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The Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 6

Every episode of Bonanza Season 6 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 6!

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
Genres:WesternAction & AdventureDramaFamily
Network:NBC

Season 6 Ratings Summary

"Invention of a Gunfighter" is the best rated episode of "Bonanza" season 6. It scored 7.4/10 based on 136 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 9/20/1964. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "The Hostage".

  • Invention of a Gunfighter
    7.4/10136 votes

    #1 - Invention of a Gunfighter

    Season 6 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1964

    Joe teaches Johnny Chapman how to use a gun for defense. What Joe doesn't see is the deadly consequences that it has in the long run when Johnny becomes a gunfighter.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Hostage
    7.6/10111 votes

    #2 - The Hostage

    Season 6 Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1964

    Outlaws capture Ben and hide him in an abandoned mine, holding him for a ransom. The boys must come up with a plan to save him before it's too late.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Wild One
    6.8/10124 votes

    #3 - The Wild One

    Season 6 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1964

    Lafe Jessup doesn't really want to be married, and now he's about to be a father! The horse wrangler finds a fight with Hoss at his reluctance to perform his duties.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Thanks for Everything, Friend
    7.5/10133 votes

    #4 - Thanks for Everything, Friend

    Season 6 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/1964

    After inadvertantly falling into the river, Adam is rescued by Tom Wilson. Wilson has feelings for Sue Miller, which bring him into trouble after her father is killed.

    Director: Christian Nyby

    Writer: N/A

  • Logan's Treasure
    7.3/10111 votes

    #5 - Logan's Treasure

    Season 6 Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/1964

    Sam Logan is released from jail after serving his twenty year sentence for stealing $100,000 worth of gold dust. He is followed by a bounty hunter who believes Sam will lead him to where the gold is buried.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Scapegoat
    7.1/10108 votes

    #6 - The Scapegoat

    Season 6 Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/1964

    Hoss hires Waldo as a ranch hand after keeping Waldo from killing himself. Hoss soon learns that Waldo is lousy at his job and only causes problems for everyone else due to his clumsiness. Although Hoss is willing to defend him, he soon finds out a secret about Waldo.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • A Dime's Worth of Glory
    7.0/10109 votes

    #7 - A Dime's Worth of Glory

    Season 6 Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/1964

    An author is inspired to write about the heroic Cartwrights after watching first-hand as they fight off an attempted robbery of a stage. As Ben and Adam see no use for the glory of such a novel, they turn the writer down forcing him to turn to the sherriff who quickly accepts.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Square Deal Sam
    6.1/10110 votes

    #8 - Square Deal Sam

    Season 6 Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/1964

    A conman heads into town and takes advantage of the Cartwrights with a fake land deal. The conman ends up staying in Virginia city to run an orphanage.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Between Heaven and Earth
    7.2/10132 votes

    #9 - Between Heaven and Earth

    Season 6 Episode 9 - Aired 11/15/1964

    When Joe and his friend Mitch go after a puma, Joe climbs a big peak and throws his gun up higher, intending to crawl up after it. But as he looks down, things begin to spin. He realises he can't go any higher, and he retreats down the hill. Needing to prove himself, Joe spars against Mitch.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Old Sheba
    7.6/10116 votes

    #10 - Old Sheba

    Season 6 Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/1964

    As payment for a performance in a circus, Joe and Hoss are given an elephant. They want to keep it but encounter opposition from Adam and Ben.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • A Man to Admire
    7.9/10114 votes

    #11 - A Man to Admire

    Season 6 Episode 11 - Aired 12/6/1964

    Hoss relies on clever attorney Whitney Parker, who has a drinking problem, to clear him of a murder charge.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Underdog
    7.5/10127 votes

    #12 - The Underdog

    Season 6 Episode 12 - Aired 12/13/1964

    Little Joe convinces Ben to hire Harry Starr, a half-Indian who is accused by other ranchers of being a chronic horse thief. Joe sets out to prove the others wrong, but is the youngest Cartwright's trust misplaced?

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • A Knight to Remember
    7.0/10118 votes

    #13 - A Knight to Remember

    Season 6 Episode 13 - Aired 12/20/1964

    Two robberies take place on stagecoaches that Adam is traveling on, and both times a knight in shining armor scares the robbers away. Adam is accused of robbery, and his story about the knight is none too helpful.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Saga of Squaw Charlie
    7.4/10103 votes

    #14 - The Saga of Squaw Charlie

    Season 6 Episode 14 - Aired 12/27/1964

    A peaceful Indian is framed for the kidnapping of a young girl, a stunt which ends of tragedy.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Flapjack Contest
    7.9/10120 votes

    #15 - The Flapjack Contest

    Season 6 Episode 15 - Aired 1/3/1965

    Hoss unknowingly enters a flapjack contest and Joe puts Hoss on a diet which Hoss doesn't care for. Joe's betting on the flapjack contest could get him into some trouble and will he ever succeed in getting the window pane his Pa wants?

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Far, Far Better Thing
    7.1/10111 votes

    #16 - The Far, Far Better Thing

    Season 6 Episode 16 - Aired 1/10/1965

    On their way to prevent a young woman from encountering the renegade Indians, Joe and Tuck are captured, and in order to save them all, Joe must fight Sharp Tongue, who is the leader of the band who went to school with Joe as a youth.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Woman of Fire
    7.2/10114 votes

    #17 - Woman of Fire

    Season 6 Episode 17 - Aired 1/17/1965

    Ben's friend, Don Miguel, visits the Ponderosa with his two daughters, Margarita and Elena, and Elena's two very anxious suitors. Their mission? They're on their way to California to meet Margarita's suitor, Don Luis. Trouble is, Margarita is a "woman of fire" who manages to scare away all suitors with her hot temper. Since Margarita is the older daughter, she must be married before Elena. Elena's two suitors are quickly losing their patience, and Don Miguel fears his name will be disgraced if Margarita rejects Don Luis.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Ballerina
    7.5/10127 votes

    #18 - The Ballerina

    Season 6 Episode 18 - Aired 1/24/1965

    Kellie Conrad dances and her father plays the fiddle to earn a living. Hoss feels a sense of guilt after he unintentionally hurts the arm that Kellie's father uses to play the fiddle, in a saloon fight with some roughnecks. He gets them to stay at the Ponderosa while the girl's father recuperates. While there, Ben introduces Kellie to his friend Paul Mandel, a ballet star before an explosion cut his dancing career short. Kellie persuades Paul to help her learn ballet. She soon comes to the realization that she loves both the ballet and Paul. She struggles inwardly to make a choice between her love of ballet and giving it all up for the love of her father.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Flannel-Mouth Gun
    7.3/10107 votes

    #19 - The Flannel-Mouth Gun

    Season 6 Episode 19 - Aired 1/31/1965

    Adam becomes involved with a quick-triggered range detective hired by the Virginia City Cattleman's Association to find out who is responsible for all the rustling going on in the area.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Leo Gordon

  • The Ponderosa Birdman
    6.9/10116 votes

    #20 - The Ponderosa Birdman

    Season 6 Episode 20 - Aired 2/7/1965

    Professor Klump and Amanda pull Hoss into their flying machine scheme. The ""Hoss-mobile"" doesn't seem to be destined for a great take-off.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Search
    7.4/10104 votes

    #21 - The Search

    Season 6 Episode 21 - Aired 2/14/1965

    Adam sets out to track down the man who has been impersonating him to clear his reputation.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Deadliest Game
    6.9/10106 votes

    #22 - The Deadliest Game

    Season 6 Episode 22 - Aired 2/21/1965

    The Cartwrights play host to Guido Borelli, a world renowed aerial acrobat who once saved Ben's life in Italy. Borelli's troup is beset by internal strife, and is performing in Virginia City.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Once a Doctor
    7.6/10102 votes

    #23 - Once a Doctor

    Season 6 Episode 23 - Aired 2/28/1965

    Hoss' latest acquaintance, an Englishman named Professor Poppy, is actually Percival Alexander Mundy, M.D., who has given up the practice of medicine. However, when Hoss is shot in the back, only Mundy's skill can save his life.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Right Is the Fourth R
    7.2/10102 votes

    #24 - Right Is the Fourth R

    Season 6 Episode 24 - Aired 3/7/1965

    While working as a substitute teacher, Adam uncovers an ugly secret about the territory's past that others prefer remain hidden.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hound Dog
    6.2/10103 votes

    #25 - Hound Dog

    Season 6 Episode 25 - Aired 3/21/1965

    Cousin Muley Jones returns to the Ponderosa, along with a pack of noisy hound dogs, in this funny sequel to "The Saga Of Muley Jones".

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A