Critics called The High Chaparral a ''westernized version of soap opera''
Drama is in almost all productions. Whether to add shock value or laughs, something needs to grab the audience's attention. That's what The High Chaparral did.
In 1968, a Washington Post critic called the series a "westernized version of soap opera" because of its dramatic episode plots and the traits of each character. Set in the late 1800s,"Big John" Cannon (Leif Erickson) and his family own The High Chaparral ranch. Cannon's wife and the mother of his son, Billy Blue, Anna-Lee, was killed in the first episode. He then marries a young woman named Victoria, the daughter of a powerful neighboring Mexican rancher, Don Sebastián Montoya. It's a marriage of convenience.
The plot alone sounds like a soap opera, which is why critics wrote about it. In the article "The High Chaparral: A Successful Disappointment," journalist Lawrence Laurent in the Washington Post wrote, "After one year, The High Chaparral continues to have an unbelievable air about it. Big John Cannon has a relationship with his wife, Victoria, that can be most charitably described as antiseptic. He got forced into the marriage to save his ranch, and, after 26 original episodes, he treats his wife like an unwanted stepchild."
Since the show was created by Bonanza creator, David Dortort, Big John was always compared to Lorne Greene's character, Ben Cartwright. Laurent also compared the son characters. "The character of Cannon took on the more unfortunate aspects of Ben Cartwright...For years, every romance for Hoss or Little Joe Cartwright has ended with the girl dying or leaving town. The same afflictions are now being suffered by the females who spend time with Billy Blue or Buck Cannon. Buck, from time to time, has a strong yen for his brother's unkissed bride, but in Dortort's westernized version of soap opera, such yearnings must be suppressed..."