One of the longest running and most popular of all television westerns, Bonanza is both an action/adventure classic and family drama that takes place in the 1860s, during and shortly after the American Civil War. For fourteen seasons, audiences enthusiastically turned in to see the High-Sierra adventures of the Cartwright clan. Nestled amongst the pines above the shores of Lake Tahoe is the Ponderosa ranch, the thousand-acre home of Ben Cartwright and his sons, Adam, Hoss, and Joe (aka “Little Joe”). Plots featuring a revolving cast of interesting guest players helped to set Bonanza apart from the usual gunslinging formula Westerns of the day.