The Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 1

#1 Fan Favorite
8.1/10(323 votes)
#1 - The Avenger
S1:E263/19/1960
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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Director:Christian Nyby
Writer:Unknown
8.0/10(281 votes)
#2 - Death at Dawn
S1:E324/30/1960
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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7.8/10(204 votes)
#3 - Vendetta
S1:E1312/5/1959
In a variation of "High Noon", Ben and Hoss must face a gang of outlaws practically all alone when most of Virginia City's citizens go into hiding. The most action-filled episode since "The Paiute War".
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
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7.7/10(248 votes)
#4 - Feet of Clay
S1:E304/16/1960
Hoss takes Billy Allen, the young son of a convicted felon under his wing, then is forced to kill his father and Billy will not forgive him. The most emotional Hoss story since "The Newcomers" and one of Blocker's best.
Director:Arthur Lubin
Writers:John Furia, Jr.
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Director:Arthur Lubin
Writers:John Furia, Jr.
7.6/10(256 votes)
#5 - San Francisco
S1:E284/2/1960
In this comic episode, the first to take place far from the ranch, Ben, Hoss, and Joe deliver a herd to San Francisco. Although he warns his sons to be careful in the big city ("This is not the Ponderosa!"), Ben is the one who is shanghaied and must be rescued.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
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7.5/10(213 votes)
#6 - The Phillip Diedesheimer Story
S1:E810/31/1959
Adam and Hoss assist a German engineer in developing the concept of "square set timbering" in the mines. Based on fact, and the first episode not to include all four Cartwrights. Hoss refers to the character, Emily, with whom he was in love with in, "The Newcomers".
Director:Unknown
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The 20 BEST Episodes of Bonanza

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7.5/10(204 votes)
#7 - The Hanging Posse
S1:E1211/28/1959
Adam and Joe reluctantly join a group of vengeful townsmen, who are out to lynch the three men who supposedly killed Vannie Johnson. The posse is run by Paiute Scroggs and Flint Johnson, the dead woman's husband. When Adam and Joe clash with them, they both separate and try to reach the three men before the posse does. This episode's storyline is a variation of the 1943 film "The Ox-Bow Incident".
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.5/10(293 votes)
#8 - Desert Justice
S1:E232/20/1960
When a tough U.S. Marshal from California arrests a Ponderosa hand, Dave Walker, for murder, Adam and Hoss go along to make sure their employee reaches Los Angeles alive. In one scene, Adam is dressed in black for the first time. In another, Hoss, upon seeing Southern California for the first time, remarks, "It sure ain't never gonna amount to much". Later, Adam makes an amusing reference to the chow Joe says he was forced to eat in "The Last Hunt".
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.4/10(201 votes)
#9 - The Outcast
S1:E171/9/1960
Because she is related to criminals, a young woman is ostracized by everyone but the the Cartwrights. She unwisely seeks solace with an ex-con friend of Joe's, Clay Renton, and it's up to Ben to straighten everything out. First episode to have a chapter title after the cast credits.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.4/10(234 votes)
#10 - The Stranger
S1:E242/27/1960
Nevada Territory is awaiting statehood, and Ben considers running for governor until he learns he is wanted for murder in New Orleans. Inspector Charles Leduque arrives and says Ben is wanted for commiting the murder 20 years earlier, and after Joe kills his bodyguard in self-defense, Inspector Leduque makes it appear the other way around. Ben has no choice but go with Leduque, to clear his name in a very suspense-filled episode. Once again, there are several references to Joe's mother, and viewers are shown Marie's grave near the shore of Lake Tahoe.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.3/10(244 votes)
#11 - The Newcomers
S1:E39/26/1959
John Pennington and his crew want to mine the Ponderosa land by hydraulic means. Ben is totally against this method and evicts them in short order. Hoss is given the task of telling Pennington's men to leave, but soon has a moral dilemma on his hands when he meets Pennington's beautiful sister, Emily. He soon discovers a heartbreaking secret...she's terminally ill; but their relationship soon leads to plenty of trouble for the Cartwrights.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.3/10(230 votes)
#12 - Enter Mark Twain
S1:E510/10/1959
Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City to write for the Territorial Enterprise at the same time a crooked politician tries to lay claim on the Ponderosa.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.3/10(228 votes)
#13 - The Saga of Annie O'Toole
S1:E710/24/1959
Adam defends the mining claim of Annie O' Toole in a court presided over by Judge Ben Cartwright. Annie comes to the Washoe Diggings with a claim to a mine filed by her beau, Swede Lundberg. Swede has two claims and sold one to an acquaintance of theirs named Gregory Spain, creating confusion, that only Judge Ben Cartwright can make a ruling on.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
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7.2/10(236 votes)
#14 - The Paiute War
S1:E410/3/1959
Trader Mike Wilson attempts to escape punishment by the Paiute Indians after mistreating two of their women, by placing the blame on Adam. A fierce war between the Paiutes and the California militia follows, and the Paiutes seize Adam as hostage. Very impressive battle scenes in the this first mini-epic of the series. This episode did all it could to stage the real thing; 50 Indians were used and 50 cavalry actors and extras were used, and the production involved three days of shooting on location. This episode encompassed both the biggest cast and most costly stunts. This episode is based on the factual accounting that occured in May and June of 1860.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.2/10(194 votes)
#15 - The Last Hunt
S1:E1512/19/1959
Hoss and Joe come across a pregnant Indian woman while hunting bighorn sheep and must deliver her baby. Despite touches of humor, including a scene in which Joe refers to a meal as "cattle fodder", the story does not have an altogether happy ending.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.2/10(267 votes)
#16 - The Fear Merchants
S1:E201/30/1960
The Cartwrights encounter racial bigotry in Virginia City and end up protecting a Chinese boy from mob violence. Victor Sen Yung, in his largest role to date, speaks normally in the presence of his fellow countrymen, but reverts to broken English when with the Cartwrights.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.2/10(254 votes)
#17 - Escape to Ponderosa
S1:E253/5/1960
After Adam is bushwhacked by three army deserters, Ben tracks them down, and tackles the brutal Captain Bolton who is pursuing them.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.2/10(216 votes)
#18 - Bitter Water
S1:E294/9/1960
Len Keith, a miner, wants to purchase some land adjacent to the Ponderosa from rancher Andy McKaren. Andy's son, Tod, is anxious to sell. Keith has offered him a partnership,and more importantly, he is in love with Keith's daughter. When Ben warns Andy that a mine on the property would foul up Ponderosa water, Andy agrees not to sell the land. Len Keith, determined to get that land, plants tick infested cattle in a Ponderosa herd to turn Andy against the Cartwrights.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.1/10(394 votes)
#19 - A Rose for Lotta
S1:E19/12/1959
Lotta Crabtree is hired by mining tycoon Alpheus Troy to lure one of the Cartwrights into town and hold him for ransom in exchange for Ponderosa timber rights.
Director:Edward Ludwig
Writers:David Dortort, Fred Hamilton
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Director:Edward Ludwig
Writers:David Dortort, Fred Hamilton
7.1/10(272 votes)
#20 - Death on Sun Mountain
S1:E29/19/1959
Greedy opportunist Mark Burdette and his accomplice Early Thorne stir up trouble between the Paiute tribe and the citizens of Virginia City. Ben discovers Burdette and Thorne are selling antelope beef to the miners and finds the price too high. He offers the miners beef at a more reasonable price. Burdette and Thorne retaliate by framing the Paiute's for attacks, by dressing as them and killing ranchers. Based on a factual accounting. Lorne Greene's first voice-over narration, and no landing constructed yet for the Ponderosa stairway.
Director:Paul Landres
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Paul Landres
Writer:Unknown
7.1/10(220 votes)
#21 - The Truckee Strip
S1:E1111/21/1959
Luther Bishop and Ben Cartwright have had an ongoing land dispute for a number of years, over a small tract called the Truckee Strip. One of Bishop's employee's has a grudge against the Cartwrights and wants to stir up the feud again, while also harboring designs on Bishop's pretty daughter, Amy. Joe meets and falls in love with Amy, in spite of the family differences and the two want to marry. Just when it looks like the feud will end with the union of the two young people, Bishop's man attacks Amy and Joe must come to the rescue.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
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7.1/10(188 votes)
#22 - The Sisters
S1:E1412/12/1959
This episode begins with Adam defending the honor of Sue Ellen Terry in a duel. No one gets shot because the other man misses Adam and Adam generously shoots in the air to end the duel. Sue Ellen lives with her sister, who seems nice but turns out to be fairly evil, consumed with jealousy because she's getting older and her sister is a young beauty. When Adam drops Sue Ellen off after a date one night, half way through this episode, someone shoots her dead, and Adam becomes a suspect and is thrown in jail. When the sheriff suggests that Adam escape, he does it, but when he walks out, someone tries to shoot him. He chases after them but doesn't find them, and soon after hears Sue Ellen's sister scream. He runs up the stairs to find her dead, and of course, is then suspected of that murder as well. Of course, his family helps him during the last half hour, and it all turns out that someone we should not have suspected did all the murders, but that he actually wasn't trying to hit
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.1/10(204 votes)
#23 - A House Divided
S1:E181/16/1960
As the Civil War approaches, Adam and Joe clash over which side to support. The situation is complicated by the arrival of Frederick Kyle, a Southern sympathizer. He was an old friend of Joe's mother and viewers also discover that Joe's middle name is Francis.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.1/10(262 votes)
#24 - The Spanish Grant
S1:E212/6/1960
In "The Spanish Grant", a young bargirl, Rosita Morales is pretending to be a Spanish noblewoman named Isabella Marie Inez de la Cuesta and at the end of the story, it's revealed she is really Rosita Morales, but on the other hand, is she really Rosita Morales? This little twist at the end is simply entertaining everytime it's viewed, with the viewer able to determine the young woman's real identity at the end of act four.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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7.1/10(265 votes)
#25 - Blood on the Land
S1:E222/13/1960
A shiftless sheepherder, Jeb Drummond, encroaches his herd of sheep on the Ponderosa and refuses to budge. He resists all of Ben's attempts to throw him off his land and finally resorts to taking Adam prisoner in exchange for ownership of the ranch.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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