MovieChat Forums > Bonanza (1959) Discussion > Technological accuracy

Technological accuracy

posted 8 years ago by True_Detective
8 replies | jump to latest

I believe the series is set between 1850 and 1870. Are there any historical errors about the technology and products that are seen in the show?

Alternatively, have you been surprised by some of the technology seen in the show, but later found out that it was actually available to people at the time?

I was a bit skeptical when I saw the episode about the hot air balloon (in season 2, I believe), and there were pipes pumping gas into it that seemed pretty modern.

Also, in "Devil on her shoulder", you see power lines. I was surprised at first, but then I thought that it probably must be correct, since they had telegrams which after all had to travel through wires.

[–] Satan2016 7 years ago

Carson City had a railway in 1869 and telegraph lines mostly ran by the tracks. I'm surprised they didn't feature the station and freight trains more, they would have been a hub of activity.

Hydro-electric started showing up in western mining towns in the 1890s. It typically had two wires, while telegraphs had several per crossbar.

[–] davebuffalo (3014) 3 years ago

They should've featured the train more, to be realistic, but that probably comes at a heavy expense to run a steam engine.

[–] jackles1 7 years ago

The show was suppose to mirror the 100 years before 1959 and so forth as time marched on in the 20th century,however consistency was not a strength of this show.It often didn't. Now one anachronism is you see Adam wearing levis and some other actors as well! Levi Strauss didn't invent or produce his famous jeans until 1867.

[–] memphis-19091 7 years ago

Or 1873?

[–] davebuffalo (3014) 3 years ago

IMDB doesn't list too many goofs, but you can view them there.

- In the episode "the Gift" there was a Raggedy Ann doll sitting on a well about 10 minutes in. The doll was invented in 1915.

- This is the episode that has the time machine which transports a gift from the future. hehe.

- There is a mention "This is a newspaper, not a comic strip. You write it and I'll print it." The first comic debuted in 1893 and the term "comic strip" did not enter the vocabulary until 1920.

- There is a scene where a boy dies and his hand opens and coins roll out. Included are Washington Quarters (first made 1932), Jefferson Nickels (1938), and Roosevelt Dimes (1946).

- Walter Prescott accuses Hoss of "two-timing" him with a mail-order bride. This episode is set in the mid-1860s and, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the expression "two-timing" dates from 1924.

[–] [email protected] (5497) 2 years ago

There are quite a few historical inaccuracies. But fans who love the show overlook them!

One example is Ben's old photographs of his late wives. According to the show, Adam was at least thirty when the series debuted and the year was 1859. That would've placed the year of his birth at 1829. However Ben displays at least one photo of Adam's mother Elizabeth. The first photos were not taken until 1839 and Elizabeth died in childbirth.

There's a scene in one episode when a guest gets her skirt caught in a bit of barbed wire. The episode was set in the 1860's and barbed wire didn't come into use until the 1870's. But who knew? The average viewer just ignores those details.

[–] liscarkat (16530) a year ago

The year was 1859? I don't remember any part of the show taking place before or during the Civil War. Maybe I've just forgotten.

[–] [email protected] (5497) a year ago

It's been a long time, but I recall a very early episode when an episode was set in San Francisco. On the screen it was written "San Francisco 1859".

The early years (with Adam) started before the Civil War. There is an entire episode when the delegates to a statehood convention (Joe was a delegate) were voting on whether Nevada should come in on the Union or Confederate side.

Nevada didn't become a state until 1864 and the early years sometimes mention the territory of Nevada.

There is one date that's literally "written in stone". In a fifth season episode Laura Dayton is visiting her late husband's grave. Laura was the woman Adam almost married in a four part story arc. Her husband had died a few months earlier and the date on the stone was February, 1861.

Bonanza was a great show. But it did play fast and loose with dates, historical facts and historical figures.

There's one popular comedy episode when Little Joe meets Martha Jane Canary, aka Calamity Jane played by Stephanie Powers. This episode is during the Adam years. It's a popular episode with fans. But the real Calamity Jane would've only been about ten years old at the time of the episode. The episode also features Doc Holliday who also was only about ten at the time.
In the episode he presses Calamity Jane to come away with him, never mind the fact that there is no proof that the two historical figures ever even crossed paths. They lived in different parts of the country.