Bonanza

Rating:
Summary: Struggles for justice amidst violence and lawlessness
Review: Bonanza is the famous television western series, set in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, during the years of the Civil War, soon after the discovery of the fabulous Comstock Silver Lode. Bonanza is the saga of the Cartwrights, a prosperous family of ranchers. The stories relate their struggles for justice amidst violence and lawlessness as they attempt to maintain and operate their timberland ranch, known as the Ponderosa Ranch. Many of these classics were produced in the early years of filmmaking. This means that primitive audio recording technique will be more noticeable in the DVD format, so will glitches in picture. These movies ("Desert Justice" & "Badge Without Honor" have been rescued from the film vaults in most cases and have not been restored. "Desert Justice" is the story of Dave Walker, one of Ben's ranch hands. Dave is accused of murdering the wife of Marshall Dowd. After the Cartwrights discover that Dave was beaten while in jail, they decide to accompany him to Los Angeles where his trial is to be held. "Badge Without Honor" is about a man named Gerald Eskith who comes to town claiming to be a Deputy Marshall. He wants to take the Cartwrights friend Jason Blaime to San Francisco to testify against the Murdock Gang. Adam, however, has his suspicions and decides to go along with them..... On the DVD (one episode on each side) you'll also find Interactive Menus, Interactive Film Trivia about Bonanza and information about the actors. A pity is the missing well-known "Bonanza"-tune. Now all the episodes start with a nasty kind of music. See Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, a three time widower; Pernell Roberts as his eldest son Adam; big Dan Blocker as son Hoss; Michael Landon as the youngest son, Little Joe. It's nice to see all the famous characters back on the screen.

Rating:
Summary: Good eps, so-so quality
Review: These are classic "Bonanza" episodes. I would prefer that the videos include the original theme music, but I understand that copyright issues prevent that. The technical quality of the video is not the best, but the DVD is quite watchable. I'm happy to see "Bonanza" being released in DVD format, and look forward to more eps on DVD!