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Ponderosa

2001

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Pilot (1) Sep 09, 2001

Bonanza is back in the guise of ""Ponderosa"". This episode is very good, telling the back story of what went on as Ben Cartwright got the deed to the Lake Tahoe property. Unfortunately, someone else also wants the property, so he can strip-mine it and turn the land into a waste-land. Ben's wife and Little Joe's mother is killed when the store in which Ben is working in at the time is blown up by the miner, the one who takes her death the worse is Little Joe. Shortly after this (and because of it) Ben is awarded the property. All seems to be said and done, but as Ben and the boys are building the house, in the middle of the night the miner sneaks onto the property and pours kerosene all over the house and ignites it. Little Joe takes Ben's gun and goes hunting down the miner, not realizing the new trouble he could be causing because of it. Meanwhile, two other characters come into play. The first is Carlos (Fernando Carrillo), a Mexican Soldier who returns to the town after being in the

EP2 Pilot (2) Sep 09, 2001

Bonanza is back in the guize of ""Ponderosa"". This episode is very good, telling the back story of what went on as Ben Cartwright got the deed to the Lake Tahoe property. Unfortunately, someone else also wants the property, so he can strip-mine it and turn the land into a waste-land. Ben's wife and Little Joe's mother is killed when the store in which Ben is working in at the time is blown up by the miner, the one who takes her death the worse is Little Joe. Shortly after this (and because of it) Ben is awarded the property. All seems to be said and done, but as Ben and the boys are building the house, in the middle of the night the miner sneaks onto the property and pours kerosene all over the house and ignites it. Little Joe takes Ben's gun and goes hunting down the miner, not realizing the new trouble he could be causing because of it. Meanwhile, two other characters come into play. The first is Carlos (Fernando Carrillo), a Mexican Soldier who returns to the town after being in the

EP3 Joaquin Sep 16, 2001

While selling some cattle to a fellow rancher, Adam and Little Joe witness an amazing sight, a Mexican walks up to the rancher and shoots him at point blank range . . . the rancher gets up and brushes himself off. It seems as if they were testing out a bullet proof vest. Later, in town. We find Hauss staring at a Wanted Poster for a bandit named Joaquin with a very high price on his head. The same bandit who was at the ranch comes behind him, razzes Hauss about if they'll catch the bandit or not and walks away. It is now breakfast-time the next day, Carlos comes riding up with someone strapped to his horse. It was the same man that Joe and Adam saw at the ranch, and Hauss saw in town, after being patched up by Shelby (Nicki Wendt), he identifies himself as Joaquin. He also explains that he is wanted for murder in towns several hundred miles apart . . . and they were committed on the same day. As he recovers, he gives Adam a birthday wish that Ben couldn't, the oppurtunity to handle a g

EP4 Bare Knuckles Sep 23, 2001

Going against Ben's explicit wishes, Hauss goes up against a bare-knuckles fighter named Iron Hands Malloy (Joseph Clements). Hauss thinks he's developed a new and surprising punch that will knock the fighter off his feet. He does so -- in a test bout, whic was a means to peak everybody's interest in the fight. As things progress, Adam does some research, only to discover that the fighter went under several other names and was expelled from the official circuit for using several cheating methods, one of which is holding a rock in his hand and pounding on his opponent if his opponent gets too close to winning, and as Hauss begins to win against Iron Hands . . ..

EP5 Promise Sep 30, 2001

Adam kills a robber, and he promises the dying man that he will take care of his children and widow. Also, a man comes to town claiming that he's the great grandson of George Washington's personal slave.

EP6 Homeland Oct 14, 2001

Carlos is overjoyed and Ben and his sons are amazed when Carlos beautiful and spirited eighteen-year-old sister, Isabella, appears at what until recently had been the Rivera family's ranch. Carlos had presumed she'd died in a fire in Mexico. Isabella is overjoyed at being reunited with the brother she'd feared had died in the Mexican-American war, but she's also heartbroken to learn that her former home has been sold to Margaret Davis as a war reparation. Since she's now homeless, Ben takes Isabella into the already-crowded Ponderosa, but events take a dismaying turn when a sheriff from Texas arrives in town on the trail of a ""killer"" and discovers that Isabella rode in on the murdered victim's horse. The sheriff threatens to arrest Isabella, but Ben takes responsibility for her custody, offering to stand trial for whatever crime, if any, the sheriff decides to try her for if she flees. Fearful for Isabella's life, Isabella and Carlos do flee, but when they learn what Ben has done, the

EP7 Quarantine Oct 28, 2001

When the town is quarantined because of an illness for which the townspeople blame the Cartwrights, vigilantes set out to destroy their home.

EP8 Secrets and Lies Nov 04, 2001

A man comes to Eagle Station wanting Adam, to write about the 'true story' of the Donner Party. But the meeting causes Ben to reflect on a bad experience from his own past.

EP9 The Legend of John Riley Nov 18, 2001

A man hunted for being a U.S. deserter who fought for Mexico comes to stay at the Ponderosa, causing a rift between Hoss (Drew Powell) and Tess (Sara Gleeson), whose father died in the war against Mexico.

EP10 Brother vs Brother Dec 02, 2001

Romantic woes are caused by a ""Ladies Choice"" dance: Margaret and Shelby learn that they both want to be escorted by Ben, and Tess settles for Hoss when Isabella asks Adam.

EP11 Where the Heart Is Dec 16, 2001

Marie's sister comes to the Ponderosa, but she doesn't get along well with the townspeople and she wants to take Little Joe back to New Orleans.

EP12 Treasure Jan 06, 2002

Adam, Hoss and Carlos discover a treasure map clutched in a dead man's hand and set out to claim the gold they think it leads to, unaware they are being followed.

EP13 Spoils of War Jan 13, 2002

Manuel, a man who once saved Carlos's life, unexpectedly arrives in town. Manuel is disturbed to see Carlos working for the people he believes stole the de Rivera ranch, so he devises a plan to get the land back, starting with Margaret and her spread.

EP14 A Time to Win Jan 20, 2002

Ben is distrustful of a stranger who comes to Eagle Station, builds a hotel and talks about his vision to expand the young town and put it on the stagecoach route.

EP15 Blind Faith Feb 10, 2002

Hoss falls for a the daughter of a reverend who claims that he can perform miracles.

EP16 Lesser of Evils Feb 17, 2002

Isabella receives a letter from her childhood love whom she thought had died in the war. She's torn between her old love and Adam, who is determined not to lose her.

EP17 Comes a Horse Mar 24, 2002

An epidemic strikes the town's cattle with Margaret suffering the most losses, and everyone wants to destroy the herds and sell the ranches to Jack.

EP18 Grown Ups Apr 28, 2002

When an abandonded baby is found, Hoss and Tess consider marrying and adopting the child.

EP19 Samson and Hercules May 05, 2002

Hoss is angered when he learns that Jack is staging wolf fights in town, and he vows to rescue the animals.

EP20 Fugitive May 12, 2002

Samuel returns after being let go from the city newspaper due to his race. The Cartwrights convience Samuel to open a newspaper in Eagle Station. A new law is inacted which makes runaway slaves even in free states to have a price on their heads which puts Samuel in jeopardy.
5.9| 0h30m| NR| en
Synopsis

Ponderosa is a television series developed by Bonanza creator David Dortort for PAX-TV that ran for the 2001–2002 television season. Envisioned as a prequel to the long-running NBC series Bonanza, it had less gunfire, brawling and other traditional western elements than the original. Bonanza creator David Dortort approved PAX TV's decision to hire Beth Sullivan, creator and executive producer of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman to oversee scripts and executive produce, which some believe gave the series a softer edge. Ponderosa was canceled after one season, in part because of disappointing ratings and high production costs. Although Sullivan had hoped to film the series in and around Los Angeles, PAX decided to film in Australia to reduce costs. Series "show runner" Sullivan sustained severe injuries in a car crash only twelve days after the airing of the first season's last episode. The show should not be confused with Ponderosa, the title used for Bonanza reruns aired on NBC during the summer of 1972.

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Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
cheval_52 Ben, Hoss, & Little Joe must be spinning in their graves to witness how Hollywood honors their memory with such garbage as "PONDEROSA". Close your eyes and you would think that you were watching either "GENERAL HOSPITAL" or reruns of "XEENA".Typical of Hollywood lately is to throw in an overbearing obnoxious woman character into their action TV shows and have them save the day. With "Ponderosa" it's the same old rehash, only this time they have a woman who dresses like a man, drinks like a man, and smokes cigars like a man. Almost as unbelievable as their other idiot TV show about the "Three Musketeers" where they have a woman with a beard fighting alongside armed with a sword. Can it get anymore ridiculous???I suggest that Hollywood should take an IQ test and brush up on their Classic Literature from the past. No wonder our kids are so stupid about history & the classics.On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best, I would rate "Ponderosa" a -39. In other words, if you want to see a great western go buy the old "Bonanza Series" on CD.
cmclellan I've always been a fan of western such as Bonanza, The Big Valley, High Chaparral, Fury. These shows reflected the true American spirit of adventurism, bravery, good overcoming evil, families pulling together to overcome adversity, individuals standing up against the unruly mob to do the right thing. Westerns are truly an American art form. They are the essence of our cultural mores that, in recent decades celebrating self-interest and materialism, we have collectively lost touch with.Sadly, I missed the pilot and early episodes of The Ponderosa. Though late (December 2000) I was quickly drawn into the series and the characters. The Ponderosa revives one of America's favorite families, The Cartwrights, before they attained their wealth in the frontier west. The characters are well cast and the roles are well acted. True to the Western genre, The Ponderosa portrays a young family struggling to create a home in a wild, foreign frontier land while also struggling to define and maintain their moral values in an often harsh and unforgiving environment. In The Ponderosa, the Cartwright family has been renovated to reflect some of the best of our modern sensibilities: the character Hop Sing is a dignified intelligent man, rather than the stereotyped and ethnically miscast Hop Sing of Bonanza (a Japanese actor), Indians and Mexicans are also permitted dignity and intelligence notwithstanding the period reality of prejudices the majority of white settlers maintained against them. There are strong independent women. Six shooters are missing in The Ponderosa, which is historically accurate. In watching re-runs of Bonanza, it is amazing how quickly the Cartwrights resorted to shooting, and how easily they pointed a gun and pulled a trigger. There is much in Bonanza that just wouldn't fly in a modern series. The Ponderosa writers reflect a responsible maturity in their presentation while maintaining the heart and soul of what made Bonanza great.This show might not appeal to the die-hard fans of Survivor, The Osbornes, Fear Factor, or The Weakest Link, to name a few. But none of those shows will withstand the test of time. The Ponderosa has all the ingredients to become a television legacy in the tradition of Bonanza.There is a void to be filled in television today. Viewers, adults and children, need to see the roots of the American spirit and be reminded of what most Americans strive for: a better world for themselves and their children. The Ponderosa fills this void in returning viewers to a simpler time and reminding them of what really matters in life. The message transcends time and is one we all need to hear in an often chaotic and incomprehensible world.
tennesee the ponderosa is a great show and i miss watching .tv need more family show like the ponderosa.the ponderosa show how a family care about each other and helps there friends when the can.i lot of tv show does not show family love like the ponderosa.i think they should have a lot more show like the ponderosa.Tennessee
crogers-4 This movie brought back our beloved Cartwrights. It brought anticipation and excitement for what the future would hold for Ben Cartwright as he brought up his three sons and attempted to build what we all knew would eventually become the famous Ponderosa. The characters had many qualities the older Cartwrights had, and I felt by watching this younger version of each (Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe) we could watch them as they learned the ways of the west and see them as they struggled to survive and become the family we knew. The actors were well chosen for the parts. Diehard Bonanza fans, such as myself, knew Hoss immediately as protrayed by Drew. There was just no question that it was perfect casting. Little Joe (Jared) was a puzzle in the beginning but as he watched his mother die, the beginnings of the rebellious side of his character (which we all expect) appeared,Jared carried the part well. Pa was strict, yet loving, and Daniel was excellent. I had never seen him in previous roles yet I knew of him and some of the parts he had played and was a little concerned he wouldn't be right to play Ben Cartwright. But watching him as Pa interacted with his sons, I knew he was perfect. The mystery was who would portray Adam - my favorite Bonanza character. Matt totally exceeded my expectations for Adam. He portrays a sensitive, thoughtful, exciting, quick to anger when necessary Adam and those are all of the traits I expect to see in the eldest son. I'm sure as he delves further into the character and the history of Adam's life is brought in later episodes, people are going to see what type of versatile actor he appears to be.