Bonanza

Season 3

TV-PG

The Cartwrights' one-thousand-square-mile Ponderosa Ranch is located near Virginia City, Nevada, site of the Comstock Silver Lode, during and after the Civil War. Each of the three sons was born to a different wife of Ben's; none of the mothers are still alive. Adventures are typical Western ones, with lots of personal relationships/problems thrown in as well.

Where to Watch Season 3

34 Episodes

The Smiler
E1
The SmilerA drunk is killed in a saloon brawl with Hoss, and though the man's brother insists there are no hard feelings, he is actually a silver-tongued devil bent on revenge.
Springtime
E2
SpringtimeA friend of Ben's (Mr. Milbank) arrives at the Ponderosa at a bad time...when the Cartwright boys are fighting in the mud. Mr. Milbank, who is injured by a flying log during the fight, gives an assignment to each of the three boys. Can they fulfill the assignments, or has Springtime gotten to them all?
The Honor of Cochise
E3
The Honor of CochiseThe Cartwrights must try to get help for Adam, seriously wounded by an Apache bullet, and find out why Cochise and his warriors have threatened to kill them all if they don't hand over an army captain taking refuge in their trail camp.
The Lonely House
E4
The Lonely HouseLittle Joe pays a visit to the widow Lee Bolden, and brings her a bank draft for her husband's investments with Ben. Actually, the investments were losing propositions. Ben just wanted to help out his friend. During his visit, a wounded man stumbles into the house, and Joe recognizes him as Trock, who had just robbed the local bank. Lee Bolden was a nurse to her husband physician, and removes the bullet from Trock. Joe soon learns that Lee is in love with Trock, and that is the only thing standing between him and an early grave.
The Burma Rarity
E5
The Burma RarityEveryone seems to think he should marry widow Hawkins - except Ben! When he is asked to assist some land buyers to Virginia City, he must put up with all the talk. Then he finds out that the buyers want to sell a rare gem known as the Burma Rarity to finance the land deal. Now Ben must work quickly to find the buyers who left town with widow Hawkins $25K she paid for the gem.
Broken Ballad
E6
Broken BalladEd Payson, a reformed gunfighter, has returned to Virginia City to tend some property he owns. When he's welcomed with resistance by some of the townspeople, Adam decides to help him, even though everyone thinks he may have killed Dave, a shopkeeper's son.
The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch
E7
The Many Faces of Gideon FlinchJennifer Flinch and her uncle Gideon come to Virginia City on the stage to see a client named Bullet Head Burke. They need to explain why his $5K investment has all been spent. Through a case of mistaken identity, now Bullet Head must figure out who is the real Gideon Flinch.
The Friendship
E8
The FriendshipJoe befriends and takes responsibility for an ex-convict named Danny. Danny loves horses and is not used to people's ways on the outside of jail. Will his rough jailhouse upbringing mar any hopes of friendship?
The Countess
E9
The CountessA woman Ben once loved, Lady Chadwick, returns and attempts to trick him into marrying her by ruining his business. Ben says almost losing the Ponderosa will make him and his sons appreciate it more.
The Horse Breaker
E10
The Horse BreakerA professional wrangler working for the Cartwrights is paralyzed when thrown by a particularly mean bronco. The woman nursing him was once engaged to the late son of a neighboring rancher out to get Ben.
Day of the Dragon
E11
Day of the DragonHis search for the two men who kidnapped his bride-to-be, Su Ling, will soon take angry Chinese warlord, General Tsung, from San Francisco to the Ponderosa where Little Joe has been challenged to explain how he won the girl in a poker game.
The Frenchman
E12
The FrenchmanHoss insults a feisty Frenchman who demands satisfaction with swords, unaware that the little rogue believes himself to be the reincarnation of medieval, outlaw poet Francois Villon and is destined to suffer his namesake's fate of being sentenced to death on the gallows for murder.
The Tin Badge
E13
The Tin BadgeTired of being considered the baby of the family by his older brothers, Little Joe accepts a temporary job of a small town sheriff. But he soon suspects he's been set up and wants answers. Meanwhile, others are plotting a crime that could end in murder.
Gabrielle
E14
GabrielleIn this Christmas story, inspired by Johanna Spyri's "Heidi", Hoss and Joe come across a blind girl whose family has been killed in a wagon wreck, learning later that her grandfather is a bitter hermit who spent 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
Land Grab
E15
Land GrabThe Cartwrights play host to an eccentric old soldier friend of Ben's while trying to track down a mysterious swindler named Polk who is illegally deeding parcels of the Ponderosa to settlers looking for homesteads.
The Tall Stranger
E16
The Tall StrangerHoss plans to marry Margie, a pretty blonde, but Margie becomes fascinated with a tall, traveling stranger named Mark Connors. Margie marries Mark but soon finds it was far from a match made in heaven.
The Lady from Baltimore
E17
The Lady from BaltimoreBitterly disappointed in her husband's financial failures, genteel matriarch Deborah Banning travels to visit her friends on the Ponderosa, hoping to turn her family's fortunes around by marrying her only daughter off to a Cartwright son.
The Ride
E18
The RideBecause he didn't see the gunman's face, witness Adam Cartwright can't convince his family and the sheriff of his certainty that good friend, Bill Enders, was one of the hooded men responsible for robbing a way station and killing the attendant.
The Storm
E19
The StormWhile visiting the Ponderosa, Ben's old friend, sea Captain Matthew White, is forced to reveal a terrible secret after Little Joe Cartwright falls in love with and plans to wed the Captain's daughter, Laura, once a freckle-faced playmate from Joe's childhood in New Orleans, now grown into a beautiful woman.
The Auld Sod
E20
The Auld SodThe Cartwrights pretend the Ponderosa belongs to the town lush, when his aging mother from Ireland arrives.
Gift of Water
E21
Gift of WaterThe Cartwrights dig a well, build a rig and a windmill for a drought-stricken farm family.
The Jackknife
E22
The JackknifeSearching for missing Ponderosa cattle, Adam Cartwright stops to aid injured rancher, Matt Grant, takes him home and stays to help his wife and son while he recovers. But Adam doesn't know that Matt is part of a gang of rustlers responsible for the missing cattle, and now that Adam can identify him, they want him dead before their next job.
The Guilty
E23
The GuiltyWhen Ben fails to prevent the death of a friend's son, Adam and Joe, concerned by their father's depression, attempt to prove there was nothing he could have done.
The Wooing of Abigail Jones
E24
The Wooing of Abigail JonesIn order to keep peace on the ranch, Hoss and Joe try to help ranch hand, Hank Meyers woo the the plain-looking schoolteacher, Abigail Jones. When their first plan backfires, they convince Adam (who doesn't want to get involved) to help and this makes things worse because Abigail believes it is Adam who is wooing her and Hank Meyers believes Adam wants to steal her away.
The Lawmaker
E25
The LawmakerBen supports the appointment of Asa Moran as Virginia City's temporary sheriff, but Moran goes overboard with his authority, jailing Adam in the process and pistol-whipping a Ponderosa hand.
Look to the Stars
E26
Look to the StarsA young genius, Albert Michaelson, vies for a scholarship. Adam assists Albert in the boy's experiments. Albert only needs the school teacher's approval to be granted a scholarship-which will be very difficult to get considering Albert was expelled from school.
The Gamble
E27
The GambleWhen the Cartwrights are framed for bank robbery and murder by the corrupt Sheriff Gains (Charles McGraw)and his deputies, Stan (Ben Johnson) and Clem (Robert Foulk), Little Joe Cartwright (Michael Landon) breaks jail and organizes a fighting force to save his father and brothers from being hanged.
The Crucible
E28
The CrucibleAfter being robbed in the desert, Adam stumbles onto a seemingly chivalrous prospector named Peter Kane, who offers him a mule and supplies for three days work. However, Kane is a demented madman who is interested in psychological torture, hoping to drive a seemingly rational man like Adam to murder. As Ben, Hoss and Little Joe try to retrace the missing Adam's footsteps, Adam must rely on his own wits to defeat Kane.
Inger, My Love
E29
Inger, My LoveBen indulges in a nostalgic reverie about Hoss's deceased mother. Having worked his way west to Galesburg, IL., Ben is befriended by a girl named Inger, the fiancee of the tavern owner who gave him a job.
Blessed Are They
E30
Blessed Are TheyBen Cartwright and Virginia City's enigmatic new minister work together to decide which set of feuding grandparents, the Mahans or the Clarkes, will have custody of their recently orphaned twin grandchildren.
The Dowry
E31
The DowryThe Cartwrights get mixed up in the romance of a phony heiress and an equally phony land baron.
The Long Night
E32
The Long NightBen, Joe and Adam travel to Bowleg to pay the yearly taxes on the Ponderosa. After the transaction is completed, Ben and Joe ride over the summit to join the cattle drive. Adam is on his way to Genoa and is carrying a $10,000 bank draft his father has given him. A prison guard rides into town and announces two hombres have broke out and escaped who are holdup men and killers. Elmer Trace and his partner Poindexter were assisted by a guard in escaping prison and they betray him on the trail. Trace takes his clothes, horse and firearms, leaving Poindexter with only a rifle and rides off. Meanwhile, the Sheriff of Bowleg organizes a posse immediately.
The Mountain Girl
E33
The Mountain GirlJoe promises a dying sheepman he will make sure the old man's granddaughter gets her rightful inheritance from a wealthy San Francisco family. This episode was filmed immediately after "Inger, My Love", which explains why Blocker's arm is still in a sling.
The Miracle Maker
E34
The Miracle MakerSusan's father is killed in a terrible accident she feels responsible for. Her inability to walk is something that Hoss hopes he can help with if the new faith healer in town proves he is more than just a charlatan.