Should tv western characters married

[stuart.uk]

It was the tradition of 50s/60S westerns that they're characters never married, usually killing off any romantic relationships at the end of a paricular episode.

There were exceptions of course. Alan Hale jnr had a wife in Casey Jones and Leif Erickson's John Cannon was married to Linda Crystal's Victoria in The High Chapperal, though the rest of the male cast suffered the usual broken hearts when a loved one was killed. Also when Parnel Robert's decided to leave Bonanza, his character was married off.

Bonanza's a case in point. A great series, but was it weakened in anyway because for its 14-yr-run it was a male household. Would it have hurt or even enhanced the show if one of the Cartrights had a wife. After Dan Blocker sadly died the show went on for another yr. In that season in one of the shows greatest storylines Forever, Michael Landon's Little Joe took himself a wife, Bonnie Bedelia's Alice, only for her to be killed off in the beginging of the second of a two-parter so Michael Landen can track down her killers. Was that a missed oportunity. Would it have hurt or even have saved the show from cancelation if Bonnie had been allowed to see out the season. Landon made up for it with Little House On The Prairie, a show filled with married couples, not least within the Ingles family itself. I think it helped the show when the two daughters, Laura and Mary got themselves husbands.

I think I'm right in saying all the cast, save Barbara Stanwyck, had romances ended with violence, in The Big Valley. I also think Stanwyck, as beautiful as she was never fell in love, though every other week, an ex beau would show up.

I just remembered another married couple in a western John Mcintire and his real life Jeanette Nolan in The Virginian. I not only think it helped the show, but I think the inclusion of a single young woman over most of its 9-yr-run also enhanced the show with characters Betsy Garth and Elizabeth Grainger

[Lzcutter]

Stuart,

I think the fact that there never was a Lady of the House at the Ponderosa did hurt the story telling as time went on.

Though chances are the powers that be thought if Little Joe were to be happily married it would move the action away from the Ponderosa and the father/son relationship.

Though they could have at least tried it for half a season before killing her off.

But, Michael Landon was the heartthrob of the show and I guess they thought if he were married then all those girls and women watching would tune out because Little Joe was no longer available.

Hurumpf is all I have to say.

Just a quick note, Betsy Garth was the daughter of Judge Garth. She married a man of the cloth near the end of Roberta Shore's run on The Virginian.

When Lee J Cobb left the show, the story had Judge Garth sell the ranch to John Grainger (Charles Bickford).

Grainger had a neice and nephew, Elizabeth and Stacy. I can't remember if they were Clay and Holly's off-spring or if Clay and John Grainger had another brother.

But when Charles Bickford died, they introduced Clay and Holly as characters coming to take over the ranch.

They stayed with the series until it became The Men From Shiloh
and Stewart Granger joined the cast as owner Alan McKenzie.

[stuart.uk]

I thought Elizabeth and Stacey were Bickford's grandchildren, but that Mcintire's Clay Grainger was his younger brother and were called aunt and uncle by the kids.

Stacey didn't stay long under Clay's roof, but Elizabeth stayed until Men From Shiloh, which had no women regulars. It was cancelled

In the first Bonanza movie Joe was missing in The Cuban war, with his wife Amanada living on the ranch. However, an another movie was made, scrapping the idea of the first. This time Joe and Amanda were both dead, after being seperated. In the first moivie he had a grown up son, but in movie 2 a daughter was added to the Cartright family. Hoss had a son he knew nothing about and Adam jnr came back from Aussie land