Bonanza syndication question

Was watching a mini marathon of Bonanza episodes on CHCH TV Hamilton (Global CH) just now. The episodes are being used to promo the Canadian specialty digital channel Lone Star. Where is the Bonanza theme music? Saw the closing credits of one episode and the opening credits of the next episode and there was different instrumental music instead of the familiar theme "da da da da da da da da da da Bonanza...".

Anyone know why the original theme music is missing and why it's been replaced?

BTW, this show is very dated. The opening scene of the second episode had a sleasy hillbilly type smack his daughter upside the head. (I had not seen an episode in probably 30 years.)

 

I do not know where your theme music is but on TV Land it's there. One of my favorite shows. If I'm flip'in through the channels and stumble on to an episode it's hard for me to turn the channel.

Classic stuff done right.

 

The very small independent college stations air only public domain episodes and the original theme is still copyrighted so they are often forced to substitute the theme with some incidental music. The same with a lot of the budget DVDs of this and other series that the themes are copyrighted yet some of the episodes are public domain. What TV Land airs are syndicated prints from the company that actually owns the masters. I think the show is timeless. If any of you are a fan, check this out: http://www.cdwolf.com/Products/B/b.html#Bonanza

 

The two episodes that I watched were very early. Michael Landon was very young. Pernell Roberts was in both episodes.

In the show's early episodes, the writers would typically have the Cartwrights being hostile to visitors to their property. Lorne Greene objected to this pointing out that with the Ponderosa being as large as it is, the Cartwrights would be an important business interest in the community. Thus visitors would naturally come for economic and political reasons as well as social ones and the Cartwrights would logically welcome them as such. The producers agreed and altered the premise of the characters accordingly.

In the second episode I watched, Michael Landon killed a trespassor in the first scene.


How could an NBC television program end up in public domain? Maybe that's why the episodes did not feature the famous Jay Livingston and Ray Evans theme song.

"We chased lady luck till we finally struck - Bonanza
With a gun and a rope and a hatful of hope
We planted our family tree
We got ahold of a potful of gold - Bonanza
With a horse and a saddle and a rig full of cattle
How rich can a fella be?
On this land we put our brand
Cartwright is the name
Fortune smiled the day we filed
The Ponderosa claim

Here in the west we're livin' in the best - Bonanza
If anyone fights any one of us
He's gonna fight with me

Hoss and Joe and Adam know
Every rock and pine
No one works, fights, or eats
Like those boys of mine

Here we stand in the middle of a grand - Bonanza
With a gun and a rope and a hatful of hope
We planted our family tree
We got ahold of a potful of gold - Bonanza
With a houseful of friends where the rainbow ends
How rich can a fella be?

On this land we put our brand
Cartwright is the name
Fortune smiled the day we filed
The Ponderosa claim

Here in the west we're livin' in the best - Bonanza
With the friendliest, fightenist, lovingest band
That ever set foot in the promised land
And we're happier than them all
That's why we call it - Bonanza -
- Bonanza -
- Bonanza -"

 

Miike, you are right that the two shows you have aired are in the public domain.

 

All of the Public Domain Bonanza episodes are:
# The Gunmen
# The Fear Merchants
# The Spanish Grant
# Blood on the Land
# Desert Justice
# The Stranger
# Escape to the Ponderosa
# The Avenger
# The Last Trophy
# San Francisco Holiday
# Bitter Water
# Feet of Clay
# Dark Star
# Death at Dawn
# Showdown
# The Mission
# Badge Without Honor
# The Mill
# The Hopefuls
# Denver McKee
# Day of Reckoning
# The Abduction
# Breed of Violence
# The Last Viking
# The Trail Gang
# The Savage
# Silent Thunder
# The Ape
# The Blood Line
# The Courtship
# The Spitfire

 

Bonanza's episode Guide: http://epguides.com/Bonanza/

 

I remember buying some cheap VHS episodes of "Petticoat Junction" and they did NOT have the theme song. I wuz robbed! Guess you get whatcha pay for, eh?

 

Andrew, they used public domain sources on those Petticoat Junction episodes and had to substitute the theme song with incidental music.