''The Ponderosa'' is a television series developed by ''Bonanza'' creator

David Dortort David Dortort (born David Solomon Katz; October 23, 1916 – September 5, 2010) was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer, widely known for his role as producer in two successful NBC television series: ''Bonanza'' (1959–73) and ''The High Chap ...

for

PAX TV Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented ente ...

that ran for the 2001–2002 television season. Envisioned as a prequel to the NBC series ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam and Hoss were teenagers and Joe a little boy, 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. ''The 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. The series should not be confused with ''Ponderosa'', the title used for ''Bonanza'' reruns aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in mid-1972.

Premise

Territory of Nevada The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Nevada ...

, year 1849: ten years before the original ''Bonanza'' starts, the Cartwright family moves onto some scrub land. In this new land Ben Cartwright, a new widower, tries to raise his three young sons – at their late teens Adam and Hoss, and a pre-teen Joseph, commonly known as Little Joe.

Cast

Main

* Matt Carmody as Adam Cartwright *

Daniel Hugh Kelly Daniel Hugh Kelly (born August 10, 1952) is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role on the 1980s ABC TV series ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' (1983–86) as the ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick, co-starring with act ...

as Ben Cartwright *

Drew Powell Andrew Powell (born January 19, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Hoss Cartwright on the PAX series '' Ponderosa'', Cadet Drew on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and Butch Gilzean/Cyrus Gold/Solomon Grundy, a series regula ...

as Hoss Cartwright *

Jared Daperis Jared Daperis (born 18 August 1991) is an Australian film director. He has received a Young Artist Award nomination and Berlin Commercial Award Nominations. Early life Daperis was born in Melbourne in 1991, the middle child of three. His fat ...

as Little Joe Cartwright

Recurring

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kn ...

as Frenchy * Josephine Byrnes as Margaret Green *

Fernando Carrillo Fernando Enrique Carrillo Roselli (born January 6, 1970, in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan actor, model and singer. Biography Fernando Enrique Carrillo Roselli was born on January 6, 1970, in Caracas, Venezuela. He was most ...

as Carlos Rivera de Vega * Sara Gleeson as Tess Greene * Nicky Wendt as Shelby Sterritt *

Gareth Yuen Gareth Yuen is an Australian actor who portrays the character Dax Lo, the Blue Ranger on the 2007 television series '' Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive''. He appeared at the Power Morphicon in June 2007. He is a graduate of Sydney's National ...

as Hop Sing * Marcella Toro (episodes 6–7) and Jaqueline Aries (episodes 10–16) as Isabella Maria Rivera de Vega * Peter Stefanou as Jorge

Episodes

Home release

Shortly after the series first aired, four episodes were released on two DVDs. The first DVD featured both parts of the pilot episode, while the second featured "Brother vs. Brother" and "Treasure". On May 25, 2004, The ''Ponderosa: Season 1: Volume 1'' was released. This set collects the first ten episodes of the series. No plans have been announced yet to release the last ten episodes of the series on DVD.

Continuity

A number of minor (or perceived) inconsistencies exist between ''Ponderosa'' and ''Bonanza'', and a few glaring

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

s are present. * Most notable among these is the fate of Little Joe's mother. In the original series, her death was depicted in the episode "Marie, My Love" (''4x20'') as a result of falling off a horse in front of the Ponderosa ranch house.Bonanza: Marie, My Love – TV.com
/ref> In the new series, she is killed in Virginia City by a miner who is trying to murder Eli Orowitz.
/ref> Making the situation even more confusing, the pilot for the original series identifies Little Joe's mother as ''Felicia'' and not ''Marie'' as in the original. * The Hop Sing character is depicted not only as a cook, but also a family counselor and herbal healer.

References

External links

*
Matt Carmody's Official Website

Drew Powell's Official Website
{{Bonanza PAX TV original programming 2000s Western (genre) television series 2000s American drama television series 2001 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings American prequel television series English-language television shows Period family drama television series Television shows set in Nevada Television shows filmed in Australia Television series set in the 1840s Fiction set in 1849 Bonanza