Did Bonanza influence Big Valley

[stuart.uk]

I saw the early Bonanza story First Born recently. In it we find out Little Joe had another step-brother, called Clay (though he might have been mentioned in a flashback episode of the begining of Ben's 3rd marraige), though this time on his late mother's side. Clay was supposed to be a reg character, but the other cast members were't to happy, so the idea was dropped. (Yet characters Candy and Jamie were introduced apparently with no problem, in later shows with Tim Mattheson replacing the late Dan Blocker in the last series

I wondered on seeing it whether the storyine influenced the producers of The Big Valley, where Heath rode into the Barkley stronghold and declared himself the son of Victoria's late husband and his one time lover. I haven't seen the pilot of TBV, but get the impression the Barkley's quickly accept Heath as one of their own. In First Born, Joe and Ben also accept Clay, though at first Adam and Hoss aren't so sure

[movieman1957]

I don't know about that particular episode but I would be hard pressed to think "Bonanza" didn't influence. The whole set up is practically the same, daughter notwithstanding. Over my many years I have seen the three episodes that deal with the birth of each of the Cartwrights but only Hoss's do I really remember.

I was never a much of a "Big Valley" fan so I am biased.

[stuart.uk]

Chris

I was thinking of something I mentioned before, of how a regular female would have helped make the show even better. I discovered only today, there were plans to marry Adam off and make him a semi-regular. Parnell Roberts left shortly afterwards, I believe with a wife. In one of the great Bonanza storylines, Joe marries Alice, but she's killed off in the very next episode, which IMO was a missed oportunity. Later, on in the Bonanza The Next Generation movie, we do see Joe's 2nd wife Amanda, but he's missing in action during the Cuban War. Both characters were killed off by the time of the 2nd movie. because Michael landon had died between films

It occurred to me that Ben's 3rd wife might have been an asset to the show. It would have been interesting to see her interacting not only with Joe, but with her step-kids Adam (Who I guess wouldn't be much younger than her) and Hoss. I'm reminded of Katy Jaurdo in Broken Lance, though I'm sure neither Hoss or Adam would be as hostile to their step-mum as Richard Widmark was to his.

[stuart.uk]

Lancer might have been influenced by both Bonanza and The Big Valley. Murdoch Lancer had two sons, by different women, having seen neither since they were children