‘BONANZA’ WILL RETURN AS MOVIE

“Bonanza” will ride again, but with only Lorne Greene back from the original cast as patriarch Ben Cartwright.

“Bonanza--The Next Generation” will be a two-hour TV movie and a pilot for a possible series for first-run syndication, the Gaylord Production Co. and LBS Communications said Wednesday. Greene’s Cartwright character will still be running the Ponderosa ranch, but instead of being assisted by his sons, there’ll be two grandsons (as yet uncast) on hand.

David Dortort, who wrote the original “Bonanza” and was its producer during its 1959-1973 run on NBC, has written the two-hour revival. He said that Michael Landon and Pernell Roberts turned down offers to reprise their respective roles as sons Little Joe and Adam, but he left their characters’ options open in case the actors change their minds later.