Saturday Night Nearly Killed the Show
After Bonanza started airing on Saturday nights, everyone believed it was going to fail. As the show was keyed in for cancellation, it was given just one last chance when it was moved to air on Sunday nights at 9:00pm. Then by the mid 60’s, the show’s ratings shot up and it was #1 nationwide!
Saturday Night Nearly Killed The Show
First Time a Show Acknowledged a Character’s Death
Blocker’s unexpected death forced the show to make a tough decision, they announced that the character of Hoss would be killed in an accident during one of the episodes. As such, this was the first time in television history that a show dealt with and also mentioned a character death. “Just as we personally suffered a loss,” said Bonanza producer Richard Collins, “so the audience suffered one, too.”
First Time A Show Acknowledged A Character’s Death
