Bonanza

One of my all-time favorite shows is the western Bonanza, which ran for fourteen seaons and over 400 episodes (as far as westerns go only Gunsmoke was on longer... twenty seasons). It was set by Lake Tahoe in Nevada and near the lake was a land called the Ponderosa, so named because of the Ponderosa Pines that grew on the land. The Ponderosa was a sprawing 600,000 acres of land that was owned by the Ben Cartwright and his three sons. The three Cartwright sons were all half-brothers because of their father having married three times (and in each case the wife died). The eldest, Adam, was the most level-headed of the three but eventually went off to be a sailor (actually, the actor playing him, Pernell Roberts, wanted to leave the show so he was written off). The middle son Eric was better known as Hoss and was the huge yet gentle giant except when someone pushed their luck too far. The youngest, Joseph, or Little Joe, was the hot-headed member of the family as well as the most handsome, charming, and laziest. And finally, last but not least, their father Ben who built up the Ponderosa and who was always the wise father who helped his sons when they were in a mess of some kind. Bonanza wasn't the typical western in the sense of gunfights and the use of guns but when needed all four Cartwrights could shoot. Joe had the fastest gun draw but ironically he was also usually the one who was shot in most episodes too.

During it's first two seasons, Bonanza's ratings weren't the greatest but NBC kept it on the air and moved it to Sunday nights for the third season. That year they went top five in the ratings and for three seasons it was the highest rated show in the US. After ten seasons at the Sunday night slot, NBC moved Bonanza and from there the show started falling in the ratings. The shocking death of Dan Blocker (Hoss) before the beginning of the show's fourteenth season was basically the writing on the wall and the show was canceled halfway through the season.

Here's a great website all about Bonanza.

And here are some videos that I found on youtube:

Introduction of Bonanza used mainly in early part of season one

Another introduction of Bonanza used in seasons one and two

The most famous introduction of Bonanza.. used from season three through season six

After Pernell Roberts left, they reshot the introduction with the three remaining Cartwrights.. and this was used until season twelve