Bonanza the Ponderosa was Virginia City, where the Cartwrights would go to converse with Sheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actor Ray Teal), or his deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell). "Bonanza" was considered an atypical western for its time, as the core of the storylines dealt less about the range but more with Ben and his three dissimilar sons, how they cared for one another, their neighbors, and just causes. "You always saw stories about family on comedies or on an anthology, but "Bonanza" was the first series that was week-to-week about a family and the troubles it went through. "Bonanza"
The Virginian (TV series) McIntire and Stewart Granger portraying different characters. The series ran for nine seasons—television's third longest running western, behind "Bonanza" at 14 seasons and 430 episodes, and "Gunsmoke" at 20 seasons and 635 episodes. The series is loosely based on "The Virginian: Horseman of the Plains", a 1902 western novel by Owen Wister. Percy Faith composed the theme. When Revue Productions' hour-long series "Wagon Train" moved from the NBC network to ABC, "The Virginian" was proposed to replace it. From the beginning, the series was filmed in color on 35mm film. Set in the late 19th century, and loosely based on