Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[jason88cubs]

2 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I was in school, realized I could see some of the Waltons and decided it would be fun to watch some of it--and stumbled into the Kurt nonsense. Such a big no. I'm glad I'm not alone.

Back to LH--although it could have been tedious to show us realistic stuff, there is a downside to only showing the good parts and ignoring reality. It encourages us to think those truly were the good old days when life was simple. . . .but truth is I hate being cold so I want my indoor plumbing, my central heat and the ability to quickly warm up food.

I always thought they dressed to light for the cold harsh winters they got

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, jason88cubs said:

I always thought they dressed to light for the cold harsh winters they got

Yeah, I just watched "Blizzard" the other day. Charles & Edwards are basically wearing long sleeved shirts. I know the blizzard came on suddenly, but isn't it pretty cold in Minnesota in the winter? 

Slightly related, I was watching "Gold Rush" today, and when they were leaving Walnut Grove it was supposed to be raining, but the southern California sun was cutting through the storm! 

[Snow Apple]

25 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Yeah, I just watched "Blizzard" the other day. Charles & Edwards are basically wearing long sleeved shirts. I know the blizzard came on suddenly, but isn't it pretty cold in Minnesota in the winter? 

Even Mrs. Oleson had more common sense when she told Mr. Edwards to grab warm clothes from the store.

Mrs. Oleson may be a lot of things but she's there to help when s*** gets real.

Edited April 6, 2021 by Snow Apple

[debraran]

8 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Even Mrs. Oleson had more common sense when she told Mr. Edwards to grab warm clothes from the store.

Mrs. Oleson may be a lot of things but she's there to help when s*** gets real.

Yes, she was smart, her kids were warm and she and Nel's always let them take whatever they needed in a tragedy. I realize it was  very hot on the set or outside at times from what others have said so maybe they didn't want to show them sweating.

[alexa]

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

Yeah, I just watched "Blizzard" the other day. Charles & Edwards are basically wearing long sleeved shirts. I know the blizzard came on suddenly, but isn't it pretty cold in Minnesota in the winter? 

Slightly related, I was watching "Gold Rush" today, and when they were leaving Walnut Grove it was supposed to be raining, but the southern California sun was cutting through the storm! 

I do think it was because it was hot on set.  They didn’t have them in coats often, probably because they were hot enough in the clothes they had to wear on the set.

[Egg McMuffin]

Simi Valley, where they filmed, gets pretty hot in the summer. That’s why they didn’t even try to fake it for the final Christmas movie, Bless All the Dear Children (“Spring came early to Walnut Grove that year...”). LOL.

The Waltons is the same way. It was filmed in California so there were very few “cold weather” episodes, aside from the pilot movie which was partly filmed in Wyoming.

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, debraran said:

Yes, she was smart, her kids were warm and she and Nel's always let them take whatever they needed in a tragedy. I realize it was  very hot on the set or outside at times from what others have said so maybe they didn't want to show them sweating.

Plus, let's not forget that Harriet DID use her powers of nosiness for the greater good- as in 'My Ellen' when Laura had disappeared after last being known to have cut across the Busbee Farm and everyone up to Charles thought that this very challenged and awkward farmer had done something horrible to her. However, Harriet (for once) didn't join the impending lynch mob, but instead shared the vital clue that Ellen's mother had just bought some birthday candles and said she planned to have a  party for her daughter- despite it being universally known in Walnut Grove that Ellen had drowned just days earlier! Harriet shared said clue (and they listened to it instead of just dismissing it as baseless gossip about a distraught, grieving mother)- and, as a result, they found out that Laura had been held captive by Ellen's mother who had been intent on having her 'replace' her deceased daughter and rescued her before it was too late! 

Of course, it somewhat stretched the show's credulity that birthday candles (or even regular candles) would have been readily available at a mid-19th century rural mercantile  instead of perhaps just having beeswax or paraffin that customers would have been able to melt and mold for needed candles. 

[Pirpana]

11 hours ago, Superclam said:

Slightly related, I was watching "Gold Rush" today, and when they were leaving Walnut Grove it was supposed to be raining, but the southern California sun was cutting through the storm! 

And in the same episode, if you've ever wondered how they were able to shoot characters on driver seat of a wagon without camera wobbling, the answer can be seen reflecting on a window. Picture quality restoration has it's downsides! 😄

[jird]

On 4/3/2021 at 6:35 AM, Kyle said:

I knew Grassle was unhappy with the show and there was discussion of recasting Caroline at some point early in the series. Hersha Parady, who played Alice, was reportedly considered.

Hersha might have been closer to the book Ma, who was pretty stern and serious a lot of the time. But Karen Grassle was the Ma that everyone loved.

I watched the Luke Simms episode, and randomly thought about how much fun it would have been to see the scene where Nellie casually drops into a conversation with Percival that she was married to a pig farmer for about half an hour once.

Edited April 6, 2021 by jird

[jason88cubs]

Quick mention of The Waltons, I always felt their show was more gritty. Especially the first 3-4 seasons.

 

Olivia(Mom) was very strict in the earlier seasons but they lighted her up. Kids walking around barefoot because they couldn't afford shoes, John always being a sweaty dirty mess from working in the mill

 

They really got down and dirty but it changed. Idk if the network made them lighten it up or they got a little lazy

[Katy M]

31 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

Quick mention of The Waltons, I always felt their show was more gritty. Especially the first 3-4 seasons.

 

Olivia(Mom) was very strict in the earlier seasons but they lighted her up. Kids walking around barefoot because they couldn't afford shoes, John always being a sweaty dirty mess from working in the mill

 

They really got down and dirty but it changed. Idk if the network made them lighten it up or they got a little lazy

As for the shoes that was a safety issue that one of the kids' moms complained about.  I guess there were lots of nails and things on set and they (quite reasonably) didn't want their kids stepping on them in bare feet.

[Egg McMuffin]

I felt that with The Waltons, when it became less “gritty,” it was somewhat organic. They came out the depression and had more money. Livvie realized that as her children grew, she wasn’t going to be able to control them (they had several episodes devoted to this). And John always stood up for the kids’ independence.

One of the better episodes in a later season focuses on a new minister coming to town. The church has fallen into disrepair and John Boy explains in his narration that without Livvie and Grandma around, most of the kids have become backsliders when it comes to attending church.

[alexa]

4 hours ago, jird said:

Hersha might have been closer to the book Ma, who was pretty stern and serious a lot of the time. But Karen Grassle was the Ma that everyone loved.

I watched the Luke Simms episode, and randomly thought about how much fun it would have been to see the scene where Nellie casually drops into a conversation with Percival that she was married to a pig farmer for about half an hour once.

He probably would have loved to hear about it!  Lol

[Egg McMuffin]

I loved the Harriet/Perciville dynamic.

Anyone know why Alison Arngrim left? Was she bored when they reformed Nellie?

[Blergh]

10 hours ago, Kyle said:

I loved the Harriet/Perciville dynamic.

Anyone know why Alison Arngrim left? Was she bored when they reformed Nellie?

IIRC, Miss Arngrim stated that she had had a seven-year contract and at the end of that, she and her manager-father had tried and failed to negotiate a new one for her with an increased salary so that's why she was no longer a regular. While Miss Arngrim wasn't happy that they decided to totally defang Nellie, she DID adore working with Steve Tracy (Percival) and had stayed besties with Miss Gilbert to the last of her being a regular. Of course after her regular stint was over, when NBC and Mr. Landon decided a 'guest appearance' by Nellie with her semi-clashing with Nancy, they coughed up more for that episode- and while she recognized that they oddly wrote the character more like it was Miss Arngrim herself visiting her beloved fellow performers playing her family and onetime enemy (Laura) with her trying to give them advice on how to deal with Nancy, she DID like it that they included a brief scene of her CHOKING Nancy when the latter snored too loud in their shared bed for Nellie to sleep so that there was an indication that Nellie hadn't been totally tamed! Oh, and she said that the tears all the characters shed re Nellie's return to New York went far and above the script! The only real hashmark she  felt about that mini-reunion was that they did NOT include Percival in it (as she'd stay close platonic friends with Mr. Tracy until his tragic death from AIDS at age 34 in 1986- which would spur her pioneering activism in its fight). 

[Blergh]

18 hours ago, Katy M said:

As for the shoes that was a safety issue that one of the kids' moms complained about.  I guess there were lots of nails and things on set and they (quite reasonably) didn't want their kids stepping on them in bare feet.

Judy Norton (Mary Ellen) has recently said that one of the other minor performers stepped on something and got hurt, so THAT was the end of the Walton kids appearing barefoot except for sleeping, bathing and swimming scenes.

As for LHOTP? Despite the fact that Mrs. Wilder herself made it clear that the only times the Ingalls girls wore shoes growing up was during winter and very formal church occasions (with Nellie's wealth compared to them being denoted by the fact that she wore fancy clothes and shoes to school), it seems ML didn't want to worry about liability and thought the audience might get depressed seeing the girls in bare feet on a regular basis (although he sure didn't shy away from  the cast from doing stunts like getting caught in rapids, rolling down steep hills in wheelchairs and getting into mud wrestling matches).

[Zella]

Pa's not gonna let his family run around barefoot when he could be barechested instead! 😁

[BigBingerBro]

What was that one episode where Charles needed to get all the girls new shoes, but Harriet would not extend credit?  In the end she wound up giving them all shoes (with the prodding of Nels) - I can't remember why.....

Also, there was the one episode where Charles boot was falling apart on his long hike to find work.  He ended up befriending a shoemaker along the way sho made/gave him new boots.

[CountryGirl]

54 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

What was that one episode where Charles needed to get all the girls new shoes, but Harriet would not extend credit?  In the end she wound up giving them all shoes (with the prodding of Nels) - I can't remember why.....

Also, there was the one episode where Charles boot was falling apart on his long hike to find work.  He ended up befriending a shoemaker along the way sho made/gave him new boots.

The girls getting shoes was after the race where Laura/Bunny beat Nellie and her Thoroughbred. Laura returned the family silver cup to Harriet and Nels prodded her into giving them the shoes in exchange for Laura's kindness.

[BigBingerBro]

9 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

Laura returned the family silver cup to Harriet

Thank you!!  I knew it had something to do with Laura

[jird]

1 hour ago, CountryGirl said:

The girls getting shoes was after the race where Laura/Bunny beat Nellie and her Thoroughbred. Laura returned the family silver cup to Harriet and Nels prodded her into giving them the shoes in exchange for Laura's kindness.

Harriet was so unbelievably awful in that episode. I know there are probably times she was worse, but that one always got to me. First buying Nellie a stupidly expensive horse that none of them were going to take care of, and then after Laura tired out Bunny the morning of the race in order to go get Doc Baker because HARRIET'S SON was sick, Harriet refused to reschedule the race and tried to claim Laura forfeited.

I just saw that one recently, which is why it's so fresh in my head. She just seemed so mean, for no reason other than the sake of being mean.

[jason88cubs]

In the Bunny episode, why didnt Doc Baker recommend they take  Nellie  to a doctor? One in a bigger town. I figured he would've

[libgirl2]

15 hours ago, Blergh said:

IIRC, Miss Arngrim stated that she had had a seven-year contract and at the end of that, she and her manager-father had tried and failed to negotiate a new one for her with an increased salary so that's why she was no longer a regular. While Miss Arngrim wasn't happy that they decided to totally defang Nellie, she DID adore working with Steve Tracy (Percival) and had stayed besties with Miss Gilbert to the last of her being a regular. Of course after her regular stint was over, when NBC and Mr. Landon decided a 'guest appearance' by Nellie with her semi-clashing with Nancy, they coughed up more for that episode- and while she recognized that they oddly wrote the character more like it was Miss Arngrim herself visiting her beloved fellow performers playing her family and onetime enemy (Laura) with her trying to give them advice on how to deal with Nancy, she DID like it that they included a brief scene of her CHOKING Nancy when the latter snored too loud in their shared bed for Nellie to sleep so that there was an indication that Nellie hadn't been totally tamed! Oh, and she said that the tears all the characters shed re Nellie's return to New York went far and above the script! The only real hashmark she  felt about that mini-reunion was that they did NOT include Percival in it (as she'd stay close platonic friends with Mr. Tracy until his tragic death from AIDS at age 34 in 1986- which would spur her pioneering activism in its fight). 

I loved that part, our Nellie was still in there when provoked. 

[debraran]

For a popular show, money did seem to be tight. Raises were looked down on, Alison said she gets residuals but I don't think all do and it can't be large. I felt bad for some like Doc Baker who said they never got a raise. Maybe they knew they were typecast and it was steady work, but still.

I did find it funny to read Karen had a mini crush on "Doc Baker"  Seemed to be quite a charmer. ; )

Although Grassle found Hagen attractive,  the relationship between them was strictly professional. When Grassle shot Little House on the Prairie, she was single and recently divorced. In 1970, Grassle left her first husband, Leon Russom, after four years of marriage.

In her interview with Zunshine, Grassle continued to say that Hagen didn’t pursue her or the cast members on set. Grassle said Hagen prioritized raising his son, Christopher. Although he married multiple times, Hagen primarily took care of Christopher by himself. 

“As a single dad, he had his hands full,” Grassle recalled. “He was always as sweet as pie.”

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/little-house-on-the-prairie-karen-grassle-found-1-cast-member-very-attractive-and-it-wasnt-michael-landon.html/

 

[Blergh]

41 minutes ago, debraran said:

For a popular show, money did seem to be tight. Raises were looked down on, Alison said she gets residuals but I don't think all do and it can't be large. I felt bad for some like Doc Baker who said they never got a raise. Maybe they knew they were typecast and it was steady work, but still.

I did find it funny to read Karen had a mini crush on "Doc Baker"  Seemed to be quite a charmer. ; )

Although Grassle found Hagen attractive,  the relationship between them was strictly professional. When Grassle shot Little House on the Prairie, she was single and recently divorced. In 1970, Grassle left her first husband, Leon Russom, after four years of marriage.

In her interview with Zunshine, Grassle continued to say that Hagen didn’t pursue her or the cast members on set. Grassle said Hagen prioritized raising his son, Christopher. Although he married multiple times, Hagen primarily took care of Christopher by himself. 

“As a single dad, he had his hands full,” Grassle recalled. “He was always as sweet as pie.”

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/little-house-on-the-prairie-karen-grassle-found-1-cast-member-very-attractive-and-it-wasnt-michael-landon.html/

 

In retrospect, one can see that Caroline was far more relaxed and informal around Doc than one would have expected a typical Victorian U.S. Midwestern pioneer woman to have been. In one scene, (evidently completely redressing herself after Doc had given her a full physical examination), Caroline was seen rebuttoning one of her blouse sleeves and  not the least bit discomfitted or shocked when Doc abruptly pulled the curtain to give her his consultation- instead of his having waited until she had completely redressed herself and letting her pull that curtain on her own. Now, I know that Doc seeing her rebutton a sleeve was no big deal but how could he have known she was almost completely redressed unless he had hung around to have seen and heard her doing so? 

Well, it seems less of a shock that Miss Grassle would have been smitten by the late Mr. Hagen since he seemed to have been one of the most level-headed of the regular adult male cast members and, on a shallow note, more visually appealing than Richard Bull (and I can't help but think that his raising his son on his own helped boost his standing to her and if not other female cast members). 

 Miss Beadle would have never had a crush on Mr. Edwards but her performer was far less conventional so, with that in mind, no surprise that Miss Stewart would have had one on his counterpart of Mr. French. 

[Egg McMuffin]

19 hours ago, jird said:

Harriet was so unbelievably awful in that episode. I know there are probably times she was worse, but that one always got to me. First buying Nellie a stupidly expensive horse that none of them were going to take care of, and then after Laura tired out Bunny the morning of the race in order to go get Doc Baker because HARRIET'S SON was sick, Harriet refused to reschedule the race and tried to claim Laura forfeited.

I just saw that one recently, which is why it's so fresh in my head. She just seemed so mean, for no reason other than the sake of being mean.

She’s basically awful in the whole Bunny arc. And I generally like her, but blaming a little girl like Laura for Nellie’s accident on a horse she didn’t even own is crazy. And had I been Charles or Caroline, I would have visited Harriet and ripped her a new one instead of just standing by and letting Laura get mindfucked. And then I would have forbidden Laura from being anywhere near her or for doing Nellie’s homework for an accident Laura wasn’t responsible for. The part where Laura happily says, “Mrs. Oleson talked to me today!” is wrong on many levels. The Ingalls’ parenting in that episode was subpar, to say the least.

[Egg McMuffin]

5 hours ago, debraran said:

For a popular show, money did seem to be tight.

That was television in the 50s through the 80s. Unless you were a big star (Alan Alda) or you owned a piece of your show (Donna Reed, James Arness, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball), you didn’t get rich as an actor back then. Salaries were relatively modest compared to today. If you were lucky, you had residuals for the first few cycles of reruns, and that was it.

That really started changing in the 80s and 90s, as actors began negotiating for a piece of the back end (syndication dollars) as opposed to just limited residuals. And even if they didn’t have a piece of the profits, they got higher salaries. That’s also when we really saw the episodes per season decrease - it became too expensive to do 30-40 episodes per season with the higher cost structure.

People vilified Suzanne Somers for her salary holdout on Three’s Company. And she negotiated poorly and managed to piss off most of her colleagues. But she was right in principle. That show made over a half billion dollars in syndication, and the actors deserved a piece of it.

It’s sad when I see cast members of shows that have been very successful in syndication - like LHOTP or The Brady Bunch - and the actors didn’t share in that success.

[Blergh]

On 4/8/2021 at 9:49 AM, Kyle said:

That was television in the 50s through the 80s. Unless you were a big star (Alan Alda) or you owned a piece of your show (Donna Reed, James Arness, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball), you didn’t get rich as an actor back then. Salaries were relatively modest compared to today. If you were lucky, you had residuals for the first few cycles of reruns, and that was it.

 

In addition to the non-producing performers only having a pittance of the royalties, working on the show   may have wound also up being downright tragic for at least Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey) and his own family. The 6 foot 5 inch, hulking Hoss-like onetime professional football player wound up dying of mesothelioma  at age 69 in 2010- which he believed he had contracted from the show's sets' asbestos and brought forth suit against his onetime employer among others the year before (which his heirs would settle without comment a year after his death)  . ML himself had died of cancer nearly two decades earlier but one may wonder if ,he had been fated to been still living, whether Mr. Olsen would have included him in that suit. 

Edited April 10, 2021 by Blergh

[Snow Apple]

Does anyone know if the sandstorm during Mary's wedding was real or was it 70's CGI that was put in later? If they used a fan to blow real sand, it must have been tough to breathe and act.

[Blergh]

On 4/11/2021 at 9:55 AM, Snow Apple said:

Does anyone know if the sandstorm during Mary's wedding was real or was it 70's CGI that was put in later? If they used a fan to blow real sand, it must have been tough to breathe and act.

Good question. I recall my own Depression-raised father being impressed of the detail of the 'dust smoke' snaking into an inside room via a keyhole while watching this episode (and said that this was an authentic touch)! He grew up in NYC but he could recall one Dust Bowl storm raining Oklahoma dust on the Brooklyn streets when he was a child! Even if they  hadn't done a backdrop screen deal, they DID think to show how fiercely the dust storms could get via the keyhole's dust smoke! 

[jason88cubs]

even in some episodes the wind was insane. they must have used high power fans, like the tornado episode

[Egg McMuffin]

I wonder if they blew sand or something similar in front of the camera lens, and the actors were further away so they didn’t have trouble. I know that special effects on a TV show in the 70s were rare or pretty unsophisticated.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Kyle

[Mr. Sparkle]

I just watched "Sweet Sixteen." I'm also halfway through These Happy Golden Years, and there's actually some overlap. A lot of the names are the same (Williams and Brewster) and the basic story of Laura going far away to teach and Almanzo picking her up is there. Manly only punches a child on the show, though. 

[jmiracle283]

On 4/29/2020 at 10:40 AM, CountryGirl said:

The Mary going blind episodes were very well-done, but I absolutely hated the two-parter where Mary's son, Adam Jr., and Mrs. "Them's Snails" Alice Garvey died.

There is no way a mother, blind or not, would have walked away from her child, knowing the house was on fire. 

It didn't help that Alice looked like she was using AJ to break the window to escape (aka as Baby Battering Ram on TWP).

Oh I Cannot Watch May We Bake Them Brown Because Of Poor Baby Battering Ram It Just Makes Me So Uncomfortable

[jmiracle283]

On 1/7/2021 at 3:02 PM, jason88cubs said:

makes me wonder how someone like miss Beadle got her meat. Did she exchange for desserts or possible sewing or something?

I Think She Got Her Meat After School Literally You Know What I'm Saying

Edited April 20, 2021 by jmiracle283

[Egg McMuffin]

Alice should have tossed that baby out the window. Hester Sue could have caught it.

The whole episode is ridiculous on a multitude of levels.

[Zella]

22 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Alice should have tossed that baby out the window. Hester Sue could have caught it.

The whole episode is ridiculous on a multitude of levels.

The staging for that episode was so bad that it made it hard for me to take the episode seriously or even empathize for the characters because I just kept screaming "why?!" at them.  Like, they were all right there and just fucked off without the baby! How hard would it have been to stage the scene where nobody was in the baby's room when the fire broke out? Or that only Alice was there, and they got trapped in it because of the fire. No baby battering ram needed either. 

[debraran]

6 hours ago, Zella said:

The staging for that episode was so bad that it made it hard for me to take the episode seriously or even empathize for the characters because I just kept screaming "why?!" at them.  Like, they were all right there and just fucked off without the baby! How hard would it have been to stage the scene where nobody was in the baby's room when the fire broke out? Or that only Alice was there, and they got trapped in it because of the fire. No baby battering ram needed either. 

It's been said he went crazy toward he end with what he thought would be ratings boosters. What happens though is you get a lot of people for that episode but as time goes on they fall off watching. What got to them to watch is a train wreck but who wants to see that on LHOP? A writer with no children had to write that or drunk and the angst with Albert and the pipe and music box. Way too much.

I'm sure Michael would make fun of it now also to some degree if alive and with instant feedback, instead of letters, might have not did some of what he did. Who knows, ego go before sense many times.

[Blergh]

It should be noted that Miss Anderson herself recounted objecting to the idea of Mary and Adam just walking away from their baby when the fire was starting to but, oddly enough, she could not recall what (if any) counter arguments were presented to her to keep going full steam ahead with this. It's truly too bad they didn't consider her objections. 

[alexa]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

It should be noted that Miss Anderson herself recounted objecting to the idea of Mary and Adam just walking away from their baby when the fire was starting to but, oddly enough, she could not recall what (if any) counter arguments were presented to her to keep going full steam ahead with this. It's truly too bad they didn't consider her objections. 

That is good to know, as that always baffled me...at least the actress had sense to know it didn’t make sense.  Lol

[Egg McMuffin]

Poor Mary. Did she ever really do anything of significance after that episode? Even when they were trying to find a place for the new blind school, it was Laura who did all the legwork. All I remember for Mary after the fire is that in her last season, some animal crawled on top of her head and died.

[Egg McMuffin]

On 4/7/2021 at 6:33 PM, jason88cubs said:

In the Bunny episode, why didnt Doc Baker recommend they take  Nellie  to a doctor? One in a bigger town. I figured he would've

Well, one of the worst-kept secrets of Walnut Grove is that Doc Baker is kind of a quack. There’s a great outtake of some episode where a random guest star dies, and Rev Alden says to Doc, “Well, you killed another one.” Truer words were never spoken.

[debraran]

6 hours ago, alexa said:

That is good to know, as that always baffled me...at least the actress had sense to know it didn’t make sense.  Lol

And to add to the idiocy, Michael liked her work, said she earned her Emmy nod and then gave her staring into space. So much more could have been done. No wonder she left and went on with her life and family. I also think many fans don't realize she lived in Canada and it wasn't as easy to join others for events (although after some nasty comments from costars, I'd rather not too) Nellie/Alison and Mary could have had a lot more in scripts. I'm sorry for Laura fans but I found most of her stories boring and overwrought.

I had a fantasy of Mary and Adam living in the city and adopting a blind child who's parents left him and Nellie and Percival moving nearby to work and having funny episodes with them and visiting parents. : )

[Blergh]

Oddly enough, I can't recall a single conversation between Percival and Adam or Percival and Almanzo- the Ingalls wives were supposed to be friends (if not at least civil) to the tamed Nellie!

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Blergh said:

Oddly enough, I can't recall a single conversation between Percival and Adam or Percival and Almanzo- the Ingalls wives were supposed to be friends (if not at least civil) to the tamed Nellie!

I think he was too busy battling Harriet to have time to talk to anyone else in Walnut Grove. :D 

[Egg McMuffin]

Did Laura have any interactions with Nellie during her last season on the show, after she married Perciville? I remember when Nellie returned during the final season and she and Laura had this lovey-dovey reunion. Which was nice, except for the fact that they previously had no relationship at all once Nellie became good.

[debraran]

16 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Did Laura have any interactions with Nellie during her last season on the show, after she married Perciville? I remember when Nellie returned during the final season and she and Laura had this lovey-dovey reunion. Which was nice, except for the fact that they previously had no relationship at all once Nellie became good.

I don't remember any really. No letters or info like I heard from Nellie. I think she was written off and that was that. I don't know if it was a secret desire to end the show quickly to go onto other things or that Mr Landon was so embroiled in his new relationship and tabloids etc that he was distracted. A show I loved ended so many things so abruptly, it made me sad later when re watching it again. Nancy was beyond awful as many have discussed and with such talent on the show, why they try to replace people with poor doubles is questionable. James and Cassandra stuffed in the little house because Carrie and Grace couldn't have story lines? Jenny was another person they hoped would bring "youth" back and then the Carter family. We didn't grow up with them though. I'd rather they had Mary and Laura and Nellie have kids we watched grow up or dealt with than others that were poor substitutes. I'll always love the first few years and still smile at Laura at 6 or so and her toothy smile and Mary so sweet. It makes me forget the bumbling crooks, fires and sociopaths that entered Walnut Grove later.

Edited April 20, 2021 by debraran

[Snow Apple]

I can actually see the reunion happening that way. They had many moments together, good and bad, during their childhood and teen years. Friends come and go but Nellie is always there. Nellie matures and they make peace with each other. Then they get busy as married women running their homes and having jobs so they didn't have much interaction.

Then Nellie comes back. Memories are funny things. I can see them relive and laugh at their crazy fights and adventures though rose-colored glasses as years have passed.

"Remember the cinnamon chicken?" "Remember the music box?" "Remember when I pushed you out of the wheelchair?" "By the way, I knew you were touching poison ivy and let you keep going." We were awful. Good times. LOL LOL LOL.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Snow Apple

[Snow Apple]

5 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

Oops. Accidentally quoted myself.

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Snow Apple

[Egg McMuffin]

I just wish we had seen some friendship develop between Laura and Nellie before Nellie went off to NY. The actresses had great chemistry. I don’t even think they even spoke to each other during season 7. In fact, I think after the mud fight following cinnamon chicken in season 6, they were done with each other. Or maybe after the one where Laura sent the swarm of bees after Nellie and Harriet.

There was a scene in the episode where Perciville arrives and Nellie, on her best behavior, serves the Ingalls pie at the restaurant. That’s the last time I remember Laura and Nellie together, and even then, they didn’t actually have a conversation.