Ventura Distribution and PAXSON Home Entertainment have officially announced
Ponderosa - Season 1, Volume 1. However, there are a couple of changes in their announcement compared to the info they gave us last week. The first change is buried in their progam description:
Synopsis: "The Ponderosa" is the exciting prequel to the classic western television series "Bonanza". The series chronicles the early years of widower Ben Cartwright and his three sons Adam 21, Hoss 17 and Little Joe 12. In these first 10 episodes from Season 1, the family acquires a small piece of scrub in the wilds of the Nevada Territory, called "The Ponderosa". Together with their extended family including Hop Sing and Carloss the Cartwright's make a go of it against all odds.
Relive the struggles and triumphs of life on the old western frontier through these beloved stories and characters created by "Bonanza" Executive Producer David Dortort.
Note it said "these first 10 episodes." In our
last news item (in the "Update" area at the bottom) I reported that TVShowsOnDVD owner Gord Lacey had been told by PAX that
Volume 1 would contain 11 episodes, out of the 20 from the rookie season. So...is it 10 or 11?
The correct answer is "it doesn't really matter, does it?, as long as both volumes combined bring us all 20 episodes." However, in case you *do* really want to know, then I will deduce that 10 episodes is likely to be correct. The running time on this set is stated to be 480 minutes, and dividing that by 11 would bring a per-episode length of just 43.6 minutes...too short. Besides, an even split between the two box set releases makes much more sense, doesn't it?
The other change is in the price. Multiple retail sources had informed us of a $29.99 SRP, but Ventura's official release info is showing this set to have a $34.99 list price instead. Was the original price a mistake, or did the suggested list price have to be raised at the last minute to cover additional costs? Either way, I would suggest that you lock in your pre-orders at the lower price, while you can...if you can!
Without further delay, here is the cover art:
One thing that has NOT changed about this 3-DVD release is the street date. It is still April 13th.
