Ponderosa Information

Ponderosa is a television series developed by Bonanza creator David Dortort for PAX-TV (now known as ION) 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.

Cast

• Matthew Carmody as Adam Cartwright
• Daniel Hugh Kelly as Ben Cartwright
• Drew Powell as Hoss Cartwright
• Jared Daperis as Little Joe Cartwright
• Brad Dourif as Frenchy
• Josephine Byrnes as Margaret Green
• Fernando Carrillo as Carlos Rivera de Vega
• Sara Gleeson as Tess Greene
• Nicky Wendt as Shelby Sterritt
• Gareth Yuen as Hop Sing
• Jaqueline Aries as Isabella Maria Rivera de Vega (episodes 10-16)
• Marcella Toro as Isabella Maria Rivera de Vega (episodes 6"7)
• Peter Stefanou as Jorge

Continuity

A number of minor (or perceived) inconsistencies exist between Ponderosa and Bonanza, and a few glaring retcons 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" as a result of falling off a horse in front of the Ponderosa ranch house. In the new series, she is killed in Virginia City by a miner who is trying to murder Ben Cartwright. 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.

Episode list

#	Title	Original air date

DVD 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.