Editing Bonanza (section)

== Other media information ==
=== Television movies ===
{{main|Bonanza: The Next Generation|Bonanza: The Return|Bonanza: Under Attack}}
''Bonanza'' was revived for a series of three made-for-television movies featuring the Cartwrights' children: ''[[Bonanza: The Next Generation]]'' (1988), ''Bonanza: The Return'' (1993) and ''Bonanza: Under Attack'' (1995). [[Michael Landon Jr.]] played Little Joe's son Benji while Gillian Greene, Lorne Greene's daughter, played a love interest. In the second movie, airing on NBC, a one-hour retrospective was done to introduce the drama. It was hosted by both Michael Landon Jr. and [[Dirk Blocker]], who looks and sounds almost exactly like his father, Dan Blocker, albeit without his father's towering height. According to the magazine ''[[TV Guide]]'', producer David Dortort told Blocker he was too old to play the Hoss scion, but gave him the role of an unrelated newspaper reporter. Clips of the younger Blocker's appearance and voice were heavily used in advertisements promoting the "second generation" theme, perhaps misleading audiences to believe that Blocker was playing Hoss' heir. Hoss' son Josh was born out of wedlock, as it is explained that Hoss drowned without knowing his fiancėe was pregnant. Such a storyline might have been problematic in the original series. (''[[The Big Valley]]'', however, had a major character in Heath, who was presented as illegitimate.) The ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' movies of the early 1990s employed a similar theme when [[Marshal Matt Dillon]] learned he had sired [[Michael Learned]]'s character's daughter in a short-lived romance. The initial story was first introduced in 1973, when depiction of fornication courted protests, so CBS insisted their hero Matt have the encounter when he had amnesia. As was the style of television Westerns, gunfights played a major role in the movies which featured notoriously inaccurate shooting as well as unlimited ammunition.

=== Prequel ===
{{main|Ponderosa (TV series)}}
In 2001, there was an attempt to revive the ''Bonanza'' concept with a prequel, ''Ponderosa''—not to be confused with the 1972 summer reruns under the same title<ref name="brooks"/>—with a pilot directed by [[Simon Wincer]] and filmed in Australia. Covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam and Hoss were teenagers and Joe a little boy, the series lasted 20 episodes and featured less gunfire and brawling than the original. ''Bonanza'' creator [[David Dortort]] approved PAX TV (now Ion TV)'s decision to hire [[Beth Sullivan]], formerly of ''[[Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman]]'', which some believe gave the series more depth as well as a softer edge. The Hop Sing character is depicted not only as a cook but also a family counselor and [[Phytotherapy|herbal healer]]. The series takes place in [[Nevada Territory]] in 1849, which is actually an anachronism. The Nevada Territory did not split from the [[Utah Territory]] until 1861, meaning that until at least the 5th season (the episode "Enter Thomas Bowers" establishes that year as 1857), ''Bonanza'' is also set in what in real life would have been Utah Territory.

=== ''Bonanza'' merchandise ===
[[File:Pernell Roberts in "The Hopefuls".jpg|thumb|Pernell Roberts as Adam in "The Hopefuls"]]
''Bonanza'' has had a highly profitable merchandising history. Currently, Bonanza Ventures, Inc. grants merchandising and licensing rights worldwide. The original series has spawned several successful novelty western/folk albums from 1962 to 1965 including "Bonanza, Christmas on the Ponderosa" which charted at #35 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'''s Christmas Record album chart;<ref>"Christmas Records."  Billboard, vol. 75, no. 51, December 21, 1963, p. 7.  worldradiohistory.com.</ref> three dozen [[Dell Comics|Dell]] and [[Gold Key Comics|Gold Key]] comic books from 1962 through 1970; a short-lived comic book adaptation by Dutch comics artist [[Hans G. Kresse]] between 1965 and 1966,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/k/kresse.htm|title=Hans G. Kresse|website=lambiek.net}}</ref> [[Jim Beam Whiskey]] Ponderosa Ranch decanters 1964–1966; a series of [[Big Little Book series|"Big-Little" books]] from 1966 to 1969; Revel Bonanza model character sets from 1966 to 1968; a chain of [[Bonanza Steakhouse|Bonanza and Ponderosa steakhouses]] from 1963–present; the [[Lake Tahoe]]-based "Ponderosa" theme park from 1967 to 2004; a line of American Character [[action figure]]s in 1966–1967; [[Aladdin Industries|Aladdin]] lunch buckets and thermos bottles in 1966–1968; [[View Master]] slide sets in 1964, 1971; Ponderosa tin cups from 1967 to 2004; a series of Hamilton collector plates in 1989–1990; and most recently, [[Breyer horse|Breyer]] Fiftieth Anniversary Ponderosa Stable sets, with horses and Cartwright figures in 2009–2011.

Fourteen ''Bonanza'' novels have been published: 
* ''Bonanza: A Novel'' by [[Noel Loomis]] (1960);
* ''Bonanza: One Man With Courage'' by Thomas Thompson (1966);
* ''Bonanza: Killer Lion'' by Steve Frazee (1966);
* ''Bonanza: Treachery Trail'' by Harry Whittington (1968);
* ''Winter Grass'' by Dean Owen (1968);
* ''Ponderosa Kill'' by Dean Owen (1968);
* ''The Pioneer Spirit'' by Stephen Calder (1988);
* ''The Ponderosa Empire'' by Stephen Calder (1991);
* ''Bonanza: The High Steel Hazard'' by Stephen Calder (1993);
* ''Journey of the Horse'' by Stephen Calder (1993);
* ''The Money Hole'' by Stephen Calder (1993);
* ''The Trail to Timberline'' by Stephen Calder (1994);
* ''Bonanza: Felling of the Sons'' by Monette L. Bebow-Reinhard (2005),
* ''Bonanza: Mystic Fire'' by Monette L. Bebow-Reinhard (2009).

There is also a collection of Bonanza stories: ''The Best of Bonanza World: A Book of Favorite Stories,'' published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2012), and in the late 1960s and early 1970s, [[Whitman Books]] published several hardcover novels aimed at young readers, such as ''Killer Lion'' by Steve Frazer (1966). ''Bonanza Gold'' (2003–2009), a quarterly magazine, featured detailed information about the show, including interviews with guest actors and other production personnel, articles about historical events and people depicted in the series, fan club information and [[fan fiction]]. All 14 seasons of the show (as of 5/2023) are available on DVD, as well as 31 non-successive public-domain episodes (without original theme music). The public domain episodes consist of the last 14 episodes of season one, and the first 17 episodes of season two. Additionally, the prequel series, ''The Ponderosa'', as well as the three sequel movies (see below), are all available on DVD.