On this day, September 12, 1959, "Bonanza" went on the air.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Sun Sep 12, 2021: On this day, September 12, 1959, "Bonanza" went on the air.

Bonanza



Original release September 12, 1959 – January 16, 1973

Bonanza was an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, Bonanza is NBC's longest-running western, and ranks overall as the second-longest-running western series on U.S. network television (behind CBS's Gunsmoke), and within the top 10 longest-running, live-action American series. The show continues to air in syndication. The show is set in the 1860s and it centers on the wealthy Cartwright family who live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The series initially starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon and later featured (at various times) Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson. The show is known for presenting pressing moral dilemmas.

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Bonanza - Intro [HQ]
810,821 views Mar 29, 2012

Jan Schmelter
9.87K subscribers

1959 (430 Episoden in 14 Staffeln)

Lorne Greene - Benjamin „Ben" Cartwright

[twodogsbarking]

1. Victor Sen Yung played Hop Sing.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. The FIRST show to be broadcast in Living Color.

We had our first Color TV in 1963. My dad repaired them on the side as he was a Design Engineer for Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale from January 1962 to 1972.

Living color was a breakthrough then. It is the norm now. HD to be exact.

[twodogsbarking]

3. Tube TV. TV repairman showed up with a box of tubes.

Bang it on the side to get the picture back. Didn't need remote when
you only got two channels.

[Auggie]

4. I remember fix-it-yourself tube centers at the hardware store

Dad would remove suspect tubes from the TV and take them to the tube center for testing. That's how you diagnosed a bad one. When you found the one that had blown you bought a replacement.

That's depression-era kid mentality. Dad would try to fix almost anything first.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

5. 3..NBC, CBS, and ABC.

Everything else was UHF until the concept of Cable was born.

I remember rabbit ears too.

[rsdsharp]

6. What's the difference between Living Color and any other color?

I thought it was just a promotional line used by NBC (which in turn was owned by RCA) at the beginning of shows in conjunction with the peacock. Bonanza was kept on the air after despite dismal first year ratings, because RCA saw it as a vehicle to sell color TVs.