Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[Mr. Sparkle]

Just saw this post on Alison Angrim's FB page. Signed by almost all the remaining cast. Apparently no one was happy with the way these reunions were run. They got skewered on reddit too. 

[debraran]

FYI

[Mr. Sparkle]

Jinx, @debraran!

[debraran]

Yes, the ones who didn't go to events, like Jonathan didn't have too sign. Simi was run by someone else. I felt so sorry for Alison and I said to someone I was hoping she wasn't getting sick (got Covid in Simi) So many people in crowded conditions but she said this illness isn't Covid but she's exhausted and it was so poorly run. I saw Subway being brought into Matt's room but I don't think they had a break unless to pee and they all looked drained by end of day. I heard on FB that an older cast member in PA fell asleep at table she was so drained. I mean some are 80's.

My husband said they should sell VIP tickets that really are VIP and you get in early and pick a cast member or two and others are put in lines that move with 2 minute "hello's" at cast table, not a conversation for 10 min on your love of the show. Dinner's should have tickets checked so more people don't come and seats are used up and if over 150.00 it should be a nice meal and not given in the dark and stars shouldn't have to shout because they don't have a good mic. So many things went wrong, lines merging because they were told one was for Matt and then others told "this one is" Maybe it's hard to get volunteers to help organize it but pay someone min wage to do it that likes the show.

I hope to meet them again one day but not like this. Love the show but I'm so glad I listened to my gut and sold my dinner ticket. I also feel vindicated that the organizer after saying I was complaining and shouldn't, the cast did so I wasn't being unreasonable.

Sorry for others who will miss them but I'm sure they will try to do it in a better way in the future.

[Egg McMuffin]

Re: Pernell Roberts. Even if he had Landon had been on better terms in the 1970s, I don’t think he would have guest starred in LHOTP. He just didn’t want to be associated with Bonanza after he left that show. He wouldn’t even allow his clips to be used in retrospectives. I remember Entertainment Tonight did a story on Bonanza in the 80s, and they actually stated at the end that they didn’t show any clips of Adam because Pernell Roberts wouldn’t allow his clips to be used.

Edited September 7 by Egg McMuffin

[Blergh]

8 hours ago, debraran said:

Yes, the ones who didn't go to events, like Jonathan didn't have too sign. Simi was run by someone else. I felt so sorry for Alison and I said to someone I was hoping she wasn't getting sick (got Covid in Simi) So many people in crowded conditions but she said this illness isn't Covid but she's exhausted and it was so poorly run. I saw Subway being brought into Matt's room but I don't think they had a break unless to pee and they all looked drained by end of day. I heard on FB that an older cast member in PA fell asleep at table she was so drained. I mean some are 80's.

My husband said they should sell VIP tickets that really are VIP and you get in early and pick a cast member or two and others are put in lines that move with 2 minute "hello's" at cast table, not a conversation for 10 min on your love of the show. Dinner's should have tickets checked so more people don't come and seats are used up and if over 150.00 it should be a nice meal and not given in the dark and stars shouldn't have to shout because they don't have a good mic. So many things went wrong, lines merging because they were told one was for Matt and then others told "this one is" Maybe it's hard to get volunteers to help organize it but pay someone min wage to do it that likes the show.

I hope to meet them again one day but not like this. Love the show but I'm so glad I listened to my gut and sold my dinner ticket. I also feel vindicated that the organizer after saying I was complaining and shouldn't, the cast did so I wasn't being unreasonable.

Sorry for others who will miss them but I'm sure they will try to do it in a better way in the future.

I was hoping to go to one of the scheduled events in the near future. Since I had gone to the venue before, I had gotten the 'layout' of the area and had planned to get there roughly two hours before the start so I could get close to the front of the line,etc.

However, it sounds like it was a disaster for so many of the fans AND no fun for the cast (who did the best they could under the circumstances to keep morale boosted,etc. despite themselves being so taxed). 

I'm glad I hadn't prepaid for anything  but I won't lie and pretend I'm not disappointed in not being able to see them after all. No, I don't blame the cast and believe they DID do the right thing by the viewers and themselves. Moreover, if the cast and attendees had called problems to the managers' attention early on and the managers did NOTHING to attempt to correct or improve things, then IMO the cast members were totally in the right to pull the plug (and, if its true that the managers advertised other cast members' participation despite the other cast members having NEVER agreed to participate in X event/s, then [if that's true] that would have been  downright misleading to the consumers- to say the least].  I only hope that the  managers don't attempt to cause legal problems for the cast members.

At least I got to read this in plenty of time instead of having ventured there THEN found out it was cancelled.

I truly hope Miss Arngrim will be okay soon even if it's not Corona and that she and the others will be able to recuperate - and possibly find a more satisfying means to meet viewers in different parts of the US in the near future (even if it's somewhat after the Golden Anniversary time).

 

Thanks for your insights!

Edited September 7 by Blergh

[debraran]

Saw this on Alison's site and thought it might make some smile. I didn't know she liked "John Jr".

Little Crush on the Prairie

Q: Did you have a crush on anyone on "Little House"?

So who did I have a crush on during "Prairie"? Everyone on Little House was very good looking, but most of them were sort of like brothers or uncles to me, so I didn't even think of most of them romantically. I also tended to hang out with the crew, so most of my crushes were on the prop men or the key grip. (Watch the titles next time. Look for any crew member with an italian name.) I had been told to avoid actors anyway.

Except for Rademes Pera. He's the one who played "John Jr.", a character who first appeared in the episode where Patricia Neal died, leaving her three orphan children to be taken in by "Mr. Edwards" (Victor French). "John Jr." went on to be "Mary's" (Melissa Sue Anderson) fiance, (back when she could still see, which is good because he was gorgeous). Unfortunately for him, Melissa Sue Anderson never really liked him. Unfortunately for me, I did.

He had long hair, big eyes, incredibly high cheekbones and read lots of books. We went to the same high school while we weren't filming, (Hollywood High).

I was 15, he was 16. I bought him gifts. (OK, if you must know, the "Dune" trilogy and a bowl of lime jello). Nothing worked. He turned me down flat and refused to go out with me on the grounds that I was too young for him. (He must have been at least eight or nine months older). This wound up being hideously ironic, as I went on to spend most of youth consorting with men anywhere form nine to sixteen years older than myself.

I am now married to a very nice man, 13 years older than I am, who doesn't think I'm too young at all. He has long hair, enjoys lime jello, reads science fiction and is half sicilian. They say certain preferences are set early in life. I wouldn't know.

Edited September 8 by debraran

[Blergh]

Well, I sure hope that the cast and fans will be able to find ways to interact in the near future despite having been evidently burned by what had previously happened.

[tearknee]

Little House is comparatively lucky to have so much cast left at all after 50 years (helps that most were young to begin with but other shows... :( )

[debraran]

Sorry I posted wrong article first.

Nice article in Forbes and reminded me how much I miss James Garner too.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2024/09/11/little-house-on-the-prairie-the-iconic-family-drama-celebrates-50-years/

Edited September 12 by debraran

[Mr. Sparkle]

14 hours ago, debraran said:

Sorry I posted wrong article first.

Lol, I was wondering where you were going with that. 

[tearknee]

I should really revive my old MBS forums parody ficlet/drabble series of Carrie's "long game" of tormenting Cassandra the Fake Ingalls and otherwise making her life a misery. ("Steal *my* place on the show, you...")

Such as getting her apple juice from "O.H.* Juice and Co." *every* morning ;)

 

(*Out House = Carrie's piss: in order to add a little body to the recipe...)

[tearknee]

Courtesy of Andrew Fetcho:

[debraran]

9 hours ago, Mr. Sparkle said:

Lol, I was wondering where you were going with that. 

Still not sure how it happened, must have changed articles : )

[jason88cubs]

I don't have the dvds but am thinking of getting them I'm sure all the episodes on tv are edited

[debraran]

18 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

I don't have the dvds but am thinking of getting them I'm sure all the episodes on tv are edited

More and more commercials have them edit a lot. Whole scenes are cut out. Another "perk" of the new DVD's is Alison said you catch more things like a hand that shouldn't be there or things like that. With wider screen and digital color etc, fans are catching more things cut out back then.

[tearknee]

The "My Fair Lady" remaster techs got rid of things like Rex Harrison's toupee line etc. digitally as they were now visible. Spoilsports ;)

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, debraran said:

More and more commercials have them edit a lot. Whole scenes are cut out. Another "perk" of the new DVD's is Alison said you catch more things like a hand that shouldn't be there or things like that. With wider screen and digital color etc, fans are catching more things cut out back then.

I like how AA turned what had started out as a steady paycheck during her teens and little more into something that she's become one of the most foremost scholars about- not just the characters but the production of the series AND Mrs. Wilder's RL communities and bonds! Maybe in some way, she feels she owes 'Nellie' and 'Laura' a debt for giving her courage, a voice AND the means to fight for her causes!

  BTW, on a fictional but somewhat sombre note, it's interesting how in 'The Lost Ones' (Season Seven)  when James and Cassandra Cooper initially get adopted by the rather cruel and heartless Isaiah Tompkins (and get framed by his resentful teen son Seth), the one semi-sympathetic family member Beth Tomkins (Barbara Tarbuck) seemed to only be able stand up to her husband enough to insist on them adopting Cassandra in order to for her to have someone to replace their deceased daughter  -and be her one companion in the house since Isaiah insisted Seth spend all his time working the fields with him (and seemed willing to accept James's presence JUST so she could keep Cassandra). Alas, that's as far as her resolve went because it appears that she'd been badly demoralized via her husband's and even their son's coldness towards her (if not having been outrightly abused). I mean not only does she voice no objections when Isaiah hoists backbreaking chores on their new legal offspring first thing but also makes no attempt to plea for mercy (much less stand up to her abusive spouse) when Isaiah beats James right in front of Cassandra ( or even hug her new daughter to console her for having had to witness her last original family member being abused)- only looking sad and forlorn. Yes, Charles pulled a [barely] better-late-than-never mercy re agreeing to adopt James and Cassandra after Isaiah Tompkins washes his hands of them after they run away (and James has gotten his foot caught in a bear trap). However no one (not even Caroline) seemed to consider  at least trying to stay civil to Beth who now had no friend whatsoever  in that household or, it appeared, anywhere else and seemed to be doomed to being even more vulnerable to a sad, lonely fate than before.

[tearknee]

Missy Francis deserved a better role and a better show than the ciggy end seasons of a declining ex-hit.

I feel the same about Brandy Gold as i detest her sisters.

[Blergh]

59 minutes ago, tearknee said:

Missy Francis deserved a better role and a better show than the ciggy end seasons of a declining ex-hit.

I feel the same about Brandy Gold as i detest her sisters.

At least Miss Francis's character Cassandra DID get to have dialogue with all her elder sibs and 'rents- unlike the Greenbush Twins' character Carrie who seemed to have become even more silent and sullen before the character's exit. What's even more frustrating is that once Albert dropped a line about how Cassandra and Carrie had each other as friends (while he considered James to be a pest)- but this didn't get depicted on the show!  I'll bet Miss Francis got to have MORE dialogue in her season and a half on the show than the Greenbush Twins got combined in eight seasons (and I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been for them to have not just the character's baby sister Grace but the near-age adoptive sis have gotten more lines and storylines).

[debraran]

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

At least Miss Francis's character Cassandra DID get to have dialogue with all her elder sibs and 'rents- unlike the Greenbush Twins' character Carrie who seemed to have become even more silent and sullen before the character's exit. What's even more frustrating is that once Albert dropped a line about how Cassandra and Carrie had each other as friends (while he considered James to be a pest)- but this didn't get depicted on the show!  I'll bet Miss Francis got to have MORE dialogue in her season and a half on the show than the Greenbush Twins got combined in eight seasons (and I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been for them to have not just the character's baby sister Grace but the near-age adoptive sis have gotten more lines and storylines).

yes, I agree, they could have had even passing lines...I started to wonder if they got paid by the word.Why couldn't Carrie say how her day went or answer a question at school, just raise her hand and say one or two words? They treated her like she had issues but she could have done something especially as she got older and more mature. They made her a baby by having her pee a lot and say "I like candy" and things like that. But once she got braids, she could have a ful sentence.

Mike got way too many kids to offset them getting older which is sad. It was not only way too crowded but no real emotional attachment was made with Carrie or Grace and the Cassandra and James just took over  (and they made James annoying)

Edited Saturday at 09:17 PM by debraran

[tearknee]

[tearknee]

On 9/15/2024 at 7:15 AM, debraran said:

yes, I agree, they could have had even passing lines...I started to wonder if they got paid by the word.Why couldn't Carrie say how her day went or answer a question at school, just raise her hand and say one or two words? They treated her like she had issues but she could have done something especially as she got older and more mature. They made her a baby by having her pee a lot and say "I like candy" and things like that. But once she got braids, she could have a ful sentence.

Mike got way too many kids to offset them getting older which is sad. It was not only way too crowded but no real emotional attachment was made with Carrie or Grace and the Cassandra and James just took over  (and they made James annoying)

Less than a quarter inch as annoying IMO as his real-life sister (and her character on another program). Both of his sister's character's "young" actors in flashback scenes (Misses Andersen and Kiff) were much superior in ability and likeability to her.

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, tearknee said:

Less than a quarter inch as annoying IMO as his real-life sister (and her character on another program). Both of his sister's character's "young" actors in flashback scenes (Misses Andersen and Kiff) were much superior in ability and likeability to her.

For clarity: are you talking about the performer Jason Bateman's RL sister Justine (born 1966) who played Mallory Keaton on Family Ties (1982-1990)?

FWIW, while I'm glad she's currently speaking up on behalf of age discrimination suffered by older performers (especially female ones), IMO the main reason she hasn't had the hottest career in recent decades as that her performances virtually all have the depth of a pancake (not dissimilar to Demi Moore's though the latter somewhow became a star instead of staying an extra).

[alexa]

On 9/2/2024 at 5:47 AM, debraran said:

Well, unless it's a book signing, I probably wont go to another of these events. This one was poorly organized but the thousands of people there were 95% nice. (they are LHOP fans) ; )  The lines were way too long and stood still many times. I wont list all the grievances but I will say the 2 I got to see were very gracious and nice, Alison and Matthew. I missed Dean. Most people there 10-4 weren't able to see the most popular ones beyond one or maybe two if they planned well. I'm glad I sold dinner ticket, I heard it wasn't run well, outside and food was "ehh". Some did bid on LHOP merchandise though and one got a replica of house. No idea of price paid.

Matthew was beyond wonderful, kind, patient and very friendly. Came out 3 times to walk the lines and tell how sorry he was. Alison was also nice but her assistant cut the line off at 2pm so she could finish on time and said she worked at Disney once so was used to this. It was humid in her room and they had fan but she had too much merchandise to have it on her. Was a trooper though and made a lot of money off her things. I got a fan which helped me in line for 5.00 she signed and we talked about a favorite episode (when she first got married) and she told me to listen to when she is changing before he Mom burst in, Dave Rose starts to play the stripper song...lol

LHOP fans are one of a kind, they come in all ages, Gen Z to seniors and kids were there and some were on their third event trying to see them all. That dedication is out of my budget and desire but I give them kudos. Jon Kovacs who played Matthew with Mr Edwards is a very handsome man today and a woman was having him sign her car dashboard.....not sure what she'll do when the car is not usable!

I didn't get to see Dean or have him sign my book but he did walk around also to say Hi to people in line knowing they wouldn't get in.

If Todd and Karen were able to make it, I'm sure the chaos with lines would have been worse but all and all it was a day I don't regret but wish I did it over 2 days. They also didn't have much merchandise out to buy other than at the stars tables so I saved a lot of money. My husband was happy.

 

Of course I have now seen a lot of the info about the chaos at recent events.  I am glad you got a little out of the event, but it is a shame that they did not do these events properly for all that put so much effort in to attend.  I did attend at Lancaster PA, and had a great experience, but that was only because I was part of the group that did the breakfast on the first day.  So we had the early start, first meet and greet, etc, before lines were out of control.  I did get to meet Dean, Alison, and Lucy Lee Flippin, which were the ones I planned to go to if lines started to get long.  We lucked out as many were stopped at the earlier tables so we could go around to the ones we wanted and at that moment there were no lines for those farther into the room (Dean/Alison/Lucy Lee).  

I had originally considered the dinner they had scheduled but it didn't feel right and I am so glad I waited and they added the breakfast, as the dinner sounds like it was chaos and I feel so bad for the cast and fans of that event.  

[tearknee]

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

For clarity: are you talking about the performer Jason Bateman's RL sister Justine (born 1966) who played Mallory Keaton on Family Ties (1982-1990)?

FWIW, while I'm glad she's currently speaking up on behalf of age discrimination suffered by older performers (especially female ones), IMO the main reason she hasn't had the hottest career in recent decades as that her performances virtually all have the depth of a pancake (not dissimilar to Demi Moore's though the latter somewhow became a star instead of staying an extra).

Yes, I was talking about Justine. And, again, both Bridgette Andersen and Kaleena Kiff, who were "Young Mallory" in different episodes, can actually act.

[jason88cubs]

Watched the Tornado episode yesterday

"Your my friend but you don't know how I feel!!!!!!!!! you still got your crop!!!!!!!!!!"
 

[tearknee]

A good indication that your series is in dire need of the undertaker is when your female main child cast consists of Scratchy the Cat from "Porch Pals", Ashley from Sinister and Hemorrhoid Sufferer #1 in a Preparation H. commercial....