Episode 67. The Smiler – First aired on September 24, 1961 . 

Blooper: At the end when Joe asks Pa how many kittens have been born, Ben says, "Four, so far." But there are at least five.

This was guest star Denver Pyle’s (Theodore) first of eight appearances on Bonanza, he enjoyed working on the show, saying in later years, “They were all good people. Dan Blocker and I were good friends.” 

Blooper: Some people say that Pernell makes a reference to his toupee nearly being knocked off. Others say they can’t hear it. Next time you watch it, have a listen and see what you think. It is the scene just before the credits start. The three boys are rolling on the ground.

Episode 69. The Honor Of Cochise – First aired on October 8, 1961 .

 In the early drafts of this script, it is Joe who is shot, not Adam. The following is a section from the earlier script:

CLOSE BEN 

as he looks tensely. Then there is another expression on his face. He misses someone. He looks in one direction and then the other.

BEN (quietly)

Joe. 

CLOSE THE GROUP

Hoss and Adam are alerted by Ben's cry.

BEN (louder)

Little Joe! 

There is the o.s. SOUND of another shot, followed by a third. Adam leaps to his feet, runs, crouching, in the direction of the shots. Hoss makes a move to follow but Ben stops him. 

LONG SHOT    ADAM    CAMERA ANGLED FROM BEHIND DELGADO 

Adam dodges across the camp, taking shelter when he can behind boulders, as Delgado, his finger on the rifle trigger watches, a hateful smile on his lips. He raises the gun, is about to fire, then lowers it as Adam disappears behind a rock. 

CLOSE ADAM 

behind the rock. He drops to his knees, peers cautiously around the rock. He stiffens. 

WHAT HE SEES 

Little Joe, sprawled on the ground, the canteens lying next to him. He tries to crawl, as a bullet hits near him.

BACK TO ADAM 

He runs round the side of the rock. 

MED SHOT ADAM AND LITTLE JOE 

Adam races across the clearing, grabs Little Joe. 

LONG SHOT  ADAM AND JOE  FROM DELAGADO'S POV 

Adam is dragging Little Joe back to the safety of the rock. Delgado fires. The bullets plough up dirt scant inches from Adam. 

CLOSE  ADAM AND LITTLE JOE

as Adam gets Joe behind the relatively safe rock, the ground ploughing up with bullets behind him. 

MED. SHOT  BEN, HOSS AND JOHNSON 

Ben starts out in the direction taken by Adam. Hoss moves to go with him and even Johnson struggles to get to his feet. 

BEN

You two stay here. They may try something from this end. 

He runs off, crouching low 

CLOSE  ADAM AND LITTLE JOE 

Joe is unconscious. Adam is opening his jacket. Joe's shirt is covered with blood. Adam closes the jacket, picks Joe up in his arms, tries to make a run for it back to where the others are. He is greeted with bullets as soon as he gets away from the rock and he ducks back. He looks down at Little Joe. Then he hears the SOUND of firing from the campsite. He looks. 

WHAT HE SEES 

Ben, crouched behind a rock, firing up at the Apaches. 

BACK TO ADAM AND LITTLE JOE 

Under the cover of Ben's fire, he tries again. 

MED. SHOT  BEN, ADAM AND LITTLE JOE  FROM APACHE POV 

Adam is running, crouched over Little Joe so that he is protecting him with his own body. The Apaches fire and score near misses. 

CLOSE  BEN 

He raises his rifle, fires. 

CLOSE  APACHES 

An apache near Delgado is struck, falls dead. 

CLOSE  DELGADO

His eyes flash with joy. He has what he wants: a slain Apache. He resumes firing. 

CLOSE ADAM AND LITTLE JOE

Adam runs the last few steps, gets to the rock where Ben is in safety. Ben examines his son immediately. He looks up, his face deeply worried. Little Joe moans weakly. This SOUND is enveloped by the sudden o.s. SOUND of Apache shouting. Ben looks up toward the SOUND

 Guest star Faith Domerque plays Lee Bolden.

Episode 72. Broken Ballad

According to someone who was on the set, "There were occasions when Mike would keep a live tarantula under his hat to get back at 'difficult' actresses. He'd suddenly tip his hat, let the huge insect crawl down his face and just about scare the breath out of the poor dame." In the picture, Michael is showing the spider to guest star Dean Jones (Danny Kidd). Guest star Edward Faulkner (Bob Stevens) worked on many westerns over the course of his career. Bonanza was one of his favourites that he worked on and he did a few episodes on the series. He said he enjoyed working on Bonanza because the cast were a pleasure to work with and Michael Landon was a lot of fun. He liked working with Dean Jones but things didn’t go to plan in their fight scene. According to Edward Faulkner, “I remember Dean holding me under water and the director (Don McDougall) didn’t say ‘cut.’ I was almost gagging. The directors were always trying to pull ridiculous things like that.”

Blooper: Joe gets dragged along the ground by a horse but his jacket doesn’t get damaged.

Blooper: When Joe goes to the back of the wagon to get the wheelchair down, he has black boots on, when they go inside he has his tan ones on.   

Guest star Lisa Lu plays Su Ling.

Blooper: Joe is shot but there is no blood or wound on his shoulder.

I

The following is from an article with a piece about Karen Steele who plays Sylvia Ann in this episode: She was Pernell's leading lady in Columbia 's 'Ride Lonesome.' "In the picture, Pernell had eyes for me and we had a couple of love scenes. In one very interesting one Pernell stands off and just talks to me. It was by a river bank and he talked to me and eventually sat beside me. They shot the whole scene of me just listening. I didn't have a line. It was so very effective. The cameraman kept cutting to our two faces...there was beautiful music. But Pernell never touched me. A tremendously beautiful scene like that couldn't have been done by someone who doesn't know his craft and doesn't care. Most actors have to be kissing the girl. But in this love scene it seemed to me as if Pernell truly meant every word he said. When you work with Pernell you find he's not selfish...he gives of himself. I met Pernell at the stables where he was first learning to ride. He cares very much, you know, about what he does. Our picture was to be the story of a trek of five men across the desert. The men had to ride long tough hours in the saddle. Pernell couldn't ride at all when he first came to the ranch...a private ranch in Granada Hills owned by actor John Carroll. But Pernell took the time and energy to learn so that he'd look well. He had a stunt man teaching him and by the time the picture was ready to roll, Pernell had really polished his riding. I've always believed if you don't care about doing something well, walk away from it, for there are always people who do care and who will do the job well. Obviously Pernell feels this way about everything he does. I've never seen anybody work so hard to learn to ride. It was a lesson in determination evidencing a pride in his work - which fortunately paid off in large dividends when he tested for Bonanza. When I read that he had been signed for Bonanza I was so happy for him. I'd heard on the set that he was being considered and, by the end of the picture, he was hoping that he'd get it. Later, it was interesting to get back on the set and see Pernell after two years. And yet in a way it was sad - because Pernell had such high hopes for what he was to bring as his contribution to that series. I got the impression from him...he didn't complain mind you...or gripe...but he was definitely disappointed and sad and wistful as far as his contribution to the series was concerned. I've watched many of the Bonanzas and feel they've not taken advantage of Pernell's tremendous talent. And I can understand that Pernell, caring as he does about doing a fine job...is disappointed too. He's a fine talent, you know. Anyway, Pernell was pleased to see me and we flew into each other's arms and he gave me a big bear hug and it was wonderful seeing him. We got off by ourselves and I talked with him...he was chagrined and embarrassed that things had turned out the way they had. Do I think Pernell's moody? No! This isn't true. However, he does something to give the impression that he's moody. He goes off by himself on the set, I think he's seeking quiet in order to run over his lines. This isn't being oversensitive. It goes back to the key to Pernell's character. He wants to do the role as best he can. It's not fair to accuse him of being moody or morose or anti-social. Pernell's different from most actors in Hollywood . Most of them I've met are shallow and superficial and many times, even narcissistic in nature. You can't judge a book by its cover and you can't classify all dark moody male actors in the same category. You have to look deeper and underneath to see what they are doing. Pernell's an interested person, a great decent human being." 

Michael Landon’s son Mark dated the girl who played Gabrielle (Diane Montford), before she got the part. It’s said that he asked his father to get her a part on the show.

Michael Landon saw a photo of Lizette Loze in a Belgian newspaper and thought she was irresistible. It was at his suggestion that she got a part in this episode playing Lisete Belrose.

Guest star Audrey Dalton plays Melinda Banning. 

Episode 84. The Ride 

Blooper: Joe falls in the pond and then it starts to rain. He and Laura go inside the cabin, Joe’s clothes are dry with only patches of wetness. And Laura’s bedroom changes between scenes. When Ben goes in to see her, her bed is in a completely different place to other times we see it.

 In 1963 Pernell listed two episodes as his favourites. The first was, “The Wooing of Abigail Jones” because he enjoyed singing in this one, stating, “Actually all of us in the Bonanza cast like to sing and look forward to those scripts which call for us to sing.” His other favourite was “The Crucible.” According to an article, after this episode was aired a lot of people wanted to buy a recording of Pernell singing and it might have been one of the reasons why they decided to do the Bonanza record albums. The photo was taken during a rehearsal break. Dan Blocker, Vaughn Monroe (Hank Meyers) and Susie Scott are doing the twist.   

Teleplay by Michael Landon and Frank Cleaver. Story by Michael Landon. This is the first episode that Michael wrote.

While most of Hollywood dismissed him as just another pretty face, Landon was slowly paving the path for an illustrious future by experimenting with cinematography and writing. “The producers were often so busy on ‘Bonanza’ they would send us scripts with scenes without dialogue,” he explained. “So I started writing dialogue for those missing two-minute scenes. I tried to inject some humor into them, like having Dan Blocker do something silly, like throw me out the window, at the end of a scene. It was fun, and it added something special to the show.” A few years later, when “Bonanza” was on the verge of shutting down production for a week while the producers looked for new scripts, Landon seized the moment. He sat on his living room floor and, using the coffee table as a desk, over the weekend wrote a full episode of the show in longhand on yellow legal pads. “Actually, I didn’t want to lose three weeks’ salary,” Michael joked, “so I went home and wrote the script. It wasn’t brilliant, but I brought it in on Monday and we started shooting it on Wednesday.” Titled The Gamble, the episode turned out to be a ratings success, and Michael was on his way to establishing himself as a force with which to be reckoned. (Biography by Aileen Joyce)

“The prices for TV scripts vary,” said Michael Landon, his green eyes glinting. “When I recently wrote the script called “The Gamble” for our Bonanza series, I was paid the full fee - $2200 dollars. That is because the story idea was mine and I also wrote the teleplay. A lot of the TV stars who are writing television scripts have collaborators. In other words, they might get a sensational idea and hand it over to a writer. They split the fee. Me, I like to collect the full amount. It took me about three months to turn one script out. I can’t really make very much extra money at that rate.” In the case of Landon, he wrote the script not only for the money, but also because he had been “threatening” co-stars Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts and Dan Blocker that he would do it. “They kept saying: ‘Ah, you can’t write, little brother, so stop dreaming,’” he grinned. “But their attitudes changed when I strolled on to the sound stage one day and flashed that cheque under their noses.” (Australian TV Week, 1962.)

Blooper: When Joe is in the hayloft you can see a large wrinkle in the black material behind him. And when Joe goes through the glass window and lands on the ground outside, he has black boots on, in other scenes they are brown.

According to David Dortort this episode was written because Pernell Roberts had been complaining that he wanted a show just featuring him, instead of all four actors. David Dortort decided to give him one that would feature only him and one other actor. David Dortort asked Lee Marvin to guest star because he thought he would give Pernell a run for his money and he said that he felt they were both great in it.

Blooper: At the beginning when Joe is in the bath you can see his underwear/gym shorts.

Guest star Inga Swenson plays Inger Borgstrom and Johnny Stephens plays young Adam.

Guest star Luciana Paluzzi plays Michelle Dubois. 

Said to be the episode where the following accident occurred: (from an article) It was late February, Washington ’s birthday in fact, but it was far from a holiday for the NBC company. The near disastrous heavy rains which had plagued California for much of this month had caused troublesome delays in shooting and the Bonanza group was working round the clock to get back on schedule. The sequence to be filmed next was a simple chase, something they’d done many times before. Pernell’s horse was to gallop off first with Dan Blocker following close behind. But this time, the ground they were to cover was not the hard packed turf the horses were used to. Instead, after the rains, the terrain had turned soft and treacherously slippery. The director moved the actors and their mounts into place, checked the camera crews and gave the signal to begin. Pernell urged his horse forward; then Dan followed on his. Mike Landon, no longer needed for the scene, watched casually from the sidelines. Suddenly there was a gasp – part fear, part fright – from the crew. Pernell’s horse, unsure of his footing, had stumbled and then fallen. Pernell was catapulted over his head. Seconds later the tragedy was compounded. Blocker’s horse, coming too close and too fast, fell over the first. In a flash, both stars were on the ground, writhing in pain, trying vainly to stand up. Hurriedly summoned doctors brought order to the confusion. Gently, carefully, Pernell and Dan were taken from the location. Hours later, as Mike, Lorne and the rest of the crew paced, word came on their condition. For Pernell: a sprained neck, multiple bruises but, and you could almost hear the sigh of relief from their fellow workers, no serious head injury. Pernell in fact, would be back on set in less than a week. For Dan, the word was less optimistic. The 300 pound star, falling heavily, had fractured his collarbone and sustained a shoulder separation.