Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[jason88cubs]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

Question: does anyone know when they stopped with Laura doing narration? They had it in Harvest of Friends and Country Girls, but I don't remember it after. 

I think it was only bits and pieces

[Mr. Sparkle]

20 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

I think it was only bits and pieces

Maybe 2 sentences in Country Girls, nothing in 100 Mile Walk and so far nothing in Mr. Edwards' Homecoming. 

[CountryGirl]

Some other episodes I can think of are Be My Friend (Laura thinking about Baby Grace), Back to School (Laura reflecting on meeting the man she’ll marry), the one with Perley Day and Laura cooks breakfast for her father and Almanzo, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (the “my heart was crying for Almanzo”), the Lost Ones (Laura talks about how close her family and James and Cassandra are getting and, later, about the little house being very full…of love), Nancy’s intro, Albert becoming a doctor but only after he barged up drugs. I’m sure there are more. Albert got a voiceover at the end of The Craftsmen. 

I know way too much about this show. 

[RedbirdNelly]

On 8/27/2021 at 7:12 PM, CountryGirl said:

Some other episodes I can think of are Be My Friend (Laura thinking about Baby Grace), Back to School (Laura reflecting on meeting the man she’ll marry), the one with Perley Day and Laura cooks breakfast for her father and Almanzo, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (the “my heart was crying for Almanzo”), the Lost Ones (Laura talks about how close her family and James and Cassandra are getting and, later, about the little house being very full…of love), Nancy’s intro, Albert becoming a doctor but only after he barged up drugs. I’m sure there are more. Albert got a voiceover at the end of The Craftsmen. 

I know way too much about this show. 

just watched the one where they are back in Walnut Grove and Mr. Hansen (per her narration at the end) dies

[debraran]

I'm watching the episode where Charles is "St Charles" again and goes to get horses and flirt with the drunk guys wife but let her know he is needed in Walnut Grove to keep up saving souls. : ) Later he'll change names and do it on a highway to heaven.  The wife I thought was same woman who played the Native American's wife in the episode where Caroline wasn't afraid of them anymore and was the only nice person who visited Amelia and Joseph (Spotted Eagle) Voices sounded similar. I  liked the first script of this with Hoss on Bonanza. I watched it on you tube last year and he was just so "Hoss" and touching without the saviour complex. This was too saccharin and the child being named after him, a bit over the top at the end. I was thinking Caroline couldn't go to church with Chris but he got picnics. Could you imagine the buzz in Walnut Grove if Caroline dared to have fun with Chris?

Must have been nice for rest of cast to have the week off so to speak and just have the show about Charles.

Any reason why the bad toupee on the dad? Charles Cioffi always seemed to have a head of hair even later.  I always find it distracting. Even if he needed one, they could have done better.

 

Edited September 1, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

@debraran

 

 I agree with all the above re that episode- but what was perplexing is that at the tail end, Laura did a Rare Late Season Narration and dropped the  baby name bombshell that had happened two years after that two or three day visit to the unhappy couple and offspring. I mean, how much of all this was Charles supposed to have shared with Laura after the fact?

It's hard to imagine any convo like" How was your trip, Pa?"

Charles:"Oh, same old ,same old. The horse seller was a big ole drunk and his wife was itching to leave him but I gave them both big guilt trips (and treated his wife and kids to a picnic) so he's guaranteed to stay off the sauce and avoid' women of relaxed morals' from now on and his wife will eagerly stay with him instead of trying to give herself and their kids a life away from all that. Oh, and I got those horses for a song!"

Laura:"That's  definitely something I'd want to share in any future remembrance book! I sure hope that family stays in touch with you! Can I tell Ma about it?"

[debraran]

10 hours ago, Blergh said:

@debraran

 

 I agree with all the above re that episode- but what was perplexing is that at the tail end, Laura did a Rare Late Season Narration and dropped the  baby name bombshell that had happened two years after that two or three day visit to the unhappy couple and offspring. I mean, how much of all this was Charles supposed to have shared with Laura after the fact?

It's hard to imagine any convo like" How was your trip, Pa?"

Charles:"Oh, same old ,same old. The horse seller was a big ole drunk and his wife was itching to leave him but I gave them both big guilt trips (and treated his wife and kids to a picnic) so he's guaranteed to stay off the sauce and avoid' women of relaxed morals' from now on and his wife will eagerly stay with him instead of trying to give herself and their kids a life away from all that. Oh, and I got those horses for a song!"

Laura:"That's  definitely something I'd want to share in any future remembrance book! I sure hope that family stays in touch with you! Can I tell Ma about it?"

Love it, why would they stay in touch 2 long years later, when none of the other "close' neighbors did?. Why would she be writing Charles 2 years later unless she still had a little bit of crush on him. ; ) "Laura, make sure to leave out my compliment about the hands, that got a little misconstrued and  how I cradled her face in my hands at the goodbye. Or that I spent more time with her kids than with Carrie.  The rest is up for grabs."

Edited September 3, 2021 by debraran

[ctlady]

I really liked the episode Annabelle, but I cringed at the scene at the blind school ("You don't believe I'm fat, children? Come up here children and feel me")  

And am I the only one who thought it cruel to bring blind kids to the circus?  Just toss a diabetic in a candy shop, why don't you?  I know these kids can hear the laughter, but a major part of the circus is 'seeing' - the acrobats, high wire act, everything needs to be seen to be enjoyed.  Charles explaining to them what's happening is all well-intentioned, but it's not the same if you can't see it.

And Grace crying throughout the entire circus 🙄  Yeah, I know she's pretty much a baby, but it bugged me. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

I really liked the episode Annabelle, but I cringed at the scene at the blind school ("You don't believe I'm fat, children? Come up here children and feel me")  

And am I the only one who thought it cruel to bring blind kids to the circus?  Just toss a diabetic in a candy shop, why don't you?  I know these kids can hear the laughter, but a major part of the circus is 'seeing' - the acrobats, high wire act, everything needs to be seen to be enjoyed.  Charles explaining to them what's happening is all well-intentioned, but it's not the same if you can't see it.

And Grace crying throughout the entire circus 🙄  Yeah, I know she's pretty much a baby, but it bugged me. 

Although, I understand that for Annabelle to invite the blind children to feel her to give a hint that she was the sideshow's fat lady was supposed to show that she wanted to educate them and help them participate, I had to agree that it seemed a virtual miracle that NONE of them attempted to feel her . .'upper story' but just kept their hands at waist level.

Yes, I know that blind children couldn't have actually seen all the action live and would have had to rely on Charles (and others) to explain the happenings. However, they could still hear the live (albeit invisible to viewers) band, the horses clomping by and the ring master's dialogue and the crowd's reactions. All in all, I think it would have beat just staying inside the schoolroom, eating meals and going to sleep in their bedrooms (with an occasional outdoor run near the school) that they did day after day, week after week, month after month,etc.

And, despite the fact that Charles had persuaded the town of Walnut Grove to 'adopt' the school before he walked them behind the wagon train from Winoka, this would be their ONLY time they would be depicted doing things with other Walnut Grove non-Ingallses residents. I mean, they never were seen in church or at the Mercantile ( surely having them feel bolts of cloth, smell coffee,etc. maybe had a piece of candy would have been entertaining for them).  And they DID shelter (and provide care for)  residents during the Anthrax plague but even that didn't seem to to get anyone not to treat THEM like lepers had been treated.  Hence, when the Blind School burned and they were taken in by non-Ingalls residents, it seems their care and welfare was being entrusted to total strangers that they'd had zero previous interactions with (and there seems to have been no attempt to vet and consider those folks' suitabilities) . These kids were already traumatized via losing their home & school and being scattered to the winds, yet the adults didn't seem to consider that sending them to be boarded with strangers may not have been the  most ideal solution (and would anyone send sighted children to be boarded with total strangers ?). 

[debraran]

6 hours ago, ctlady said:

I really liked the episode Annabelle, but I cringed at the scene at the blind school ("You don't believe I'm fat, children? Come up here children and feel me")  

And am I the only one who thought it cruel to bring blind kids to the circus?  Just toss a diabetic in a candy shop, why don't you?  I know these kids can hear the laughter, but a major part of the circus is 'seeing' - the acrobats, high wire act, everything needs to be seen to be enjoyed.  Charles explaining to them what's happening is all well-intentioned, but it's not the same if you can't see it.

And Grace crying throughout the entire circus 🙄  Yeah, I know she's pretty much a baby, but it bugged me. 

I never got taking the kids either since they couldn't see and so many things might be scary. I feel poor Grace had WAY too many takes and just about had it. I felt sorry for her. That happened again when they came back to Walnut grove and were over Jonathan's. Grace seemed almost "pinched", she started wailing outside and they tried to ignore it.

Edited September 7, 2021 by debraran

[BigBingerBro]

Finally had the chance to read Ketty Lester's book.  A very good read.  I can't help but think her life could have been much different had she had better representation and followed her heart a bit more.  Not a lot re LHOTP, but a good read none the less.

[Zella]

One of the things that really ruins the Annabelle episode for me in retrospect is how hypocritical the show is in its message about obesity. It has a good message about not being cruel to Annabelle because of her appearance, but the show is pretty damn awful in how it depicts Harriet's weight, which isn't even really overweight. Nels is an absolute dick to Harriet about her weight, and I felt like that undermines any revelation he's supposed to have had about his sister. I know I am expecting too much for it to be consistent in its characterization, but as a fat chick, it pisses me off. 

[Blergh]

Just now, Zella said:

One of the things that really ruins the Annabelle episode for me in retrospect is how hypocritical the show is in its message about obesity. It has a good message about not being cruel to Annabelle because of her appearance, but the show is pretty damn awful in how it depicts Harriet's weight, which isn't even really overweight. Nels is an absolute dick to Harriet about her weight, and I felt like that undermines any revelation he's supposed to have had about his sister. I know I am expecting too much for it to be consistent in its characterization, but as a fat chick, it pisses me off. 

And to top the whole thing off, Nels is supposed to be the 'good guy' in that nuclear family while Harriet is supposed to be the' mean and  greedy albeit wacky villain'. 

Oh, and while he's not Medusa's uglier brother, he's no oil painting himself but Harriet doesn't mention that even when he disses her weight.

But cheer up, she somewhat gets her comeuppance when he taunts her for having failed in her diet attempts in 'To See The Light Part Two' (1980) because she doesn't want to have to face her cousin with the 'perfect' figure. Well, Harriet's cousin arrives and winds up being somewhat  . . .jollier than Harriet and Harriet eagerly invites   Cousin Miriam (I think) to partake in the party which has a dearth of fat-free foods  that Caroline's Kitchen is holding to celebrate Adam's law school enrollment (how many restaurants throw parties for employees' son-in-laws' enrollments?). And Nels departs sitting backwards on the stagecoach that brought his own cousin-in-law- wearing a party hat attached by a rubber band [which seems a bit anachronistic for that time].

[ctlady]

13 hours ago, Zella said:

Nels is an absolute dick to Harriet about her weight, and I felt like that undermines any revelation he's supposed to have had about his sister. I know I am expecting too much for it to be consistent in its characterization, but as a fat chick, it pisses me off. 

Granted I have not seen every single episode, so I can't recall Nels' comments about Harriet's weight.  The only one that comes to mind is when Harriet's supposedly svelte cousin was coming to town and she went on a crash diet.  As much as he could, Nels tried to be supportive of her, but it was Harriet who was sabotaging herself with binge eating.

But in all fairness to Nels in the Annabelle episode, he never openly criticized his sister about her weight, but did realize his shame and cruelness towards her when they were kids.  However, it was Harriett and the kids who ridiculed her weight.  Harriet, of all people!  I mean, yeah Annabelle was considered obese, but not My 600 Pound Life obese that would warrant her being a sideshow freak.  And for Harriett herself to have experienced being self conscious about her own weight, I thought she was a total hypocritical dick to make fun of Annabelle - and even encourage her kids to do so

 

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, ctlady said:

Granted I have not seen every single episode, so I can't recall Nels' comments about Harriet's weight.  The only one that comes to mind is when Harriet's supposedly svelte cousin was coming to town and she went on a crash diet.  As much as he could, Nels tried to be supportive of her, but it was Harriet who was sabotaging herself with binge eating.

It's a recurring "gag" in the later seasons for Nels to singlehandedly scold and ridicule Harriet for being fat, and it's always played as him being in the right. The show has a double-standard in which it is apparently okay to be awful to Harriet because she's a bitch, which, in my opinion, really ruins its pretensions at offering moral lessons. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by Zella

[Egg McMuffin]

Agreed, but even today, it’s acceptable in some circles to ridicule someone’s appearance if we disagree with them politically. But to me, if someone’s views are that awful, then there must be so much more to criticize than just their appearance. Why waste the opportunity to make some constructive, useful criticism?

But making fun of Harriet’s weight was just an easy, cheap shot. I suppose they thought it was funnier having Nels criticize her small mindedness or her hypocrisy or her snobbery.

[Zella]

Nels, weirdly enough, is my least favorite member of the Oleson family. (OK I like him more than Nancy.) But he's always propped up as allegedly the only likable, decent one, but I actually think he actively enables his family's shittiness and then wants to act martyred when it affects him. Then again, I also think the entire town is baffling for continuing to be shocked--shocked, I tell you!--that Harriet continues to be Harriet, and they continue to invite her to things and include her in things and be freshly shocked when she acts the way she has acted for years. Seriously, why does anyone even shop at that store or socialize with them? 

7 minutes ago, Kyle said:

 

But making fun of Harriet’s weight was just an easy, cheap shot. I suppose they thought it was funnier having Nels criticize her small mindedness or her hypocrisy or her snobbery.

Bingo! There are so many more valid things to call her out on. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

On 8/27/2021 at 8:12 PM, CountryGirl said:

Some other episodes I can think of are Be My Friend (Laura thinking about Baby Grace), Back to School (Laura reflecting on meeting the man she’ll marry), the one with Perley Day and Laura cooks breakfast for her father and Almanzo, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (the “my heart was crying for Almanzo”), the Lost Ones (Laura talks about how close her family and James and Cassandra are getting and, later, about the little house being very full…of love), Nancy’s intro, Albert becoming a doctor but only after he barged up drugs. I’m sure there are more. Albert got a voiceover at the end of The Craftsmen. 

Going back to this one, I watched that awful football dad one today, and Laura does a narration at the end. 

[CountryGirl]

1 minute ago, Superclam said:

Going back to this one, I watched that awful football dad one today, and Laura does a narration at the end. 

There are a lot more that I'm sure Laura narrated - probably more with her narration than not.

[Mr. Sparkle]

32 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

There are a lot more that I'm sure Laura narrated - probably more with her narration than not.

No narration in the extra-dumb balloon one I just watched. 

"Despite playing a handsome boy in his youth, the Balloonist did NOT age well..." 

[Mr. Sparkle]

On the other hand, Luke Simms eating supper at the Oleson's is a classic. Great moments from Harriet in the whole episode. 

[debraran]

7 hours ago, Zella said:

It's a recurring "gag" in the later seasons for Nels to singlehandedly scold and ridicule Harriet for being fat, and it's always played as him being in the right. The show has a double-standard in which it is apparently okay to be awful to Harriet because she's a bitch, which, in my opinion, really ruins its pretensions at offering moral lessons. 

It does, doing rude things doesn't matter if you like the person that day and Nel's loved Harriet. How would it look if Mr Bevin's wife made fun of him or Elmer's parents or any heavy person they had on. It seemed Michael had a thing with weight and being in shape but it was also an easy way to get a laugh or teach a moral. I wonder at times, since they clashed, if he wrote that stuff in as a "dig" with Katherine.

I liked this scene and glad she had it changed.

By the second season, she felt secure enough to make character suggestions.
“Sometime in the second season, we were on a camping trip with the Ingalls. We were crossing a stream and the script called for the camera on my husband. As I crossed, there was this scream and a splash. I suggested to the director that the scene be shot with the camera on me. I hopped over the stream, landed on both feet, then lost my balance and fell into the water. It was funny, and I got stacks of letters about it. I like to be mean and bigoted and crabby, and I love the instance when the tables are turned on Mrs. Oleson.” [21]

I mean really, they didn't want to show it?? She did have a lot of good suggestions.

Occasionally there were episodes when Harriet seems to break character and the depth of Katherine’s talents are revealed, such as “Mortal Mission,” in which she fears Nels is dying from anthrax.

Katherine breathed life into Harriet Oleson for 148 episodes. Nine years later it was over. “When my agent called me up and said, ‘They’ve canceled the show,’ I felt like a deflated balloon. And when the show was over I didn’t realize how tired I was. And I didn’t really want to work anymore.”

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by debraran

[CountryGirl]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

No narration in the extra-dumb balloon one I just watched. 

"Despite playing a handsome boy in his youth, the Balloonist did NOT age well..." 

I thought Cass was fug then. Not as fug as Johnny Johnson, but close.  Now Patrick was fine (fair episode Patrick, not Bobby Brady “blink and you miss him” Patrick). 

[jird]

On 9/7/2021 at 5:51 PM, debraran said:

I never got taking the kids either since they couldn't see and so many things might be scary. I feel poor Grace had WAY too many takes and just about had it. I felt sorry for her. That happened again when they came back to Walnut grove and were over Jonathan's. Grace seemed almost "pinched", she started wailing outside and they tried to ignore it.

Is that the scene where she eventually fell asleep with her head on her plate? Poor kid was just way overtired.

[Katy M]

15 hours ago, debraran said:

I mean really, they didn't want to show it?? She did have a lot of good suggestions.

They probably didn't want to make the actress actually fall in the water.  But, since she was cool with it and actually suggested it, yes, it was better to see.

 

[Brn2bwild]

On 9/8/2021 at 11:04 AM, Zella said:

Nels, weirdly enough, is my least favorite member of the Oleson family. (OK I like him more than Nancy.) But he's always propped up as allegedly the only likable, decent one, but I actually think he actively enables his family's shittiness and then wants to act martyred when it affects him. Then again, I also think the entire town is baffling for continuing to be shocked--shocked, I tell you!--that Harriet continues to be Harriet, and they continue to invite her to things and include her in things and be freshly shocked when she acts the way she has acted for years. Seriously, why does anyone even shop at that store or socialize with them? 

Bingo! There are so many more valid things to call her out on. 

How was that family so rich, anyway?  There were like 12 people in Walnut Grove, and their store wasn't that big.  If the town was growing, you would think the mercantile would have received competition.

[Blergh]

On 9/8/2021 at 1:04 PM, Zella said:

 ) But he's always propped up as allegedly the only likable, decent one, but I actually think he actively enables his family's shittiness and then wants to act martyred when it affects him. Then again, I also think the entire town is baffling for continuing to be shocked--shocked, I tell you!--that Harriet continues to be Harriet, and they continue to invite her to things and include her in things and be freshly shocked when she acts the way she has acted for years. Seriously, why does anyone even shop at that store or socialize with them? 

Bingo! There are so many more valid things to call her out on. 

Very good points! 

It seems as though somehow Mr. Oleson and the rest of Walnut Grove  were treating Harriet and Nellie with the same logic as though they were striped zebras but they kept pinning on them changing into to spotted Dalmatians despite the two consistently and constantly showing their true colors. Expecting a different outcome from others  with despite a history of the opposite happening is a definition of insanity and/or enjoying hearing oneself complain. 

I get that Oleson's Mercantile is the only store to shop in for many miles AND maybe there's a measure of pity for Mr. Oleson but one has to wonder why anyone (besides the Ingallses) who could have vaguely afforded to have ordered their merchandise via mail order catalogue didn't do so instead of having to endure Harriet's flak at the Mercantile. 

Yeah, having Nels calling out Harriet for not being stick thin while largely avoiding calling her out on her more glaring shadow side was not only unfunny but a bit cowardly on his part! 

Yet, despite all the above, I still wound up being entertained by this duo (and admit  IMO that their interactions usually were more fun to watch than Charles and Caroline's) 

[CountryGirl]

Some of my favorite moments are when Harriet and Nels are being tender with each other. As sweet as Caroline and Charles could be with one another, there was something more real about H & N. 

[Zella]

I agree that Nels and Harriet were usually way more fun than Charles and Caroline. I really liked in one of the episodes in which they separated or were threatening to that when Charles said something critical about Harriet that Nels immediately got defensive and was clearly proud of her business sense. 

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

I get that Oleson's Mercantile is the only store to shop in for many miles AND maybe there's a measure of pity for Mr. Oleson but one has to wonder why anyone (besides the Ingallses) who could have vaguely afforded to have ordered their merchandise via mail order catalogue didn't do so instead of having to endure Harriet's flak at the Mercantile. 

Definitely! Honestly, if I was a local farmer and needed to go to the store, I'd probably use a combo of the catalog and trekking to Mankato when I did something at the store to avoid going in there. I'm really shocked nobody else tried to set up a store nearby. They'd have made a killing off everyone who didn't want to deal with Harriet. 

[debraran]

I don't remember Harriet being unkind to many in the store but some snarky comments about Caroline since she was envious in a way.  They had many short scenes where she was saying hello and goodbye to patrons but not unkind. They gave credit to long standing neighbors and she donated things without thought when needed.  One woman said she'd look in Mankato for fabric to Nell's during Xmas episode, but that wasn't that close.

Harriet didn't like how the low class farmers were treating the pregnant wife of the guy who went to get corn seed and had an accident. Why not one numskull in the whole group thought of that with the way travel was back then, IDK. I mean Mary had accident, many did, wheels broke, robbers hit on travelers. I just thought that was a bit overboard with no one mentioning anything in that vein.

Harriet brought up 2 spoiled kids but they turned out okay. Nels was always a good example and other neighbors. Harriet not going to Willie's wedding or making that big of a fuss was over the top too. I realize she wanted more for him but he wasn't working on a pig farm (although a good job) but Willie was a good young man and I wish we had more time with him.  Nellie was also a good person later and besides feeling different her whole life, wasn't bad to the core. I feel telling her how much better she was did more harm, but she was never evil, did bad things, but  just not a happy kid. I wont mention the other child because it made me stop watching those episodes.

Edited September 11, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

Good arguments for Harriet and Nels, @ debraran! Yes, it was good to see Harriet defend the pregnant wife of the missing farmer AND let's not forget that she wound up solving the captive Laura's wherabouts after the grieving mother of her drowned one-shot pal Ellen came into the Mercantile   specifically to buy birthday candles despite her daughter being known to have died. Yes, her nosiness wound up saving the day (and may have ultimately kept the . .. challenged Farmer Busbee from getting lynched over Laura's disappearance). 

Of course, can anyone top what one French interviewer said in extolling the virtues of Nellie [who, along with Harriet, is quite popular in France] when Miss Arnrgrim was on their show   capping it off saying that Nellie wasn't bad but  instead was  misunderstood and French? LOL

[Mr. Sparkle]

I found another actor re-use! 

One of the bad guys who threatened Mary & Adam in Winoka played the father of the new kid in the one where Mrs. Oleson teaches French at the school. He's kind of mean in that one too. 

[jird]

So I watched Halloween II the other day (spoiler alert: it is every single bit as bad as I remember) and immediately recognized a nice old lady in it as Miss Trimbull, the pipe-smoking, busted-leg teacher that Laura stayed with in Sweet Sixteen. 

You will be happy to know that, although Michael Myers stole a knife from her kitchen, she was otherwise unharmed. 🙂

[CountryGirl]

I will still always love how Harriet got her ass handed to her by young, blind Samson. Her face when she realized how awful she had been behaving.

And when she learned from her mistakes and ensured bigoted Larabee got his ass handed to him, in front of a crowd of people, and strode off hand in hand with Samson - that was a thing of beauty. 

Also, in interviews, Katherine MacGregor spoke highly of Marcus Chong, the actor who played Samson, and in stating she thoroughly enjoyed working with him, called him "the sweetest boy."

[Mr. Sparkle]

I watched "Rage" for the first time ever. What a dark, unpleasant episode! I believe that's the second time Laura was held hostage by someone who thought she was someone else. 

[Egg McMuffin]

Little House and Waltons cast members to battle on “Stars in the House”

[Egg McMuffin]

1 hour ago, jird said:

So I watched Halloween II the other day (spoiler alert: it is every single bit as bad as I remember) and immediately recognized a nice old lady in it as Miss Trimbull, the pipe-smoking, busted-leg teacher that Laura stayed with in Sweet Sixteen. 

You will be happy to know that, although Michael Myers stole a knife from her kitchen, she was otherwise unharmed. 🙂

LOL. Lucille Benson was a very distinctive character actress and she showed up in a lot of things. I remember her as the landlady on “Bosom Buddies.”

As far Halloween II: yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous and doesn’t hold a candle to the original. But it’s grown on me a bit over the years, especially given what came after.

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

As far Halloween II: yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous and doesn’t hold a candle to the original. But it’s grown on me a bit over the years, especially given what came after.

The hospital one? I kind of like it! And yeah, compared to part III it's Citizen Kane. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I watched "Rage" for the first time ever. What a dark, unpleasant episode! I believe that's the second time Laura was held hostage by someone who thought she was someone else. 

Yeah, but what was even more chilling about this was that, instead of the unhinged captor thinking the preteen Laura was her deceased daughter, this unhinged captor convinced himself that the now-grown Laura was his own (still living) WIFE  [that he had just shot and left for dead before making his escape to Casa Wilder] so the viewers had to contend with the possibility that Laura would have had to at the very least consider how FAR she'd let him take his delusion in order to keep herself, Jenny and Baby Rose alive. Thankfully, he somehow never got to. .. fully  embrace her before he wound up being shot dead when the others were rescuing Laura, Jenny and Baby Rose. 

Of course, the end of his funeral was rather upsetting. Not that the captor (in of himself) was ANY kind of loss but his poor widow had been left paralyzed, his daughter was barely a teen AND the captor had hocked their farm above their eyeballs when the creditors finally said 'enough' (which helped unhinge him). So how were a paralyzed mother and her barely teen daughter going  survive now   that they were  even broker than broke- even with the teen having a flirtation with a barely teenaged boy who was nice enough to emotionally support them at their would-be murderer's funeral?  That vital question was left forever hanging! 

[debraran]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

Little House and Waltons cast members to battle on “Stars in the House”

That's nice for them and will give Karen some air time with a book coming out soon.

[jird]

56 minutes ago, Superclam said:

The hospital one? I kind of like it! And yeah, compared to part III it's Citizen Kane. 

I pretend all the sequels don't exist, except for H20 and Halloween 2018 (which also ignores all the sequels!).  I just can't get past the completely dark hospital where only 3 people work,  and the fact that even though the guy that just tried to kill Jamie Lee is still on the loose, they leave her completely alone in her dark hospital room all the time. 😄

So, both the original Halloween and Halloween II have Little House actors - I wonder if there are others in the sequels?

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, jird said:

just can't get past the completely dark hospital where only 3 people work,  and the fact that even though the guy that just tried to kill Jamie Lee is still on the loose, they leave her completely alone in her dark hospital room all the time. 😄

You can't have a slasher flic without stupid decisions! 

"I heard screaming from that abandoned scary house! Should we investigate?"

"No, let's get to safety and then call the police." 

Fin. 

[Egg McMuffin]

1 hour ago, jird said:

So, both the original Halloween and Halloween II have Little House actors - I wonder if there are others in the sequels?

I looked and the only ones I can find are both Kyle Richards (Alicia) and Charles Cyphers (Zack Taylor in “Little House: Look Back to Yesterday) appeared in both “Halloween” and “Halloween II”, and will reprise their roles as Lindsey Doyle and Sheriff Brackett in the upcoming “Halloween Kills”.

[methodwriter85]

On 9/17/2021 at 5:14 PM, Blergh said:

Yeah, but what was even more chilling about this was that, instead of the unhinged captor thinking the preteen Laura was her deceased daughter, this unhinged captor convinced himself that the now-grown Laura was his own (still living) WIFE  [that he had just shot and left for dead before making his escape to Casa Wilder] so the viewers had to contend with the possibility that Laura would have had to at the very least consider how FAR she'd let him take his delusion in order to keep herself, Jenny and Baby Rose alive. Thankfully, he somehow never got to. .. fully  embrace her before he wound up being shot dead when the others were rescuing Laura, Jenny and Baby Rose. 

It's such a freakin' weird trope and I'm here for it. I watched this weird, dark little microindie called "Inside" about a grieving couple who convince themselves that an intruder into their house is their dead son come back to life and I always thought of "My Ellen" while watching it.

I'm surprised this show never tried a plot where a grieving widow convinces herself that Almanzo is her dearly departed husband, but then again, they already had the plot where Almanzo's spinster sister is obsessed with him and his recovery.

[debraran]

Everyone always thinks of Walnut Grove like "Mayberry" but they sure had their share of weird and bad people. The resident bigots and crazy people,drunks, they had famous thieves come by and hold people hostage, they had rapists (a horror) neighbors who would poison others with bad meat to make money.  The "bad boys" that had to leave town. The neighbor who'd keep the Ingall's cow rather than bring it back and check on the family. (who would let their cow leave and not know?) So many instances. Maybe realistic but not ideal. Really with all the neighbors and church goers, the Ingalls' pretty much hung out with Mr E and later Jonathan and family. All those women in town and Caroline pretty much had Grace until she left and they killed off Alice.  Really Grace happened only after Mr Edward's married her.

On a different note, the house Grace and family lived in was pretty nice, I remember in the bad meat episode, it was like a nice farm house, nice lamps, chairs, etc. How did Grace get all that?

Edited September 19, 2021 by debraran

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, debraran said:

On a different note, the house Grace and family lived in was pretty nice, I remember in the bad meat episode, it was like a nice farm house, nice lamps, chairs, etc. How did Grace get all that?

Perhaps her late husband had a bit of money.  Not as much as the widow Thurmond however.

[CountryGirl]

Didn’t Grace and Edwards move into the Sanderson home after they got married? Actually, I think Grace was staying there with the kids when Julia died. So some of those nice things were Julia’s and her late husband’s presumably. 

[debraran]

1 hour ago, BigBingerBro said:

Perhaps her late husband had a bit of money.  Not as much as the widow Thurmond however.

Even Mrs. Whipple had a nice home. Why did everyone have more than Charles even without husband's? Life insurance wasn't a thing then and I thought most single women lived like Ms Beadle in a room or rooming house.

Was Grace a widow?

Edited September 19, 2021 by debraran

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, debraran said:

Why did everyone have more than Charles even without husband's?

I always assumed it was because these people set off to the prairie as pioneers and brought substantial wealth with them.  As we know, Charles et al were farily poor from the get go, so there was never much money to spare.  I do agree that they should have become a bit more weathly in the later years on the show.  They should have at least built a sizable extension on the little house.

[Blergh]

Actually, many never-married, separated, widowed and, ahem, divorced women of that time and place either pooled what few resources they had and lived with other unmarried women in one spot OR they 'visited' different relatives for sometimes years at a stretch. I had an ancestress around that era who did just that with her daughters  after they were all grown and married while the family  let everyone think   she'd informally separated from her husband but, in reality, she'd secretly gotten a legal divorce! 

Yes, I know we had Amy Hearn having lived with a woman roomie before the latter died but it seemed odd that there NO single women in  Walnut Grove were doing the rotating relative 'visiting' deal !

I don't recall any episode in which Grace Snyder formally gave up her her postmistress position upon her marriage to Isaiah but it seemed she'd quietly done so and the presumably widowed Mrs. Foster was the new postmistress. However, in the whole 'wives moving to Nellie's Hotel to force their husbands' hands' episode, not only was she married but also had toddler twin girls (husband and daughters never seen/heard of before or after- and no 'Very Special Episode' dealing with Mrs. Foster having safely borne them in her 50s). 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Blergh