Bonanza: Season 1-50th Anniversary Edition

Back in the late 50's and 60's when I was a kid growing up, all the major networks had at least 1 quality western and many had multiple such shows. Introduced by NBC in 1959, Bonanza was one of the longest running westerns and was eclipsed in longevity only by CBS's Gunsmoke. Bonanza was something of a watershed event for NBC. Billed as the first Western in living color, this was something it's direct competitor Gunsmoke did not have until around 1966.Bonanza was the story of the Cartwright family and their Nevada ranch the Ponderosa. Originally starring Loren Greene as Ben Cartwright, the patriarch of the family, and actors Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon as sons Adam, Hoss and Little Joe. Each week would provide a new adventure with a cast of notable guests, some of which went on to be stars on the big screen.While a number of shows from the golden age of TV were offered on DVD in complete season editions, for some reason Bonanza was long left out. Often you could get some compilation of the best shows of the series, but never a complete season on DVD. That is until now.As others have pointed out, the packaging for the first season is nothing to get excited about, but within each DVD are some really nice extras, such as photo galleries, the pilot with alternate endings and original bumpers used to signify commercial breaks. The quality of the audio and video transfers is also excellent.Considering the age of the material, video transfers are clean and colors quite beautiful. As good as the video is, I was probably equally, if not more impressed with sound. The process of cleaning up sound can be quite difficult with such old material. To really appreciate what a job Paramount did, look and listen carefully when the commercial bumpers come up. The bumper and Loren Greene's closing lines on the pilot show were left original and there is an order of magnitude difference in the quality between original material and the DVD transfer. Paramount deserves kudos for their effort on this one.That said, i was pleased with this offering. Now I wish Paramount would offer the The High Chaparral and Cimarron Strip on complete season and complete series DVD. These shows along with Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, and Wild Wild West were my favorite shows growing up.

My sister has autism and doesn’t have a tv. She loves good old-fashioned stories without much violence, where good triumphs over evil. We watched Bonanza as children, and she was thrilled with this gift.

I'm one of the fans who couldn't wait for the U.S. releases of Bonanza - I started collecting the German seasons years ago. I'm now the proud owner of the U.S. releases, seasons one through five, and will continue to purchase the remaining nine seasons as they become available. Why buy the U.S. DVDs when I already own the others? The color is more vivid, the sound more crisp and alive, and while the extras are a treat for a Bonanza fan, they're also educational and just plain interesting. The photo gallery offers never before released photos, and the interviews and footage are spectacular to see.Yes, Bonanza was a fictional series, but many of the episodes touched on actual places, events, and people who made Virginia City and the Territory of Nevada / state of Nevada what it is today.For a show that was under production in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s, the topics covered were not always "safe". Mistreatment and misunderstanding of the Native Americans, the greed of many who sought their fortunes in the mines, the women who entertained in the saloons and the traveling shows, the need for safety in the mines. From swindlers to bigots to robbers to murderers, Bonanza's first season covered them all within the confines of acceptable network television of the era. These episodes gave us a glimpse into what it was like to brave the untamed west - and left us to ponder just how much "rougher" life in the 1860s really was.I highly recommend Bonanza, Season One for anyone who enjoys westerns, classic television shows, handsome cowboys and ranchers, and of course, the Cartwright philosophies on life!

I have been waiting for this box set for ages! And it has finally arrived. I wasn't around when this show first aired. But I remember my first viewing of it sometime in the 90's (I know, really late to the party) and I fell in LOVE! Ugh, there was just something about it that made me obsessed with it. For some strange reason there is a sense of tranquility that I got from that one viewing that there just doesn't seem to be on TV anymore.From that one viewing, I started watching it religiously, it came on as a two hour block. And I watched every flippin' two dang hours, every dang day of the week. And was happy to find out that they spazzed out with marathons of it on weekends! I was in Bonanza heaven! And then the networks took it from me! No more Little Joe, Hoss - Adam! I had some serious withdrawals. And I was not only shocked but a little bit upset to find out that this classic television show was not available on DVD!But that has been fixed. The packaging is OK. Nothing to rave about. It doesn't even come in a box! You just get two dvd cases. Would it have killed Paramount to give us loyal viewers a customized box! You do get a summary of each episode and you do get the original theme song. Yes, I find that very important. On youtube, you get some bastardized version and when I want my Bonanza I want the original. The discs look great, a bump in quality than what they usually look like on television. The extras are not mind blowing, some of them consist of: alternate pilot ending, a tribute remembering Michael Landon/Dan Blocker etc.I don't have to recommend the show to those who love it, but for those who don't, give it a chance.

Good to watch the old famous Bonanza shows. Wish all the other seasons were available and affordable. Brings back happy memories of the TV days. Every Sunday night the family sitting around the TV watching Bonanza.

Imágenes de primera calidad

I watched Bonanza growing up and loved it, but missed the earlier seasons. Now I've returned to it and am delighted with the official box set released by CBS Paramount. The quality of the dvds is excellent and they also contain some lovely extras. Little chats with David Dortort the series producer and some delightful photo galleries, that also contain some background information to the series. I have a mult-iregion dvd so have no problems playing these as they are Region 1. Only problem is that CBS have only released box sets up to Season 8. Come on CBS how about releasing the rest of this terrific series, surely it deserves it.

The dvd didnt work in Australia.Have returned it.

No trae subtítulos en español ni opciones de idioma