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The Worst Episodes of Bonanza

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

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

Seasons14

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Bonanza Season 7 Episode 10 - The Strange One
    5.3/10(126 votes)

    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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  2. Bonanza Season 13 Episode 18 - Frenzy
    5.6/10(98 votes)

    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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  3. Bonanza Season 9 Episode 33 - A Severe Case of Matrimony
    5.8/10(113 votes)

    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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  4. Bonanza Season 3 Episode 12 - The Frenchman
    5.9/10(152 votes)

    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 4 Episode 30 - Saga of Whizzer McGee
    6.1/10(131 votes)

    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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  6. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 28 - A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay
    6.2/10(159 votes)

    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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  7. Bonanza Season 5 Episode 26 - The Saga of Muley Jones
    6.3/10(138 votes)

    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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  8. Bonanza Season 1 Episode 31 - Dark Star
    6.4/10(259 votes)

    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 12 Episode 18 - A Deck of Aces
    6.3/10(112 votes)

    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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  10. Bonanza Season 13 Episode 25 - A Visit to Upright
    6.3/10(101 votes)

    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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  11. Bonanza Season 4 Episode 22 - The Actress
    6.4/10(143 votes)

    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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  12. Bonanza Season 6 Episode 25 - Hound Dog
    6.4/10(129 votes)

    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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  13. Bonanza Season 3 Episode 34 - The Miracle Maker
    6.4/10(127 votes)

    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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  14. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 6 - Devil on Her Shoulder
    6.4/10(124 votes)

    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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  15. Bonanza Season 10 Episode 10 - The Sound of Drums
    6.4/10(117 votes)

    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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  16. Bonanza Season 12 Episode 28 - An Earthquake Called Callahan
    6.4/10(107 votes)

    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 6 Episode 8 - Square Deal Sam
    6.5/10(133 votes)

    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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  18. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 23 - The Emperor Norton
    6.5/10(116 votes)

    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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  19. Bonanza Season 1 Episode 27 - The Last Trophy
    6.6/10(224 votes)

    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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  20. Bonanza Season 12 Episode 12 - The Impostors
    6.5/10(106 votes)

    S12:E12

    Hoss and Joe pretend to be stage robbers' partners in order to recover stolen Cartwright money. All goes well until the wife of one of the thieves shows up.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Bonanza Season 2 Episode 12 - The Savage
    6.6/10(200 votes)

    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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  22. Bonanza Season 11 Episode 19 - Is There Any Man Here
    6.5/10(102 votes)

    S11:E19

    When the daughter of a friend declares her love for him, Ben agonizes over what to do.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Bonanza Season 7 Episode 27 - The Genius
    6.5/10(100 votes)

    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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  24. Bonanza Season 2 Episode 22 - The Tax Collector
    6.6/10(143 votes)

    S2:E22

    The kindness Hoss extends to shiftless Jock Henry is not exactly repaid when Henry becomes an assistant assessor and raises the Ponderosa's annual tax bill from $375 to $1700.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Bonanza Season 8 Episode 30 - Napoleon's Children
    6.6/10(138 votes)

    S8:E30

    A gang of juvenile delinquents, led by an intelligent runt, who calls himself Napoleon, terrorizes Virginia City and the Ponderosa as well.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"The Strange One" is the worst rated episode of Bonanza. It scored 5.3/10 from 126 votes. Written and directed by Unknown, it aired on November 14, 1965. This episode scored 0.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Frenzy".

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