Bonanza • NBC
CHARACTER: Jeremy Roman
EPISODE: "The Passing of a King" (#10.5)
AIRDATE: 13 October 1968
DIRECTED BY: Leon Benson

EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Taking advantage of the illness of his powerful rancher father Claude Roman (Denver Pyle), mean-spirited Jeremy Roman (Jeremy Slate) runs roughshod over everyone. In addition to browbeating his sister Mary (Diane Muldaur) and reneging on a legitimate business deal with the Cartwrights, Jeremy also tries to get his father declared mentally incompetent. But by episode's end, Jeremy forcibly learns that there's more to greatness than merely inheriting a great name.

CHARACTER: Ed Phillips
EPISODE: "The Man Without Land" (#8.29)
AIRDATE: 9 April 1967
DIRECTED BY: Don Daves

EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Ben Cartwright prevents crooked Ponderosa foreman Ed Philips (Jeremy Slate) from swindling rancher Matt Jeffers (Royal Dano). In retaliation, Philips uses Joe Cartwright and Jeffers' son Harry (James Gammon) as pawns in an elaborate revenge scheme. As a result, Harry lies dead, and Joe is accused of his murder. Joan Marshall, who as "Jean Arless" appeared in William Castle's Psycho knockoff Paranoia, is here cast as Millie Perkins. Written by Steve McNeil, "A Man Without Land" originally aired on April 9, 1967.

CHARACTER: Gunnar Borgstrom
EPISODE: "Inger, My Love" (#3.29)
AIRDATE: 15 April 1962

Directed by Lewis Allen

EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Ben recalls his life with wife number two, Scandanavian émigré Inger Borgstrom (Inga Swenson), who would ultimately bear him his second son Hoss. It all began in Galesburg, where young Ben was given a job by tavern owner McWhorter (James Philbrook). During his brief stay in town, Ben fell in love with McWhorter's fiancee Inger, and also ran afoul of Inger's hotheaded brother Gunnar (Jeremy Slate). Organizing a wagon train to California, Ben headed out for the "promised land" with his 5-year-old son Adam and new bride Inger at his side-but his happiness over his latest marriage would inevitably prove short-lived. All of this occurs in flashback, as Ben prepares a birthday party for the grown-up Hoss. This pivotal Bonanza episode was cowritten by David Dortort, Frank Cleaver and Anthony Lawrence.

SERIES DESCRIPTION: One of the longest running and most popular of all television westerns, Bonanza was both an action/adventure classic and family drama. For fourteen seasons, audiences enthusiastically tuned in to see the High-Sierra adventures of the Cartwright clan.

Nestled amongst the pines above the shores of Lake Tahoe is the Ponderosa ranch, the thousand-acre home of Ben Cartwrignt and his sons, Adam, Hoss and Joe (aka "Little Joe.") Each of these three strapping young men was born to a different deceased mother, making Ben a three-time widower. Strong character development and humanistic plots featuring revolving cast of interesting guest players helped to set Bonanza apart from the usual gun-slinging formula Westerns of the day.

Premiering on NBC in September 12, 1959, Bonanza was not an immediate winner in the ratings. It remained on the air, however, due to the fact that it was one of few shows filmed in color, and parent company RCA was anxious to encourage the purchase of color televisions. After barely surviving its first two seasons on Saturday nights, the show was moved to Sunday and became a hit, and the number one show on television four years in a row (1964-1967). Ten of its fourteen years on the air, Bonanza was in the national top ten.

Bonanza can be seen on TV Land.