Bonanza: The Hopefuls

About Bonanza: The Hopefuls

"The Hopefuls" is episode 5 of season 2 of Bonanza, first broadcast on October 8, 1960 on NBC. It was directed by James Neilson and written by E. Jack Neuman.

A Quaker woman convinces Adam to take her wagon train on a perilous journey west. He doesn't know that the woman's father has eyes on the gold that they are carrying to the promised land. Larry Gates, Patricia Donahue and Dennis Patrick guest star.

Bonanza (NBC, 1959-73) follows widower Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his sons Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss (Dan Blocker) and Little Joe (Michael Landon) on the Ponderosa, their vast ranch near Virginia City, Nevada. It was one of the first TV westerns filmed in color and one of the longest-running series in American television.

Quick facts

• Year: 1960
• Runtime: 48 minutes
• Type: TV episode · Western
• Series: Bonanza
• Sound: Original soundtrack