That the seventh season of Bonanza would be slightly different from the previous six was obvious the moment the main credits of the season's first episode were emblazoned on the screen. There was Lorne Greene as Ponderosa patriarch Ben Cartwright, and Dan Blocker and Michael Landon as Ben's sons Hoss and Little Joe...and no Adam Cartwright. Pernell Roberts had left the series to take his career in a new direction, and would never return. It was decided for the moment not to attempt a replacement for Adam by introducing a ...
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That the seventh season of Bonanza would be slightly different from the previous six was obvious the moment the main credits of the season's first episode were emblazoned on the screen. There was Lorne Greene as Ponderosa patriarch Ben Cartwright, and Dan Blocker and Michael Landon as Ben's sons Hoss and Little Joe...and no Adam Cartwright. Pernell Roberts had left the series to take his career in a new direction, and would never return. It was decided for the moment not to attempt a replacement for Adam by introducing a fourth regular character: previous efforts to add Barry Coe and Grant Williams to the cast as distant members of the Cartwright clan had met with audience indifference -- and reported on-set friction. Significant season seven episodes include the series' first two-parter, "Ride the Wind," a fanciful retelling of the Pony Express legend, with Joe Cartwright as the central character. "Peace Officer" guest stars Eric Fleming, fresh from a lengthy run on the rival Western series Rawhide, as a ruthless lawman hired to replace Virginia City's Sheriff Coffee (Ray Teal) by the town's mayor (played by future Mary Tyler Moore Show regular Ted Knight). The Cartwrights once again cross the path of a real-life historical character in "The Emperor Norton," starring Sam Jafee as middle-aged eccentric Joshua A. Norton, who declares himself "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico." And singer Wayne Newton makes his dramatic debut in a later episode, "The Unwritten Commandment." The loss of Pernell Roberts did nothing to diminish the popularity of Bonanza. Having ranked as America's most-watched program during its sixth season on the air, the series repeated this remarkable feat for season seven. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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