Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[Zella]

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

Let's not forget that while she wore the pigtails, Manly dismissed her as a 'kid' and 'little girl' but the minute she made the bun her permanent coiffure, he considered her hot to trot! 

I found that whole sequence of their relationship really hard to follow because I thought he was super flirtatious with her from the beginning, to the point that it made me uncomfortable, given their age difference, and then he suddenly was like "Oh she's just a kid--how gross do you think I am!?" 

I also just watched the one about women and property, and I was confused about Harriet and the store because in the last season she had sold her shares to Nels. I guess they forgot that. LOL They had a missed opportunity, too, to include Eliza Jane there if she'd still been around. One episode indicated they were still following the books in that she had filed on her own homestead claim, so she was a woman who owned property in her own right but would have lost that if she'd married. 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Zella

[RedbirdNelly]

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

Let's not forget that while she wore the pigtails, Manly dismissed her as a 'kid' and 'little girl' but the minute she made the bun her permanent coiffure, he considered her hot to trot! 

I could never figure out why she was still wearing pig tails at that point, including when she was trying to convince people to stop treating her like a little girl.

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I could never figure out why she was still wearing pig tails at that point, including when she was trying to convince people to stop treating her like a little girl.

I was expecting a touching series of scenes where Ma would teach her how to fix her hair like a lady and work with her to buy/sew some new "grown up" dresses, etc.  But nope never happened.  What a missed opportunity.

[CountryGirl]

5 hours ago, Blergh said:

Let's not forget that while she wore the pigtails, Manly dismissed her as a 'kid' and 'little girl' but the minute she made the bun her permanent coiffure, he considered her hot to trot! 

The Feminine Bun of Maturity as dubbed on TWOP. 

[Zella]

I'm starting "Sylvia Part 1" for the first time. I'm not ready! 

[Mr. Sparkle]

There's so much wrong with both of those episodes. Besides the obvious, that father is... special. 

[CountryGirl]

You’ll need a palate cleanser after that. I can’t watch that 2-parter anymore. 

5 minutes ago, Superclam said:

There's so much wrong with both of those episodes. Besides the obvious, that father is... special. 

I liked him better when he was Alice’s first husband. 

[BigBingerBro]

[Zella]

Yeesh, even knowing some spoilers and having the forewarnings, I was still taken aback by how singularly unpleasant those 2 episodes are. I did need a palate cleanser. (Tried to snuggle with my Chihuahua, but that interrupted the Nightly Cleansing of the Paws, so I decided to come on the internet and complain instead.)

A lot of it was just over-the-top melodrama, which I usually find pretty hilarious, but it was so off-putting and disturbing, that it wasn't entertaining in a trainwreck sort of way. I don't need to ever watch Sylvia again. 

[Wonkabar5]

Imagine watching it as a near 13 year old in real time.😱

[Zella]

Just now, Wonkabar5 said:

Imagine watching it as a near 13 year old in real time.😱

31-year-old me is very glad 13-year-old me didn't watch that! 

[debraran]

7 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I love the pic with Miss Beadle and Mary especially after reading his interviews/book about how much she liked her.

[jird]

9 hours ago, Wonkabar5 said:

Imagine watching it as a near 13 year old in real time.😱

I think I was 10 or so when it aired, and until I was an adult I thought the guy in the mask was her dad. The whole thing was very confusing for me.

[alexa]

13 hours ago, Zella said:

Yeesh, even knowing some spoilers and having the forewarnings, I was still taken aback by how singularly unpleasant those 2 episodes are. I did need a palate cleanser. (Tried to snuggle with my Chihuahua, but that interrupted the Nightly Cleansing of the Paws, so I decided to come on the internet and complain instead.)

A lot of it was just over-the-top melodrama, which I usually find pretty hilarious, but it was so off-putting and disturbing, that it wasn't entertaining in a trainwreck sort of way. I don't need to ever watch Sylvia again. 

I have no idea why they aired these episodes for LHOTP, as even with the normal drama, this was a bit much for the average viewer.  Very disturbing. 

[Snow Apple]

9 hours ago, jird said:

I think I was 10 or so when it aired, and until I was an adult I thought the guy in the mask was her dad. The whole thing was very confusing for me.

I was around that age too, and for some reason, I thought it was Mrs Oleson just trying to scare Sylvia. I quickly knew it wasn't her but I still thought it was just some creep trying to kill Sylvia. I guess I was too young or too sheltered to know about rape, even though I knew she got pregnant somehow.

I also didn't know she died and was confused when Albert showed up with a new girlfriend in the adopting Nancy episode.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Snow Apple

[BigBingerBro]

21 hours ago, jird said:

I think I was 10 or so when it aired, and until I was an adult I thought the guy in the mask was her dad. The whole thing was very confusing for me.

When I was a kid, I thought is WAS Albert in the mask.  I don't think I ever realized it wasn't until I saw it again as an adult.  Shows how creepy that episode was/is!

[CountryGirl]

Boo!

[Blergh]

Let's not forget that the supposed 'humor' of that show was for Mrs. Oleson to get up in arms about Willie having been caught peeking at poor Sylvia while changing her clothes but the instant Willie claimed to his mother that Sylvia . ..'enticed' him and the other schoolboys via just changing her clothes where they could see her- Mrs. Oleson suddenly became a wagoncircling mother hen towards her son and the other 'helpless' lads and actually insisted on holding an emergency school board meeting to attempt to have Sylvia EXPELLED! Yes, I know that Harriet supposed to be the show's comic relief and she ultimately didn't get her way but what was  funny about having her try to expel a girl who was just changing her clothes and had had  no idea that anyone was going to see her doing so?!

[Zella]

50 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Let's not forget that the supposed 'humor' of that show was for Mrs. Oleson to get up in arms about Willie having been caught peeking at poor Sylvia while changing her clothes but the instant Willie claimed to his mother that Sylvia . ..'enticed' him and the other schoolboys via just changing her clothes where they could see her- Mrs. Oleson suddenly became a wagoncircling mother hen towards her son and the other 'helpless' lads and actually insisted on holding an emergency school board meeting to attempt to have Sylvia EXPELLED! Yes, I know that Harriet supposed to be the show's comic relief and she ultimately didn't get her way but what was  funny about having her try to expel a girl who was just changing her clothes and had had  no idea that anyone was going to see her doing so?!

Yep. And the phrase "boys will be boys" is repeated ad nauseam by multiple characters about the boys spying on her, including both Oleson parents, Laura, and Charles. 

[CountryGirl]

It's pretty damn gross if you think about it. Even worse is the father blaming her for the boys being creeps and essentially having her bind her breasts to keep them from looking. He also blames her for being raped because I guess she was somehow "asking for it?" just walking home from school. 

IIRC, there isn't one single person who stands up for Sylvia in terms of it being the boys who need to be taken to task for their disgusting behavior, not to mention the rapist. Even Albert's reaction, to be Sylvia's savior, is misplaced. But I guess I am expecting too much for a show set in the 1880s.

[Wonkabar5]

I’m another one who had not realized Sylvia had died. I  just thought she was tired and went “to sleep.” 

😕 

[Zella]

41 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

It's pretty damn gross if you think about it. Even worse is the father blaming her for the boys being creeps and essentially having her bind her breasts to keep them from looking. He also blames her for being raped because I guess she was somehow "asking for it?" just walking home from school. 

IIRC, there isn't one single person who stands up for Sylvia in terms of it being the boys who need to be taken to task for their disgusting behavior, not to mention the rapist. Even Albert's reaction, to be Sylvia's savior, is misplaced. But I guess I am expecting too much for a show set in the 1880s.

There's also a really gross moment played for laughs where Charles says all boys try to get a peek at the swimming hole, and Harriet protests nobody did that to her, and Nels has some flippant comment. Like you're supposed to be flattered that boys are peeping toms, and when they don't do that to you, they're showing good taste. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

2 hours ago, Wonkabar5 said:

I’m another one who had not realized Sylvia had died. I  just thought she was tired and went “to sleep.” 

😕 

I knew she died, but even watching it a few weeks ago, I'm not exactly sure how. It seemed like she only fell from a moderate height. Although, she's not the first to die from a fall on this show. Charles, on the other hand, only cracked some ribs and showed us his manly chest. 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Superclam
Grammah.

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Charles, on the other hand, only cracked some ribs and showed us his manly chest. 

If she'd had Charles's manly chest to protect her from the fall, she'd still be with us, just with cracked ribs! 

[jason88cubs]

The 2 episodes centered around Mary going blind

 

I wont deny I get some tears flowing

[QQQQ]

On 2/22/2021 at 8:47 AM, jird said:

I think I was 10 or so when it aired, and until I was an adult I thought the guy in the mask was her dad. The whole thing was very confusing for me.

Me too!!!!!

[debraran]

2 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

The 2 episodes centered around Mary going blind

 

I wont deny I get some tears flowing

I saw that yesterday. Except for the running back and forth to the doctors (and not a good money year) I thought it was pretty realistic for LHOP. I could see her eyes failing, thinking she needed stronger glasses and then they didn't work well. Laura feeling jealous because ANOTHER older boy liked Mary instead of her. (Seth was cute though)  I felt so bad she couldn't have had a relationship with him. Then the denial which is very real from Pa and then a little from Ma. The waiting and then having to realize it was real. Mary's "suffocating" would have been how I felt and her depression. Ma looked horrid and pale and it fit the episode. Talking to Doc Baker and his advice and their fear. Very real. Mary getting nervous she was too sad and depressed and not wanting to go. I thought her adjustment was pretty accurate too and her "leave me alone and let me feel sorry for myself" Who wouldn't, she was pretty, smart, ready to become a teacher with a cute beau and now everything was upside down. She might not deserve to win, but Melissa Sue deserved to be nominated.

I even forgave probably not realistic , cute blind teacher who helped her and how nice everyone was. I would hope they could have been true.

Sad it started the beginning of the end with Mary, he didn't have to have her married or kids dying and all that. They could have adopted a blind child from the school maybe. : )

Edited February 23, 2021 by debraran

[Snow Apple]

In the book, Mary talked about liking her teachers and fellow students. She even spent a summer break with her friend Blanche. Too bad there was no cute teacher to marry in real life. I wonder why she never married? I thought the point of going to school was learning to handle skills like homemaking.

[Zella]

20 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

In the book, Mary talked about liking her teachers and fellow students. She even spent a summer break with her friend Blanche. Too bad there was no cute teacher to marry in real life. I wonder why she never married? I thought the point of going to school was learning to handle skills like homemaking.

Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of men at that time and place would have given her a second look after finding out she was blind. 

[Blergh]

15 hours ago, Zella said:

There's also a really gross moment played for laughs where Charles says all boys try to get a peek at the swimming hole, and Harriet protests nobody did that to her, and Nels has some flippant comment. Like you're supposed to be flattered that boys are peeping toms, and when they don't do that to you, they're showing good taste. 

That was wrong for SO many reasons. One, one would think that Charles ,being the father of four girls, would have been furious at the idea of girls getting gawked at merely for changing their clothes. Secondly, the plot of 'My Ellen' (Season Four) of the drowned friend's mother becoming totally unhinged after her daughter's tragic and needless death had happened right after her daughter and the Ingalls girls had ducked under water while skinny dipping when they saw they were being spied on by boys. Thirdly, Laura herself had caught Willie (!)[ what was ML thinking here re these RL sibs?) peeping at her getting changed in Oleson's Mercantile when she was trying on grown-up clothes and did NOT shrug it off but did her best to make sure he'd be punished  so why would she have shrugged it off him doing the  very same thing to another girl. Lastly, I think a more appropriate response would have been 'yes, teen boys may WANT to peep at girls and women in unclothed states but it's our responsibility as parents and adults to make sure they know from the start that actually doing so is  wrong because it is unfair, intrusive and upsetting to girls and women and that there will be consequences for that action  if they do this  .' 

[debraran]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

That was wrong for SO many reasons. One, one would think that Charles ,being the father of four girls, would have been furious at the idea of girls getting gawked at merely for changing their clothes. Secondly, the plot of 'My Ellen' (Season Four) of the drowned friend's mother becoming totally unhinged after her daughter's tragic and needless death had happened right after her daughter and the Ingalls girls had ducked under water while skinny dipping when they saw they were being spied on by boys. Thirdly, Laura herself had caught Willie (!)[ what was ML thinking here re these RL sibs?) peeping at her getting changed in Oleson's Mercantile when she was trying on grown-up clothes and did NOT shrug it off but did her best to make sure he'd be punished  so why would she have shrugged it off him doing the  very same thing to another girl. Lastly, I think a more appropriate response would have been 'yes, teen boys may WANT to peep at girls and women in unclothed states but it's our responsibility as parents and adults to make sure they know from the start that actually doing so is  wrong because it is unfair, intrusive and upsetting to girls and women and that there will be consequences for that action  if they do this  .' 

I agree, wrong on many levels. Back in the 70's, my dad would see a box or something outside of our only bathroom window and try to catch anyone doing it. He did once and the kid ran like hell but with blinds, most of the time they were hoping for a miracle with 3 girls. I heard a neighbor say to my dad, "Boys will be boys" and my dad who was always quiet, getting very angry. His dad in the 30's and 1940's didn't think that behavior was okay. It's not always the "time" but teaching respect.

8 hours ago, Zella said:

Unfortunately, I don't think a lot of men at that time and place would have given her a second look after finding out she was blind. 

Probably true, she couldn't do a lot of things safely another woman could but with Adam, they could have adopted a child who didn't have a home to go too. I'm sure interracial adoption would be banned as it was much later, but Michael could have done some corny show about any adoption. Giving Adam his sight back, I understand MSA saying it was a "soap" now. Better for him but not Mary. If she adopted, this way he wouldn't feel compelled to have her keep losing her children the writers felt she couldn't raise. I know Mary didn't, but hey she didn't marry Adam or have such a colorful life either.

Edited February 24, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

In the book, Mary talked about liking her teachers and fellow students. She even spent a summer break with her friend Blanche. Too bad there was no cute teacher to marry in real life. I wonder why she never married? I thought the point of going to school was learning to handle skills like homemaking.

That's a good question. I never heard of any hint that RL Mary had had any suitors much less serious love interests even from the time before she lost her sight ( contrary to the show's character who seemed to attract boys like bees to honey) . Of course, if there had been any potential fiances, it's not that hard to imagine that Caroline and Charles might have outrightly forbidden any marriages from happening due to her blindness and that, being far more dependent on them than she would have been had she been sighted as well as never having been recorded as having attempted to defy any of their edicts, she wouldn't have done more than quiet albeit sadly accepted their edict (even though at age 21, she legally could have married any single man she wanted without their permission). BTW, it seems that Helen Keller did have a romance with a male teacher in her early 20's but that her widowed mother as well as Annie Sullivan nipped that in the bud before any possible engagement or marriage happened.

[jason88cubs]

I always thought it was interesting for Charles to be talke ddown to by his boss in Winoka You could tell it hurt him to me treated like  a dog in front of his wife

[bunnyblue]

On 2/22/2021 at 6:47 AM, jird said:

I think I was 10 or so when it aired, and until I was an adult I thought the guy in the mask was her dad. The whole thing was very confusing for me.

 

On 2/23/2021 at 8:49 AM, Wonkabar5 said:

I’m another one who had not realized Sylvia had died. I  just thought she was tired and went “to sleep.”

Count me in as someone who thought Sylvia's rapist was her father and that she just closed her eyes to take a nap. In my defense, I was just a kid who didn't always understand what was happening on LHOTP.

[Zella]

I met Nancy for the first time last night. I'm not looking forward to the fact that she's in more episodes. I also watched the first Young Michael Bluth episode a few days ago. I'm not entirely sure the reasoning in adding more kids except maybe they thought all the preexisting kids were getting too old and they needed some new fresh blood?

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

It's a standard tv trope to add new kids to an old show. It's a good sign that the show is long in the tooth. 

I know you've been watching these for the first time, and I'm sorry to say that it's well past its peak. There are a few decent episodes, but for the most part, Season 8 is pretty bad and Season 9 is worse. 

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, Superclam said:

 

I know you've been watching these for the first time, and I'm sorry to say that it's well past its peak. There are a few decent episodes, but for the most part, Season 8 is pretty bad and Season 9 is worse. 

This is what I'd feared. I've felt like it's definitely been on a downward spiral after the first few seasons, though even season 7 still had some pretty good episodes in the mix. TBH, I'm kind of here for the trainwreck quality. I want to see how crazy it gets. I may regret this decision. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

TBH, I'm kind of here for the trainwreck quality. I want to see how crazy it gets. I may regret this decision. 

I will just say this: the orangutan episode isn't the worst one. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Superclam

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, Superclam said:

I will just say this: the orangutan episode isn't the worst one. 

Oh you have my attention. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I scrambled to the internet to see how far away this is--looks like I'll be waiting a little while before I get to experience this--but the first sentence of the episode summary in Wikipedia is cracking me up:

"Mr. Edwards promises to care for a dying traveler's 'baby,' only to discover it to be an orangutan named Blanche, which makes quick friends with everyone except Nancy, who tries to swat the animal, only for it to fight back."

 

[Snow Apple]

I think the highlight of the later seasons is when Nellie returns and Willie's wedding. I hardly watch the rest and just wait it out until the pilot loops back.

[Tamiele]

On 2/5/2021 at 3:01 PM, alexa said:
 

I feel very on the opposite side of things these days, lol—  I have always loved Dean Butler as Almanzo, and loved his interactions on the show.  

You are not alone!!  I fell in love with him.  I still feel that way when I watch reruns.  Always felt MG didn’t measure up to him, in looks or appeal.  

[Tamiele]

Does anyone know where a person could view any of the 3 specials that aired after Little House TV series was cancelled?  I’d love to rewatch those. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Amazon Prime has all the episode, with brief commercials. UPTv shows those episodes when they're finished with the regular seasons. 

[debraran]

20 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Amazon Prime has all the episode, with brief commercials. UPTv shows those episodes when they're finished with the regular seasons. 

I didn't think Prime had the movies anymore. I know they have all the seasons though. Good to know but I wouldn't personally want to watch them again.

Edited March 1, 2021 by debraran

[Mr. Sparkle]

5 minutes ago, debraran said:

I didn't think Prime had the movies anymore. I know they have all the seasons though. Good to know but I wouldn't personally want to watch them again.

No, you are correct, they don't have those movies. I've never actually seen "God Bless the Children" or whatever it's called. The Albert one is meh, and I can skip the blow up the town one. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Tamiele said:

Does anyone know where a person could view any of the 3 specials that aired after Little House TV series was cancelled?  I’d love to rewatch those. 

Looks like you can watch them on Peacock with a paid subscription. 

[die Frau]

I just saw the Granville Whipple Episode for the first time in over a decade. It was better than I remembered, but also shorter. The version I watched did not include him having any nightmares. It was sort of okay, since I (vaguely) remember them being creepy. Still, it seems like an important detail to leave out.

Also: I did see him scolding Mary for writing 8th notes incorrectly. Is that the only time he was less-than-nice to her or was there more? She told Pa that Granville "never wanted to see her again," and I wasn't sure if she was being melodramatic or if another scene got cut.

 

[debraran]

21 minutes ago, die Frau said:

I just saw the Granville Whipple Episode for the first time in over a decade. It was better than I remembered, but also shorter. The version I watched did not include him having any nightmares. It was sort of okay, since I (vaguely) remember them being creepy. Still, it seems like an important detail to leave out.

Also: I did see him scolding Mary for writing 8th notes incorrectly. Is that the only time he was less-than-nice to her or was there more? She told Pa that Granville "never wanted to see her again," and I wasn't sure if she was being melodramatic or if another scene got cut.

 

On prime I don’t think it’s cut, with long commercials they cut a lot 

[BigBingerBro]

The Garinville Whipple episode it one of my favorites.  I don't know if I'm dumb or a victim of syndication edits, but I don't really understand how he died at the end.  Did he get high on the morphine and fall out of a tree?  I know Charles discovers him with the morphine papers in his hand and he appears to be under a tree branch......  Is there more to it?

[debraran]

15 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

The Garinville Whipple episode it one of my favorites.  I don't know if I'm dumb or a victim of syndication edits, but I don't really understand how he died at the end.  Did he get high on the morphine and fall out of a tree?  I know Charles discovers him with the morphine papers in his hand and he appears to be under a tree branch......  Is there more to it?

He died of an overdose. The tree I don’t think was on him, I felt next to him.  Sad show but those demons are very real and I’m sure not talked about back then. I felt if he hung himself you’d see the rope 

Edited March 1, 2021 by debraran