The Ponderosa is intruded upon by renegade Pinkertons, led by murderous detective Dennis Farina. They're chasing reformed outlaw Frank James (Leonard Nimoy!), who finds protection among the next generation of the Cartwright clan and his old Civil War pals Ben Johnson and Jack Elam.
Johnson, Elam, Farina, Nimoy, and Richard Roundtree are all fun to watch, though some of the younger actors, including the offspring of a few of Bonanza's original stars, are a bit wooden and the script a few bad lines of dialog.
However, everything's so laid back and the old-timers so good that it's virtually impossible for me to dislike. The story premise is fairly solid too.
Some might call it heresy to try and further the adventures of a TV series without the benefit of any of the original stars. I'm glad they went ahead and at least tried. It took guts.
Johnson, Elam, Farina, Nimoy, and Richard Roundtree are all fun to watch, though some of the younger actors, including the offspring of a few of Bonanza's original stars, are a bit wooden and the script a few bad lines of dialog.
However, everything's so laid back and the old-timers so good that it's virtually impossible for me to dislike. The story premise is fairly solid too.
Some might call it heresy to try and further the adventures of a TV series without the benefit of any of the original stars. I'm glad they went ahead and at least tried. It took guts.