Character mistake: When Hoss takes Timmy for a horseback ride, after they both dismount by the lake, Hoss calls Timmy by his real name Johnny (Whitaker) and not Timmy.
Springtime - S3-E2
Continuity mistake: While Adam and Ted Hackett are talking on the front porch, in the exterior shot we can see the tablecloth inside the house is solid white, but in the interior shots the tablecloth has a red/white check type pattern. (00:31:15)
Revealing mistake: Jack Albertson's character is taking pictures of The Cartwrights and ranch hands. The video camera moves across the front of the prop camera as Albertson pushes and holds the button to take a picture. The shutter on the camera never opens and isn't open until he releases the button. In those days the shutter had to stay open an elongated time to enable the light to infiltrate the negative. People had to stay still during this time.
Hoss and the Leprechauns - S5-E12
Continuity mistake: Hoss fires a total of 6 shots from his pistol to scare away a bear who is menacing one of the "little green men." He returns his pistol to his gun belt. A few moments later he uses the gun again to destroy the lock on the strongbox. He is never seen re-loading his gun but has fired 7 shots.
Revealing mistake: When Mary enters her husband's secret room she lights up the room using a paraffin-oil lamp, but the room lights up before her match has reached the lamp.
Factual error: Samuel Clemens, who has written several humorous tales for the Territorial Enterprise, tells the publisher he would like to start writing serious news stories. The publisher replies, "This is a newspaper, not a comic strip. You write it and I'll print it." The first comic strip, "The Little Bears," debuted in 1893 and the term "comic strip" did not enter the vocabulary until 1920. "Bonanza" is set in the 1860s.
The Actress - S4-E22
Continuity mistake: Little Joe falls in love with Julia Grant, an aspiring actress who, with her son, is staying at the Ponderosa for several days. After she learns she has landed an acting job in San Francisco, she and her son leave the Ponderosa. As they ride off in their horse-drawn wagon, Joe is standing next to Ben and Hoss and he is waving goodbye with his right hand. In the following long shot, Joe has both hands on his hips and is staring at the ground.
Continuity mistake: A mooring rope breaks and sends a hot-air balloon rising into the air. No one is in the gondola. Stock footage shows a hot-air balloon in the sky but a man is visible in the gondola.
Continuity mistake: Red Twilight, believing his brother's death was caused by Hoss Cartwright, gets revenge by shooting Hoss in the back. When he learns Hoss is still alive, he goes to the Ponderosa to finish the job. Red shoots and kills a ranch hand, then enters the home. Little Joe gets into a fight with Red and both men run out into the yard. The ranch hand's body has disappeared.
Thanks for Everything, Friend - S6-E4
Factual error: Adam has fallen into the river. As he is spotted by Tom Wilson from his campsite, a car is visible passing far across the valley.
Factual error: As the boy dies, his hand opens and coins roll out. Included are Washington Quarters (first made 1932), Jefferson Nickels (1938), and Roosevelt Dimes (1946). (00:15:45)
Audio problem: Apparently there was a problem with the sound recording during a scene of Ben Cartwright speaking to his son Adam while standing by the chuck wagon. One of Ben's lines was dubbed in by someone else whose voice was higher-pitched and less gruff than that of actor Lorne Greene.
Other mistake: At night, Adam goes to visit a man whose brother has been shot and killed. After the man lights a lantern on the table to Adam's right, Adam's shadow is to his right and not to his left as it should be.
Continuity mistake: In the Ponderosa home, Arturo Diaz, a Mexican freedom fighter, is shot by a renegade pistolero. Diaz falls on his back and Ben Cartwright rushes to his side. Diaz says "Adios" and then dies, with his head turned to the left. After a brief close-up of Ben, Diaz's head is now turned to the right.
Factual error: Walter Prescott accuses Hoss of "two-timing" him with a mail-order bride. This episode is set in the mid-1860s and, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the expression "two-timing" dates from 1924.
Continuity mistake: Adam is in the hotel lobby awaiting the arrival of a rider. The clock behind him says 3:30. He opens the door and looks out for a few seconds, then closes the door. The clock has jumped to 3:35.
Other mistake: An Army friend of Ben's uses Ponderosa land to test his hot-air balloon. There are very few clouds in the sky. A balloon in flight is shown but it is obviously stock footage. The sky is filled with clouds and the film contains several black spots and scratches.
The Secret - S2-E31
Continuity mistake: At the Ponderosa, Jake Parson is telling Ben Cartwright of his suspicion that his daughter eloped with Little Joe. The grandfather clock shows the time as 8:53. Both men turn as they hear the door open. As Little Joe walks in, the time has suddenly jumped to 8:59.
Character mistake: "Bonanza" is set in the 1860s but this episode uses three phrases which, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, did not enter our vocabulary until much later: "Trouble-shooter" dates from 1905, "mother hen" dates from 1934 and "sitting duck" dates from 1942.
The Rescue - S2-E23
Revealing mistake: The mountains outside the dining room window of the Ponderosa house are obviously part of a painted backdrop. As Ben walks past the window and sits at the table, he casts a shadow on the mountains.
