Any time one of the Cartwrights seriously courted a woman,

[Ptah]

she died from a malady, was slain, or left with someone else.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonanza

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Back in the day this was the top show, for years.

Except for the last season 14 (1972–73),
there were from 26 to 34 episodes per year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bonanza_episodes

Are today's series actors, stagehands, writers working fewer hours ?

I feel cheated when a series has only 15 to 20 episodes.

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Yeah, I remember new series started in Sept and ended in June?? TONS of episodes.

Inflation, I guess.

[Little Star]

2. We are cheated! The seasons are way too short now.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

3. I agree

I don't watch much TV. Apart from Family Guy (which I assume is relatively cheap to produce), I find it hard to believe sometimes, that some shows still have such loyal followings. The only other 2 that I watch are on AMC which has got to be one of the stingiest.

Madmen: 13 episodes per year, plus a 1+ year hiatus.
Walking Dead, this year: 13 episodes split up with a 2.5 month wait

Bunch of cheapskates.

As far Bonanza, maybe they went through so many actresses to save on the budget too. A lot of shows did, Man from UNCLE comes to mind, with a stunning new beauty each and every week.