Arguably, "Bonanza" did more to sell new color television sets than any appliance store salesperson could hope to do. When this show, with its lush filming of the Lake Tahoe area, was the only program broadcast in color, folks clamored to buy one so they too could be enveloped by the splendor of the scenary.
You count my parents in that group. You cannot count my grandmother among those sales.
Actually, my parents took their own sweet time moving out of the black and white TV world. There was one token color television in our family. My aunt had one and we all descended on her living room if ever there was a "must see in color" program. The only problem with her set, which might have been one of the first off the assembly line, is that the colors were never coordinated properly. Grass was blue. Tree trunks were red. Faces were green.
Once my parents were content that the technology had all the bugs worked out, they were buyers. And so, on one March Saturday afternoon, this super clunky Zenith console got delivered to our home. And then, for the rest of the weekend, we watched everything and anything just to see what it looked like in color. And, unlike my aunt's set, people actually had flesh tones that didn't make them look like third degree burn victims. We absorbed it all. But the focus of that weekend was Sunday night at 9PM on NBC. When we finally could watch an episode of "Bonanza" on our very own color TV.
"Bonanza" was one of the few TV shows that got two floor viewing in my house. My grandmother was watching downstairs and we were tuned in upstairs. I would act as Kissinger. One week, I would watch it with my grandmother and then the next week with my parents. It was a tradition I held to for many years. But, with the purchase of that huge Zenith, I would be multi-conflicted. Black and white vs. color. A major dilemma.
My mother, in a rare display of multi-generational family unity, had a solution. Grandma could come up and watch "Bonanza" in color with us. So, on that first "colorful" Sunday, my grandmother mounted the three flights of stairs to our living room. She sat down and wasn't there more than five minutes into the program.
"This doesn't look right."
She gave a cursory wave at the dastardly television set and went back downstairs. And never returned on a Sunday at 9PM ever again. To the day she died, she was one of the few stalwarts in America who would not cave in to that crazy fad of color TVs.
So, I spent many a Sunday watching "Bonanza" in black and white. Nevertheless, it didn't diminish my love of this classic western. As I got older, the tradition held, but I came to appreciate that the better episodes were written and directed by co-star Michael Landon, who clearly was a gifted creative force. As soon as Dan "Hoss" Blocker died, the show pretty much lost its cohesiveness. But, given that, it still had an amazing run with close to 500 episodes.
Most folks remember the theme song to this day with the Cartwrights riding up across the meadow to a conveniently placed Eastman color camera. But, oddly enough, I much preferred the different opening and theme that they used for several of the final seasons. Most people don't remember this, but I do.
I'm not sure which version of the opening my grandmother liked better. She probably didn't care.
As long as it was in black and white.
Dinner last night: My absolute favorite Sausage and Peppers at Carlo's in Yonkers.
2 comments:
Bonanza was a favorite in our household the last few seasons. We hung in there when Adam (Pernell Roberts) left the scene but the many cast changes in the later years had us looking elsewhere for entertainment.
I think that we were one of the last families on the block to get a color set but it truly was an eye opener. I remember being in awe while watching Don Kirshner's Rock Concert on Saturday night. It may have been In Concert which was the precursor to Rock Concert.
We didn't get a color TV until '71, and only then because my grandmother was ill (it was a present).
However, my other grandmother, the one who didn't live with us, got one in 1960 (my grandfather had MD and didn't get out much. Needless to say, trips to their house were highlighted by a chance to watch shows we'd never be interested in (Shell's Wide World of Golf, anyone?) because they were in color. On a couple of Sundays, we persuaded my folks to let us stay late and watch Disney's Wonderful World of Color. To this day, I remember seeing Peter Pan (Mary Martin, I believe), in color. Amazing to a young boy at the time.
We now have 7 color sets in our house. But my kids will never know the thrill of going from B&W to color television.
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