Creeper Jen

Let's not forget that Mary is the only child in the known history of the universe who has ever been grounded from taking a test.

I'm just throwing my shiny penny into the pot here to say that I had a bit of a crush on Cap when I was a kid. He sounded like a real cutie and a great guy. Also, the name "Cap" - how could he not be adorable?

Arguably my favorite moment in the entire series is a sweet little one between Half Pint and Pa, of course. I think it's in "The Richest Man in Walnut Grove," when Pa can't pay the bill at the Mercantile and everyone in the family pitches in to help out. Nellie and Willie make fun of the way Pa smells and Laura winds up telling Pa in the barn loft. He makes one of his patented heartwarming speeches of encouragement, and Laura starts to head down the ladder, then stops and says, "Pa? I just love you so much." Her little face and her little voice and his response to it... TEARS. My gosh, the tears. They had such fantastic father-daughter chemistry. I know Melissa Gilbert has done a lot of interviews wherein she talks about how real those moments between them were, and how much they really loved each other. I definitely wouldn't be such a fan of the show if it weren't for all the things ML et al. did right. The things he did wrong just make it that much more fun.

Dark Moments: Someone mentioned James and Cassandra's parents getting pinned under the wagon. Remember the one where Laura & Albert use their honey money to send Mary & Adam to some awards ceremony or something, and there's a wagon accident? Adam gets pinned under the wagon, and of COURSE there's a pregnant lady in the wagon about to give birth. And I seem to recall an ominous shot of the driver's bloody arm or something like that, before a pair of glasses accidentally starts a fire. It's almost as though ML had a big grab bag of Frequently Used Plot Devices and he would just stick his hand in there and yank a few out every so often. "Oh, a wagon accident! We haven't used that in a while! Heavily pregnant lady? Well, I suppose we could use that one again, though I think we just used that a few episodes ago. Oh well. A fire? We use that like every other episode! But so it must be. The grab bag has spoken."

My eyes are conditioned, like Pavlov's dog produces saliva, to produce tears whenever the one with Pa's pa is on. I agree that any episode with Nancy is almost unwatchable. What a horrid child, and completely devoid of humor - at least Nellie was funny, and she didn't lock Jan Levinson Gould in the ice house so she could freeze to death. I also hate her in the one where she's so mean to the cute little chubby kid who's in love with her, and just uses him to get a good grade on her "let's stick pins in pretty insects" project for school. As far as horrible stuff goes, how about "Be My Friend"? The poor girl who gets preggers and has to hide it from her dad, and gives birth one day out in the woods without him knowing. (Okay, first of all - I've given birth twice, and the thought of doing it in the woods, by myself, while my dad thinks I'm fetching a bucket of water, and then I just hop in and whip up a batch of stew? NO EFFING WAY.) The dad is that guy who plays a corrupt president in one of those Harrison Ford movies - and here he decides that their shame is so great that they must go down, quite literally, in flames. Let's not forget the one with Laura and baby Rose and Robert Loggia - he holds them hostage or something. I don't even know if I've ever watched that one in its entirety; I despise the ones with grown up Laura, Shannen Doherty, and no Pa & Ma. (The only exception I make is for the one with Myron & Rupert - love that one.)

"Willis Jackson Sucks Eggs"

Ah, point taken.

Fair enough - I'm only pointing out that the show's writers know modern audiences enjoy seeing people in bed together. Nothing new or surprising about that - it just might be nice, on occasion, to allow more time for tension to build rather than having a couple hop into the sack as soon as they realize they're into each other. I'm speaking in general terms - not necessarily specifically about Miss Mardle and her passions. I guess I would think that the Victorian Era and all its notions of propriety would have still been influential. Perhaps I'm mistaken in that regard.

I hadn't read any spoilers, and I too was pleasantly surprised when Harry was able to produce the damning list. I wonder, though, why Lady Mae stuck around even after she had found it... was it to throw him off the scent and make him think she was really only looking for money? Seems to me it would have just been better to get the sam hill out of there. I didn't watch the first season (though I plan to soon)- does anyone know if Loxley really was physically abusive, or did Mae just say that to Selfridge to better explain why she had vouched for Loxley...? As far as the Agnes-Victor-Henri love triangle goes, I thought the acting in the Victor-Agnes scene was superb but the writing only so-so. As with Apgold, it's not believable to me that Victor would be that selfless and noble - or at least that his turn-about would come as quickly as it seemed to. I don't feel a ton of chemistry between Agnes and Henri, to be honest. I know they were a big item in the first season, so maybe I'll get more into their romance when I get to watch it, but she just seems too young for him. I think I'm a bit closer to his age... ;-D I do like the chemistry between Kitty and Frank, so props to whoever mentioned that. I'm enjoying the "DuMardle" romance (or maybe I should call it "Flosie"?) as well. I too was a bit surprised they wound up in the sack. I know prior generations weren't necessarily chaste, but I think they're bending to modern tastes at the risk of losing any sense of authenticity. As far as a woman waiting for a man to tell her what to do goes, I think Mr. Grove's conversations with Miss Mardle stemmed more from his own jealousy. He doesn't want her anymore, but he doesn't like someone else having her. It seems to me that his finally telling her to go for it, more or less, was his way of letting her go and putting his selfish feelings of jealousy aside. Maybe that freed her up and helped her realize where his criticisms were really coming from - and that she doesn't have to care what anyone else thinks. Seriously, why do they have to make her look so old? Is she playing a 50-something? The actress is only 39 or 40, I think.

I like this idea. I suspect no one has responded yet because they're waiting, like I am, for the muse to descend and witty names to sally forth. I can't think of any right now, though. :-/ As far as Jimmy goes, I keep thinking of the song "Blue Tail Fly" ("Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care"), but I can't come up with anything that fits. "Apples" doesn't rhyme with "corn."

Hey! As this board is still relatively newish (at least in this incarnation), and I'm sort of a tertiary, I feel a little funny about starting a topic. It's sort of like I'm afraid Nellie's going to give me a shove and tell me she wants to play "Ring Around the Rosie" instead of "Uncle John." But here goes... The last episode I got to watch in toto was "To See the World," the one where Johnny Johnson tags along with Mr. Edwards, and Mr. E. forgoes his Winchester '73 in order to buy out Miss Mimi and get Johnny to go back to Walnut Grove. I was struck by how funny and ham-fisted and obvious some of David Rose's musical cues and themes are - and I mean that as a compliment, in general. Does anyone know how he wrote scores for the shows? Do they sit down with the finished show and a piano and just crank something out, and then dash it off to the orchestra for recording? I realize we hear some of the same themes over and over again, but I wouldn't know what to call them or how to describe them ("you know, that one theme that goes doo-da-doot-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo? Yeah, THAT one."). But there was this one he used whenever something sneaky or underhanded, but still comical was happening. I can hear it in my head, but I can't point to a specific scene where it was used. Then there was the one whenever there was a working/thinking very hard montage, the same one that played from the music box Laura stole from Nellie (dum-DUM-dum-dum-DUM-dum). Or whenever they wanted to show how homespun or countrified someone was he would use a wailing harmonica - like when we sue Luke Simms' bare feet, or when Laura dirties up and dons a gunny sack in order to try and get someone to buy their luh-rin-guddis medicine. And then whenever there was a fancy lady on the make he would use a variation on his famous "The Stripper" composition. You guys know what I mean? Anybody got any other favorite moments of musical mayhem from the show?

The episode where Johnny Johnson tags along to the big exciting metropolis of Mankato ("To See the World") has an oft-repeated line that makes me giggle to myself every time, particularly when Johnny and Mr. Edwards repeat Miss Mimi's utterances about her "maw and papa-paw." Speaking of this episode, I noticed that there are a lot of extremely heavy-handed and hilarious musical cues from the baton of David Rose. I think we need to start a thread just on that - anybody got any ideas for a good thread title?

As someone who has lived in Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul area) my entire life, I always get a laugh out of ML's attempts to bring a little diversity to the prairie. I just find it hard to believe there would have been ANY Jewish folks (like Albert's artisan wood crafter guy) around in those days, and I'm not too sure about the African-American folks either, though this seems a bit less suspect. I've been to Walnut Grove, and I can hardly imagine there being anything other than Protestant white folks around there now, let alone 150 years ago. But it's hardly the only aspect of this wonderful (and often ridiculous) show that strains credulity.

See, I always thought the one that was written specifically for Karen's Emmy chances was a boring episode where Ma is away from home nursing sick folks. I think I've only seen this one a couple of times, and it's been a good long while, so forgive me for being so vague. It's one of those ones that you turn off the instant you realize how boring it is - one where it's always dark and drab and people are lying around moaning, and there's no one else in the episode that you care about. I went off to search an episode guide and it's called "A Faraway Cry." Maybe he tried to get her that Emmy more than once. I like Ma, though - I always thought that Karen G. was great in the role, and she always had this gentle wisdom about her without being too serious (like Book Ma). I'm trying really hard to come up with a quote - can't think of a single one that hasn't already been taken.

Yes - "I'm sorry for what I did." I think Manly is okay, I just don't think they have any chemistry, and the age difference is a big part of it (though certainly not the only factor). I also hate how much of a hurry he's in to marry her in the one where Pa won't let her. She's a child, hoss! Slow down and keep your pants on. Isn't Amy Hearn the one who fakes her own death so she can see her kids again? If so, we do see her, at least in that one episode.