Playback is currently unavailable for S2 E1 · Showdown. Episode details remain available below.
Bonanza
The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
- Created by:
- David Dortort
- Cast:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, David Canary, Tim Matheson
- Language:
- English
- Country:
- United States of America
- Network:
- NBC
Episode guide
Seasons
Season 2
Episodes
E01
Episode 1
Showdown
1960-09-10 · 49mA young bank robber hires on at the Ponderosa in order to keep his gang informed of the law's efforts to discover their whereabouts.
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E02
Episode 2
The Mission
1960-09-17 · 49mFilmed 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.
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E03
Episode 3
Badge Without Honor
1960-09-24 · 49mAdam's life is saved by an enigmatic U. S. Marshal who has come to Virginia City to arrest a friend of the Cartwrights.
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E04
Episode 4
The Mill
1960-10-01 · 49mThe Cartwrights construct a grist mill to provide income for a crippled rancher who blames Ben for his predicament. Ben has to contend with the man's depraved caretaker, and finds himself attracted to his wife. "Sons can't be everything," Ben tells her.
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E05
Episode 5
The Hopefuls
1960-10-08 · 49mAdam guides a wagon train of Quakers and falls for the leader's daughter, Regina. The force Adam must employ to protect them, conflicts with their passive philosophy of life.
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E06
Episode 6
Denver McKee
1960-10-15 · 49mWhile celebrating the return of his daughter Connie, former lawman McKee is asked to assist in the capture of an outlaw gang. While Joe is courting Connie, no one realizes that McKee is involved with the outlaws.
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E07
Episode 7
Day of Reckoning
1960-10-22 · 49mPrejudice erupts on both sides when Ben gives an Indian named Matsou and his wife, some of his land, after saving Ben's life from a renegade Indian who almost killed him on the Ponderosa. An intense and magnetic performance by Ricardo Montalban.
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E08
Episode 8
The Abduction
1960-10-29 · 49mHoss and Joe take their sweethearts to a colorful and strange carnival for the day. Joe's recent girlfriend Jennifer Beale is abducted by the sinister owner, Philip Reed and his accomplice Gerner. Her father is Joshua Beale, the richest man in the Comstock. Gerner convinces Reed to hold her for a $1 million dollar ransom, and her father will gladly pay them to ensure her safe return. Reed's girlfriend Della Thompson is jealous of Jennifer and has second thoughts about the abduction. Hoss and Joe take notice of Jennifer's disappearance and travel deep into the bowels of the carnival, meeting fierce resistance from the carnival people at every avenue. They come up without a trace of finding her.
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E09
Episode 9
Breed of Violence
1960-11-05 · 49mJoe's friend Dolly Kincaid is the daughter of the sheriff and she's always getting caught up with the wrong crowd. When she gets close to Vince Dagen, Joe gets worried and tries to intervene.
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E10
Episode 10
The Last Viking
1960-11-12 · 49mGunnar Borgstrom is the leader of a vicious band called the Commancheros. They burn houses, kill people and steal anything of value. When the Commancheros get to Nevada, Gunnar decides to visit his relatives, the Cartwrights. Meanwhile the gang capture Little Joe and his girlfriend. When Gunnar returns to the gang, he has no idea who Joe is because he'd never met his nephew before.
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E11
Episode 11
The Trail Gang
1960-11-26 · 49mOn a cattle drive back to Nevada from Texas, Ben hires a young man who is both an outlaw and the son of the sheriff whose town the Ponderosa cowhands are entering.
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E12
Episode 12
The Savage
1960-12-03 · 49mAdam's life is saved by a woman known to the Indians as White Buffalo Woman, but who is actually the daughter of Norwegian immigrants.
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E13
Episode 13
Silent Thunder
1960-12-10 · 49mCaptivated by the pretty, deaf-mute daughter of a reclusive mountain man, Little Joe teaches the young woman sign language. Thrilled with her newfound ability to communicate, Annie mistakes her gratitude to Little Joe for love, much to the chagrin of Albie, who is determined to have her for his own.
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E14
Episode 14
The Ape
1960-12-17 · 49mHoss becomes friends with dull-witted Arnie Gurnie, who is a brute of a man with the mentality of a child. His temper scares everybody, including the Cartwrights.
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E15
Episode 15
The Blood Line
1960-12-31 · 49mBen feels responsible for the son of a man he was forced to kill, but the young man is determined to get even. A professional gunman offers to do the job for him.
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E16
Episode 16
The Courtship
1961-01-07 · 49mHoss plans to marry the widow of one of Ben's friends, not knowing she is a compulsive gambler and refusing to believe it when the other Cartwrights confront him with the truth.
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E17
Episode 17
The Spitfire
1961-01-14 · 49mJoe becomes the target of a tough and vengeful Kentucky family, after he kills one of them who almost sets the Ponderosa on fire and the Cartwrights take in the dead man's daughter.
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E18
Episode 18
The Bride
1961-01-21 · 49mThe Cartwright boys are surprised to find that a woman, claiming to have recently married their father, shows up on their doorstep. When Ben gets home, he is just as surprised as they are. Has the lady been swindled by a con-man, or is she something of a con-woman herself?
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E19
Episode 19
Bank Run
1961-01-28 · 49mWhen they "rob" the bank in Virginia City to save depositors from being cleaned out by its president, Hoss and Joe wind up wanted by the law.
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E20
Episode 20
The Fugitive
1961-02-04 · 49mAdam goes to Mexico to find out how the son of a family friend was killed, only to learn the man is still alive.
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E21
Episode 21
Vengeance
1961-02-11 · 49mHoss accidentally kills a drunk he was trying to disarm. The man's brother bushwhacks Hoss, who has lost the will to live. Joe makes a promise to Hoss that he will kill Red Twilight, the vengeful brother who bushwhacked Hoss, no matter what happens, and will not let Adam stand in his way.
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E22
Episode 22
The Tax Collector
1961-02-18 · 49mThe 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.
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E23
Episode 23
The Rescue
1961-02-25 · 49mThe Cartwright boys are concerned that Ben might be getting on in years, yet it is he who saves them from cattle rustlers.
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E24
Episode 24
The Dark Gate
1961-03-04 · 49mAdam is confused by the sudden behavior of his good friend, Ross Marquette. He beats up his wife, Delphine, after accusing her of having an affair with Adam. He also joins a group of rustlers and killers and helps rob a gold shipment. Adam thinks Ross is suffering from insanity, in this highlight of season two.
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E25
Episode 25
The Duke
1961-03-11 · 49mHoss takes on The Duke Of London, an arrogant, abusive bare-knuckle fighter, though his brawn is no match for the Duke's agile skills.
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E26
Episode 26
Cutthroat Junction
1961-03-18 · 49mWhen freight company detective Jed Trask is fired after a decade of service, he joins the thieves preventing supplies from reaching Virginia City.
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E27
Episode 27
The Gift
1961-04-01 · 49mWhile crossing the desert to Yuma, Arizona with a white stallion intended as a birthday present for Ben, Joe runs into a pack of merciless comancheros. His companion, a former comanchero, Emiliano, who raised the horse, must get he and Joe through safely.
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E28
Episode 28
The Rival
1961-04-15 · 49mJim Applegate, Hoss' rival for the affections of Cameo Johnson, is a member of a vigilante group who lynched an innocent man and his wife.
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E29
Episode 29
The Infernal Machine
1961-04-22 · 49mHoss believes in his friend's primitive version of the automobile in this lighthearted, yet sad episode. When the "car" uses up the last of its fuel, Hoss remarks, "Dadburn it, I still say it woulda worked".
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E30
Episode 30
The Thunderhead Swindle
1961-04-29 · 49mWith Virginia City on the verge of economic ruin, out of work miners put their hopes in word of a strike at a mine everybody believed was played out. Ben suspects the new owners have been stealing silver from an adjoining mine also thought dry, and resolves to prove it.
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E31
Episode 31
★ 8.0The Secret
1961-05-06 · 49mJoe is the victim of an elaborate frame-up, accused of murdering a pregnant girl. When Ben is asked if Joe is telling the truth, he replies, "If I were to start doubting my son at this point, everything I've lived and worked for would be lost".
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E32
Episode 32
The Dream Riders
1961-05-20 · 49mTo finance his dream of constructing an airship capable of crossing the Atlantic, Ben's old friend plans to rob the Virginia City bank while diverting the citizens' attention with a hot air balloon.
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E33
Episode 33
★ 3.0Elizabeth, My Love
1961-05-27 · 49mAt the bedside of a seriously ill Adam, Ben thinks back to his days as a first mate in the merchant marines and his marriage to Adam's mother, Elizabeth Stoddard.
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E34
Episode 34
Sam Hill
1961-06-03 · 49mBlacksmith Sam Hill fights to keep the land on which his mother is buried, after his drunken father signs the deed over to Colonel Tyson and his private army. Poetic episode written by John T. Kelley and directed by Robert Altman.
Watch progress · Not trackedCast
Lorne Greene
Ben Cartwright
Michael Landon
Joe Cartwright
David Canary
Candy Canaday
Tim Matheson
Griff King
Mitch Vogel
Jamie Hunter Cartwright