The show's theme song, also titled ' Bonanza', became a hit song. The title 'Bonanza' is a term used by miners in regard to a large vein or deposit of silver ore, from Spanish bonanza (prosperity) and commonly refers to the 1859 revelation of the Comstock Lode of rich silver ore mines under the town of Virginia City, not far from the fictional Ponderosa Ranch that the Cartwright family operated. The show is known for presenting pressing moral dilemmas. The series initially starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon and later featured (at various times) Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson. The show is set in the 1860s and centers on the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The show continues to air in syndication. network television (behind CBS's Gunsmoke), and one of the longest-running, live-action American series. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, Bonanza is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on U.S. Bonanza is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973.
