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David Canary missed the rough and tumble Bonanza plotlines that accompanied earlier episodes of the series
"All it does is confuse the audience," said the actor.
What's life without a little action? As much as we all shy away from any danger, audiences seem to love it in their television shows.
There is seemingly no genre quite as action-packed as a good old-fashioned Western. Plenty of Westerns are cutthroat and lawless, with cowboys as tough as nails.
But in the 1970s, networks began to pull away from the more violent aspects of television, Westerns included. One person who took this change to heart was David Canary. Canary played Candy Canady, a character on the hit series Bonanza who appeared as rough and tumble as a man can be. But as television ideals shifted, so too did Canary's character.
"At first, I was the mysterious, dangerous stranger," said Canary during an interview with the Saint John Times Globe. "But then, all of a sudden, what happens? The industry decides that violence is bad, something that must be avoided. Before I know it, I'm that dangerous stranger no longer, but a character involved in stories of love and psychological drama."
To Canary, it was an injustice that attacked the very credibility of the series. "All it does is confuse the audience," said the actor. "What makes my character different now from any other one on the show? Where the hell do we go from here?"
While Canary enjoyed his time on the series, he was hopeful to return to the more action-packed sequences that he knew and loved from Bonanza.
"I have no desire to leave the show," said Canary. "It's nice and warm here, and it's where I'd like to stay. But I do wish the network and sponsors would finally stop worrying about whether a script is too violent or not, and just start worrying about making it good again."
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