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The Worst Episodes of Bonanza

Every episode of Bonanza ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Bonanza!

The Worst Episodes of Bonanza

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

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  1. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Horse of a Different Hue

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    S8:E2

    So the Cartwrights will not be killed, one of Ben's oldest friends must make sure Joe does not win a horse race.

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  2. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #2 - A Time to Step Down

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    S8:E3

    After the Cartwrights put wrangler Dan Tolliver out to pasture, the embittered old man plans to take part in robbing the Ponderosa.

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  3. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #3 - The Pursued (1)

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    S8:E4

    A Mormon with two wives is badgered by the town's people and then things get much worse.

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  4. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #4 - The Pursued (2)

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    S8:E5

    As the persecuted party awaits Ben and Hoss' return, Herber is shot and killed. Joe retaliates and shoots Herber's assassin.

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  5. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #5 - To Bloom for Thee

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    S8:E6

    Hoss is engaged to Carol Attley, a troubled woman with a past darker than he imagines.

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  6. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Credit for a Kill

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    S8:E7

    Though his friend is badly in need of the reward money, Joe insists it belongs to him, to protect his friend from the dead outlaws' brothers.

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  8. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Four Sisters from Boston

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    S8:E8

    The Cartwrights come to the rescue of four inexperienced homesteaders, when devious cattle ranchers try to run them off their property.

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  9. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Old Charlie

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    S8:E9

    A young cowpoke is killed during a fight with Hoss, but the old blowhard who runs the Virginia City stables, takes the credit, placing him in danger from the dead man's brothers.

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  10. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Ballad of the Ponderosa

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    S8:E10

    A young troubadour, who blames Ben for the death of his father, returns to Virginia City. In one scene, Ben says the young man is welcome to use Adam's guitar.

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  11. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - The Oath

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    S8:E11

    While in another town, on business, Ben runs into a saloon employee who is a big figure, and after he kills an old miner, who has burned down his house, Ben takes him into the sheriff. He is sentenced and hung. Before his departure, Charlie Monahan, has made his half-breed son, Charlie Two, swear an oath to kill Ben. Little Joe is made aware of this and must track him down to prevent him from carrying out his oath against Ben. Charlie Two is unaware that Joe is Ben's son, as they meet on the trail.

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  12. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - A Real Nice, Friendly Little Town

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    S8:E12

    When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward, in a very tense-filled episode.

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  13. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #12 - The Bridegroom

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    S8:E13

    Joe plays matchmaker in this story of a rancher attempting to marry off his supposedly unremarkable daughter.

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  14. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Tommy

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    S8:E14

    The Cartwrights protect a woman and her deaf-mute little son from the boy's outlaw stepfather.

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  15. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - A Christmas Story

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    S8:E15

    Warbling Andy Walker returns to Virginia City a big success, along with his shifty Uncle Thaddeus.

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  16. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Ponderosa Explosion

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    S8:E16

    Two Virginia City old-timers fool Hoss and Joe into raising rabbits, and the Ponderosa is overrun with paws and whiskers.

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  17. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Justice

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    S8:E17

    When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward.

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  18. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - A Bride for Buford

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    S8:E18

    Dolly Bantree has a crooked manager ""Blackie"", who blackmails Dolly to fleece newly rich miner Buford out of his newfound wealth. Hoss suspects something and gets all duded up to pose as a rich mark to test Dolly.

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  19. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Black Friday

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    S8:E19

    In the town of Chiso, Joe encounters a former Ponderosa cowhand who is now a gunfighter and expecting to be killed on Friday the 13th. John Saxon makes the first of his three appearances in the series, in this episode as Steven Friday.

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  20. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - The Unseen Wound

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    S8:E20

    Ben discovers that his friend, Sheriff Paul Rowan, is suffering from stress brought on by his wartime experiences.

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  21. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Amigo

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    S8:E22

    A wounded comanchero sides with the Cartwrights when the rest of the gang, led by Captain Fenner, shows up to burn and rob the Ponderosa.

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  22. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - A Woman in the House

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    S8:E23

    Mary Wharton, an old friend of the family, comes to live on the Ponderosa with her shiftless husband. When Ben learns Mary is the victim of domestic abuse, he sends Russ packing.

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  23. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Judgment at Red Creek

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    S8:E24

    Hoss and Joe have their doubts as to who really robbed a way station, suspecting the two men they captured are innocent.

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  24. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Joe Cartwright, Detective

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    S8:E25

    Joe becomes fascinated by detective literature and drags Hoss into the picture when he suspects the bank is going to be robbed.

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  25. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Dark Enough to See the Stars

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    S8:E26

    Young Billy Wilcox wanders onto the Ponderosa, sick, hungry, and alone. Ben finds him, and after he regains his strength, offers Billy a job. Jennifer Yardley, who with her father is visiting the Cartwrights, is interested in Billy. Billy is more concerned about a lawman that has come to town because he has a past that could be problematic: he killed a man in self-defense and ran.

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  26. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #25 - The Deed and the Dilemma

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    S8:E27

    Ben assists Georgio Rossi in his battle for water on adjoining property.

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Horse of a Different Hue" is the worst rated episode of "Bonanza". It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 9/18/1966. This episode scored NaN points lower than the second lowest rated, "A Time to Step Down".