List of Bonanza episodes
"Bonanza" is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric "Hoss" (Dan Blocker), and Joseph (Michael Landon). Veteran actor Victor Sen Yung played the ranch cook, Hop Sing. In 1964, Pernell Roberts began expressing a desire to leave the series, and so prospective replacements were introduced via Barry Coe as Little Joe's wayward maternal half-brother Clay, and Guy Williams as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright. However, Roberts was persuaded to complete his contract, and remained through season six. The characters of Clay and Will were discontinued. In the ninth season, David Canary was added to the cast as ranch hand/foreman Candy Canady. After four years with the series, Canary left due to a contract dispute. In the twelfth season, Mitch Vogel joined the cast as Jamie Hunter, a teenage orphan who is adopted by Ben Cartwright. Following Dan Blocker's death in May 1972 after season thirteen ended, Greene, Landon, and Vogel continued the series into a fourteenth season, with Canary returning as Candy (reportedly approached by Landon) and Tim Matheson was introduced as ex-prisoner and newly hired ranch-hand Griff King. The program was moved to Tuesday nights where it slipped badly in the ratings to number 52 and was subsequently cancelled. "Bonanza" has, however, continued to be popular in syndication. From 1964-1967, " Bonanza " became the most watched show in the U.S.
Temperatures Rising
ABC placed "Temperatures Rising" in its 8:00 PM Tuesday night time-slot, where it debuted on September 12, 1972. Because one of the stars was black, some of ABC's affiliated stations in the southern and midwestern parts of the United States refused to air the series or broadcast it in a different time slot. Airing opposite it were "Bonanza" on NBC, and the new sitcom "Maude" on CBS. "Bonanza" was entering its fourteenth year and offered up an ambitious two-hour season premiere dealing with the marriage of Little Joe Cartwright (Michael Landon). "Maude", starring Beatrice Arthur in the title role, was a spin-off of "All in the Family". Both shows presented "Temperatures Rising" with stiff opposition in the "ratings game". The two-hour season premiere of "Bonanza" performed exceptionally well in the ratings. "Maude" did much better than "Temperatures Rising" in the New York City area, while "Temperatures Rising" fared better than "Maude" in the Los Angeles area. In subsequent weeks, "Bonanza"'s ratings dropped sharply and NBC cancelled the series in November 1972. According to Asher: ""Temperatures Rising" put "Bonanza" out of business and was beating "Maude" in the Los Angeles area until mid-season, when NBC switched to some heavy movies which hurt us". Despite this the series finished its first year with a consistent 29 share of the ratings at a time when a 30 share was enough to assure renewal for another season. ABC, however, wanted to improve the ratings and decided to make significant changes to "Temperatures Rising" for its second season.