会に臨み、前年は通過できなかった二次予選を4位で通過した。8チームの総当りで行われる決勝では6回戦を終えて4勝2敗となり、最終7回戦は5勝1敗の首位で前年の優勝チームであり、直前に行われた「電王戦」で三浦弘行八段を破ったGPS将棋との対局となった。対局は途中でBonanzaに即詰みが発生する必敗の局面となったが、25分の持ち時間を使い切ると即敗退となる制限時間のルールにより、GPS将棋が詰みを逃し持ち時間を使い切ったことでBonanzaが逆転で勝利。7回戦を終了して5勝2敗でBonanza、ponanza、GPS将棋の3チームが並んだが大会の順位決定規定によりBonanzaが2006年の初優勝以来7年ぶり2度目の優勝を果たした。この大会ではBonanza以外に9チームがBonanza6.0のライブラリを採用し、「NineDayFever」が大会初出場ながら決勝に進出し、2位ponanzaと4位激指に勝つ健闘を見せて5位となった。

プロ棋士との対局

渡辺明竜王との対局

2007年3月21日、大和証券杯ネット将棋・最強戦の創設を記念して、渡辺明竜王との平手一番特別対局が組まれた。結果は渡辺が勝利した。対局は品川プリンスホテルでの公開対局となりBonanzaの先手、持ち時間はそれぞれ2時間とされた。Bonanza側には、駒を動かすアシスタントとして当時奨励会三段の田中悠一がつき、保木は初手と終局以外は、Bonanzaの監視を行った。公の場で、コンピュータ将棋がタイトル保持者と平手で対局するのは初めてのことであったが、渡辺は「私は嫌でしたが、頼まれたので引き受けました、と公表すること」を条件として、これを引き受けた

この対局に用いられたBonanzaは、当時公開されていたver.2.1と比較しても、探索手数を大幅に増やし、戦法の選択を改善するなどチューニングをほどこしたものであった。またハードウェアもリアルコンピューティングの「RC Server Calm2000」（CPU：Intel Xeon X5355 2.66GHz×8cores、メモリ：8GB)と、市販のPCよりは高性能のものを使用した。これにより将棋倶楽部24でのレーティングは2800相当（アマチュア最強レベル）に達したという。

対局は中盤までBonanzaが優位に進め、対局を観戦していた棋士、アシスタントの田中も互角もしくはBonanza優勢との見解を示していた。対局した渡辺は89手目にBonanzaが▲24歩と指した段階で自身の勝利を確信したがこの時Bonanzaが▲24歩ではなく▲27香と指していたら自身の敗北を予測していたという。 Bonanzaの指した▲24歩は渡辺の玉の囲いを一気に攻めこむ積極的な手であり、一方▲27香は飛車取りを防ぎつつ一旦受けにまわる手だった。▲27香を指されると数手先でBonanzaの玉に馬がはりつき、渡辺の攻めが続かず、負けに至ると読んだと渡辺本人が対局後に語っている。開発者の保木はその時、席を外していたが廊下でBonanzaが▲24歩と指したのを聞き「（Bonanzaが）そろそろ悪手を指しているころではないか」と取材陣に語っていた。

結果は112手で渡辺の勝ちとなったが、対局した渡辺が「奨励会初段～三段」、勝又清和六段が「奨励会三段レベル」とBonanzaの実力を評価するなど、将棋ソフトの実力がプロに迫ってきていることを示す結果にもなった。ただし、当時の背景としてはプロ側がソフトを自分たちと同等の棋力、即ち四段以上であると認めた例は無く認めたのは電王戦での敗戦以後の事である。また負け将棋になった経緯を見ても棋力の判断は前述の事情を加味して聞いておく必要はある。渡辺はこの対局をブログで振り返り、「人間では発想できない良手を指した中盤での意外な強さ」と「コンピュータが絶対的な強さを持つと思われていた終盤での意外な見落とし」を指摘している。一方、開発者の保木は、「美しい棋譜を残すことができた」、すなわち第一人者相手に頓珍漢ではない自然な将棋を指せたことをもって評価とした。

この対局の模様は2007年4月21日にNHK衛星第2テレビで『運命の一手 渡辺竜王VS.人工知能・ボナンザ』というタイトルで90分間のドキュメントとして放送された。番組では、プロ棋士の戸辺誠や奨励会員らと共にボナンザ対策を練る真剣な表情の渡辺や、対局中の「いやぁ、強すぎる、本当に」の嘆息を捉えている。

清水市代女流王将との対局

2010年10月11日、激指、GPS将棋、Bonanza、YSSによる合議制で作られた「あから2010」が清水市代女流王将と対戦し、あから2010が勝利した。

思考ルーチン

Bonanzaの思考ルーチンは、以前のコンピュータ将棋ソフトでは採用されていなかった独自のアイデアが用いられている。

コンピュータチェスの思考を応用

保木は当初コンピュータ将棋ではなく、コンピュータチェスの論文をベースとして思考ルーチンの基本部分を作成した。ベースとなるデータは、インターネットなどで入手できた6万局に及ぶ将棋の棋譜データを元にしている。

全幅検索

Bonanza登場以前のコンピュータ将棋では、その局面で可能なすべての指し手を評価する（全幅検索）のではなく、自然な指し手を重視して検索（選択検索）していた。全幅検索では全ての指し手を評価すると選択肢が膨大になり、現実的ではないと考えられていたからである。しかしBonanzaはその常識を覆し、全幅検索を採用することで、これまでの他のソフトが見落としていた（あるいは開発者が軽視していた）指し手に高い評価を与えることが可能となった。現在では後述のように全幅検索と選択検索のハイブリッドである。

開発当時の保木は将棋に対する造詣は深くなく、チェスと同じようなものであると考えていた。そのためコンピュータチェスで一般的な全幅検索を採用したが、保木によると「選択的探索は選択を行う処理が複雑になるため、全幅探索よりも負荷がかかる」としている。

評価関数のパラメータの自動生成

これは保木の本業である化学反応の制御理論を応用したものである。保木自身の棋力ではコンピュータを強くする設定を行うことができず、既存の機械学習で成果を上げたプログラムがなかったため、制御理論をもとに自作することにしたという。

ボナンザは元にした6万局の棋譜データから、評価関数のパラメータを自動生成している。他のソフトは開発者がパラメータを定めた評価関数を用いているため、開発者の固定観念や棋力の影響を受けることがあった。ただし、パラメータは自動生成だが、何を評価するかは保木自身が決めている。棋譜からパラメータを自動生成することで、開発者の主観を排除した評価関数は強みでもあるが、同時に弱みでもある。当初、Bonanzaは序盤で大駒を切ることが多かったが、これは大駒の点数が他のソフトに比べて低く設定されているためであり、人間の感覚に反するこの設定は、自動生成に由来するものであった。後述の渡辺との対局でも、この特性を利用した角銀交換を迫られたが、その時には既に極端な大駒切りに関しては対策されていたため、交換はしなかった。

詰将棋

チェスがベースであるため、開発当初は終盤の詰将棋のルーチンが搭載されておらず、詰める状況でも相手の駒をとり続けていた。2007年の世界コンピュータ将棋選手権からは、3手詰めのルーチンが搭載された。他のソフトでは最初から詰将棋専用のルーチンを用意しており、後で組み込んだBonanzaが特殊である。これについて渡辺明は、終盤において王手以外の指し手を考慮することは、力の向上につながるともしている。もっとも、詰将棋非対応のため、詰将棋ルーチンを搭載したコンピュータソフトとの対局においては、長手数の即詰みを見落として頓死することがままあり、2011年の世界選手権では詰将棋専用マシンを一台用意して構成に加えた。また、ボナンザを利用した市販のソフトでは、詰め将棋ルーチンを別途搭載することで補っているものもある。

既存のソフトとは全く異なるアプローチをとったため、世界コンピュータ将棋選手権に初出場した際は、保木はBonanzaが極端に強いか、弱いかのどちらかだと考えており、結果として優勝こそしたものの既存の強豪ソフトとほぼ同じ棋力であったことに愕然としたと記している。これらの特徴はコンピュータ将棋の過去の蓄積を知らなかったために実現したことであって、日本にいて情報が入ってくる環境であれば、個人が1年で完成させることは不可能であったと述べている。

以上のように、既存の常識に反する要素が多かったが、保木の試みはコンピュータ将棋の一大革新として、他の開発者が一斉に追随することになった。「全幅探索」と「評価関数のパラメータの自動生成」は、2010年までには世界コンピュータ将棋選手権の上位ソフト全てがこの方法を導入するようになった。「評価関数のパラメータの自動生成」に関しては、Bonanza登場以降のコンピュータ将棋界で「ボナンザ・メソッド/Bonanza Method」と表現されるほどのインパクトがあった。

数式

以下、第11回 ゲーム・プログラミングワークショップ 2006にて発表されたVer. 2時点でのアルゴリズムに基づく。

各盤面の判断となる評価関数が、強い棋士が実際に指した手と同じになるようなパラメータを探索する。以下の誤差関数Jを最小にするパラメータvを最適化問題として探す。

右辺2項は過学習を防ぐための正則化項。N は学習データの局面数（対局数×手数）、は局面、M はその局面の合法手の数。T は T(0) 近辺で傾きが最大になる適当な関数（シグモイド関数など）。 は一手先の次の局面で、 は実際に強い棋士が指した手の局面。 は局面の評価関数。, は過学習防止の定数値の正則化係数。 は各駒の価値（駒割り）の総和（一次正則化）。 は駒の位置関係に対するパラメータの2乗（二次正則化）に勾配ベクトルへの寄与度をかけた値の総和。vの各値は16ビット整数値に限定。

Jをvで偏微分をとり、勾配ベクトルに沿って最急降下法で下っていく。勾配ベクトルを求める際、 の部分は、このまま使わずに、評価関数の考える最善手と強い棋士が実際に指した手が一致した場合は、食い違うところまで手をたどっていき、食い違ったところの評価関数の差を使う。勾配を下る学習率パラメータは学習が進むにつれ徐々に小さくしていく。この探索は1カ月以上計算させ続けている。

評価関数は、以下の項目の総和（線形モデル）。2つ目以降は、駒の位置関係に対するパラメータ。

• 各駒の価値（駒割り）
• 王、他の駒2つの位置
• 王、隣接した味方の駒、他の味方の駒3つの位置
• 隣接しあった駒2つの位置関係
• 竜馬飛角桂香の利き上にいる駒の種類
• 竜馬飛角香が動けるマスの数
• ピンされている駒の種類、方向、王との距離
• 角と同じ色のマスにいる味方の歩の数
• 歩桂銀が前進できるか
• 竜飛香の前・後の歩
• 王の周囲25マスの利きの配置

ただし、これは、Ver. 4以降、Ver. 6現在は単純化しており、以下の3項目だけになっている。4つ以上の駒の関係も3つの駒の関係から近似的に合成できるとしている。この変更によりパラメータ数は大きく増え、パラメータを保存しているfv.binは177 MBになった。下記の駒の位置738通りにおいて、持ち駒も含まれるが、成金と金の区別はしない。

• 各駒の価値（駒割り） - 13通り
• 王1つ、他の駒2つの位置（自分と相手の駒の区別あり） - 81 * (1 〜 738 * 2 までの和) = 88,292,106通り
• 王2つ、他の駒1つの位置 - 81 * 81 * 738 = 4,842,018通り

Ver. 6のfv.binにおいては、2八玉・4九金の状況において、3八銀 = 357、4八銀 = -852、5八銀 = 442 となっており、美濃囲いや銀美濃を正しく学習している。そして、4八銀という駒の利きの悪い配置を大駒を失う並の悪い配置と見なしている。同じ4九金・4八銀でも、壁囲いの3八玉 = 31 であり、まだましであると評価している。

T(x) の |x| が大きい手、つまり、最善手から大きく離れた手は、計算量を減らすため省略する。盤面の表現はビットボードを使い、高速化する。

将棋に関係ない部分の基本的なモデルは、機械学習の基本的なモデルに基づいており、そこに独自の工夫を加えている。

駒の価値

Ver. 6現在、src/client/param.hに駒割りの値が記載されている。それ以外のパラメータは177 MBのwinbin/fv.binに保存されている。

駒の価値

駒	Ver. 2	Ver. 4.0.4	Feliz	Ver. 6
歩	106	101	87	87
香車	272	254	235	232
桂馬	304	267	254	257
銀	428	385	371	369
と	279	424	530	534
成香	323	424	482	489
成桂	363	462	500	510
成銀	415	477	489	495
金	527	466	447	444
角	617	567	571	569
飛	700	661	647	642
馬	698	831	832	827
竜	854	1002	955	945

更新履歴

• 2005年6月2日 Ver.1.0公開
  • 2005年7月21日 Ver.1.1公開
  • 2005年8月23日 Ver.1.2公開
• 2006年5月19日 Ver.2.0公開（同日、不具合を修正したVer.2.1公開）
• 2008年10月12日 Ver.3.0公開
• 2009年2月2日 Ver.4.0.4公開
  • 2010年1月25日 Ver.4.1.3公開
• 2010年5月11日 Bonanza Feliz公開
• 2011年5月9日 Ver.6.0公開

パッケージ製品

作者の意向によりBonanzaは過去から現在までの全てのバージョンが無償で提供され続けている（Bonanza Version 4.0.3よりマルチコアCPUの並列処理に対応）。一方、Bonanzaのエンジンを搭載したコンピュータ将棋ソフトも市販されている。

• 2006年11月17日 「Bonanza 2.1 Commercial Edition」マグノリアから発売。
• 2007年6月15日 「Bonanza Classic」マグノリアから発売。2005年に発表された当時のBonanzaを搭載。
• 2008年3月14日 「Bonanza 3.0 Commercial Edition」マグノリアから発売。
• 2008年12月18日 「最強将棋 BONANZA」株式会社サクセスからPlayStation Portable版が発売。
• 2009年3月13日 「世界最強銀星将棋8」シルバースタージャパンから発売。
• 2011年4月29日 「Bonanza5.1 Commercial Edition」マグノリアから発売。2010年10月10日に行われた、あから2010対清水市代の対局に参加したバージョン。
• 2013年7月22日 「BONANZA THE FINAL 優勝記念版」マグノリアから発売。2013年の第23回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権で優勝した思考エンジンを搭載。ソフトの実力が上がりすぎたため市場が縮小したことを理由とし、これ以後マグノリアからBonanzaの製品版は発売されない。ただし、保木が無料で公開している思考エンジンをアップデートした場合、それを本ソフトで稼働することで継続的な利用が可能。

ソースコードのライセンス

ソースコードは公開されているものの、営利目的での利用が禁止されているなど制限があるため、Open Source Initiative の定めるオープンソースでもなければ、フリーソフトウェアでもない。

ボナンザ囲い

BonanzaはVer.2当時、「ボナンザ囲い」と呼ばれる、他に例を見ない「片矢倉」の変形版を多用していた。これはボナンザの数式の結果として現れたものである。渡辺明によれば、一見すると素人臭い筋悪な形のようでいて、実際に攻略するとなると厄介であるという。

関連ソフトウェア

• マイボナ - 途中の局面から対戦したり、棋譜解析をして盤面をどのように評価しているかなどを見られる

脚注・出典

参考文献

• 保木邦仁・渡辺明共著 『ボナンザ VS 勝負脳――最強将棋ソフトは人間を超えるか』 角川書店、2007年。ISBN 978-4-04-710107-4。

関連項目

• ボナンザ・チルドレン
• 天下一将棋会

外部リンク

• Bonanza - The Computer Shogi Program
• Vector Kunihito Hoki - BonanzaのVer.1から4、Felizまでの歴代プログラムがすべて無料でダウンロードできる。
• BONANZA THE FINAL 優勝記念版 （マグノリアの製品ページ）

wiki en

[Wiki en表示]

This article is about the television program. For other uses, see Bonanza (disambiguation).

Bonanza
Also known as	Ponderosa
Genre	Western
Created by	David Dortort
Starring	Lorne Greene Pernell Roberts Dan Blocker Michael Landon Victor Sen Yung David Canary Mitch Vogel Ray Teal Bing Russell Tim Matheson
Theme music composer	Ray Evans Jay Livingston
Opening theme	"Bonanza"
Composer(s)	David Rose Walter Scharf Harry Sukman Fred Steiner (12.21) William Lava
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	14
No. of episodes	430 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Dortort Mark Roberts
Producer(s)	Fred Hamilton
Running time	49 minutes
Production company(s)	NBC
Distributor	NBC Films (1963–1972) National Telefilm Associates (1973–1986) Republic Pictures (1986-1997) Worldvision Enterprises (1997–1999) Paramount Domestic Television (1999-2006) CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006-2007) CBS Television Distribution (2007-present)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Mono
Original run	September 12, 1959 (1959-09-12) – January 16, 1973 (1973-01-16)

Bonanza is an NBC television western series that ran from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series (behind Gunsmoke), and within the top 10 longest running, live-action American series. It continues to air in syndication.

The show is set around the 1860s and it centers on the Cartwright family, who live in the area of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The series stars Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, and later, David Canary and Mitch Vogel.

The title "Bonanza" is a term used by miners in regard to a large vein or deposit of ore, and commonly refers to The Comstock Lode.

In 2002, Bonanza was ranked No. 43 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and in 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time. The time period for the television series is roughly between 1861 (Season 1) to 1867 (Season 13) during and shortly after the American Civil War.

During the summer of 1972, NBC aired reruns of episodes from the 1967–1970 period in prime time on Tuesday evening under the title Ponderosa.

Premise

Approximate location of the fictional Ponderosa Ranch, the home of Cartwright family. The map is oriented with North at the top (instead of East at the top, as in the version associated with the TV show Bonanza).

The show chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by the thrice-widowed patriarch "Ben Cartwright" (Lorne Greene). He had three sons, each by a different wife: the eldest was the urbane architect "Adam Cartwright" (Pernell Roberts) who built the ranch house; the second was the warm and lovable giant Eric "Hoss" Cartwright (Dan Blocker); and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe" (Michael Landon). Via exposition (Bonanza, "Rose for Lotta", premiere September 12, 1959) and flashback episodes, each wife was accorded a different ethnicity: English (Bonanza, "Elizabeth My Love"; episode #65) Swedish (Bonanza, "Inger My Love", episode #95) and French Creole (Bonanza, "Marie My Love", episode #120) respectively. The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung). Greene, Roberts, Blocker, and Landon were billed equally. The opening credits would alternate the order among the four stars.

The family lived on a 600,000+ acre (937+ square-mile) ranch called the Ponderosa on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The vast size of the Cartwrights' land was quietly revised to "half a million acres" on Lorne Greene's 1964 song, "Saga of the Ponderosa." The ranch name refers to the Ponderosa Pine, common in the West. The nearest town to the Ponderosa was Virginia City, where the Cartwrights would go to converse with Sheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actor Ray Teal), or his deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell).

Pernell Roberts as Adam (1959)

Bonanza was considered an atypical western for its time, as the core of the storylines dealt less about the range but more with Ben and his three dissimilar sons, how they cared for one another, their neighbors, and just causes. "You always saw stories about family on comedies or on an anthology, but Bonanza was the first series that was week-to-week about a family and the troubles it went through. Bonanza was a period drama that attempted to confront contemporary social issues. That was very difficult to do on television. Most shows that tried to do it failed because the sponsors didn't like it, and the networks were nervous about getting letters", explains Stephen Battaglio, a senior editor for TV Guide magazine (Paulette Cohn, "Bonanza: TV Trailblazer", American Profile Magazine, p. 12, June 5, 2009).

Episodes ranged from high drama ("Bushwacked", episode #392, 1971; "Shanklin", episode #409, 1972), to broad comedy ("Hoss and the Leprechauns", episode #146, 1964; "Caution, Bunny Crossing", episode #358, 1969), and addressed issues such as the environment ("Different Pines, Same Wind", episode #304, 1968), substance abuse ("The Hidden Enemy", episode #424, 1972), domestic violence ("First Love", episode #427, 1972), anti-war sentiment ("The Weary Willies", episode #364, 1970), and illegitimate births ("Love Child", episode #370, 1970; "Rock-A-Bye Hoss", episode #393, 1971). The series sought to illustrate the cruelty of bigotry against: Asians ("The Fear Merchants", episode #27, 1960; "The Lonely Man", episode #404, 1971), African-Americans ("Enter Thomas Bowers", episode #164, 1964; "The Wish", episode #326, 1968; "Child", episode #305, 1969), Native Americans ("The Underdog", episode #180, 1964; "Terror at 2:00", episode #384, 1970), Jews, ("Look to the Stars", episode #90, 1962); Mormons ("The Pursued", episodes #239-40, 1966), the disabled ("Tommy", episode #249, 1966) and "little people" ("It's A Small World", episode #347, 1968).

Originally, the Cartwrights tended to be depicted as put-off by outsiders. Lorne Greene objected to this, pointing out that as the area's largest timber and livestock producer, the family should be less clannish. The producers agreed with this observation and changed the Cartwrights to be more amiable.

Cast

Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first television generation.

Lorne Greene – Ben Cartwright

Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Russian-Jewish parents, Lorne Greene was chosen to play widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright. Early in the show's history, he recalls each of his late wives in flashback episodes. A standard practice with most westerns was to introduce some romance but avoid matrimony. Few media cowboys had on-screen wives. Any time one of the Cartwrights seriously courted a woman, she died from a malady, was abruptly slain, or left with someone else.

Greene appeared in all but twelve Bonanza episodes.

In 2007, a TV Guide survey listed Ben Cartwright as television's #2 favorite dad.

Pernell Roberts – Adam Cartwright

Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright

Waycross, Georgia-born Pernell Roberts played eldest son Adam, an architectural engineer with a university education. Adam built the impressive ranch house ("The Philip Diedesheimer Story", Oct. 31, 1959; "Bonanza: The Return", NBC TV, April 21, 1993). Roberts disdained the assembly-line mindset of serial television (a rigid 34 episode season), and fought with series writers regarding Adam's lack of independence, noting that his 30-plus year old character was dependent on his "Pa's" approval. Despite the show's success, Roberts departed the series after the 1964–65 season (after 202 episodes) and returned to stage productions.

Attempts to replace Adam with Little Joe's maternal half-brother Clay (Barry Coe) and Cartwright cousin Will (Guy "Zorro" Williams), were unsuccessful. Creator David Dortort introduced a storyline that would keep the character of Adam in the mix, but with a lighter schedule. During season six Adam falls for a widow with a young daughter, while making Will Cartwright a central figure. Scripts were quickly revised by having Adam's fiancee, and her daughter, depart the series prematurely, with Guy Williams' Will. It was Landon, not Roberts, who objected to the infusion of any new Cartwrights. After Roberts did leave the following year, it was eventually mentioned that Adam had gone "to sea", and in the later movies he had emigrated to Australia. In mid 1972, the series producers considered inviting Roberts back in the wake of Dan Blocker's death: "One suggestion was to return Pernell Roberts, who had played another Cartwright son when Bonanza first hit the airwaves fourteen years ago. We only considered that briefly, [producer Richard] Collins says... Some people felt it was a logical step- the oldest son returning at a time of family need- but most of us didn't think it would work.'"

Dan Blocker – Eric "Hoss" Cartwright

Dan Blocker as 'Hoss' Cartwright

Dan Blocker was 6-foot-4, 320-pounds when chosen to play the gentle middle son Eric, better known as Hoss. The nickname was used as a nod to the character's ample girth, an endearing term for "big and friendly", used by his Swedish mother (and Uncle Gunnar), or a rib to his humiliating, failed attempt to break a horse. In the Bonanza flashback, his mother Inger names him Eric after her father. To satisfy young Adam, Inger and Ben agree to try the nickname Hoss and "see which one sticks." Inger says of "Hoss", "In the mountain country, that is the name for a big, friendly man." According to a biography, the show's crew found Blocker to be the "least actor-ish as well as the most likeable" cast member. According to producer David Dortort: "Over the years he gave me the least amount of trouble."

In May 1972, Blocker died suddenly from a post-operative pulmonary embolism following surgery to remove his gall bladder. The producers felt nobody else could continue the role. It was the first time a TV show's producers chose to kill off a major male character (though it was done twice previously with female leads- in 1956 on Make Room For Daddy, and again in 1963 with The Real McCoys). Not until the TV-movie Bonanza: The Next Generation was it explained that Hoss had drowned attempting to save a woman's life.

Michael Landon – Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright

Michael Landon as 'Little Joe' Cartwright; this shot was taken before the wardrobe was standardized for continuity purposes. Landon is seen in black attire akin to that worn in later seasons by Pernell Roberts

Guy Williams as Will Cartwright

Michael Landon played the youngest, feistiest Cartwright son, whose mother (Felicia in the pilot, and later changed to Marie) was of French Creole descent. Landon began to develop his skills in writing and directing Bonanza episodes, starting with "The Gamble." Most of the episodes Landon wrote and directed were dramas, including the 1972 two-hour, "Forever", which was recognized by TV Guide as being one of television's best specials (November 1993). Landon's development was a bit stormy according to David Dortort, who felt that the actor grew more difficult during the last five seasons the show ran. Landon appeared in all but fourteen Bonanza episodes for its run, a total of 416 episodes.

Beginning in 1962, a foundation was being laid to include another "son", as Pernell Roberts was displeased with his character. In the episode "First Born" (1962), viewers learn of Little Joe's older, maternal half-brother Clay Stafford. The character departed in that same episode, but left an opportunity for a return if needed. This character's paternity is open to debate. In the 1963 flashback episode "Marie, My Love", his father was Jean De'Marigny. Then in 1964, Lorne Greene released the song "Saga of the Ponderosa", wherein Marie's previous husband was "Big Joe" Collins, who dies saving Ben's life. After Ben consoles Marie, the two bond and marry. They choose to honor "Big Joe" by calling their son "Little Joe". So, whether to Stafford, De'Marigny or Collins, Marie Cartwright was previously married. In the last of the three Bonanza TV movies, it is revealed that "Little Joe" had died in the Spanish–American War – a member of the "Rough Riders".

Ray Teal - Sheriff Roy Coffee

Veteran character actor Ray Teal essayed the role of Sheriff Roy Coffee on 98 episodes from 1960-1972. He appeared in more than 250 movies and some 90 television programs in his 37-year career. His longest-running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee. He had also played a sheriff in the Billy Wilder film Ace in the Hole (1951). Teal co-starred in numerous TV westerns throughout his career, he appeared five times on Cheyenne, twice on The Lone Ranger, on the The Alaskans, a short lived series starring Roger Moore, three times in different roles on another long-running western series, Wagon Train, on NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo with Dale Robertson, on the ABC western series Broken Arrow, on the CBS western series The Texan, the NBC western series The Californians, twice on Colt .45, the NBC western series Riverboat with Darren McGavin, and four times on a western series about the rodeo The Wide Country.

Teal was a bit-part player in western films for several years before landing a substantial role in Northwest Passage (1940). Another of his roles was as Little John in The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946). Notable film roles include playing one of the judges in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with Spencer Tracy and an indulgent bar owner to Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in The Wild One (1953). This was the second of three times that Teal appeared with Brando having done so already as a drunk in Brando's debut in The Men (1950) and later in Brando's only directorial effort, One-Eyed Jacks (1961), as a bartender.

Sheriff Coffee was occasionally the focus of a plot like in the episode "No Less a Man" (broadcast Mar. 15, 1964). A gang of thieves has been terrorizing towns around Virginia City and the town council wants to replace Coffee, who they consider over-the-hill, with a younger sheriff before the gang hits town. Coffee ends up showing the town that youth and a fast gun doesn't replace experience.

David Canary – "Candy" Canaday

After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, David Canary was offered a left-end position with the Denver Broncos, but pursued acting and singing. In 1967, he joined the cast as "Candy" Canaday, a plucky Army brat turned cowboy, who became the Cartwrights' confidant, ranch foreman, and timber vessel captain. Dortort was impressed by Canary's talent, but the character vanished in September 1970, after Canary had a contract dispute. He returned two seasons later after co-star Dan Blocker's death, reportedly having been approached by Landon. Canary played the character on a total of 91 episodes.Canary joined the cast in Season 9.

Victor Sen Yung – Hop Sing

Chinese American actor Victor Sen Yung played the Cartwrights' happy-go-lucky cook, whose blood pressure rose when the family came late for dinner. Cast here as the faithful domestic, the comedy relief character had little to do beyond chores. He once used martial arts to assail a towering family foe. Though often referenced, Hop Sing only appeared in an average of eight to nine shows each season. As a semi-regular cast member, Sen Yung was only paid per episode. After 14 years, he was widely known, but making far less than his Ponderosa peers. The Hop Sing character was central in only two episodes: "Mark Of Guilt" (#316) and "The Lonely Man" (#404).

Mitch Vogel – Jamie Hunter/Cartwright

After Canary's departure in mid-1970, and aware of the show's aging demographic, the writers sought a fresh outlet for Ben's fatherly advice. Fourteen-year-old Mitch Vogel was introduced as Jamie Hunter in the 363rd episode, "A Matter of Faith". Vogel played the red-haired orphan of a roving rainmaker, whom Ben takes in and adopted later in a 1971 episode, called "A Home For Jamie."

Episodes

Further information: List of Bonanza episodes

Broadcast history

• Saturday at 7:30–8:30 PM on NBC: September 12, 1959 — June 3, 1961
• Sunday at 9:00–10:00 PM on NBC: September 24, 1961 — April 2, 1972
• Tuesday at 8:00–9:00 PM on NBC: September 12, 1972 — January 16, 1973

Ratings

• October 1959 – April 1960: Not in the Top 30
• October 1960 – April 1961: #17/24.8
• October 1961 – April 1962: #2/30.0
• October 1962 – April 1963: #4/29.8 (tied with The Lucy Show)
• October 1963 – April 1964: #2/36.9
• October 1964 – April 1965: #1/36.3
• October 1965 – April 1966: #1/31.8
• October 1966 – April 1967: #1/29.1
• October 1967 – April 1968: #4/25.5 (tied with Gunsmoke and Family Affair)
• October 1968 – April 1969: #3/26.6
• October 1969 – April 1970: #3/24.8
• October 1970 – April 1971: #9/23.9
• October 1971 – April 1972: #20/21.9
• October 1972 – April 1973: Not in the Top 30

Initially, Bonanza aired on Saturday evenings opposite Perry Mason. Bonanza's ratings were dismal and the show was soon targeted for cancellation. NBC kept it because Bonanza was one of the first series to be filmed and broadcast in color, including scenes of picturesque Lake Tahoe, Nevada. NBC's corporate parent, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), used the show to spur sales of RCA-manufactured color television sets (RCA was also the primary sponsor of the series during its first two seasons).

NBC moved Bonanza to Sundays at 9:00 pm Eastern with new sponsor Chevrolet (replacing The Dinah Shore Chevy Show). The new time slot caused Bonanza to soar in the ratings, and it eventually reached number one by 1964, an honor it would keep until 1967 when it was seriously challenged by the socially daring variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on CBS. By 1970, Bonanza was the first series to appear in the Top Five list for nine consecutive seasons (a record that would stand for many years) and thus established itself as the single biggest hit television series of the 1960s. Bonanza remained high on the Nielsen ratings until 1971, when it finally fell out of the Top Ten.

During the summer of 1972, NBC broadcast reruns of episodes of the show from the 1967–1970 era on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. under the title Ponderosa while also rerunning more recent episodes on Sunday evenings in the show '​s normal time slot as Bonanza. In the fall of 1972, off-network episodes were released in broadcast syndication to local stations by NBC under the Ponderosa name. After the series was cancelled, the syndicated reruns reverted to the Bonanza name.

Production

Costumes

From the fourth season on, the Cartwrights and nearly every other recurring character on the show wore the same clothing in almost every episode. The reason for this is twofold: it made duplication of wardrobe easier for stunt doubles (Hal Burton, Bob Miles, Bill Clark, Lyle Heisler, Ray Mazy) and it cut the cost of refilming action shots (such as riding clips in-between scenes), as previously shot stock footage could be reused. Below is a survey of costumes employed:

• Ben Cartwright: Sandy shirt, tawny leather vest, gray pants, cream-colored hat, occasional green scarf.
• Adam Cartwright: Black Shirt, black or midnight blue pants, black hat. Elegant city wear. Cream-colored trail coat.
• Hoss Cartwright: White shirt, brown suede vest, brown pants, large beige flat-brimmed, ten-gallon hat.
• Little Joe Cartwright: Beige, light gray shirt, kelly-green corduroy jacket, tan pants, beige hat. Black leather gloves from 10th season on. In season 14, he and Greene occasionally wore different shirts and slacks, as the footage of them and the late Dan Blocker together could no longer be reused.
• Candy Canaday: Crimson shirt, black pants, black leather vest, black hat, grey/ pale purple scarf.

Hair styles

In 1968, Blocker began wearing a toupee on the series, as he was approaching age 40 and losing hair. He joined the ranks of his fellow co-stars Roberts and Greene, both of whom had begun the series with hairpieces (Greene wore his modest frontal piece in private life too, whereas Roberts preferred not wearing his, even to rehearsals/blocking). Landon was the only original cast member who was wig-free throughout the series, as even Sen Yung wore an attached queue.

Theme song

"Bonanza" also features a memorable theme song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans that was orchestrated by David Rose and arranged by Billy May for the television series.

The Bonanza theme song famously opens with a blazing Ponderosa map and saddlebound Cartwrights. The melodic intro, emulating galloping horses, is one of the most recognized television scores. Variations of the theme were used for 12 seasons on the series. Although there were two official sets of lyrics (some country-western singers, avoiding royalties, substituted the copyright renditions with their own words), the series simply used an instrumental theme. Three of the cast members bellowed-out the original lyrics, unaccompanied, at the close of the pilot (Pernell Roberts, the sole professional singer of the quartet, abstained and untethered the horse reins). Before the pilot aired (on September 12, 1959), the song sequence, deemed too campy, was edited out of the scene and instead the Cartwrights headed back to the ranch whooping and howling. In a 1964 song, the Livingston-Evans lyrics were revised by Lorne Greene with a more familial emphasis, "on this land we put our brand, Cartwright is the name, fortune smiled the day we filed the Ponderosa claim" ("Bonanza", Bear Family Box set, Disc #2). In 1968, a slightly revamped horn and percussion-heavy arrangement of the original score introduced the series- which was used until 1970. A new theme song, called "The Big Bonanza" was written in 1970 by episode scorer David Rose, and was used from 1970–1972. Action-shot pictorials of the cast replaced the galloping trio. Finally, a faster rendition of the original music returned for the 14th and final season, along with action shots of the cast.

The theme song has been recorded by numerous artists in a diverse variety of styles. The first recorded and released version was an instrumental by Marty Gold, on his 1960 album Swingin' West. This was followed by the February 1960 single by Buddy Morrow and his Orchestra, which included vocals. Morrow's version also appeared on his 1960 album Double Impact which featured several other then-recent television themes. In December 1960, another vocal version was issued only in the United Kingdom by Johnny Gregory and his Orchestra and Chorus released on the Fontana label. All aforementioned vocal versions, including the television pilot, used lyrics written by Livingston and Evans contained in the first published sheet music for the song, though not all the lyrics were sung. A Bonanza soundtrack album released in late 1961 included a version by David Rose; Rose also had a 1960 single and included the theme on his 1961 album Exodus in a different mix. The biggest hit version is a guitar instrumental by Al Caiola, which reached number 19 on Billboard in 1961. Other versions were released by Billy Vaughn, Valjean, Lorne Greene, and Nelson Riddle.

Country singer Johnny Cash was first to record a full length vocal version of the theme song. He and Johnny Western discarded the original Livingston and Evans lyrics, and wrote new ones. The song first saw release by September 1962 as a single. Sometime after June 1963, it was released as a track on his sixteenth album: Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. This version was later covered by Faron Young for his 1963 album Aims at the West. Singer Ralf Paulsen recorded a German-language version of the song in 1963, released in mid-June 1963 on Capitol Records in the United States. His German version (lyrics attributed to "Nicolas") was sung in the same style and mood in which Cash had recorded it, and was fairly close in translation.

Carlos Malcolm & His Afro-Jamaican Rhythms released a ska version of the song as "Bonanza Ska" on Trojan Records in 1964. This version was later covered by Bad Manners (1989) and the Hurtin' Buckaroos (1997). Michael Richards, as Stanley Spadowski, sang a bit of the theme song while being held hostage by Channel 8's news goons in UHF (he did not know the words to the song he was originally supposed to sing, "Helter Skelter"). Michael Feinstein was the last to record the song in 2002 on his Songs of Evans and Livingston tribute CD. The Little House on the Prairie theme (also by Rose), was heard first in a 1971 episode of Bonanza. The overture for The High Chaparral composed by Harry Sukman can be heard briefly at the start of the 1966 episode "Four Sisters from Boston". On January 29, 2011, Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives performed the song on episode 56 of The Marty Stuart Show. The band often includes the song in their live shows.

Set

The opening scene for the first season was shot at Lake Hemet, a reservoir in the San Jacinto Mountains, Riverside County, California, and later moved to Lake Tahoe. During the first season extra horses were rented from the Idyllwild Stables in Idyllwild, also in the San Jacinto Mountains. The first Virginia City set was used on the show until 1970 and was located on a backlot at Paramount and featured in episodes of Have Gun – Will Travel, Mannix, and The Brady Bunch. In the 1970 premiere episode of the 12th season entitled "The Night Virginia City Died", Deputy Clem Foster's pyromaniac fiancée levels the town in a series of fires. (Chosen, in part, as a real 1875 fire destroyed three-quarters of Virginia City.) This allowed for a switch to the less expensive Warner studios from September 1970 through January 1973. The script was initially written for the departing David Canary's Candy. It is rare, in that both actors Ray Teal (Sheriff Roy Coffee) and Bing Russell (Deputy Clem Foster) appear together.

The program's Nevada set, the Ponderosa Ranch house, was recreated in Incline Village, Nevada, in 1967, and remained a tourist attraction until its sale in September 2004.

Social issues addressed

Bonanza is uniquely known for having addressed racism, not typically covered on American television during the time period, from a compassionate, humanitarian point-of-view.

Bigotry, and specifically anti-semitism, was the subject of the episode "Look to the Stars" (Season 3, Episode 26; original air date March 18, 1962). A bigoted school teacher (oblivious to his prejudice) routinely expels minority students. When he expels the brilliant Jewish student Albert Michelson, a scientific genius whose experiments on the streets of Virginia City often cause commotion, Ben Cartwright steps in and confronts Norton on his bigotry. Ashamed, the school teacher vows to reform. A coda to the episode reveals that Michaelson went on to win the Nobel Prize for Physics.

In the episode "Enter Thomas Bowers" (Season 5, Episode 30; original air date April 26, 1964), the Cartwright family helps the opera singer Bowers, an African American freedman, after he encounters prejudice while in Virginia City to perform. Bowers winds up arrested as a fugitive slave. At the beginning of the episode, Adam is shown to be outraged at the Supreme Court's Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (placing the time as 1857), which he discusses with his father. According to David Dortort, sponsor General Motors was anxious about the episode. As producer, Dortort ensured that the episode re-aired during the summer rerun seasons, though two TV stations in the South refused to air it.

Actor Philip Ahn in The Fear Merchants

In the The Wish episode, directed by Michael Landon, Hoss protects an African American former slave's family when confronted with racism after the American Civil War. In The Fear Merchants episode, discrimination against Chinese immigrants who attempt to assimilate in American society is addressed. In the episode The Lonely Man is presented the problem of interracial marriage between a Chinese man (Hop Sing) and a white woman (Missy).

A merchandising bonanza

Bonanza has had a highly profitable merchandising history. Currently, Bonanza Ventures, Inc. grants merchandising and licensing rights worldwide. The original series has spawned: several successful novelty western/folk albums from 1962–1965; three dozen Dell and Gold Key comic books from 1962 through 1970; Jim Beam Whiskey Ponderosa Ranch decanters 1964–1966; a series of "Big-Little" books from 1966–1969; Revel Bonanza model character sets from 1966–1968; a chain of Bonanza and Ponderosa steakhouses from 1963–present; the Lake Tahoe-based "Ponderosa" theme park from 1967–2004; a line of American Character action figures in 1966–1967; Aladdin lunch buckets and thermos bottles in 1966–1968; View Master slide sets in 1964, 1971; Ponderosa tin cups from 1967–2004; a series of Hamilton collector plates in 1989–1990; and most recently, Breyer Fiftieth Anniversary Ponderosa Stable sets, with horses and Cartwright figures in 2009–2011. Seven Bonanza novels have been published: Bonanza: A Novel by Noel Loomis (1960); Bonanza: One Man With Courage by Thomas Thompson (1966); The Ponderosa Spirit by Stephen Calder (1988); The Ponderosa Empire by Stephen Calder (1991); Bonanza: High Steel Hazard by Stephen Calder (1993); Bonanza: Felling of the Sons by Monette B. Reinhold (2005), and Bonanza: Mystic Fire by Monette B. Reinhard (2009). Bonanza Gold (2003–2009), a quarterly magazine, featured detailed information about the show, including interviews with guest actors and other production personnel, articles about historical events and people depicted in the series, fan club information, and fan fiction. Seasons 1-7 (as of 09/2014) are available on DVD, as well as several non-successive public-domain episodes (sans original theme music). The prequel series, The Ponderosa, as well as the three sequel movies (see below), are all available on DVD09

Cancellation and resurgence

In the fall of 1972, NBC moved Bonanza to Tuesday nights – where reruns from the 1967–1970 period had aired the previous summer under the title Ponderosa – opposite the All In The Family spinoff show, Maude, a virtual death sentence for the show. The scheduling change, as well as Dan Blocker's death several months earlier, resulted in plunging ratings for the show. David Canary returned to his former role of Candy (to offset Hoss' absence), and a new character named Griff King (played by Tim Matheson) was added to lure younger viewers. Griff, in prison for nearly killing his abusive stepfather, was paroled into Ben's custody and got a job as a ranch hand. Several episodes were built around his character, one that Matheson never had a chance to fully develop before the show's abrupt cancellation in November 1972 (with last episode airing January 16, 1973). Many fans felt that the Hoss character was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded out the all-male cast.

For 14 years, the Cartwrights were the premier western family on American television and have been immensely popular on cable networks such as TV Land, ION (formerly PAX), Family Channel, and the Hallmark Channel. The series currently airs on Me-TV, TV Land, My Family TV, The Inspiration Network, and Encore Westerns.

Television movies

Bonanza was revived for three made-for-television movies featuring the Cartwrights' offspring: Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988), Bonanza: The Return (1993), and Bonanza: Under Attack (1995). Michael Landon, Jr., played Little Joe's son Benji while Gillian Greene, Lorne Greene's daughter, played a love interest. In the second movie, airing on NBC, a one-hour retrospective was done to introduce the drama. It was hosted by both Michael Landon, Jr., and Dirk Blocker. According to the magazine TV Guide, producer Dortort told Blocker he was too old to play the Hoss scion, but gave him the role of an unrelated newspaper reporter. Clips of his appearance were heavily used in advertisements promoting the "second generation" theme, perhaps misleading audiences to believe that Blocker was playing Hoss' heir. Hoss' son Josh was born out of wedlock, as it is explained that Hoss drowned without knowing his fiancėe was pregnant. Such a storyline might have been problematic in the original series. (The Big Valley, however, had a major character in Heath, who was presented as illegitimate. The Gunsmoke movies of the early 1990s employed a similar theme when Marshal Matt Dillon learned he had sired Michael Learned's daughter in a short-lived romance. The initial story was first introduced in 1973, when depiction of fornication courted protests, so CBS insisted their hero Matt have the encounter when he had amnesia.)

Prequel

For more, see: Ponderosa (TV series)

In 2001, there was an attempt to revive the Bonanza concept with a prequel, Ponderosa – not to be confused with the 1972 summer reruns under the same title – with a pilot directed by Simon Wincer and filmed in Australia. Covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam was a teenager and Joe a little boy, the series lasted 20 episodes and featured less gunfire and brawling than the original. Bonanza creator David Dortort approved PAX TV (now Ion TV)'s decision to hire Beth Sullivan, a producer from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which some believe gave the series more depth as well as a softer edge. The Hop Sing character is depicted not only as a cook but also a family counselor and herbal healer.

Home media

The last few episodes of Bonanza Season One and the first episodes of Season Two have fallen into the public domain. These episodes have been released by many different companies in different configurations and usually with substandard picture and sound quality, and by legal necessity with the copyright protected Evans-Livingston theme song replaced with generic western music.

In 1973, NBC sold the rights to the series, along with the rest of its pre-1973 library, to National Telefilm Associates, which changed its name to Republic Pictures in 1986. Republic would become part of the Spelling Entertainment organization in 1994 through Worldvision Enterprises. Select episodes ("The Best of Bonanza") were officially released in North America in 2003 on DVD through then-Republic video licensee Artisan Entertainment (which was later purchased by Lionsgate Home Entertainment). Republic (through CBS Television Distribution, which holds the television side of Republic's holdings) still retains the syndication distribution rights to the series. CBS Home Entertainment (under Paramount Home Media Distribution) is the official home video rights distributor at present.

CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) has released the first six seasons on DVD in Region 1. All seasons have been released in two-volume sets. Season 7, volumes 1 & 2 was released on September 2, 2014.

In Region 2, AL!VE AG released the first seven seasons on DVD in Germany between 2008–2010. These releases are now out of print as AL!VE has lost the rights. In 2011, StudioCanal acquired the rights to the series and have begun re-releasing it on DVD, and all seasons have now been released.

Episodes of the series have also been officially released on DVD in France and the United Kingdom.

Bonanza "the official first season" was released in Scandinavia during 2010. The first season is released in 4 volumes. The first two volumes were released on October 20, 2010, and the last two volumes on April 27, 2011. No further releases in Scandinavia are planned.

Region 1

DVD name	Ep #	Release date
The Official 1st Season, Vol. 1	16	September 15, 2009
The Official 1st Season, Vol. 2	16	September 15, 2009
The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 1	18	December 7, 2010
The Official 2nd Season, Vol. 2	16	October 11, 2011
The Official 3rd Season, Vol. 1	18	July 17, 2012
The Official 3rd Season, Vol. 2	16	July 17, 2012
The Official 4th Season, Vol. 1	18	October 2, 2012
The Official 4th Season, Vol. 2	16	October 2, 2012
The Official 5th Season, Vol. 1	18	February 12, 2013
The Official 5th Season, Vol. 2	16	February 12, 2013
The Official 6th Season, Vol. 1	18	July 9, 2013
The Official 6th Season, Vol. 2	16	July 9, 2013
The Official 7th Season, Vol. 1	17	September 2, 2014
The Official 7th Season, Vol. 2	16	September 2, 2014

Region 2

Season	Release dates
	Germany	Scandinavia
Season 1	December 8, 2011	December 20, 2010 April 27, 2011
Season 2	February 16, 2012	No release of seasons 2-14
Season 3	April 19, 2012
Season 4	June 21, 2012
Season 5	August 23, 2012
Season 6	October 18, 2012
Season 7	November 1, 2012
Seasons 1–7	December 6, 2012
Season 8	January 24, 2013
Season 9	February 21, 2013
Season 10	April 18, 2013
Season 11	June 6, 2013
Season 12	August 1, 2013
Season 13	October 2, 2013
Season 14	November 21, 2013
Seasons 8-14	December 5, 2013

Legacy

• The film Twin Town alludes to, or even parodies Bonanza. Some of the central characters are members of a Cartwright family, and live in a home called Ponderosa.
• In the film Tin Men, character actor Jackie Gayle provides his own take on Bonanza as a "ridiculous representation of the West' and the even more preposterous premise that the Cartwright sons could be brothers.
• In American Desperado, co-authored by Jon Roberts (née John Riccobono) and award-winning journalist/author Evan Wright, Roberts shares in Chapter 3 that he missed his "Sea Hunt and Bonanza, [his] favorite TV shows", when his mother sent him to Palermo to live with his father, Nat Riccobono. (Roberts confides in the book that Riccobono – a mobster and illegal alien - had been deported to Sicily following the Apalachin Meeting.) After returning to the United States ("after a few weeks"), Roberts found that, "Watching Bonanza on TV was one thing I had in common with normal kids. [...] But when I listened to how other people talked about Bonanza, I was amazed. [...] My way of seeing it was different. To me the Cartwrights had the might and power, and they used it to take over all that land on their Ponderosa ranch. [...] From the way I saw it, the Cartwrights were the same as my father and uncles in the Mafia. They understood force." Roberts further discloses that, upon his return to the United States: "Because of all the stories in the news about my family, Riccobono was a bad name. My mother told me I had to change my last name. I changed my name to John Pernell Roberts, after Pernell Roberts, who played the oldest son on Bonanza. I liked him best because he wore black. His hat, his vest, his gun belt were all black. He was the top enforcer for the family. He was the kind of guy I wanted to be. I wanted to steal my own Ponderosa when I grew up." Roberts repeats this explanation for his name change in other media, as well, such as the documentary Cocaine Cowboys.
• In the film The Last Shot, main character Steven Schats has two relatives who portray Bonanza characters as part of a tourist attraction; his brother Marshal is a generic villain and his father is Ben.
• In the episode of Full House entitled "Subterranean Graduation Blues," the theme song to Bonanza played repeatedly in different situations and for different reasons, which caused Jesse to hold his mouth in pain because his dentist would always hum the song while drilling his teeth as a kid.
• The Cartwrights made an appearance as "The Cartrocks" on The Flintstones episode "Sheriff for a Day" (Episode 5.21).
• In the television show Frasier, Martin Crane, Frasier's father, chastises his sons referencing Bonanza saying "If you were Hoss and Little Joe, Ben Cartwright would kick your sorry butts right off the Ponderosa," After apologizing, Frasier tells Niles, his brother, ""He's back on the Cartwrights again. You know, some day we really should ask him just who the hell they are!"
• On the TV animated comedy Archer (TV series), Ray Gillette claims Bonanza era Lorne Greene is his "Go to movie star"
• On the TV Sit-com Roseanne, Becky Conner references Bonanza in a line of dialog when she tells her then boyfriend "Oh sure, you will be off having a great time while I am stuck here watching Bonanza with Dan and Roseanne. No Way!" When she opens the door of the Conner family home the theme song of the show can be heard.
• On the first season Law & Order: Criminal Intent, episode "Homo Homimi Lupus", Detective Robert Goren is able to catch and arrest Simon Matic, a former Serbian soldier wanted for extortion and rape by calling Matic's cellphone after following him into a crowded restaurant. His victim had told Goren that his ringtone was the theme to Bonanza. Matic also goes by the name of "Little Joe."
• On the TV animated comedy Futurama, Bender sings a parody of the theme to Bonanza, with lyrics "We've got a right to pick a little fight with rustlers. Somebody wants to pick a fight with us, he'd better bite my ass!"

See also

• 1959 in television

References

Bibliography

• Bonanza: A Viewers Guide to the TV Legend by David Greenland. 167 pages. Publisher: Crosslines Inc (June 1997). ISBN 978-0-9640338-2-5.
• A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel, and Broadcast History by Bruce R. Leiby and Linda F. Leiby. 384 pages. Publisher: McFarland (March 1, 2005). ISBN 978-0-7864-2268-5.
• Bonanza: The Definitive Ponderosa Companion by Melany Shapiro. 176 pages. Publisher: Cyclone Books; illustrated edition (September 1997). ISBN 978-1-890723-18-7.

External links

• Bonanza at the Internet Movie Database
• Bonanza on TVGuide.com
• Bonanza at the Internet Archive
• Bonanza on TVLand.com
• Bonanza at the Encyclopedia of Television
• Bonanza at Fiftiesweb.com
• Bonanza at EpisodeWorld.com
• Bonanza: Scenery of The Ponderosa
• Bonanza Episode Guide' at TV Gems
• Paul Mavis (September 15, 2009). "Bonanza: The Official First Season, Volume 1". 

English Journal

• Third-line rescue therapy with bismuth-containing quadruple regimen after failure of two treatments (with clarithromycin and levofloxacin) for H. pylori infection.

• Gisbert JP1, Perez-Aisa A, Rodrigo L, Molina-Infante J, Modolell I, Bermejo F, Castro-Fernández M, Antón R, Sacristán B, Cosme A, Barrio J, Harb Y, Gonzalez-Barcenas M, Fernandez-Bermejo M, Algaba A, Marín AC, McNicholl AG; H. pylori Study Group of the Spanish Gastroenterology Association.
• Digestive diseases and sciences.Dig Dis Sci.2014 Feb;59(2):383-9. doi: 10.1007/s10620-013-2900-x. Epub 2013 Oct 15.
• BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), clarithromycin, and amoxicillin fails in >20 % of cases. A rescue therapy with PPI-amoxicillin-levofloxacin still fails in >20 % of patients.AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a bismuth-con
• PMID 24126798

• Health care costs of complex perianal fistula in Crohn's disease.

• Chaparro M1, Zanotti C, Burgueño P, Vera I, Bermejo F, Marín-Jiménez I, Yela C, López P, Martín MD, Taxonera C, Botella B, Pajares R, Ponferrada A, Calvo M, Algaba A, Pérez L, Casis B, Maté J, Orofino J, Lara N, García-Losa M, Badia X, Gisbert JP.
• Digestive diseases and sciences.Dig Dis Sci.2013 Dec;58(12):3400-6. doi: 10.1007/s10620-013-2830-7. Epub 2013 Sep 13.
• AIM: To evaluate the use of health care resources and the associated costs of complex perianal Crohn's disease (CD) from the National Health System perspective.METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective, observational study in which gastroenterologists from 11 hospitals in the Community of M
• PMID 24026400

• Diagnosis: Biomarkers of cardiovascular outcomes--bonanza or bias?

• Tsao CW, Vasan RS.
• Nature reviews. Endocrinology.Nat Rev Endocrinol.2013 Jul;9(7):381-2. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2013.99. Epub 2013 May 21.
• PMID 23689815

Japanese Journal

• コンピュータ将棋における高次元組み合わせ評価のための評価項目自動抽出に関する研究

• 後藤嵩幸 ,橋本剛
• 情報処理学会研究報告. GI, [ゲーム情報学] 2014-GI-31(7), 1-6, 2014-03-10
• … コンピュータ将棋は,Bonanza メソッドの考案により非常にレベルが高くなった.現在では,プロ棋士との対局も盛んに行われており,トッププロレベルに迫っている.しかし,中盤以降に比べて序盤が弱いという弱点も抱えている.コンピュータ将棋の性能は評価関数の質に大きく影響される.正確に盤面評価を行うほどコンピュータ将棋は強くなる.評価関数のパラメータは機械学習により自動調整されているが,40 駒からなる将棋 …
• NAID 110009677062

• 第23回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権自戦記 : Bonanza選手権バージョンの紹介 (ミニ特集 現役プロ棋士に勝ち越したコンピュータ将棋 : 第2回電王戦,第23回世界コンピュータ将棋選手権速報)

• 保木 邦仁
• 情報処理 54(9), 929-932, 2013-09
• NAID 40019786073

• 入玉指向の将棋プログラムの作成

• 滝瀬 竜司,田中 哲朗
• 情報処理学会論文誌 53(11), 2544-2551, 2012-11-15
• … きは入玉を目指す」,「敵玉の入玉を正しく阻止する」将棋プログラムの作成が不可欠だと考えられる.本稿ではオープンソースの将棋プログラムBonanzaの評価関数を変更することにより入玉指向の将棋プログラムを作成する試みを行った.その結果,元のBonanzaの評価関数に「入玉ステップ数」という特徴を加えて学習した評価関数を用いることにより,勝率を落とさずに入玉率を大幅に上げることができ …
• NAID 110009486872

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