The 1 Episode of Bonanza That Was Too Racist to Air on TV

Did you know that one of Bonanza's most intense episodes sat on a shelf for nearly three years before it ever reached viewers? Did you know that Michael Landon, best known for playing the lovable Little Joe, wrote the script himself and had already completed filming before NBC pulled the plug entirely? ▬Contents of this video▬ 00:00 - Intro 01:25 - The Script Behind The Story 03:41 - A Nation On The Edge 05:11 - The Violence That Alarmed NBC 07:12 - Three Years On A Shelf 08:50 - Kingdom of Fear Airs At Last 10:18 - Outro Like this content? Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/factsverse?sub_confirmation=1 Or, watch more videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkXAntdjbcSJlJnpP4FgdU0swKbnkNgJj Become a Facts Verse member and get access to all videos that contain mature content. Use the link below to get access to even more videos, ad-free. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXZpQgX1897wYDLtvzmgyIA/join\ "Kingdom of Fear," originally titled "The Sound of Death," was written by Michael Landon and intended for Bonanza's tenth season in 1968. The episode follows Ben Cartwright, Hoss, Little Joe, and ranch foreman Candy as they are falsely arrested, thrown onto a chain gang, and forced to dig for gold under the control of a ruthless and delusional land baron. With attack dogs, a whip-cracking guard, multiple deaths, and a revenge killing at its center, the episode was among the darkest material the show had ever attempted. The timing couldn't have been worse. Robert F. Kennedy had just been assassinated, following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by only two months. President Johnson convened a National Violence Commission and called network executives to Washington. NBC president Julian Goodman issued an order to reduce on-screen violence across all programming, and Landon's episode, completed at a cost to the network of two hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars, was shelved without ever airing. When the episode finally returned in 1971, it had been retitled, re-edited, and rescored. Entire scenes involving the German Shepherd attack were removed. Hoss's beating was trimmed. The strangulation was cut short. Even a piece of background music was pulled for being too emotionally dark. The episode aired on April 4, 1971 — the third anniversary of Dr. King's assassination — as one of the final episodes of season twelve, three years after it was first filmed. The 1 Episode of Bonanza That Was Too Racist to Air on TV