Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[Zella]

In the 1950s in North Carolina, my grandmother's grandparents did the rotating months with various relatives thing after they got too old to care for their farm. My great-great grandmother apparently really regretted it. 

[Zella]

And I just remembered another relative who did that in the 60s. She was my grandfather's widowed grandmother. She said staying with my newly grandparents was way more pleasant than staying with any of her kids, but she did have a basic rotation she followed. 

[ctlady]

Was in my LHOTP glory yesterday morning as they had Sweet Sixteen followed by He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not parts 1 & 2  They should've been named 'The Ones Where Laura Wears Out That Rust & Teal Colored Flowered Dress'

[CountryGirl]

On 9/19/2021 at 11:36 AM, BigBingerBro said:

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.

That reminds me. 

Remember when Charles talked about adding on an extra room when Charles Jr was born?

But never mentioned it when Grace was born?

Or when they adopted James and Cassandra?

I guess you had to be a boy and blood-related for Charles to GAF.

But seriously, 4 kids crammed into a loft and Grace just a few feet away from the bed of popcorn-popping. 

On 9/19/2021 at 12:56 PM, ctlady said:

Was in my LHOTP glory yesterday morning as they had Sweet Sixteen followed by He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not parts 1 & 2  They should've been named 'The Ones Where Laura Wears Out That Rust & Teal Colored Flowered Dress'

IIRC, Melissa Gilbert hated that dress. I don't blame her. It was fug and clashed with her hair. 

[Egg McMuffin]

On 9/19/2021 at 11:36 AM, BigBingerBro said:

They should have at least built a sizable extension on the little house.

Not necessary. Because the little house was full…of love!

[debraran]

I get that Michael wanted the "little house" to stay little, but realistically he shouldn't have brought so many people into it. Albert was enough but then James and his sister? That was silly. The noise, smells and just need for a little privacy was needed. Charles wasn't a shop keeper, he knew how to build, he was surrounded by trees and could do things in his free time. He had friends that would help. The fact that he wanted so many sleeping so close, when he didn't need too, didn't make sense. You could love with an 9x9 ext like the kitchen.

If in 20 years Caroline never got anything but a stove, never a store bought dress, hat, dishes, a root cellar, anything to make her life easier, that's their choice, but it didn't seem realistic when everyone but Mr Edwards had a more secure, solid home and less ability to keep it up. In the city they had what looked like a nice home with different rooms and furniture etc. I guess the store paid well but Charles could make furniture and never did for his little home.  I would have loved if Karen was still on show, to see how she adjusted to living in a home like she grew up in. Not as quaint but solid and comfortable with a "real kitchen" ! I hate watching the last farewell but I did like seeing those scenes in their home and realizing it was theirs.

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by debraran

[Snow Apple]

Even Mr Edwards had a nice house after he married Grace. I figured he didn’t need a big house as a bachelor but could have built extensions if he wanted or needed.

The Ingalls were nuts to live in such a cramped house. A house full of love, my foot. 

[Blergh]

The only reason I can think of that the Ingallses stayed in those cramped quarters for eight seasons (even with all those extra folks) was that ML didn't want to have to build a bigger permanent set for them (or spend extra monies) and perhaps, he just felt comfortable keeping their set 'as was'. 

Ironic that the Olesons got a much bigger and fancier permanent set (and ML seemed to add to it) and three out of the four were the villains! 

[Zella]

They'd needed to have changed the name of the show too if they upgraded the Ingalls' digs. Big House on the Prairie. 😂

[ctlady]

I had to chuckle while watching Divorce: Walnut Grove Style  where Laura got into a knock down drag out with Brenda Sue right in front of the restaurant.  I never noticed Nellie standing in the doorway and probably wondering, "ah, this brings back memories of mine and Laura's fights"

[Blergh]

37 minutes ago, ctlady said:

I had to chuckle while watching Divorce: Walnut Grove Style  where Laura got into a knock down drag out with Brenda Sue right in front of the restaurant.  I never noticed Nellie standing in the doorway and probably wondering, "ah, this brings back memories of mine and Laura's fights"

True but it seemed that Nellie FORGOT she was married to Percival when Harriet gleefully exclaimed that 'Laura and Almanzo are getting a divorce' and Nellie had the most evil, gleeful smile to a haunting score! 

OK, it was funny and harkened back to the premarital and pre-tamed Nellie Oleson. However,  considering how happily married Nellie was (before and after that episode), one would have thought she'd have done nothing more than shrug 'So?'. 

[BigBingerBro]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I figured he didn’t need a big house as a bachelor

Didn't he have that shack which was featured in the scarlet fever episode?

[debraran]

3 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Didn't he have that shack which was featured in the scarlet fever episode?

Yes, it wasn't pretty but fit him. You saw it mostly then and with the blind girl he liked, but didn't Laura paint it with Albert or was that another one he had. That one was really awful.

[debraran]

6 hours ago, Blergh said:

The only reason I can think of that the Ingallses stayed in those cramped quarters for eight seasons (even with all those extra folks) was that ML didn't want to have to build a bigger permanent set for them (or spend extra monies) and perhaps, he just felt comfortable keeping their set 'as was'. 

Ironic that the Olesons got a much bigger and fancier permanent set (and ML seemed to add to it) and three out of the four were the villains! 

I think he liked the little house and it would have been okay if he didn't take in kids not from the books. Even the table was small for all of them. Seen below, just a foot or more would have fit everyone better. Ma had her rocking chair but you think he would have built a sturdy chair for himself on the other side of the room or for company. I still think its odd Caroline was left out a lot. She had a birthday cake once but you always saw Charles getting gifts from everyone but not Ma.

Even that one Xmas, she was supposed to get stove, Mary made Pa a shirt, Ma the same shirt, Laura gave him a scarf, Carrie a toy, but except for Laura's gift, what did Caroline get? She always watched.

Edited September 22, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

One thing that was emphasized in The Books was that the ONLY luxury item the Ingallses owned was a porcelain 'china shepardess' doll which they would pack VERY carefully when making all their journeys and set on the mantles of their dwellings to commemorate that they'd arrived AND survived intact.  Somehow, they'd drilled it into their four daughters from very early ages that this was NOT a toy and that that were not to attempt to play with it under any circumstances.  I recall it on the show but it didn't seem to have had the same kind of import as it had in The Books. 

BTW, does anyone know what became of it? 

[Mr. Sparkle]

44 minutes ago, Blergh said:

One thing that was emphasized in The Books was that the ONLY luxury item the Ingallses owned was a porcelain 'china shepardess' doll which they would pack VERY carefully when making all their journeys and set on the mantles of their dwellings to commemorate that they'd arrived AND survived intact.  Somehow, they'd drilled it into their four daughters from very early ages that this was NOT a toy and that that were not to attempt to play with it under any circumstances.  I recall it on the show but it didn't seem to have had the same kind of import as it had in The Books. 

BTW, does anyone know what became of it? 

I remember the china doll, and yes, they took it very seriously. I just read the books, but I don't recall if it was mentioned after they moved to the claim house. 

Interesting how the books focused much more on Laura, especially the later books. I guess not so interesting when you consider who the author was! 

[Zella]

Here's an interesting discussion about the china doll. Seems like a couple of different museums claim it.

http://www.pioneergirl.com/blog/archives/4093

[Mr. Sparkle]

Holy crap @Zella, I got lost on that site! 

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Holy crap @Zella, I got lost on that site! 

It's super interesting! I stumbled across it earlier this year. 

[jason88cubs]

the house was very cramped when every got older .Idk how they handled it. Especially in winter time. Everyone cramped up all day

[debraran]

10 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

the house was very cramped when every got older .Idk how they handled it. Especially in winter time. Everyone cramped up all day

In reality instead of a home full of the smell of bread and eggs, you probably had a lot of BO from dirty clothes and not being able to bathe well. You had dirty diapers and maybe a pot when snowed in or during a blizzard or bad weather (having to use bathroom doesn't stop with weather unfortunately) They talked of how sanitized they made even the most laborious chores at times but for this show it was fine. No one hopefully was using that as a history lesson. Even writing about it, most don't want to talk about having your period and being 0 degrees and everything freezing or how hot and sweaty it was in the summer without fans or ice. In the books, they got magazines and books they didn't show in the TV series that they tried to make last the long winter but boring yes beyond chores. The twisting twigs for burning was something they never would touch on in show but that description stuck with me long after I read it.

I'll take the LHOP sanitized version : )

Edited September 27, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

Not to mention, while Pa's one pair of overalls, one pair of workboots, a few odd shirts and no underwear wouldn't have taken much space, surely Ma, Mary and Laura's umpteen petticoats and corsets would have  but the viewers never saw those (and, oddly enough, only once or twice can I recall seeing any kind of clothesline much less any kind of laundry works- washtub, washboard, wringer,etc. ).  It also seemed that they did NOT possess a chamber pot inasmuch as Carrie had an accident first thing via having to use the outhouse after months of the house being abandoned for Winoka! If they HAD possessed a chamber pot, one would think they'd have had this young (and somewhat dim) child use it in a corner instead of risking a mishap. 

 Of course, Mary and Laura wisely dealt with the increasingly packed abode by moving out/getting married ASAP. 

[debraran]

A composting toilet would be easy with all the sawdust. I would leave pail  outside back porch. They did silly things not to mention any of them but Carrie had a bladder or ever had to go. The longest trips were just fine. 2 days with snow up to windows, we are just fine.    

[Blergh]

25 minutes ago, debraran said:

A composting toilet would be easy with all the sawdust. I would leave pail  outside back porch. They did silly things not to mention any of them but Carrie had a bladder or ever had to go. The longest trips were just fine. 2 days with snow up to windows, we are just fine.    

Yeah, even Baby Grace (Carrie's younger sister) never seemed to have been mentioned as having any need to go!

Edited September 27, 2021 by Blergh

[debraran]

On 9/27/2021 at 2:38 PM, Blergh said:

Yeah, even Baby Grace (Carrie's younger sister) never seemed to have been mentioned as having any need to go!

Maybe it was an Ingall's recessive gene that they never had to go to the bathroom and it skipped Carrie. ; )

[Blergh]

15 hours ago, debraran said:

Maybe it was an Ingall's recessive gene that they never had to go to the bathroom and it skipped Carrie. ; )

Even in the 'wives and mothers strike' episode. Charles is depicted having trouble feeding Grace but NOTHING about dealing with the outcome at the other end. 

Poor Carrie is such winds up being so blah and bland that even Baby Grace winds up having a toddler flirtation (at Nellie Oleson's Wedding no less) while Carrie has no hint of being interested in anyone or anything past toddler stage despite being twelve when her character exited LHOTP!

[debraran]

The only poop episode was a stupid one when Almonzo told Laura the smell she smelled ( foreign to her) was Rose not smelling like one. She quickly took diaper rolled up and went outside for a moment and God knows what she did with it. No mention on return.  

Edited September 29, 2021 by debraran

[Pirpana]

2 hours ago, debraran said:

was Rose not smelling like one

LOL!

[Egg McMuffin]

I wish that orangutan that Nancy hated threw poop at her. Does that count?

[jird]

Watched the first part of Mary going mline, and I forget how incredibly mad I always get that Pa didn't tell her for so long. Like maybe it didn't occur to him that if she was going blind, every single day of sight she had would be really precious and she would want to make the most of them?

[debraran]

1 hour ago, jird said:

Watched the first part of Mary going mline, and I forget how incredibly mad I always get that Pa didn't tell her for so long. Like maybe it didn't occur to him that if she was going blind, every single day of sight she had would be really precious and she would want to make the most of them?

Their denial. That's why the doctor looked so upset when Charles lied. He knew it would be quick and she'd be frightened.

[Blergh]

15 hours ago, debraran said:

Their denial. That's why the doctor looked so upset when Charles lied. He knew it would be quick and she'd be frightened.

Of course, what's odd is that a few years earlier when Mary got her glasses(that she fake lost)  in 'Four Eyes', no one mentioned that she'd had any problems besides becoming more than slightly nearsighted - much less that she'd ever had had Scarlet Fever as a child. However, by the time of the whole blindness  episodes arc, not only had the vision worsened but the doctor was able to predict that her vision was going to   ski slope to total blindness in a very short time.

And yet even though it seemed from the time of her worsening vision to becoming a blind school teacher happened in roughly a year's time (as had the pregnancy, birth and death of Baby Frederick Ingalls), even with these two episodes alone supposedly adding at least  two years to the timeline, somehow no one else aged more than a couple of weeks- especially Laura and Toddler Carrie.  

[debraran]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Of course, what's odd is that a few years earlier when Mary got her glasses(that she fake lost)  in 'Four Eyes', no one mentioned that she'd had any problems besides becoming more than slightly nearsighted - much less that she'd ever had had Scarlet Fever as a child. However, by the time of the whole blindness  episodes arc, not only had the vision worsened but the doctor was able to predict that her vision was going to   ski slope to total blindness in a very short time.

And yet even though it seemed from the time of her worsening vision to becoming a blind school teacher happened in roughly a year's time (as had the pregnancy, birth and death of Baby Frederick Ingalls), even with these two episodes alone supposedly adding at least  two years to the timeline, somehow no one else aged more than a couple of weeks- especially Laura and Toddler Carrie.  

Yes, the doc did say "You never told me she had Scarlet Fever" which maybe he should have in history but doc also didn't ask about past illness's first time. Probably thought she just had bad eyes. I did think those 2 episodes, although rushed in her acceptance and learning, were some of the best. Of course Adam was the one who clicked with her. Having a crush on your teacher and mentor helps. "I don't want to leave, don't leave me here" to "I want to stay and follow Adam". ;)

I felt her anger, depression and sadness fit more than the real Mary's reaction that I remember being quiet acceptance in the books. Melissa Sue did try to visit blind schools and talk to blind people to get the look and walk etc down. How they treated her as an actor later wasn't good and I agree, she didn't have much to stay for, but she did a good job overall with what she had

[Pirpana]

I think they missed an opportunity on season 3 when Mary was hospitalized for that abscess in her stomach or whatever it was. They could have had her had scarlet fever there and make THAT so that she only just survives that and everyone sighs for relief... Only to discover later it still had one serious repercussion.

But of course they couldn't think that far ahead. And this time I don't mean this as a criticism towards ML & Co. Just sad for a missed opportunity.

[BigBingerBro]

3 hours ago, debraran said:

I felt her anger, depression and sadness fit more than the real Mary's reaction that I remember being quiet acceptance in the books.

It's been years since I read the books, but didn't Ms Ingalls write that Mary never complained or cryed when she went blind?  I know that she said she had to become Mary's eyes by describing everything all the time and that it got tiresome after a while.   I feel that whole idea was a missed opportunity in the series.

[debraran]

I remember them saying that too but she did go to school and then came home to live with parents and then Grace it said.

I feel if they changed it a bit and didn't have the marriage which was silly, we could have been spared killing off her kid and pregnancy to keep the idea they could raise the baby alone back then. Then they had to give Adam back his sight because they were running out of ideas but of course not Mary. Easy to Monday morning quarterback, but they could have had some great stories without the marriage.

[Egg McMuffin]

After Adam got his eyesight back via an explosion, I kept expecting the family to try to lure Mary to some building filled with dynamite.

[debraran]

7 hours ago, Kyle said:

After Adam got his eyesight back via an explosion, I kept expecting the family to try to lure Mary to some building filled with dynamite.

I think that's why Melissa Sue left as quickly as she could! 😄

In all the years it was on, sadly her acting when she turned blind was given the only Emmy nod. Then they practically wrote her out with lame scripts. Can't figure it out but I know that must have been hard on some of the egos.

[Blergh]

On 10/4/2021 at 5:28 AM, debraran said:

I think that's why Melissa Sue left as quickly as she could! 😄

In all the years it was on, sadly her acting when she turned blind was given the only Emmy nod. Then they practically wrote her out with lame scripts. Can't figure it out but I know that must have been hard on some of the egos.

I'm not sure if Miss Anderson fled or was just shown the door since they simply didn't seem to know what to do with Mary once she went blind and was on the verge of running out of tragedies to inflict upon her. 

It seems that Miss Anderson did manage to work steadily in TV and movies in supporting parts as recently as 2018 but in recent years appears to have had other means of support (and I seriously doubt her royalties from her autobio has netted her daily caviar omelettes ). 

[debraran]

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

I'm not sure if Miss Anderson fled or was just shown the door since they simply didn't seem to know what to do with Mary once she went blind and was on the verge of running out of tragedies to inflict upon her. 

It seems that Miss Anderson did manage to work steadily in TV and movies in supporting parts as recently as 2018 but in recent years appears to have had other means of support (and I seriously doubt her royalties from her autobio has netted her daily caviar omelettes ). 

She asked to leave and they didn't beg, she said she didn't want to keep doing blind stares without a plot. Mike was bringing in the extra kids and it was a mess.

She felt bad for the guy who played Adam but as she said in her book, he did just fine. ; )   She married a writer, one who wrote one of her favorite episodes of Columbo, and they lived happily in Canada raising her family as normally as most could. That's why she couldn't do and still can't, many gatherings.

 

[Zella]

28 minutes ago, debraran said:

one who wrote one of her favorite episodes of Columbo,

As a huge Columbo fan myself, this is one of the most compelling reasons I've ever heard for marrying a specific person. 😁

[ctlady]

Can’t believe I never caught The Werewolf Of Walnut Grove  Finally did this morning. All I can say is “!@&$ you, Carrie!”

[debraran]

15 hours ago, Zella said:

As a huge Columbo fan myself, this is one of the most compelling reasons I've ever heard for marrying a specific person. 😁

I know! He is Michael Sloan and he got his first American television script read and produced. He came up with a television story for the TV series, Columbo which was eventually called “Now You See Him” with Jack Cassidy as a magician. He wrote for McCloud too. I didn't realize he had a book. Might look into that.

https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

Can’t believe I never caught The Werewolf Of Walnut Grove  Finally did this morning. All I can say is “!@&$ you, Carrie!”

That's on my "must skip" list. Overall it's dumb, and I hate how mean that kid is to Eliza Jane. 

[Blergh]

On 10/9/2021 at 9:42 AM, Superclam said:

That's on my "must skip" list. Overall it's dumb, and I hate how mean that kid is to Eliza Jane. 

Not to mention, the ONE time Carrie is shown having any smarts (being able to differentiate between a paper mache shell from a real rock- unlike Laura and Albert's one-shot bullying classmate), she blabs this in front of the total stranger(the bully)! ARGHH!  Of course, why did Laura and Albert think they could trust her to tend to Grace? She panicked after Baby Grace didn't eat her food in five minutes- as though the younger well-fed sib was in danger of starving to death in that amount of time.  Yeah, this was one of Carrie's top 10 annoying moments (and that's saying a lot)!

OTOH, until Carrie blew it for them, it sure looked as though young Mr. Laborteaux, and Miss Gilbert were having their fun pretending that Albert had turned into a preternaturally strong werewolf- and even the one-shot performer bully 'acting' scared looked as though he was having fun. 

Well, if Laura and Albert could have pulled off a '100 percent off' sale to be believed by virtually all the Walnut Grove adults, pulling the wool over a dim-bulb one-shot teen bully naive enough to believe   werewolves weren't fictional and dumber than Carrie in thinking that a gigantic 'boulder' was real, it could have worked but for Carrie. 

Edited October 10, 2021 by Blergh

[Blergh]

Did Carrie's blabbing about Albert the Wolfman being a fake shut down this entire subthread?

Surely, there's more about LHTOP we can discuss! 

 

Has anyone had the chance to get a sneak peak at Miss Grassle's auti bio due to be released next month? I wonder what she will have to say about her experiences working on this show as well as the other performers.  Oh, and  I wonder if she'll discuss in any detail about the rather chilling TV movie Battered (1978) that she starred in and cowrote about three  women from different backgrounds who had become victims of spousal abuse. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Two terrible things happened to me: 

1. I am back in the office full time. 
2. My cable package changed, and to have either of the stations with LH would cost me an extra $30. 

To be honest, after watching up to 8 episodes a day for over a year, I believe I've seen every episode. 

Now I can only watch streaming, which isn't too bad. If anyone wants to watch & discuss a particular episode, let me know. 

[ctlady]

On 10/18/2021 at 4:54 PM, Blergh said:

Oh, and  I wonder if she'll discuss in any detail about the rather chilling TV movie Battered (1978) that she starred in and cowrote about three  women from different backgrounds who had become victims of spousal abuse. 

Oh, I remember that - back when ABC had the Monday Night Movie Of The Week!  I remember the older woman got it the worst.

On 10/10/2021 at 12:08 PM, Blergh said:

Yeah, this was one of Carrie's top 10 annoying moments (and that's saying a lot)!

Everytime the actress said her lines it was annoying.  Especially in the early years.  She always shouted them.  I remember the end of The Richest Man In Walnut Grove when the entire family went to the mercantile to pay the bill, then afterwards went down a list of things they needed, Carrie shouts "and I want some white sugar!"  Guess they had to make sure she had a line or two every episode

[jird]

On 10/20/2021 at 11:11 AM, ctlady said:

 

Everytime the actress said her lines it was annoying.  Especially in the early years.  She always shouted them.  I remember the end of The Richest Man In Walnut Grove when the entire family went to the mercantile to pay the bill, then afterwards went down a list of things they needed, Carrie shouts "and I want some white sugar!"  Guess they had to make sure she had a line or two every episode

"WHAAS CHRISMAS?"

Edited October 21, 2021 by jird

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, ctlady said:

Oh, I remember that - back when ABC had the Monday Night Movie Of The Week!  I remember the older woman got it the worst.

 

I used to love  Monday Night Movie of the Week!