Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[CountryGirl]

13 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

The real Charles Ingalls did just that.  He gave up on farming and spent many of his years building up the town of De Smet,  No idea why MJ didn't go this route with the fictional CI.

That's how they wrote the Ingalls out of the series when ML had moved on to Highway to Heaven. He started making more furniture and got a deal with a big city store and that was that.

[CountryGirl]

13 hours ago, Susan Easey said:

It's sort of sad that Laura is the only one of Charles and Caroline's children not buried in South Dakota, but i guess moving her would reduce Mansfield's tourist dollars.

Laura and Almanzo spent far more years in Mansfield than anyone else so it makes sense they would be buried there.

Laura and Almanzo's infant son is buried in the same De Smet cemetery as Pa, Ma, et al.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6847/baby_son-wilder

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Susan Easey said:

RL Carrie has step-descendants but that's about it for Charles and Caroline's family.

I always thought that was interesting, 5 daughters and only one living granddaughter, who in turn has no children. 

[Katy M]

41 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I always thought that was interesting, 5 daughters and only one living granddaughter, who in turn has no children. 

Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace.  Who am I missing?

[libgirl2]

11 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace.  Who am I missing?

Oops, I miscounted. I don't know why I thought 5. Maybe I was adding in Rose as in 5 girls..... Of course for watchers of the show there was Cassandra 😉

[CountryGirl]

3 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I always thought that was interesting, 5 daughters and only one living granddaughter, who in turn has no children. 

I always wondered if there was something going on with the male children (Charles Jr, Baby Boy Wilder, and Rose's stillborn son) all dying within months or weeks of birth (in Rose's case, before birth). 

[bunnyblue]

WTH did I just watch? The Garveys were in front of a judge in the middle of divorce proceedings, when suddenly Charles bursts out laughing and then the Garveys start laughing and suddenly the divorce is off. That was one of the most ridiculous resolutions to a rather serious matter I've seen on this show. Jonathan was being a complete jerk the entire episode (telling Alice she can't take the post office job because he won't accept her charity) and I'm supposed to believe the Garveys' issues are all resolved now just because they all got a good a laugh at his neanderthal behavior? Oi this show. 

[jason88cubs]

30 minutes ago, bunnyblue said:

WTH did I just watch? The Garveys were in front of a judge in the middle of divorce proceedings, when suddenly Charles bursts out laughing and then the Garveys start laughing and suddenly the divorce is off. That was one of the most ridiculous resolutions to a rather serious matter I've seen on this show. Jonathan was being a complete jerk the entire episode (telling Alice she can't take the post office job because he won't accept her charity) and I'm supposed to believe the Garveys' issues are all resolved now just because they all got a good a laugh at his neanderthal behavior? Oi this show. 

come on Charles laugh was addicting

[debraran]

8 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

come on Charles laugh was addicting

That was a dumb show, made me dislike his character as Garvey but probably more like guys then. The resolution was silly though. It seems the women were all a bit more cultured than the men in the show. Caroline was richer and had proper manners and did tell Laura she didn't think her life would be like this but she loved Charles and it was fine. And Charles was the "perfect" one who usually did the right thing (except when he wanted to go back to the woods)  Mrs Garvey seemed like she would kill Jonathan in real life lol. Miss Beadle was more educated than her sweet husband and even Laura. (Almonzo had his neanderthal moments too) Love is love, but the only ones matched by education were probably Nellie and Percival and Mary and Adam.  The Sanderson's seemed to be both more worldly too.

Watched Freedom Flight last night trying out my new internet service. Usually don't like the Native American episodes because they can be written badly but this was "fresher" to me and I liked seeing them win this round and MacGregor lose. ; ) 

I know the books never had Ma turn around in her views because Laura was 6 and didn't remember a lot but I did like this exchange from a review of her books:

Wilder’s decision to offset that all-too-familiar perspective with Pa’s generally more tolerant point of view, and Laura’s outright anticipation of meeting a Native person is most uncommon. But Wilder’s third unusual tactic pushes the issue even further. Wilder uses the voice of her protagonist to ask obvious but generally unspoken questions that ring throughout frontier literature. Laura first asks her mother why she does not like “Indians,” then follows up with her two most important questions, “This is Indian country, isn’t it? . . . What did we come to their country for if you don’t like them?” (Wilder 46-7). Ma has no satisfactory reply to any of these questions. Wilder thus draws attention to the absurdity of pioneer families who deliberately went to Indian Territory, appropriated land from Native communities, and then lived in terror of encountering any Native people—even those who had the grace to sociably visit their non-Native neighbors under such circumstances.

 

[VCRTracking]

Melissa looks back on LHOTP on CBS Sunday Morning.

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by VCRTracking

[debraran]

Thanks for that, a bit different than a lot of her interviews. I like that they showed the plague shows and Todd Bridges episode. I don't think I've ever repeated that to a bigot who thought "they" got it all and they answered either.

I like her farm, I remember her other house in the Midwest and knew she lived in NY. I thought it was an apartment.

Her last line had me tear up. 😦

Edited July 12, 2020 by debraran

[jird]

I am twelve years old. Watching the episode where Laura and Mary and Carl are on the runaway caboose, and at the end Carl apologizes for accidentally releasing the brake and the railroad man says "It would be a strange young man who didn't pull and yank when he got the chance - I've done it myself."

I am so, so juvenile. I'm sorry.

[Mr. Sparkle]

The original movie is on Hallmark now. Everyone was so young! Especially Ma! 

 

[CountryGirl]

Ah - the pilot. The most true to the books the show will ever be. 

And I’m issuing myself a ticket on the stagecoach to hell as I couldn’t stop smirking at Caroline, learning Charles is going to help out on a cattle drive, shrieking , “I haven’t had a piece of beef in ages!”

[jason88cubs]

Was it orginally suppose to be the movie and thats it? or was a series planned all along

[Mr. Sparkle]

22 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

“I haven’t had a piece of beef in ages!”

Maybe get a house with more than one room! 

[CountryGirl]

2 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

Was it orginally suppose to be the movie and thats it? or was a series planned all along

IIRC, they shot the pilot/movie in the hopes it would be picked up as a series. 

Fun fact, MG’s screen test with ML was the only one he showed to the network  

[debraran]

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

The original movie is on Hallmark now. Everyone was so young! Especially Ma! 

 

Karen always looked beautiful but she glowed then. Everything was more fresh, the scripts etc. They will always be my favorites and I smile still when as corny as it is, Caroline blushes over the sweet potatoes and watches her family by the fire.

I watched the one with the boy who was dying and wanted to see the ocean, I forgot he had leukemia which they gave Albert too. It was alluded to that little Charles had it also when they discussed his red/white cells. Was it really that common?

An article on June 5 about the first mention of leukemia in The New York Times described the disease's discovery imprecisely. Rudolf Virchow, who described the condition in 1845, was among the first to do so, and he gave it its name, in 1847 — but he was not the first to describe it

Edited July 15, 2020 by debraran

[Lisa418722]

5 hours ago, Susan Easey said:

I feel it's a shame we don't know who else auditioned for the roles of Half-Pint, Prisspot and Pee Puddles.

@CountryGirl

Alison Arngrim auditioned for Laura and Mary.  

[Mr. Sparkle]

Back to the beginning on Hallmark! I just finished a  Harvest of Friends, where everyone in the town is just as nice and welcoming as can be, except for the total Irish stereotype Seamus McIrishman. Now I'm on Country Girls, where the kids are mean to Laura & Mary before they even get into the building. 

[jason88cubs]

I thought Michael's acting in the first few episodes of LHOp was really off

 

Just came off as awkward for some reason especially in country girls

[BigBingerBro]

12 hours ago, Lisa418722 said:

Alison Arngrim auditioned for Laura and Mary.  

Melissa Sue Anderson also said that her first audition was a cattle call with hundreds of girls.  She said all the girls were up for the Laura and Mary parts.

1 minute ago, jason88cubs said:

I thought Michael's acting in the first few episodes of LHOp was really off

I think he was trying to make the character more playful like Charles is described in the books.  It probably took him a while to settle into the character.

[jason88cubs]

Crazy to think Michael Landon was on tv for 30 straight years with 3 different shows

 

very impresss=ive

[debraran]

Read this funny story from Jennifer Landon. Michael liked jokes and doing things "outside of the box"

Landon said that one of her favorite memories of Michael, a well-known prankster, occurred one Easter when he transformed the snow outside their holiday ski lodge in Vali, Colo. a bold pink.

“He had taken Nestle Quik — which was a favorite snack of mine — blanketed the entire backyard and sent us over there with spoons!” recalled Landon. “To be in snow up to your waist and just eat it like it was one big slushy was pretty amazing!”

One other I didn't hear about was this with Larry Hagaman:

Michael and his Malibu neighbor Larry Hagman had been friends for many years and it was well known that Hagman spent every Sunday in silence and refused to break his vow. So Michael talked a friend into dressing as an Arab sheik and one Sunday the two began walking in front of the million-dollar homes on the beach. The sheik was pointing at houses, and Michael was nodding, shaking his head, then nodding. The lavish gesticulating obviously indicated that the sheik was willing to pay big bucks for a place on the beach. Larry watched the extravagant pantomime, then raced down the beach to ask Michael what was going on. Michael smiled. Gotcha.

 

[Snow Apple]

In "The Richest Man in Walnut Grove," they act like putting sugar on berries was a normal everyday thing.

In the books, white sugar was expensive and precious and reserved only for guests and special occasions. Even the rich parents in Farmer Boy specifically told the children not to eat all the white sugar when they left them at home by themselves.

[CountryGirl]

So I was digging around to see if I could find out who else auditioned for Carrie and came across this tidbit:

A woman named Gabriel Tree auditioned for the part of Caroline “Ma” Ingalls. Landon and the other producers agreed she was the right actor for the part, and she got it!

But for Landon to work with her, he needed her to do one thing.

Change her name.

“Gabriel Tree” was actually a stage name chosen by Karen Grassle. Landon hated it, thinking it was too hippy-dippy. So, Grassle officially went back to her birth name and the rest is history.

Also, apparently after her audition, ML simply said: "Send her to wardrobe!" Like MG, he knew she was "Ma" right on the spot.

[jird]

2 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

In "The Richest Man in Walnut Grove," they act like putting sugar on berries was a normal everyday thing.

In the books, white sugar was expensive and precious and reserved only for guests and special occasions. Even the rich parents in Farmer Boy specifically told the children not to eat all the white sugar when they left them at home by themselves.

Yes! Also, I saw that one recently, and it looks like there's already sugar on the berries, otherwise they wouldn't be all syrupy.

[BigBingerBro]

After reading various books and watching some interviews I learned some more tidbits about The Greenbush twins.  Their nicknames were Sugar Lump and Foxy Robin.  Their mother was quite loud and brash and a typical stage mom.  

Also, the other young actresses, Melissa G and Allison were told to never ask Melissa Sue Anderson about her family life (her father was out of the picture).   

[Snow Apple]

27 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

 

Also, the other young actresses, Melissa G and Allison were told to never ask Melissa Sue Anderson about her family life (her father was out of the picture).   

In Alison's book, she wrote about Melissa G's birthday party at an amusement park. They were surprised Melissa S A showed up and actually having a good time and was fun to be with. Then her mother came to pick her up and Melissa automatically shut down. I wondered what her childhood was like after reading that.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I'm watching "School Mom" now. The kid who played Abel (Dan Blocker's son Dirk) looks like he's about 30, but it turns out he was only 17! Poor guy started balding young. 😞 

[bunnyblue]

Whisper Country: I remember Miss Peel being a complete psycho but I'd forgotten about the asshole farmer that Mary lived with. His wife and daughter were submissive & lived in fear of him and he was verbally abusive to Mary. I honestly thought he was going to hit her with the way the anger rolled off him every time he talked to her. I think Reverend Aldan did a piss poor job preparing Mary for just how awful the town was.

Also, Caleb-the-asshole-farmer saying that newspaper "stories" about the existence of the telephone were "lies" hit uncomfortably close to a certain someone's proclamations of "fake news". The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.

WTF were the school kids barefoot in the class room when a few minutes earlier they were wearing shoes while standing outside? 

Mary's around 14 years old in this episode and still in school, so how the hell was she the most qualified to be the new teacher in Whisper Country? Didn't teachers have to pass exams and get a teaching certificate back then?

Anyway, this really is a memorably awful/good episode, and "Jezebel, flaunting your flesh in temptation's raiment!" will always be hilarious.

[debraran]

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

I'm watching "School Mom" now. The kid who played Abel (Dan Blocker's son Dirk) looks like he's about 30, but it turns out he was only 17! Poor guy started balding young. 😞 

That was someone I wish Michael had on again. He was close to his dad from Bonanza days.  I don't think he worked that much he couldn't do it, but whether he wanted to or not, it would have been a good character to have recur.

Re the books the girls wrote, Alison's was the best, Melissa's more gossipy about Hollywood and the like but I thought both wrote unkind comments about Melissa Sue in part to spice up the books. If it was "everything and everyday was wonderful" big fans would buy it but not the casual fan sadly. Melissa and Alison had other issues going on in their lives but Alison's was funny and interesting. I just thought the pot shots at Melissa Sue were not needed. So she liked to be left alone or her Mom wanted her not to act immature, whatever, move on. Melissa Sue's book was more of a review on each episode if I remember correctly but I don't think she bashed anyone.

I didn't realize she married Mike Sloan a writer. He's older than her (15yrs) but my grandparents were the same and my parents 10 so doesn't seem odd to me. This was a wedding pic from 1990 with Michael. Her children are doing well and she seemed to have a more grounded life after the show.

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by debraran

[libgirl2]

5 hours ago, debraran said:

That was someone I wish Michael had on again. He was close to his dad from Bonanza days.  I don't think he worked that much he couldn't do it, but whether he wanted to or not, it would have been a good character to have recur.

Re the books the girls wrote, Alison's was the best, Melissa's more gossipy about Hollywood and the like but I thought both wrote unkind comments about Melissa Sue in part to spice up the books. If it was "everything and everyday was wonderful" big fans would buy it but not the casual fan sadly. Melissa and Alison had other issues going on in their lives but Alison's was funny and interesting. I just thought the pot shots at Melissa Sue were not needed. So she liked to be left alone or her Mom wanted her not to act immature, whatever, move on. Melissa Sue's book was more of a review on each episode if I remember correctly but I don't think she bashed anyone.

I didn't realize she married Mike Sloan a writer. He's older than her (15yrs) but my grandparents were the same and my parents 10 so doesn't seem odd to me. This was a wedding pic from 1990 with Michael. Her children are doing well and she seemed to have a more grounded life after the show.

 

I didn't care for Melissa's book. I didn't want just episode recaps. The other Melissa's was okay, Alison's rocked! 

[Snow Apple]

Melissa Frances' (Cassandra) first book was pretty good. It's called Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter. I haven't read her other books.

Edited July 17, 2020 by Snow Apple

[Mr. Sparkle]

17 hours ago, bunnyblue said:

Whisper Country: I remember Miss Peel being a complete psycho but I'd forgotten about the asshole farmer that Mary lived with. His wife and daughter were submissive & lived in fear of him and he was verbally abusive to Mary. I honestly thought he was going to hit her with the way the anger rolled off him every time he talked to her. I think Reverend Aldan did a piss poor job preparing Mary for just how awful the town was.

Also, Caleb-the-asshole-farmer saying that newspaper "stories" about the existence of the telephone were "lies" hit uncomfortably close to a certain someone's proclamations of "fake news". The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.

WTF were the school kids barefoot in the class room when a few minutes earlier they were wearing shoes while standing outside? 

Mary's around 14 years old in this episode and still in school, so how the hell was she the most qualified to be the new teacher in Whisper Country? Didn't teachers have to pass exams and get a teaching certificate back then?

Anyway, this really is a memorably awful/good episode, and "Jezebel, flaunting your flesh in temptation's raiment!" will always be hilarious.

Agreed, I always liked this episode. I remember the father talking about Rutherford B. Hayes. The family Mary is staying with is so depressing!

[CountryGirl]

While I enjoyed the Whisper Country episode, it always bugged me that Mary got the teaching assignment from hell when it was RL Laura who had the horrible first teaching job. Not so much the kids, but the wife of the family she boarded with. 

[BigBingerBro]

Has anyone read Charlotte Stewart's book?  (Miss Beadle)

[Mr. Sparkle]

Watching Part 2 of "The Lord Is My Shepard." Nothing creepy at all about Ernest Borgnine camping with a little girl. Nothing at all. 😐

[Medium]

6 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Has anyone read Charlotte Stewart's book?  (Miss Beadle)

I read it last year.  It was my vacation beach book.  I enjoyed it - Charlotte was not really Miss Beadle in real life, but I suppose that's a good thing.

ML hit on her but she made excuses and he left her alone.  

70's Hollywood was hard on actresses, in many ways.

 

[debraran]

14 hours ago, Medium said:

I read it last year.  It was my vacation beach book.  I enjoyed it - Charlotte was not really Miss Beadle in real life, but I suppose that's a good thing.

ML hit on her but she made excuses and he left her alone.  

It was hard on women and money was always less (probably still is) I thought giving Karen a raise and Kevin Hagen was appropriate after so many years but they knew they wouldn't leave (but Caroline couldn't be replaced, she was perfect for the role) As many memoirs had this piece "When she had the opportunity to read for the part of Caroline Ingalls, known as Ma on “Little House on the Prairie,” she recalls that Michael Landon was very involved in the process. She described him getting right on the floor with her to read the audition scenes. In an interview in “The Little House on the Prairie” DVD Collection set, she says that Michael leapt to his feet and declared, “Send her to wardrobe!”

In an interview with Karen:

Despite the set being mostly drama-free, Grassle did have one issue with Landon. “When we were in the top 10 [TV shows] and I said, ‘Gee, it is time to renegotiate my contract,’ Michael did not want to pay me,” Grassle told Closer Weekly. “It was very difficult.”

I really only enjoyed Alison's book, most of it and think she's very funny . They used her to do the "Jonathan questions" at fan meetings. She could defuse an inquiry by making a joke about him being "mysterious", getting a note from him a few years ago, "he's a monk doing good works" he's working in a small playhouse in Calif., he's working in NYC.  She was good at answering in comedian way and moving on while Melissa would have a lot more trouble and just say he hasn't been in touch. Some fans didn't get the fact she was joking and would get angry if someone said that but she admitted in an interview, he was out of touch. Funny thing was there was a Jon Gilbert in the playhouse she mentioned (just like stockbroker) but when I finally found a picture, not him. But if you weren't as nosy, lol, you'd just find a name.  : )

She seems like the type of person Id love to have lunch with, a good heart and knows how to take half empty and make if half full

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by debraran

[BigBingerBro]

Watching "The Talking Machine" now.  The most hilarious part is Nellie's recorded initial speech to get Jason's attention:  "I'm the latest, greatest, newest, trueist, genyouwine talking machine in the area, (west of Menlo Park New Jersey)".

[Katy M]

23 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Watching "The Talking Machine" now.  The most hilarious part is Nellie's recorded initial speech to get Jason's attention:  "I'm the latest, greatest, newest, trueist, genyouwine talking machine in the area, (west of Menlo Park New Jersey)".

I don't really know why, but I really love that episode.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I just watched it. It is a good episode, but these early ones are reminding me of how MEAN Nellie was! 

[debraran]

I watched Someone to Love Me, another I missed quite a few times. The synopsis on Amazon was pretty curt toward Michael who wrote part of it. They said the truth but they brought up his affair which was going on at the time.  If you have Amazon you can read it below I think. I also watched a little of Mike Jr's movie on his dad.  I must say, no disrespect to Mike Jr, his movie about his dad wasn't acted very well and the actors didn't feel like the real people watching them, but I did feel his pain a lot. I can't imagine that pain in a regular family, but one that graces the National Star and Enquirer must have been unbearable. It's gone now but a small clip is on youtube. No one is perfect but being on TV makes everything worse.

My favorite part of Someone to Love Me was this conversation on the show because I feel it is true:
Leslie: How does a person get that kind of faith?
Charles: By wanting it bad enough.
Thomas: (calling) Mr. Ingalls, we found the dragon! Come see!
Charles: (stands up, then turns and looks back at Leslie) You can even find a dragon if you believe hard enough.
https://www.amazon.com/As-Long-Were-Together-Part/dp/B00NFCUTQ0/ref=sr_1_12?crid=KT4XJV50NM4H&dchild=1&keywords=little+house+on+the+prairie&qid=1595098601&s=instant-video&sprefix=little+house%2Cinstant-video%2C175&sr=1-12

I really enjoyed the Bonanza episode even more with Hoss. Michael wrote the Bonanza script that matches his LHOP one. It's almost word for word except Hoss is single so he had to change that up a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by debraran

[bunnyblue]

I'm working my way through seasons 5 & 6. I know Carrie isn't popular around these parts, but I gotta say that poor kid was treated as an afterthought in the Ingalls family. There are a few instances where the family runs off to do something or other (usually to the Blind School) and they leave Carrie behind to take care of baby Grace. The kid's like 8 years old and they leave her alone on the farm with a baby; that's messed up. All that neglect, I'm surprised she didn't exact her revenge on the family when she got older. 

It's funny that Albert never outgrew his con artist ways. Even living with the goody-two-shoes Ingalls family, he still stole (on the train to San Francisco) and lied (pretending to be blind) to get what he wanted. I'd forgotten that he remained a little schemer, which makes me like him even more.

I'm just getting to the Almanzo/Laura episodes and ewwww. It's so uncomfortable watching him kiss her on the forehead, and watching them talk in front of the fireplace while Laura's barefoot and wearing his robe. I remember when I was a kid I thought their blossoming relationship was so romantic but as an adult I'm definitely creeped out by the obvious age difference and Almanzo's interest in a 15 year old girl. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

"Haunted House" is on now. I like this one, it used to scare me. Apparently, it was ok to let your 10 year old daughter hang out alone with an old hermit. 

[debraran]

w

Watching Third Miracle, one of the few times we see Carrie at the end of Charles and Caroline's bed. She of course is told she can't go tell Mary and Adam about Albert and Laura giving them money for trip. She has to watch Grace....but where is Grace? No cradle or obvious place. Barn? ; )

Poor kids, they earned 57.00 (that's a lot of money back then) and even they can't keep it for a gift or savings. The trip was a nice gesture but since they rarely had money, it was another Ingall's "easy come, easy go".

[debraran]

On 7/20/2020 at 5:05 PM, Superclam said:

"Haunted House" is on now. I like this one, it used to scare me. Apparently, it was ok to let your 10 year old daughter hang out alone with an old hermit. 

I liked Mr Pike but definitely not someone my Mom would of  said yes too, even in the 70's. And I can say that  after many "don't go backs" would  let me go one more time.  Didn't have any chores that week I guess. Guys liked little girls even back then and mentally ill people weren't always stable but of course after 20 years of being a hermit, a verse from Laura's bible does it. And he got the house clean to boot!  ; )

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Watching the one with Buck Rogers now. "You get inside and take your shirt off!!" 

Giving him Charles' shirt to wear. No wonder Mary got all uptight. 

I didn't have the strength to watch "My Ellen." Way too creepy for the morning. 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Superclam

[debraran]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

Watching the one with Buck Rogers now. "You get inside and take your shirt off!!" 

Giving him Charles' shirt to wear. No wonder Mary got all uptight. 

I didn't have the strength to watch "My Ellen." Way too creepy for the morning. 

They had 2 of that shirt, Ma and Mary made it for Charles (but she hid hers) So really Chris could have gotten that one. ; ) Damn he was fine, (to me) I never liked Charles that way but Chris....