I have been a fan of Bonanza most of my life. When I first heard about a new television show that would take us back to the beginnings of the Ponderosa, I couldn't wait to see it. I was not disappointed. The Ponderosa instantly became my favorite show on Television. I planned my Sunday nights around the airing of the show. In a time when so much of what we see on television centers around sex and/or finding new ways to degrade our fellow human beings, The Ponderosa showed us what television was meant to be as a medium of entertainment. Respect, honestly, hard work, responsibility, concern for our neighbors, doing what's right, solid moral values...how often are these values at the core of the plot of a television show? I was so impressed with the writing of the show and the talent of the actors. I applaud the way in which actors portraying the Cartrights were able to transcend their characters back to the beginning of the Ponderosa. I have been around ranching all of my life and I have dreamed of being able to raise my children on one....even if it means having to struggle. This type of environment allows you a greater chance to teach your children responsibility and show them that hard work has it's rewards and even if we aren't always successful, we are better people because of it. My dream of a ranch of my own will probably never become a reality. However, The Ponderosa gives me a medium to show my 2 young children about how we should live our lives...how we can become a positive influence to those around us. It's rare that television today can help reinforce the values that we want our children to learn and grasp as their own. I grew up with The Waltons, Little House On The Prairie and so many other television shows that you could watch as a family and not be embarrassed or disgusted to see. They made you feel good and maybe brought us closer together. The Ponderosa gave me that same feeling. It was like seeing an old friend. When I saw that the show was not on any of the program schedules for this fall, it felt that I had lost that old friend again. I dearly hope that we will see a 2nd season of The Ponderosa. This is exactly what American television needs.

Truely an excellent family show which brings back family values......something that's been missing for quite some time. The acting is superb, and the actor's chosen to play the part's were very well selected. I couldn't have picked a more perfect actor then Daniel Hugh Kelly to play the part of Ben Cartwright. I think he did justice to the character in his portrayal of a younger Ben raising three young son's. Matt Carmody played an excellent Adam with his wit and charm. Drew Powell played a tremendous rendition of our beloved Hoss with his warm smile and huge heart. Jared Deparis played a believable Little Joe at age 12. The writing was terrific, and became more "Bonanza" like with each episode.It is my sincere wish and hope that The Ponderosa WILL RETURN again! We certainly need more show's like this especially in these present times that we live in.KEEPING THE FAITH!Lil Annie

My family and I have watched The Ponderosa since its beginning. We all love the show and is the only show that the whole family (including two children under the age of 10) watch together. All of us looked forward to new episodes during the first season and even look forward to repeats just as much.The Ponderosa is a wonderful show. The casting of the four main characters is right on. The actors who portray younger Cartwrights have incredible acting abilities and through not only their lines, but their body language and facial gestures have completely captured the essence of the Cartwrights as they appeared in Bonanza.As the first season went on, The Ponderosa became more and more like Bonanza. Although some of the details of the Bonanza story were changed early on, the later episodes kept almost exclusively to the Bonanza storylines and characterization.All of my family look forward to the return of The Ponderosa, in whatever format, so that we can enjoy this special family show together again. As a longtime Bonanza fan, I can't wait to see the Cartwright legend live again in this new, aswesome show!

Bonanza is my favorite show--and I looked forward to this pre-quel with some trepidation. I hoped that the producers would recapture what made Bonanza great--but I was sorely disappointed.Where do I start? The writing is abysmal, the acting wooden, the location dreary. The show is utterly without the charm Bonanza had. There is no chemistry between the actors. If it were not for the name of the family, there is nothing to tell you it was even related to the classic.Beth Sullivan infused this show with today's political correctness. The Cartwrights actually do not wear guns! Hop Sing has morphed into some sort of Asian Dr. Quinn.The series is filmed in Australia, where it appearantly rains 24/7.The Cartwrights slog through the mud with about as much enthusiasm as they slog through the terrible scripts. The location just makes the show even more depressing.Sullivan rewrote the original storyline to suit her needs, thereby guaranteeing fans of the original show would despise this one. But her greatest sin was the choice of actor Daniel Hugh Kelly as Ben Cartwright. He plays Ben with all the stiffness of a plank of wood. He lacks the warmth and commanding presence of Lorne Greene and instead comes across like Ben Cartwright, Corporate Clone. One can moe easily picture him in a boardroom than as a cowboy. Only Jared DeParis as Little Joe manages to capture anything of the original character--he is charming and fiery, and gives a believeable performance. Sadly, he is virtually ignored.Drew Powell, as Hoss, lacks the charm and comic timing of the great Dan Blocker. Matt Carmody is handsome as Adam, but lacks Pernell Roberts' dry wit.Early episodes centered on the townspeople, not the Cartwrights. There is little drama or exctement in the plots--in fact, they are so dull I can't really remember much of them. One episode was about rescuing a horse from a pit it had fallen into--as always, we got to see lots of mud!If you are looking for a family drama about the early days of this country, I would not recommend this one. Michael Landon did it with more humor and pathos with his Little House on the Prairie series. And of course, there is always the original show, which remains a classic for a reason!