review for Bonanza: A Rose for Lotta on AllMovie

The first episode of Bonanza not only delivered surprisingly little, but didn't seem to promise terribly much for the future -- based solely on what audiences (and, indeed, most audiences watching in black-and-white) in 1959 would have seen, the premiere seemed like much ado about not-too-much. Viewed 50 years on, however, one can see hints of what the series would come to offer, and what creator (and episode author) David Dortort) saw as a template for future developments. But those virtues are buried beneath performances that are too broad and over-the-top, and characters that are written too superficially here for the actors to find much to work with. Still, despite some moments of character interaction that, at times, border on the ridiculous, the basic set-up of the program is presented, and the beginnings of one of television's longest franchise series are delineated. Most of the individual scenes are handled fairly well, if not exceptionally, and director Edward Ludwig moves the action sequences well. There's also a better guest cast than one would find in a standard episode of the series, as this was the pilot and more money was being spent -- thus, we get film veterans Yvonne DeCarlo and George Macready in prominent supporting roles, along with Barry Kelley and Willis Bouchey. And this script introduces supporting player Victor Sen-Yung as Hop Sing, the Ponderosa's chef; and, in his only appearance in the series, we meet Hop Sing's father Hop-Ling, played by Sammee Tong in heavy makeup. Viewers only familiar with the later, fully-formed version of the series will probably be surprised by the siege mentality of the Cartwrights concerning the Ponderosa, and the degree to which the family regards Virginia City as enemy territory in this episode; both were factors that would be changed considerably as the program evolved. This episode also exists with an alternate ending in which the four protagonists ride out of Virginia City singing the Bonanza theme song -- yes, there were lyrics, which were so embarrassing that they were never heard again in the remaining 14-year-run of the series.