In the entire run of the Bonanza series twice the Cartwright clan ran into true life human beings who when they were running the Ponderosa, who resided in Virginia City. One was an episode about Mark Twain where Howard Duff played the legendary American writer in his early years.
The other was this episode which involved Albert Michaelson the first American to win a Nobel Prize. He was born in Prussia in what is now part of Poland and did in fact come to America with his parents where they were merchants in Virginia City. In 1869 young Michaelson won a presidential appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis from President Ulysses S. Grant where he stayed on as an instructor after graduating. It was the start of his career.
This Bonanza episode offers a fictional account of how Michaelson got that appointment. The key figure here is schoolmaster William Schallert who won't recommend him and his recommendation carries a lot of weight. The Cartwrights in this episode force Schallert to confront his own prejudices which include anti-Semitism.
Joe DeSantis and Penny Santon play the older Michaelsons and young Douglas Lambert winningly plays Albert. It was one of Bonanza's best episodes. The only gunfire was that of Hoss firing his pistol in the air so that young Albert could measure the speed of the sound at which it traveled.
What made Bonanza so endearingly popular to the public then and in syndication ever since was the family and the relationships the Cartwright sons had with each other and with their father. Three half brothers and their father facing all kinds of problems every week. We all got to know the Cartwrights, know them better than some of our relatives. And we cared about them.
In this episode the Cartwrights interacted with the Michaelsons to help them realize their own vision of the American dream. Hopefully Bonanza fans and others won't miss this one if it's broadcast again.
The other was this episode which involved Albert Michaelson the first American to win a Nobel Prize. He was born in Prussia in what is now part of Poland and did in fact come to America with his parents where they were merchants in Virginia City. In 1869 young Michaelson won a presidential appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis from President Ulysses S. Grant where he stayed on as an instructor after graduating. It was the start of his career.
This Bonanza episode offers a fictional account of how Michaelson got that appointment. The key figure here is schoolmaster William Schallert who won't recommend him and his recommendation carries a lot of weight. The Cartwrights in this episode force Schallert to confront his own prejudices which include anti-Semitism.
Joe DeSantis and Penny Santon play the older Michaelsons and young Douglas Lambert winningly plays Albert. It was one of Bonanza's best episodes. The only gunfire was that of Hoss firing his pistol in the air so that young Albert could measure the speed of the sound at which it traveled.
What made Bonanza so endearingly popular to the public then and in syndication ever since was the family and the relationships the Cartwright sons had with each other and with their father. Three half brothers and their father facing all kinds of problems every week. We all got to know the Cartwrights, know them better than some of our relatives. And we cared about them.
In this episode the Cartwrights interacted with the Michaelsons to help them realize their own vision of the American dream. Hopefully Bonanza fans and others won't miss this one if it's broadcast again.
