BONANZA: PILOT

Here's a review on the pilot episode to one of the best Westerner shows of all time...



THE INTRO

The intro is alright. I like that the map burns after the title but all it basically does is just show the stars that's it. However, the theme song is really cool and brings you into the show and it's Western theme. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I want to hear it more and more. However, why does it sound familiar...


OH YEAH, THAT STUPID MOVIE "NORTH" RUINED THAT GOOD TUNE!

Kick ass tune but it's a typical and bland intro.

A ROSE FOR LOTTA


 The show centers around a family of cowboys called the Cartwrights. The family is headed by the father Ben (Lorne Greene) and his three sons Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss (Dan Blocker) and Little Joe (Michael Landon) and the four protect their territory and farm land from outsiders. A lawmen hires an actress (Yvonne De Carlo) to attract one of the men to their town and hold him hostage until the Cartwrights agree to give most of their trees from their land.

These four Cowboys are really cool. Lorne Greene as the father Ben is a really tough and hard boiled cowboy and watching him brings back the feel of the good old days of Western films. Parnell Roberts as Adam is so tough, so badass that he always keeps a straight face and barley even smiles or cracks jokes. Dan Blocker as Hoss is really fun and enjoyable to watch and I love how they balance the seriousness and comedy to this character. Michael Landon as Little Joe is very enjoyable as the hero of this episode and while he's pretty much the black sheep of the family, you root for him hoping that he can prove himself that he's not. Oh by the way, they have a Chinese servant named Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung) and even though he's suppose to be the comic relief, I find him to be annoying with his accent and yelling. In fact all the Chinese characters are annoying in this episode, here's hoping that they get better. As for Yvonne De Carlo as the actress, well her story is cliched, the love triangle was just phoned in and her character sucks. As for the show, it really has a good western feel. The setting and shots look and feel like the old Western days, the score is pretty cool and the action is really neat.

Overall it's a good start to the show and here's hoping that I review more.

RATING 4/5