Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[Blergh]

18 hours ago, Katy M said:

Are there more than two mutton-centered TV episodes?  LOL.

If they'd thrown in some old eggs from a henhouse, it could have been a case of 'mutton for nuttin' and chicks for free!'

[Pirpana]

I think you guys are forgetting the cherry on cake Bless all the dear children. The first indication of severe climate change.

[jird]

On 12/14/2021 at 8:26 AM, CountryGirl said:

The pilot Christmas is my favorite as it's the most true to the books. I love the inclusion of the now-iconic gifts of mittens, tin cups, peppermint sticks, Christmas cakes, and shiny new pennies. 

 

When my oldest son was in the first grade, he was reading Little House for school, and I will always remember him running into the room to announce, "Santa might not be able to get across the creek to see Mary and Laura at Christmas! And they've been such good girls!" 😅

[Egg McMuffin]

5 hours ago, Pirpana said:

I think you guys are forgetting the cherry on cake Bless all the dear children. The first indication of severe climate change.

Bless All The Dear Children taught me that it’s OK to leave children in the care of disturbed kidnapper/psychopath types. As long as the children are orphans and it’s Christmastime. 

[Zella]

15 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Bless All The Dear Children taught me that it’s OK to leave children in the care of disturbed kidnapper/psychopath types. As long as the children are orphans and it’s Christmastime. 

That is one of the most batshit crazy TV things my eyes have ever witnessed. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

"Hi, I kidnapped your kid and would have kept her if I didn't get caught. Sowwy!! We cool?"

"Well, since you said "sowwy" I guess it ok. Friends?"

"Friends."

"Oh, we have a spare kid no one wants. You want him?"

"OMG, yes!" 

[jason88cubs]

Something about sitting in the dark with Christmas lights on watching LHOP "Christmas at Plum Creek" just makes me smile.

[ByaNose]

Now, watching the show in my late 50’s it cracks me up how much Michael Landon was in to his body. Landon was all about his big pecs and looking studly as much as possible. Of course, reading the fellow actors tell all books confirms his always being shirtless behind the scenes and making sure his pants extenuated the positive. LOL!!!!! Granted, he was good looking but in its original run it totally won’t over my head.

The first 5 years of the show were the best. After that, they kept hiring too many kids when Mary, Laura and Nellie had gotten older. It just wasn’t the same. Usually, shows would add one kid but Little House hired a boat load.  

Edited December 17, 2021 by ByaNose

[BigBingerBro]

It was all that 70's hair that killed it for me re the show.  Sure they managed to get some pretty decent female hairstyles for the period by use of wigs, but God forbid if any of the men cut their hair.  

[jird]

21 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

It was all that 70's hair that killed it for me re the show.  Sure they managed to get some pretty decent female hairstyles for the period by use of wigs, but God forbid if any of the men cut their hair.  

Yes! They sure shaved every day, though!

[Blergh]

On 12/17/2021 at 12:01 PM, BigBingerBro said:

It was all that 70's hair that killed it for me re the show.  Sure they managed to get some pretty decent female hairstyles for the period by use of wigs, but God forbid if any of the men cut their hair.  

Luckily, Nels Oleson was perfectly coiffured for the 1870's thanks to the late Richard Bull being somewhat bald and not attempting to grow his remaining hair out. 

[Egg McMuffin]

COZI TV is having a marathon of Christmas episodes this Sunday from 7:00 pm to midnight. Included episodes: “Laura and Manly Give An Orphan To A Psycho” and “The Little House Is Buried In The Snow And No One Seems To Care.”

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

 “The Little House Is Buried In The Snow And No One Seems To Care.”

By any chance was one of the presents given a shovel for Carrie so she could burrow her way from the Little House to the Even Smaller [Out]House on the Prairie since they never seemed to have possessed a chamber pot- despite all those kids and  bad weathers the Little House got subjected to?

[debraran]

15 minutes ago, Blergh said:

By any chance was one of the presents given a shovel for Carrie so she could burrow her way from the Little House to the Even Smaller [Out]House on the Prairie since they never seemed to have possessed a chamber pot- despite all those kids and  bad weathers the Little House got subjected to?

No one else ever went to the bathroom on the show or said they had too. Just wasn't allowed.

Poor Carrie, if it wasn't for Uncle Chris (and the kids loved him on and off the set) she never would have had a toy. Somehow he made her one and almost finished a room in record time. ; )

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by debraran

[jird]

Watching the Ma Cuts Off Her Leg episode, the part where she struggles to go unlock the door, and I can't believe they did that and deprived ML of the opportunity to have Pa kick down the door in a super manly way.

[Egg McMuffin]

I’m watching A Christmas They Never Forgot. Everyone is so nonchalant about Mary and Adam showing up, like they sashayed in from Sleepy Eye. Did everyone forget that Mary and Adam had to come from New York, nearly 1500 miles away? How typical was it for people to travel like that for the holidays back then? When Ma and Pa left the Big Woods in Wisconsin, everyone acted as if they’d never see each other again.

[debraran]

10 minutes ago, Kyle said:

I’m watching A Christmas They Never Forgot. Everyone is so nonchalant about Mary and Adam showing up, like they sashayed in from Sleepy Eye. Did everyone forget that Mary and Adam had to come from New York, nearly 1500 miles away? How typical was it for people to travel like that for the holidays back then? When Ma and Pa left the Big Woods in Wisconsin, everyone acted as if they’d never see each other again.

Watching it now, not my favorite, so many unrealistic things, but liked seeing everyone together. How did he extend that table? I see a bench but it barely fit the regular family before.

Edited December 20, 2021 by debraran

[Egg McMuffin]

Oh the ending is dumb, too - Charles opens the outside door and the snow completely blocks the entry way and stays perfectly in place instead of falling into the house. And something like 10 feet of snow fell in 10 hours.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Kyle

[BigBingerBro]

If that snow storm happened in reality, Charles and most of the other men would have stayed up all night, working hard to clear a path as best they could from the house to the barn.  

Everytime I see Hester Sue wake up in Laura's bed, I always think, "She must be dying to take a piss"...  LOL   Yeah, sanitised 1880s is always fun!

[debraran]

8 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

If that snow storm happened in reality, Charles and most of the other men would have stayed up all night, working hard to clear a path as best they could from the house to the barn.  

Everytime I see Hester Sue wake up in Laura's bed, I always think, "She must be dying to take a piss"...  LOL   Yeah, sanitised 1880s is always fun!

 

As an adult that is all I could think of, how did ALL those people not have to go pee, even the kids. Can you imagine the smell with a chamber pot? Not Christmassy.....although not popular then, a composting toilet/bucket with sawdust off the kitchen would work much better than outhouse in the winter. I don't know whythey just thought of holes back then. Oh and ladies, just hope in a blizzard you were pregnant and didn't have your period or dirty diapers to wash without water. : )

I told myself it was a huge drift in front of door and not the back because that would take weeks to melt and what if Charles fell in the snow when walking on it? Much better observed young when reality wasn't needed.

Also Charles talked of "city coat" to Adam....like they don't get cold there but they never wore warm clothes either something someone noted in an earlier post. They had wool, animal skins, etc. Maybe too hot on the set to do it often.

[Blergh]

I imagine that 19th century pioneers had long since become quite oblivious to human and animal odors that would easily wipe out us New Millennial city folk. 

However, even WITH that said, it's hard to imagine that that Little House would not have been extremely rank to everyone within in just a few hours of getting snowed in on Christmas with all those folks.

BTW, what became of Hester-Sue's horse that had she had used to bring Adam and Mary out there- and was it and the wagon actually hers or had she borrowed those items? Of course, if  these were hers, where did she board them? Oh, and Adam was sighted again so why hadn't HE attempted to take the reins during the snowstorm?

[jason88cubs]

If I was in that house with all that snow I would have gone crazy.

 

 

[jason88cubs]

15 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

If that snow storm happened in reality, Charles and most of the other men would have stayed up all night, working hard to clear a path as best they could from the house to the barn.  

Everytime I see Hester Sue wake up in Laura's bed, I always think, "She must be dying to take a piss"...  LOL   Yeah, sanitised 1880s is always fun!

Right with that snow there's no way they would have gone to the mercantile for at least ...psh 2-3 weeks maybe more?

[Egg McMuffin]

4 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

If I was in that house with all that snow I would have gone crazy.

If I was in that house with all those Ingalls I would have gone crazy.

[jird]

38 minutes ago, Kyle said:

If I was in that house with all those Ingalls I would have gone crazy.

And everyone slowly realizes that Pa's hearty laughter has become maniacal, and suddenly it's Little Shining on the Prairie.

[Blergh]

16 hours ago, jird said:

And everyone slowly realizes that Pa's hearty laughter has become maniacal, and suddenly it's Little Shining on the Prairie.

What do you mean 'has become maniacal'? ML's laughter always seemed maniacal!  I wouldn't have been surprised had Pa yelled 'Here's, Charlie!!' while brandishing an axe!

BTW, Miss Arngrim herself not only pinpointed ML as being the individual who threw Nellie's toy horse much more forcefully than expected (instead of herself) when  she screamed the 'I HATE you, Laura Ingalls!'  rant after her fake-paralysis stint was over but also said that ML himself likely would have wanted to be Nellie! 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Blergh

[jason88cubs]

Watched the pilot movie today

 

What a great movie

It's funny how raw the movie was and even The Walton's homecoming movie, but was polished up for tv

 

Though the Waltons was a bit raw the first couple seasons

[Zella]

I've been watching The Waltons for the first time, and I agree it seems more raw than LHOTP (minus the movie), despite a general shared tone. I'm nearly to the end of season 2. I'm wondering if The Waltons goes as batshit off-the-rails in its later years, ala Little Orangutan on the Prairie. 

[jason88cubs]

Just now, Zella said:

I've been watching The Waltons for the first time, and I agree it seems more raw than LHOTP (minus the movie), despite a general shared tone. I'm nearly to the end of season 2. I'm wondering if The Waltons goes as batshit off-the-rails in its later years, ala Little Orangutan on the Prairie. 

Starting season 7 the show falls pretty hard

There was a lot of off screen stuff that happened ( I won't spoil it, but you may already know) and they just lost their way.

[Zella]

1 minute ago, jason88cubs said:

Starting season 7 the show falls pretty hard

There was a lot of off screen stuff that happened ( I won't spoil it, but you may already know) and they just lost their way.

Okay thanks! It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I know a certain person left, and I can see how that might affect the scripts. [I'm actually coming off watching that person play an FBI counterintelligence chief in The Americans and seeing them 40 years younger and such an eager beaver in The Waltons has been amusing me more than it should. LOLOL]

[jason88cubs]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

Okay thanks! It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I know a certain person left, and I can see how that might affect the scripts. [I'm actually coming off watching that person play an FBI counterintelligence chief in The Americans and seeing them 40 years younger and such an eager beaver in The Waltons has been amusing me more than it should. LOLOL]

Yea I prefer The Waltons to LHOP, but I like both. I felt the scripts were much better and the characters were a bit better as well. Like Charles is great but it's nice seeing John be the nice husband/dad but also lose his temper  a bit to at his children. More realistic

Edited December 21, 2021 by jason88cubs

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

Yea I prefer The Waltons to LHOP, but I like both. I felt the scripts were much better and the characters were a bit better as well. Like Charles is great but it's nice seeing John be the nice husband/dad but also lose his temper  a bit to at his children. More realistic

Yes I'd agree with that assessment. I really liked the first four or so seasons of Little House and thought they were quite good, but so far, I'd say The Waltons in its early stages is better written. Honestly, I think Little House's biggest problem was Michael Landon having such unchecked influence. He was talented, but I think he needed someone to rein in some of his lazier and more ridiculous storytelling tendencies. I don't get the impression that anyone domineered the Waltons' writing to the same extent.

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, Zella said:

Yes I'd agree with that assessment. I really liked the first four or so seasons of Little House and thought they were quite good, but so far, I'd say The Waltons in its early stages is better written. Honestly, I think Little House's biggest problem was Michael Landon having such unchecked influence. He was talented, but I think he needed someone to rein in some of his lazier and more ridiculous storytelling tendencies. I don't get the impression that anyone domineered the Waltons' writing to the same extent.

Of course, the fact that, despite Earl Hamner, Jr. not just being The Narrator, but was  one of the writers and an executive producer of The Waltons, it appears he always kept a calm head and never tried to overwhelm either the cast or crew with his ego even though the show   depicted an idealized version of his own childhood.  Judy Norton (who played Mary Ellen Walton) has gone on record saying that in all the years she worked for/with him, Mr. Hamner, NEVER lost his temper or raised his voice in her presence.  Yes, the show somewhat lost its original luster and grit the last few years but this was more due to losing key members of the older cast to death.etc.  and the youngest generation growing up rather than some kind of ego explosion on anyone's part. 

Alas, while ML was in many ways a very thorough and professional individual, he not only seemed to have had a short temper but also appears to have been an egomaniac who wasn't above behaving in ways that would have infuriated Charles Ingalls (excessive drinking, questionable language around women and children cast members, bullying disguised as humor,etc.) . And he made made sure there was NO 'court of last resort' beyond himself. 

[Katy M]

With both Little House and The Waltons, I can say that I vastly enjoyed the earlier seasons more than the later ones.  If I were in charge, ideally I would have liked to end the series the season after Mary went blind.  Not had her marry Adam, but come back and adjust to life blind, helping out on the farm, etc.  No Albert.  I would have recast Carrie after the first season or so with a better actress. Then the last season could have been Carrie and Laura getting into shenanigans with Laura growing into her big sister role.

[Zella]

I really wish they'd stayed closer to the books for the Almanzo and Laura romance. I'm not generally a sucker for love stories, but I thought their courtship in the books was pretty charming. I've never hated Laura or Almanzo more in the show than when she was making an ass out of herself over him and he kept egging it on and then acting oblivious. 

[Marthavmuffin]

I just watched the episode where Caroline and Charles met as kids.

 

I wanted to see what you all thought - Charles was quite the rebel standing up to that horrid teacher and tying the outhouse door closed while he was in it. Charles was so tiny!

I hate that we don’t have episode specific threads anymore!

[BigBingerBro]

6 hours ago, Zella said:

I really wish they'd stayed closer to the books for the Almanzo and Laura romance.

Well one big improvement would have been if they found an actor that actually had some checmistry with teenage MG - Dean Bulter made a fairly decent Almanzo, but not paired with MG.  Plus, MG by that point was not channeling the Laura from the books.  It was kind of a mess actually.

[debraran]

I never thought Melissa's acting "clicked" as she got older with her writing/character. She fluctuated from a petulant adult with her dealings with Almonzo and girlfriends, Nellie etc. and sometimes she seemed very immature for a pioneer woman. Brawling in the street? I also think not putting down her acting ability, the scripts weren't as good so she had less to work with. She seemed tired, even the awful movie with Rose's kidnapping, she didn't seem upset. It was like "Can this be over?"

 Alison had a good deal of acting ability and I mourn that they didn't let her grow in maturity longer, she was still funny, not being mean, and I feel was way more interesting than Laura before and after being married. If they got rid of the god awful wig they gave older Mary (was that from a Halloween store?) she could have gotten great scripts just being a teacher with Adam and maybe getting married but adopting a blind child and not having "I can see" moments for both of them (although Mary's was false) No need to pretend 2 blind people in the 1800's can just bring up a child alone who can see.

I never liked the Cassandra and James stories and even the actress seemed to know they were a last ditch effort to breath life in the show. Why not use who they had? Katherine was gold, give her a petulant but nice child who's not evil but a nice mix? Why not end it earlier and have specials for a year, maybe 4 with more thought out scripts.

HIghway to Heaven was fine but very saccharin and some episodes a bit much. He knew people wanted "feel good" and was trying again with another show before he died, but it wasn't so much him doing good things, with LHOP it was the family. Waltons, it was the family. 

I think personally he was wrong, that no one wanted to see LHOP cast "old" he refused specials whether Xmas or Thanksgiving. Too late now, but ego again was mixed in that, not really what fans wanted.

[Egg McMuffin]

Very well put. They missed a golden opportunity with adult Nellie. Alison Arngrim was a versatile actress. They could have milked Nellie and Perciville’s romance over a whole season. And she didn’t have to be tamed so drastically. She could have reformed, but still have been feisty. And they could have slowly developed a friendship between her and Laura - that would have been dramatically satisfying after all the antagonism between them as children. Those two actresses had so much chemistry. But after Nellie was married, they hardly ever appeared in the same scene.

I thought they missed the boat with Nancy - good performer but terrible character (akin to Julia Duffy in “Designing Women”). Allison Balson could have pulled off a character who was mischievous but not evil.

[Zella]

One of my biggest issues with Laura as the show wore on is the writing and Melissa Gilbert both seemed to mistake being a spoiled bitch for feisty.

I really liked Laura in the early seasons but then the show started having episodes where she was just a pushy little asshole who invaded people's privacy and trounced on boundaries, and it was supposed to be endearing and likable. It wasn't to me.

Specifically I'm thinking of all the times she trespassed on people's property, and when she got called out on it, she acted like she was the injured party. WTF. Stop acting like Pa Martyr, Laura, and realize your presence is not always welcome or appropriate! Though to be honest I don't even remember Pa being that intrusive. 

So, I'd already started loathing her before we got to Almanzo, but the brawling over him was especially stupid. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Zella

[Egg McMuffin]

Landon had a really juvenile “eye for an eye” approach to dealing with conflicts between the protagonists and antagonists. Nellie’s faking paralysis? No problem, just push her down a hill while she’s in a wheelchair; never mind that it might cause real paralysis. Mrs Oleson got the best of you in a business deal? Trick her into picking up a hive of angry hornets, never mind that multiple stings could cause severe medical issues.

[Zella]

25 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Landon had a really juvenile “eye for an eye” approach to dealing with conflicts between the protagonists and antagonists. Nellie’s faking paralysis? No problem, just push her down a hill while she’s in a wheelchair; never mind that it might cause real paralysis. Mrs Oleson got the best of you in a business deal? Trick her into picking up a hive of angry hornets, never mind that multiple stings could cause severe medical issues.

Yep and a slightly less extreme variation of that, which I found equally offensive, was how the show seemed to think it was okay to ridicule someone's weight if they were an unlikable character. So, it was supposed to be funny when people called Harriet fat but horrible when other people had their appearance made fun of. To me, it really undermines the show's moral high horse. There are so many other more legitimate things to attack Harriet over--and she wasn't even heavy! It honestly made me dislike Nels that the insult became a go-to for him in later seasons. 

[Blergh]

8 hours ago, Kyle said:

Landon had a really juvenile “eye for an eye” approach to dealing with conflicts between the protagonists and antagonists. Nellie’s faking paralysis? No problem, just push her down a hill while she’s in a wheelchair; never mind that it might cause real paralysis. Mrs Oleson got the best of you in a business deal? Trick her into picking up a hive of angry hornets, never mind that multiple stings could cause severe medical issues.

Actually, they were bees not hornets in that hollow log- but not only could the hostile, territorial bees  have caused 'serious medical issues' to Mrs. Oleson and Nellie, they could have also caused an accident via the Olesons' horsedrawn carriage which not only could have resulted in the carriage being damaged, they could ALSO resulted in one or both of the horses breaking their legs which (back then) would have required them to have been PUT DOWN!

 

Would even Mr. Oleson have been willing to understand and shrug off Laura and Albert's MO if his wife, daughter, horses and wagon had been seriously damaged or killed (as annoying as he thought of the first two entities)?!

[Zella]

6 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Would even Mr. Oleson have been willing to understand and shrug off Laura and Albert's MO if his wife, daughter, horses and wagon had been seriously damaged or killed (as annoying as he thought of the first two entities)?!

I'm sure a crying and gratuitously shirtless Charles would have helped him work through it in a tear-jerker two-parter before they moved on and deported Nels to New York to join Mary and Adam. 

[andidante]

Quote

 

The two episodes that bug me are when Charles and Caroline's son dies. Then it becomes all about Laura and her trek up the mountain. The other one is when Albert kills Mary's baby and then runs away and it becomes all about him. Maybe just me, but it bugs me to this day! LOL

[debraran]

The "fat" thing bothered me too, don't make fun of Mr Bevin's but Harriet is okay. (and she wasn't obese)

Another eye for eye was when the kids changed the newspaper for the 100% off sale...that didn't just hurt Harriet, it hurt Nel's. If they really lost all that merchandise, how would that help? And it only made her worse. They didn't get punished of course, it was tit for tat. Other episodes though, if Laura was as rude as another kid, she'd be spoken too. It really varied. Not consistent.

The bee thing bothered me too, maybe not if I was a kid, but as an adult Michael's jokester attitude and practical jokes he played, I think came out in scripts at times.

Edited December 23, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

On 12/22/2021 at 8:39 PM, Paul Q. said:

The more you find out about Michael Landon, the less one likes him…

Yeah, and the older I get, the more it seems I find myself considering  the descriptor of 'he was a prankster' as mark of a person I'd find annoying if not bullying, meanspirited and cruel- instead of a person I would genuinely want in my life!  While there were positive aspects to ML's life (and things to have admired about him), it seems the shadowside appears to have been rather overwhelming if one had been in his acquaintance. 

[CountryGirl]

On 12/21/2021 at 11:47 AM, Zella said:

I really wish they'd stayed closer to the books for the Almanzo and Laura romance. I'm not generally a sucker for love stories, but I thought their courtship in the books was pretty charming. I've never hated Laura or Almanzo more in the show than when she was making an ass out of herself over him and he kept egging it on and then acting oblivious. 

Same. 

I loved when Almanzo walked her home the first time, after her history recitation. The chauffeuring her to and from the awful Brewsters. And, of course, the time where Almanzo goes away for a few weeks but comes back just in time for Christmas Eve and Laura, restless and uninterested in the holiday, is overjoyed at his return that night. I think it was then that she realized she was in love with him. 

[Zella]

16 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

Same. 

I loved when Almanzo walked her home the first time, after her history recitation. The chauffeuring her to and from the awful Brewsters. And, of course, the time where Almanzo goes away for a few weeks but comes back just in time for Christmas Eve and Laura, restless and uninterested in the holiday, is overjoyed at his return that night. I think it was then that she realized she was in love with him. 

Yes! Also I liked how Charles in the books was a big Almanzo fan, and it was her mother who had her misgivings about him rather than how the show went with Pa being antagonistic to him. 

[crazy8s]

On 12/20/2021 at 8:20 PM, Zella said:

I've been watching The Waltons for the first time, and I agree it seems more raw than LHOTP (minus the movie), despite a general shared tone. I'm nearly to the end of season 2. I'm wondering if The Waltons goes as batshit off-the-rails in its later years, ala Little Orangutan on the Prairie. 

fun game - watch for cross over actors between LHOP and the waltons.  Willie Ames, Victor French, carl and John jr. also fun to see similar story lines Todd Bridges got sort of the same story/guest spot on both shows.