WesternAction & AdventureDrama1959–1973NBC

The Best Episodes of Bonanza

Every episode of Bonanza ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Bonanza!

Best episode
S10E23 The Wish
8.4150 votes
Worst episode
S7E10 The Strange One
5.3126 votes
Top season
Season 9
7.7avg
Binge time
14d 15h
431 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Bonanza Season 10 Episode 23 - The Wish
    8.4/10(150 votes)

    S10:E23

    Hoss spends his two-month vacation helping a black family get their farm in shape, and dealing with racism in the neighboring town.

    Director:Michael Landon
    Writer:Michael Landon

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  2. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 12 - Hoss and the Leprechauns
    8.3/10(294 votes)

    S5:E12

    In what is arguably the best comedy of the series, Hoss swears he has seen green elves running around the Ponderosa and a smooth-talking Irishman complicates matters even worse.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Bonanza Season 10 Episode 13 - Mark of Guilt
    8.3/10(132 votes)

    S10:E13

    Hop Sing tells Hoss and Candy they can use the ancient Chinese art of fingerprinting to prove Joe is innocent of murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 4 - Twilight Town
    8.2/10(261 votes)

    S5:E4

    Joe is bushwhacked in the desert and awakens to find himself in Martinville, a town that may or may not be populated by ghosts. An errie, surrealistic and well-produced episode.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 11 - The Legacy
    8.2/10(165 votes)

    S5:E11

    Adam, Hoss and Joe mistakenly believe their father was murdered. They split into 3 different directions to confront the supposed killers. In his heart, Ben knows his sons will not act outside the law; but he is not 100% sure that Joe will behave correctly.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Bonanza Season 12 Episode 24 - The Stillness Within
    8.2/10(160 votes)

    S12:E24

    Blinded by an explosion, Joe wallows in self-pity, and at first resists the efforts of a woman trying to teach him to live without sight, not knowing she is also blind.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Bonanza

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  7. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 18 - The Burning Sky
    8.2/10(155 votes)

    S9:E18

    A cruel, sadistic, alcoholic and racist rancher named Aaron Gore stalks the wife of Ben's friend, whom he has hired as a horse trainer. The woman is a glowingly beautiful Sioux who befriends Mr. Gore's son, whom he regularly beats up. Mr. Gore uses some incredibly vicious means to ensure she regrets ever having anything to do with his son.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Bonanza Season 14 Episode 10 - The Hidden Enemy
    8.2/10(147 votes)

    S14:E10

    Dr. Will Agar is Virginia City's new town doctor, and brings with him new skills and expertise to treat area residents' health maladies. Only thing is, Dr. Agar is seriously addicted to morphine, and it results in serious trouble for everyone.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 28 - To Die in Darkness
    8.2/10(141 votes)

    S9:E28

    While the others are away, Ben and Candy are lured by an old friend of Ben's to go somewhere. The ""friend"" traps them in a deep pit. He comes back to give them food, but how long will he be feeling ""generous""?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Bonanza Season 1 Episode 26 - The Avenger
    8.1/10(323 votes)

    S1:E26

    A restaurant owner whom Ben and Adam have confronted over stolen Ponderosa beef ends up dead one night. His daughter, Sally Byrnes runs the cafe and in her resentment, wrongfully accuses Ben and Adam of murdering her father and they are sentenced to hang. A rancher by the name of Hawkins is also jealous of the Cartwrights and has hired his men to stop the town from helping Ben and Adam, ensuring they hang. Hoss and Joe are willing to stop them, but Ben insists they stay within the limits of the law.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Bonanza Season 8 Episode 7 - Credit for a Kill
    8.2/10(132 votes)

    S8:E7

    Though his friend is badly in need of the reward money, Joe insists it belongs to him, to protect his friend from the dead outlaws' brothers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Bonanza Season 12 Episode 27 - Kingdom of Fear
    8.2/10(130 votes)

    S12:E27

    Ben, Hoss and Joe, along with Candy and a fellow rancher, are jailed on false trespassing charges by a greedy mining tycoon. The despot runs a gold mine (i.e., a thinly-veiled prison camp) and acquires slave labor by pressing phony criminal charges against the unfortunate inmates.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Bonanza Season 14 Episode 1 - Forever
    8.1/10(252 votes)

    S14:E1

    Little Joe finds true love in newcomer Alice Harper. Following a courtship, the two are engaged. Unlike most of the Cartwrights' previous girlfriends, Alice makes it to the altar. Joe and Alice are starting their new life together, and she soon becomes pregnant. All appears well, as Joe and Alice start their new life together in their new home ... until one day Joe is out. Alice's indolent brother owes money to a ruthless businessman and has not yet paid, so they find Alice instead. When she can't pay the debt, they brutally kill her and burn Joe's house down.

    Director:Michael Landon
    Writer:Michael Landon

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  14. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 30 - Enter Thomas Bowers
    8.1/10(197 votes)

    S5:E30

    After a triumphant tour in Europe, a famous Negro singer encounters racial prejudice in Virginia City when he arrives for a concert.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Bonanza Season 3 Episode 27 - The Gamble
    8.1/10(185 votes)

    S3:E27

    In the town of Alkali, the Cartwrights are jailed on false charges of robbery and murder, but Joe escapes and returns with an army of Ponderosa hands.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 7 - The Gentle Ones
    8.1/10(134 votes)

    S9:E7

    Most people consider Mark Cole a coward, but he does not hesitate to step forward when his brother attempts to break a horse by torturing it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 20 - Blood Tie
    8.1/10(129 votes)

    S9:E20

    A band of outlaws enact a scheme to rob the Ponderosa, by tricking Hoss and Little Joe away from the ranch and leaving a wounded Ben alone at home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Bonanza Season 11 Episode 17 - The Trouble with Amy
    8.1/10(126 votes)

    S11:E17

    Ben comes to the aid of Amy Wilder, an eccentric animal lover whose mental competency is questioned when a neighbor declares an interest in her land for mining. The neighbor asks the court for a hearing to have Amy declared senile so he can obtain her land, setting off Ben's race against time to track down Amy's relatives to defend her mental state.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 22 - The Late Ben Cartwright
    8.1/10(125 votes)

    S9:E22

    In order to ruin the plans of a corrupt politician, Ben allows everyone to think that an attempt on his life was successful.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 24 - Trouble Town
    8.1/10(119 votes)

    S9:E24

    The Ponderosa ranch hands are at Riverbend during a cattle drive. While there, Candy meets an old friend, Lilah Holden, working in a saloon. When the cattle drive is ready to move on, Candy resigns to stay and help Lilah. It is not long before Ben, Hoss, and Joe are involved.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Bonanza Season 10 Episode 16 - My Friend, My Enemy
    8.1/10(117 votes)

    S10:E16

    Only the testimony of an Indian wanted for horse theft can clear Candy of murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Bonanza Season 1 Episode 32 - Death at Dawn
    8.0/10(281 votes)

    S1:E32

    Virginia City is plagued by organized crime, Sam Bryant and his gang. One of his men, Farmer Perkins, kills a storekeeper, and at his trial, the wife of the store owner is afraid to testify. When Perkins is sentenced to hang, Bryant kidnaps Ben and wants to exchange Ben for Perkins, which leaves Adam with the most difficult decision of his life. A stellar cast.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Bonanza Season 2 Episode 2 - The Mission
    8.0/10(239 votes)

    S2:E2

    Filmed almost entirely outdoors, this is more like a feature than a series. Captain Pender is looking for a scout to lead him and his company of men across the desert, along with a currency shipment they are carrying to another army fort. Charlie Trent, a former scout and now a drunk, still blames himself for his troops being led to massacre. Hoss sees that this is Charlie's opportunity to redeem himself and win back his honor. Meantime, Captain Pender is having trouble with Cutter, another scout who is a devious and cunning bear of a man, who agreed to lead him across the desert, but Pender lets him go and with Hoss' suggestion, Captain Pender agress to have Charlie be their scout.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:Robert E. Thompson

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  24. Bonanza Season 3 Episode 28 - The Crucible
    8.0/10(216 votes)

    S3:E28

    Adam is left to die in the desert after two thieves take $5,000 and his horse from him. Near death, he stumbles into an old prospector named Kane who offers to lend him a mule and supplies in exchange for three day's work at his mine. Kane, however, turns out to be a demented madman. He holds Adam prisoner and tortures him to prove his theory that anyone could be driven to kill, even a man as rational as Adam. This is Pernell Robert's favorite episode along with "The Wooing Of Abigail Jones".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Bonanza Season 4 Episode 26 - Any Friend of Walter's
    8.0/10(201 votes)

    S4:E26

    Classic comedy in which Hoss first meets prospector Obie and his lazy but allegedly brilliant mongrel dog, Walter.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Wish" is the best rated episode of Bonanza. It scored 8.4/10 from 150 votes. Written and directed by Michael Landon, it aired on March 9, 1969. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Hoss and the Leprechauns".

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