I know you’re not serious, Samantha, but just in case anyone really is puzzled by these things, these comedies relied on absurdity to get laughs.

A better question might be, “Why did the producers of Bonanza kill off every woman who married one of the Cartwrights?” I mean, sure, practically speaking, they didn’t want to mess with success, but the body count was high enough to make even Sheriff Coffey launch an investigation. Ben was widowed three times in the backstory and we only have his word for what happened. (Well, Hoss’s uncle showed up one time, but he could have easily been bought off.)