15 Weird Facts About Bonanza (The Critics Hated It)

In 1959, critics called Bonanza "just embarrassing." Five years later it was the No. 1 show in America. Here are 15 weird facts about TV's great color western: the theme song that always had lyrics, the RCA dealers who credited Bonanza with selling color TVs, how Chevrolet saved money by sponsoring it, why Pernell Roberts walked away from the top show on television, and the early episodes where you can spot a future Mr. Spock, the wrestler from Plan 9 from Outer Space, and the secret voice of Mister Ed. Every fact checked against 1959-61 trade papers, NBC press releases and reputable sources. Which Cartwright was your favorite? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:43 #15 The Critics Hated It 2:28 #14 Not the First Color Western 3:30 #13 The Show That Sold Color TVs 4:43 #12 The Theme Always Had Words 6:25 #11 Chevrolet Saved Money by Buying It 7:56 #10 Pa Cartwright Was "the Voice of Doom" 8:49 #9 Ben Cartwright, No. 1 Pop Star 9:40 #8 Spock Dealt Cards in a Bonanza Saloon 10:48 #7 Robert Altman Directed Bonanza 11:36 #6 Hoss Wrestled a Plan 9 Star 12:41 #5 Mister Ed's Voice and Lee Van Cleef in One Hour 13:33 #4 Hop Sing Survived a Hijacking 15:14 #3 Adam Walked Away From the No. 1 Show 16:28 #2 350 Million Viewers, According to NBC 17:39 #1 The Ending Nobody Planned 19:38 Outro SOURCES Broadcasting and Variety (1959-61, via the Internet Archive), NBC Trade News releases, Billboard, the U.S. Copyright Office catalog, the Television Academy Foundation (David Dortort and Ray Evans interviews), Associated Press and Reuters obituaries, Britannica, MeTV, and Television Obscurities. Where a fact rests on one account or a person's own words, the video says so. ABOUT THE FOOTAGE Clips come from Bonanza episodes first broadcast January 1960 to January 1961 that are widely circulated as public domain (their 1960 copyrights were not renewed), from copies on the Internet Archive. All original audio is muted and the theme song is not used. Narration is AI-generated; all footage is real archival material. Background music was created for this channel. #Bonanza #ClassicTV #TVWesterns