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The Worst Episodes of Bonanza

Every episode of Bonanza ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Bonanza!

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The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Bonanza Season 14 Episode 16 - The Hunter
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - The Hunter

    S14:E16

    In what turned out to be the series finale, Little Joe is making a delivery for Ben when he meets Bill Tanner, a psychotic killer that is posing as a soldier he has killed. His delivery wagon stolen and sans supplies, food or water, Joe - whom Tanner has called his ""prey"" - tries to evade the well-stocked madman, who takes sadistic pleasure in his role as a predator.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 10 - The Strange One
    5.6/10(123 votes)

    #2 - The Strange One

    S7:E10

    Hoss and Joe find a woman abandoned by a wagon train because her gift of prophecy is considered a curse. "Wouldn't it be wonderful," says Ben, "if eveybody made a real effort to understand whatever's strange and unfamiliar rather to fear it and try to destroy it?"

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Bonanza Season 13 Episode 18 - Frenzy
    5.7/10(99 votes)

    #3 - Frenzy

    S13:E18

    Ben helps shepherd a young family, the Kosovos (Nick; his wife, Anna; and his son, Sandor), who had recently immigrated from Serbia. Nick soon finds he can't handle the pressure needed to become successful in America and, one evening while Ben is visiting, his mind snaps. He goes on a rampage, trapping Ben (who becomes injured) and a terrified Anna and Sandor inside their home. Ben must do all he can to keep Nick at bay and try to reason with the mentally ill rancher.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Bonanza Season 3 Episode 12 - The Frenchman
    5.9/10(151 votes)

    #4 - The Frenchman

    S3:E12

    An irritating man who boasts of being the reincarnation of French poet Francois Villion shows up causing trouble for the Cartwrights.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 33 - A Severe Case of Matrimony
    5.9/10(109 votes)

    #5 - A Severe Case of Matrimony

    S9:E33

    An untalented gypsy girl tries to get the Cartwrights to finance her career as an opera singer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Bonanza Season 4 Episode 30 - Saga of Whizzer McGee
    6.1/10(131 votes)

    #6 - Saga of Whizzer McGee

    S4:E30

    Hoss becomes concerned for the welfare of an insecure, belligerent fellow who is as small as Hoss is large. Interesting blend of comedy and pathos that ends unpredictably.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 28 - A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay
    6.3/10(156 votes)

    #7 - A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay

    S5:E28

    A headstrong Chinese girl (Marlo Thomas) visiting the Cartwrights incites labor unrest among local workers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Bonanza Season 1 Episode 31 - Dark Star
    6.4/10(251 votes)

    #8 - Dark Star

    S1:E31

    Joe falls in love with Tirza, an undeniably strange gypsy girl who says she is cursed and never does seem to "snap out of it". The first episode of the series with a supernatural flavor, directed appropriately enough, by Lewis Allen, who made the classic ghost film "The Uninvited".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 26 - The Saga of Muley Jones
    6.4/10(132 votes)

    #9 - The Saga of Muley Jones

    S5:E26

    The Cartwrights are visited by their second cousin, Muley Jones of Weedville, Missouri who sings with a window-shattering voice and stirs up trouble with Indian negotiations that Ben is trying to ensure.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Bonanza Season 6 Episode 8 - Square Deal Sam
    6.4/10(128 votes)

    #10 - Square Deal Sam

    S6:E8

    A conman heads into town and takes advantage of the Cartwrights with a fake land deal. The conman ends up staying in Virginia city to run an orphanage.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Bonanza Season 6 Episode 25 - Hound Dog
    6.4/10(123 votes)

    #11 - Hound Dog

    S6:E25

    Cousin Muley Jones returns to the Ponderosa, along with a pack of noisy hound dogs, in this funny sequel to "The Saga Of Muley Jones".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 27 - The Genius
    6.4/10(94 votes)

    #12 - The Genius

    S7:E27

    Hoss chooses a difficult path when he decides to rehabilitate a famous poet, Will Smith, who is really William Warlock Evans, who spends too much time drinking and eventually his wife arrives at the Ponderosa.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Bonanza Season 8 Episode 33 - Maestro Hoss
    6.4/10(126 votes)

    #13 - Maestro Hoss

    S8:E33

    Hoss is conned into buying a violin from a gypsy fortune teller, and everyone on the Ponderosa--except for Hop Sing--suffers the consequences.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Bonanza Season 10 Episode 10 - The Sound of Drums
    6.4/10(118 votes)

    #14 - The Sound of Drums

    S10:E10

    In the third and final installment of the Rossi family, Georgio Rossi doesn't understand why he cannot allow Indians who have left the reservation to live on his land.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Bonanza Season 12 Episode 18 - A Deck of Aces
    6.4/10(113 votes)

    #15 - A Deck of Aces

    S12:E18

    Bradley Meredith, a Ben Cartwright look-a-like, causes trouble when he sells land to the railroad. Ben has already turned down the deal, but Meredith, acting as Ben, accepts the deal, which stirs up all kinds of trouble.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Bonanza Season 12 Episode 28 - An Earthquake Called Callahan
    6.4/10(108 votes)

    #16 - An Earthquake Called Callahan

    S12:E28

    The only person who can get Dusty out of jail is a professional fighter who will not return to Virginia City, so Joe stays on the man's heels no matter where he goes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Bonanza Season 13 Episode 25 - A Visit to Upright
    6.4/10(101 votes)

    #17 - A Visit to Upright

    S13:E25

    Ben's ability to close a lucrative livestock contract with a conspicuous widow hinges on the sale of a dilapidated saloon in Upright that Hoss and Joe had impulsively purchased. However, the boys put off the sale when the town drunk (who acts as ""saloon keeper"") insist the crumbling Trails End Saloon may house a fortune. Things get even more complicated when a woman, claiming to be the daughter of the deceased former owner, envisions turning the Trails End into a booming saloon, hotel and restaurant.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Bonanza Season 2 Episode 12 - The Savage
    6.5/10(193 votes)

    #18 - The Savage

    S2:E12

    Adam's life is saved by a woman known to the Indians as White Buffalo Woman, but who is actually the daughter of Norwegian immigrants.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Bonanza Season 3 Episode 34 - The Miracle Maker
    6.5/10(124 votes)

    #19 - The Miracle Maker

    S3:E34

    Hoss blames himself when a young woman is crippled in a wagon accident, and hopes a faith healer can help her walk again.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Bonanza Season 4 Episode 22 - The Actress
    6.5/10(140 votes)

    #20 - The Actress

    S4:E22

    Joe becomes romantically involved with a woman who considers herself a serious dramatic actress. Unfortunately, she is the only one who does.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 21 - King of the Mountain
    6.5/10(124 votes)

    #21 - King of the Mountain

    S5:E21

    When mountain man Jim Leyton decides to marry, he chooses Hoss as his best man. Julie's father, Grizzly, does not agree and Hoss must come to the rescue.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 6 - Devil on Her Shoulder
    6.5/10(121 votes)

    #22 - Devil on Her Shoulder

    S7:E6

    Ben is attracted to Sarah Reynolds, a member of a religious order led by her fanatical uncle. When she is accused of being a witch, the Cartwrights step in.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Bonanza Season 1 Episode 27 - The Last Trophy
    6.6/10(216 votes)

    #23 - The Last Trophy

    S1:E27

    Adam takes Ben's friends, Lord Marion Dunsworth and Lady Beatrice, on a hunting expedition, and they are captured by a gang of crude thieves and murderers. During one early scene, after listening to Ben reminisce, Hoss says, "Always like to hear Pa get wound up. He don't do it often."

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 23 - The Emperor Norton
    6.6/10(112 votes)

    #24 - The Emperor Norton

    S7:E23

    Joshua Norton, an eccentric and formerly wealthy San Francisco merchant who considers himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, comes to the Ponderosa. Authorities want to have him committed, and Ben contacts Mark Twain to testify to Norton's sanity.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Bonanza Season 8 Episode 32 - Clarissa
    6.6/10(112 votes)

    #25 - Clarissa

    S8:E32

    The Cartwrights' cousin, Clarissa visits. Her assertive, snobbish ways result in nothing but trouble for Ben and his sons.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"The Hunter" is the worst rated episode of "Bonanza". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/16/1973. This episode scored 5.6 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Strange One".