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Date Posted: 08:41:00 11/23/08 Sun
Author: SWC
Subject: Re: Virginia City vs. Carson City
In reply to: Rick 's message, "Virginia City vs. Carson City" on 01:46:09 11/15/08 Sat

People have noted that Carson City is actually closer to where the Pondersoa supposedly was, (although Rick has pointed out that that location is acutally a large mountain that would hardly have been an appropriate site for such a ranch). If you look at the famous map, Carson City appears closer to the ranch house. Yet, it's usually depicted as "the next town over", (as in "The Legacy"), and farther away from the action.

Viriginia City was up in the mountians where all the minignw as taken place and because the West's biggest "boom town". It grew up almost overnight into a major city on a hillside, complete with hotels and theaters. It was a much different place than the quiet little town depcited on the Paramount lot with the fake mountain in the background. The town was ON that mountain. It was the wildest town in the West as long as the silver held out.

Carson City, as mentioned, was a smaller, quieter place that was "made" by becoming the state capitol when Nevada was prematurely made into a state in 1864, (it actually didn't have enough population but it had all that silver and Lincoln wanted it in the union).

In the early episodes, Virginia City is a den of inequity where all the bad guys- and gals- live. Ben Cartwright doesn't want his boys anywhere near the place, (but of course, they go there anyway). It would have made mcuh more sense and been more itneresitng, IMHO, to have Carson City be the "home town" of the Cartwrights, where they would get supplies and do their business and let off alittle steam at the local watering hole and to have Virginia City remain the Gamorrah of the bad guys. There could be a rivalry between the two towns for power and Little Joe, when he was feeling rebellious could sneak up the mountain to the forbidden place and have to be rescued by his Pa and brothers, (as he is in the premiere).

I also think there should have been a continuing theme of the Cartwrights vs. the railroaders, with Ben initially opposed to them building through his land and bringing in riff-raff and then deciding that a railroad was necessary and struggling for control of it himself vs. the corrupt businessmen and policiticans that wanted it as a source of graft. In that senario, Carson City vs. Virginia City would have made an even more itneresting rivalry.

Bonanza had an historical bent but it didn't do much with common themes and running rivalries, which would have been a rich vein of stories for them to tell.

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