S01.E03: The 100-Mile Walk

[Primetimer]

When hail ruins the wheat crop, Pa has to take a risky job involving explosives so the family can survive the winter.

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[asha]

"Little heist on the prairie" - this podcast is gold.

[EAG46]

I didn't even watch this show but I love this podcast.

[marceline]

I decided to seek out that clip of the guys double jacking and wow, Kim, you were right. It went on forever but I think it did a great job of showing just how risky it would be for the person holding the spike. There were a few near misses that really made me wince.

[Kostgard]

I probably haven't seen this episode since I was in the first grade or so, but I clearly remember the hours of footage of sweaty Pa swinging the hammer, and then that dude blowing himself up. 

And did Kim say that one of the guys had one of the smallest "mouth holes" she'd ever seen or did I mishear that? Either way, this is why we need visual aides. 

[RedbirdNelly]

We really do need visual aides.
I don't remember this episode, but there is a 100 mile walk in the books--I think when locusts destroy everything but I could have that mixed up.
A few thoughts (a) this show has a surprising amount of death for a show people viewed as family friendly. I watched it as a kid. Years later my husband bought me the season 2 DVDs--and I quickly realized I would be skipping certain episodes because my kids were young and would freak out when someone died. I didn't realize season 1 had someone's dad get blown to bits. Imagine a family friendly show today that blew someone up in episode 3?
(b) a lot happens in this show quickly---go from no crop to having one to it getting destroyed really fast. I would have expected more build up before the sweeps episode with a destroyed crop and 100 mile walk. Were there no sweeps back then?
(c) in a later season, pa takes some job blowing stuff up for the railroad when they need money for Mary--seems a bit of a retread of that story line.
(d) love this podcast.

[Kim]

Hey guys, no current plans for a specific Visual Aids post, but if you follow @LHOTPodcast on Twitter or Facebook.com/LHOTPodcast, I share screenshots throughout the week.

[DonitsYum]

Thank you...I took a sip of water at the exact moment you came out with "Prarie Kardashian"

[wanton87]

Damn. Jack Peters goes all IRA on his own ass @ 42:23.

The young son handled it like a little man, and was willing to step into his fathers shoes without a second thought, which is what I would have expected for the time. I kept wondering who the heck this kid was, since I knew him, but couldn’t put a name to him. If you’re a little older, you will remember Lance Kerwin, as he starred in a fair number of teen dramas in the later 1970’s.

Bit of Trivia: Lance Kerwin would later star with Melissa Sue Anderson in the James at 16 pilot (Though I’m pretty sure the original pilot was titled James at 15). She would dump him in a fashion eerily similar to the way that John Jr dumped her in little house.

[sistermagpie]

37 minutes ago, wanton87 said:

Bit of Trivia: Lance Kerwin would later star with Melissa Sue Anderson in the James at 16 pilot (Though I’m pretty sure the original pilot was titled James at 15). She would dump him in a fashion eerily similar to the way that John Jr dumped her in little house.

The show was also James at 15 iirc. They changed it to 16 when he lost his virginity! I think Kim Richards played his little sister, didn't she?

[wanton87]

11 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I think Kim Richards played his little sister, didn't she?

Ha! You’re right SM. I had to look it up, but Kim Richards indeed played the little sister. I have not seen this since it first aired in 1977, though I remembered Kate Jackson being in it. It appears as if Lance has not worked in the industry for some time now.