The earlier years or the later years?

I like the early ones.

I think that the dads in Stingray and Thunderbirds look like Ben himself and I kinda like him in the early years.

Any Ben Cartwright is great.

Lorne Greene rocks the house!

After all, he was Commander Adama.

Early Ben Cartwright for me.
He was more action-oriented.
The later one was okay, too, though.

After all, he was Commander Adama.
Please... let's not get into that! :D

The early years

I caight Bonanza in the middle of their run on TVLAND. Then one day, they showed the pilot. I was shocked. It showed Ben telling someone "You're on the PONDEROSA land, I should let my boys kill you for trespassing".

I was drinking the night before, and when I woke up and saw that episode, I thought I must have died and gone to a different reality. It was scary to see Ben like that.

Any Ben Cartwright is great.

Lorne Greene rocks the house!

After all, he was Commander Adama.

Adama rocks! For the first 20 years of my life, that is the ONLY character I could associate Greene to. Now I find out he had another popular sereis, Bonanza.

If you don't know about Lorne Greene, he had an interesting life and career in many ways. Born Canadian, his deep, authoritative voice became known during World War II, when he was the leading newscaster on Canadian radio, giving him the monicker, "the voice of doom," for so many tragic reports. It was also his voice, more than his face, that became known in American picture for many years, as he often did narrations for movies or documentaries. In Bonanza he was only 13 years older than the actors who played his 2 oldest sons. Battlestar Galactica only lasted 24 episodes, but before and after that series he continued to do voice work, commercials, guest appearances, and a wide variation of characters.

Lorne Greene is one of the very few famous movie/TV actors I have seen in person. I was a high school kid in 1977 when the 'hypothetical history' TV movie, "The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald," was filmed in my town. I was walking around the town square one morning, looking at all the lights and equipment, and I noticed him sitting in the makeup chair being worked on (he played one of Oswald's lawyers). I didn't try to speak to him or anything, for I was sure I would just stammer or say something dumb. But my mother told a story of a friend of hers who saw him downtown and she said, "Are you Mr. Cartwright?" He said, "No-- my name is Lorne Greene." My dad made $25 a day for letting them take his '63 Ford pickup and park it around the courthouse for the outdoor shots.

I love the both. I'm watching Bonanza right now. I look forward to the Saturday lineup. :D