BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series Title Treatment

[Brandsters]

During TVWestFest, Andy Klyde provided the following announcement from Paramount:

 

“BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series Title Treatment”

Arrives on DVD May 23

Featuring An Exclusive Bonus Disc

with Nearly 2 ½ Hours of Content

 

                                              Clockwise: Pernell Roberts (“Adam”), Dan Blocker (“Hoss”), Michael Landon (“Little Joe”)          

and Lorne Greene (“Ben”) star as the indominable Cartwright Family in BONANZA™

 

 

LOS ANGELES – March 14, 2023 – The legendary First Family of the West, Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe -- the indominable Cartwrights of the Ponderosa -- triumphantly ride again when BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series arrives on DVD, May 23. This series collection includes all 14 seasons -- 431 full-length episodes -- together for the very first time, along with an exclusive bonus disc containing nearly 2 ½ hours of rare content not seen in more than 60 years. Every episode has been restored and remastered from the original 35mm film camera negatives for a superior viewing experience. The results are astonishing, with location scenery and scenic vistas filmed at Lake Tahoe, Nevada and majestic locations in California and Arizona preserving the vanishing American West at its most spectacular.

 

Generations of viewers world-wide have welcomed the Cartwright family into their homes as BONANZA™ has taken its rightful place among the classics of popular culture storytelling. The iconic series stands alone in creating a world that has stood the test of time in the hearts of fans.

 

BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $244.99.

BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series Synopsis:

BONANZA™! One of the most beloved and iconic series of all time is presented for the first time in this special edition box set. Every episode in this collection is full-length, with original music, and has been completely remastered and restored from the original 35mm film elements for superior picture and sound. The spectacular Ponderosa Ranch and scenic vistas filmed at Lake Tahoe, Nevada and majestic locations in California and Arizona have never looked better. This multiple award-winning series was created and produced by David Dortort and stars Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon, with recurring appearances by Victor Sen Yung, Ray Teal, Bing Russell, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson. Re-live and cherish all your favorite episodes with BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series.

 

BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series Bonus Content:

Includes an exclusive Bonus Disc containing nearly 2 ½ hours of content, with rare performances, photos, personal appearances and interviews with cast members, and footage from the shows “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Sesame Street,” plus a never-before-seen blooper reel!

 

• Michael Landon Visits Sweden – Interview (1962)
• “Lorne Greene’s Bonanza” -- episode of the CBC series, Telescope, chronicling “a day in the life” of the beloved actor, including rare behind-the-scenes BONANZA set footage (1963)
• Lorne Greene Interview -- episode of the CBC series, Take 30 (1966)
• All-American Soap Box Derby Featurettes
• “The Long, Happy Race” – Narrated by Lorne Greene (1962)
• “Sideline …? Or Starting Line?” – Narrated by Dan Blocker (1964)
• The Cartwrights Visit Sesame Street (1970)
• The Last Party (“wake” gathering of the BONANZA company days after the series’ abrupt cancellation in November 1972; audio with slide show)
• Bonanza Blooper/Gag Reel
• Michael Landon: Question & Answer session with Vikki Carr and The Tonight Show audience (audio with slide show; 1973)
• Lorne Greene: Comedy Routine (1981)
• New Featurette: Mariette Hartley’s Memories
• Public Service Announcement (P.S.A.): Endangered Wildlife – with Lorne Greene (1975)
• U.S. Savings Bonds P.S.A.s with Lorne Greene and Dan Blocker (1968)
• Salute to BONANZA (Narrated by Orson Welles; 1976)
• Michael Landon: The Last Interview (slide show with audio; March 1991)
• BONANZA Episode Trailers with rare on-camera introductions
• “Mighty Is The Word” (Introduced by Lorne Greene; 1965)
• “The Prince” (Introduced by Dan Blocker; 1967)
• “Dark Enough to See the Stars” (Introduced by Michael Landon; 1967)
• 1959 NBC Fall Preview promo – announcing BONANZA’s premiere
• 1961 NBC on-air promo narrated by Lorne Greene
• 1967 NBC Fall Preview promo – BONANZA (designed by Bill Feigenbaum)
• 1972 Chevrolet Billboard Intro
• The Ed Sullivan Show -- Pernell Roberts Sings (1965)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson – Lorne Greene Interview (1972)
• Gallery of rare publicity, episodic, “behind-the-scenes” and portrait photos

 

BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series Cast:

BONANZA™ stars Lorne Greene (“Battlestar Galactica”), Michael Landon (“Little House on the Prairie), Dan Blocker (“Cimarron City”) and Pernell Roberts (“Trapper John, M.D.”), with recurring performances by Victor Sen Yung, Ray Teal, Bing Russell, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson. Notable guest appearances include Academy Award^® Winner Louis Gossett Jr.* (An Officer and a Gentleman), Academy Award^® Winner Jo Van Fleet* (East of Eden), Academy Award^® Winner Dean Jagger* (Twelve O’clock High), Academy Award^® Winner Ben Johnson* (The Last Picture Show) and so many more! **

 

Also available on DVD:

BONANZA™: The Official Second Season and for the first time, BONANZA™: The Official Twelfth Season, BONANZA™: The Official Thirteenth Season, and BONANZA™: The Official Fourteenth Season.  Each season has been beautifully restored and remastered from original 35mm film material for the best viewing experience and will be available on DVD May 23 for the suggested retail price of $50.99.

 

 

About the BONANZA™: The Official Complete Series DVD Executive Producer

Andrew J. Klyde, an attorney, historian and archivist, has consulted with CBS and Paramount Home Entertainment for the DVD releases of BONANZA™, starting with BONANZA™: The Official First Season in 2008. Klyde has orchestrated numerous merchandising and licensing deals concerning BONANZA™ intellectual properties and has written numerous articles and lectured at various venues on television and film history.

 

About Paramount Home Entertainment

Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.  PPC is a unit of Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide.  The PHE division oversees PPC’s home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television Studios, Paramount Players, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and applicable licensing and servicing of certain DreamWorks Animation titles.  PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.

 

About Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Paramount Pictures controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, and Paramount Players. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

 

ACADEMY AWARD^® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

 

*Academy Award^® Winner Louis Gossett Jr. - An Officer and a Gentleman, Best Supporting Actor, 1983

*Academy Award^® Winner Jo Van Fleet - East of Eden, Best Supporting Actress, 1956

*Academy Award^® Winner Dean Jagger - Twelve O’clock High, Best Supporting Actor, 1950

*Academy Award^® Winner Ben Johnson - The Last Picture Show, Best Supporting Actor, 1972

 

**

Academy Award® Winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind)

Academy Award® Winner Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Academy Award® Winner Jodie Foster (The Accused; The Silence of the Lambs)

Academy Award® Winner James Coburn (Affliction)

Academy Award® Winner Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou)

Academy Award® Winner Mercedes McCambridge (All the King’s Men)

Academy Award® Winner Ed Begley (Sweet Bird of Youth)

Academy Award® Winner Jack Albertson (The Subject Was Roses)

Academy Award® Winner Theresa Wright (Mrs. Miniver)

Academy Award® Winner composer Harry Sukman (Best Musical Song Score, Song Without End)

Academy Award® Winner: Churchill’s Island (Best Documentary Short Subject; narrated by Lorne Greene)

 

 

 

BONANZA™: The Complete Series

Street Date:                May 23, 2023 (DVD)

 

U.S. Rating:                  Not Rated

  

 

 

[wx4rmk]

This is exciting! As a member (and probably the only one here) who doesn't have any of the dvd's at home, this is an offer that appeals to me. Do we just contact Marie for more info? 

[Cheaux]

3 hours ago, wx4rmk said:

This is exciting! As a member (and probably the only one here) who doesn't have any of the dvd's at home, this is an offer that appeals to me. Do we just contact Marie for more info? 

No that was the press release contact info.   As of yesterday, Andy was told, the purchase info is on Amazon.  I’ve removed reference to Marie to avoid confusion. 

[wx4rmk]

23 minutes ago, Cheaux said:

No that was the press release contact info.   As of yesterday, Andy was told, the purchase info is on Amazon.  I’ve removed reference to Marie to avoid confusion. 

10-4... Thanks for the clarification. 

[BluewindFarm]

@wx4rmk  Sorry, about the confusion.  I was in a hurry to get this posted before heading to work and didn't realize I needed to remove that piece of the announcement.

[Cheaux]

25 minutes ago, BluewindFarm said:

@wx4rmk  Sorry, about the confusion.  I was in a hurry to get this posted before heading to work and didn't realize I needed to remove that piece of the announcement.

 No worries.  I couldn’t post at all due to crappy wifi internet at hotel on Boulder City even using my phone as a hotspot.  Thanks Deanne for getting this long-awaited news out to our members. 
 

 

[patina]

This is fantastic news!

[ElayneA]

 visa card is out and ready.

[southplains]

How exciting!!!

[AC1830]

This is so exciting. Finally the complete set. I'm also glad to see seasons 12, 13, and 14 coming too for those who have the other seasons.  I have S1-10 but oh, this full set is soooo tempting. 

[Coffee]

Shame about the bonus disc being available only as part of the Complete Series box. Having all previous seasons on DVD, I can’t justify repurchasing this just for seasons 12, 13, 14 and the bonus disc (as much as I’d love to see some of that content). Guess I’ll just buy the last three seasons and call it a day. Shame.

[JC*]

At one time I thought I would like to have all the seasons but I rarely watch the ones I have (1-5).  I'll probably go ahead and buy Season 6 just so I can have all the Adam years, but I don't think this set is for me.  It's a great collection for fans though.

[McHopper]

This looks great. I am fairly new to Bonanza. One morning I was sitting in bed and was too lazy to change the channel. On came Bonanza and I loved it. The first draw was Pernell Roberts. I am a fan now. Lori

[BluewindFarm]

On 3/18/2023 at 9:33 PM, McHopper said:

This looks great. I am fairly new to Bonanza. One morning I was sitting in bed and was too lazy to change the channel. On came Bonanza and I loved it. The first draw was Pernell Roberts. I am a fan now. Lori

 

You're not the only one who was drawn into the series by PR!

[JC*]

8 minutes ago, BluewindFarm said:

 

You're not the only one who was drawn into the series by PR!

 

I came back for him...

[sklamb]

Thank goodness! It makes some sense that people ordering the full set should get some kind of bonus, but it seems a little unfair to those of us who have been buying seasons as soon as they came out. Still, having the entire show is going to be great! (I'd really given up hope....)

[SJRCartwright]

The greatest and bestest of news!  I have the first eleven seasons already, and I have just preordered the last three seasons.  But would love to order the complete set.  My birthday is coming up and I always buy myself a special birthday gift.  And I know just what that gift is going to be!!!

[sklamb]

Given Amazon currently has a nice discount on the complete set but seems to be charging $56 each for the three previously unreleased sets (even for season 14, which is only half a season!), I have ordered the complete set despite having an almost complete set already. (I have all the previously issued American series, plus seasons 12 and 14 of the German series, plus several other random seasons in the German series that later came out in the "official" version.) The complete set seems to be very nicely packaged, and that bonus disc is certainly an asset. It should be possible to sell the older releases secondhand, after all.

 

I bought the 50th anniversary American DVD set of Season 1 on Jun 24, 2009, and I remember complaining not many years later that at the rate seasons were being released I'd be in my sixties by the time Season 14 came out--if it ever did! It's good to know that Bonanza has hung in there as well as I have, still finding new fans as well as those old enough to remember its original run!

[Cheaux]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:40 PM, Coffee said:

Shame about the bonus disc being available only as part of the Complete Series box. Having all previous seasons on DVD, I can’t justify repurchasing this just for seasons 12, 13, 14 and the bonus disc (as much as I’d love to see some of that content). Guess I’ll just buy the last three seasons and call it a day. Shame.

 

The quality is so far superior to earlier official releases because technology has advanced in the last 14 years.  That's also the reason season 2 has been totally remastered and re-released because the source material available in 2009 was not optimum and Andy prevailed with CBS in them spending the extra $$$ to do that.  

 

I have seasons 1-11, but with the price of seasons 12, 13, 14 individually being nearly the price of the discounted full series + bonus features . . . I'm opting to purchase the entire set.

 

 

[AC1830]

I am going to get the new version of season 2. Season 1 came out pretty well but season 2 is the only one that's not got good coloring on some of the episodes. 

[Coffee]

On 4/1/2023 at 3:20 PM, Cheaux said:

The quality is so far superior to earlier official releases because technology has advanced in the last 14 years.  That's also the reason season 2 has been totally remastered and re-released because the source material available in 2009 was not optimum and Andy prevailed with CBS in them spending the extra $$$ to do that.  

I have to disagree with your statement “technology has advanced in the last 14 years”. You’re talking about DVD discs don’t forget, not the content. DVD discs are the same as when introduced in the mid-nineties. When you talk visual technology it’s the Blu-ray and the 4K Blu-ray that has advanced the viewing experience. Unfortunately the Complete Set isn’t being released in those superior formats (if it were, I’d be first in line to buy a box).

 I’ve been buying these releases since the beginning but have to admit that after the initial viewing of each episode, I rarely go back and rewatch them (the Wayne Newton Christmas episode and ‘Showdown at Tahoe’ . . a personal favourite . . being the exceptions). For that reason I never felt compelled to repurchase Season Two despite the remastered material. 

While the price difference between buying the final two and a half seasons and the complete box may not be overly dramatic, the savings in buying the individual seasons is significant enough for use in buying other non-Bonanza (gasp!) titles; apparently the folks at Criterion have some cool titles coming later this year . .  . and they offer the superior Blu-ray format. 
For those who’ve never bought any of the individual season discs and are contemplating buying the complete box, I’m envious. And to those who positively have to have everything . . much of it twice . . I just have to say: isn’t it nice to have First World problems 😉

 

[Cheaux]

4 hours ago, Coffee said:

I have to disagree with your statement “technology has advanced in the last 14 years”. You’re talking about DVD discs don’t forget, not the content. DVD discs are the same as when introduced in the mid-nineties. 

 

the advancement in technology does not refer to playback devices but rather to the transfer of image process from the original source material (film) to disc and the advancement in cleanup of those images to produce crisp clear color. 
 

I don’t possess the knowledge to explain those processes nor, frankly, to understand them, but I have also learned that the skill of the technicians involved in meticulously cleaning up each frame of film (at 24 frames per second) was crucial. I’m told they are fans and we’re invested in going beyond the minimum required in the scope of their duties, resulting in an amazing product.  
 

As someone who watches all 14 seasons (although admittedly not all episodes within each season—every season has its duds, after all  ), I am looking forward to the release and hoping someone will clean up the horrible Laramie discs!
 

As for Blue Ray, I have a blue Ray player but rarely buy blue Ray discs because of the price differential. One saves pennies where one can, of course, and individuals vary on where they will spend their hard earned dollars.

 

First World problems, indeed!