Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[Zella]

25 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Not to mention, she'd just found out that the poor miner had someone (one of her classmate's fathers) STEAL the gold under the creekbed he had used as a resting place for his beloved late wife  desecrating her resting place(and Laura had blabbed the poignant memorial all over the school like it was a fairy tale). Not only did she not have zero right to have screamed at him when he was clearly extremely shattered and upset (for good reason) but what on Earth did she think she could say to him that would possibly have made up for her having been a blabbermouth especially after he WARNED her how greed made folks do terrible things!

I'd somehow blocked out all of the background but was just left with residual seething rage at her behavior that makes even more sense after you reminded me of all the details. 

I really liked Laura in the first couple of seasons, but after that, I thought she was absolutely insufferable. By the end, she was my least favorite part of the entire show. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Zella

[Mr. Sparkle]

That goldmining two-parter is so weird and dreary. Plus, at the end, the Edwards leave and all of a sudden the Garveys are there with no explanation at all. That always bugged me. I rewound the ending to see if the Edwards mention leaving at all, but I never find it. 

[Zella]

4 hours ago, Superclam said:

That always bugged me. I rewound the ending to see if the Edwards mention leaving at all, but I never find it. 

I think Victor French left the show to be in his own TV show that same year, and it was only after that was cancelled that he returned. So, they may well have fully intended for the Edwards to be back in Walnut Grove with the Ingalls the next season when they wrote and filmed that episode. Then the next season, he wasn't available, so we get the Garveys rather than them trying to write around Mr. Edwards being gone and the rest of the family still being around. 

[Blergh]

9 hours ago, Zella said:

I think Victor French left the show to be in his own TV show that same year, and it was only after that was cancelled that he returned. So, they may well have fully intended for the Edwards to be back in Walnut Grove with the Ingalls the next season when they wrote and filmed that episode. Then the next season, he wasn't available, so we get the Garveys rather than them trying to write around Mr. Edwards being gone and the rest of the family still being around. 

Yes, that's right! I believe that ML thought that Mr. French (as well as Miss Bartlett and the performers playing their adopted kids) were all coming back but then Mr. French acceped the offer to star  in Carter Country  during LHOTP's hiatus which resulted in ML suddenly having not just Isaiah but also Grace Snyder Edwards as well as their younger adopted kids Carl and Alicia not return to the show for the time being. I wonder if he ever considered having  Grace widowed a 2nd time but didn't want to hear the outcry from viewers about 'killing off' Mr. Edwards? Well, after Mr. French evidently did his mea culpas to ML and got his job back, as it turned out that  their eldest adopted son John Sanderson, Jr.  (who oddly everyone called 'John, Jr.' LONG after his John, Sr. had died . .and had never been depicted on the show ) got killed off and Carl amscrayed then Grace got recast before she cast off Isaiah so Mr. French came back rootless. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

My problem was that the Garveys were just there, like they always lived there. They didn't even show them moving to town. Garvey was working at the mill and was Charles' friend and we just had to accept it. 

On another note, I was very young, but I remember Carter Country. I don't remember any episodes except a racist trailer about fried chicken. I read the wikipedia synopsis today, and yeesh.

[debraran]

On 5/11/2023 at 10:31 PM, Zella said:

I'd somehow blocked out all of the background but was just left with residual seething rage at her behavior that makes even more sense after you reminded me of all the details. 

I really liked Laura in the first couple of seasons, but after that, I thought she was absolutely insufferable. By the end, she was my least favorite part of the entire show. 

I felt the same way, not with books but with show. I was  scrappy kid but not like her and not as docile as Mary. Laura got away with stuff all the time and because of not wanting to cast a regular underpaid friend on a regular basis (always money in talks about cast) she had adult friends or friends for a day. She acted like she was 30 and then when she was older with Almonzo, she acted like a child. Always ranting about something, whining or complaining. Even what she did to Almonzo's "date" was awful but it was Laura...the chicken the same. Ha Ha, I didn't get what I wanted, so I act nasty. Mary though was always held above holy and if she did anything wrong was punished harshly. I think reading in the barn was bad but it wasn't accumulative.

On 5/11/2023 at 1:24 PM, Zella said:

I've never gotten over Laura trespassing on the hermit miner's property and then screaming at him when he doesn't want her there. It's not your property. You don't have a God-given right to be there. She actually does that a lot. 

That poor girl in the rape/mime episode, not discussing it, gets hurt but Laura does so many dumb things and never is. I didn't want her to be but when you think about the risks she took, she was lucky. She was a young child when she ran away with Charles Jr birth and cheesy and predictable, stayed safe with her Jonathan angel. Then she takes off with the boy with leukemia without thought of how her parents would feel (although not alone) and pushes Albert to run away before that because it's still "all about me" and the rest of the kids can't be first ever. Insufferable. I tried but couldn't like her.

Edited May 13, 2023 by debraran

[Zella]

5 hours ago, debraran said:

I felt the same way, not with books but with show. I was  scrappy kid but not like her and not as docile as Mary. Laura got away with stuff all the time and because of not wanting to cast a regular underpaid friend on a regular basis (always money in talks about cast) she had adult friends or friends for a day. She acted like she was 30 and then when she was older with Almonzo, she acted like a child. Always ranting about something, whining or complaining. Even what she did to Almonzo's "date" was awful but it was Laura...the chicken the same. Ha Ha, I didn't get what I wanted, so I act nasty. Mary though was always held above holy and if she did anything wrong was punished harshly. I think reading in the barn was bad but it wasn't accumulative.

Yep I never had that impression of her in the books either. I rather liked her throughout the books, and I actually found the book depiction of her relationship with Almanzo to be incredibly charming. I was looking forward to it in the show, despite having become exasperated with her, and that was when I finally reached my snapping point with her. She was so embarrassing and ridiculous! 

[Blergh]

23 hours ago, Superclam said:

My problem was that the Garveys were just there, like they always lived there. They didn't even show them moving to town. Garvey was working at the mill and was Charles' friend and we just had to accept it. 

On another note, I was very young, but I remember Carter Country. I don't remember any episodes except a racist trailer about fried chicken. I read the wikipedia synopsis today, and yeesh.

I was alive back then and had the misfortune of tuning into a time or so- thinking that since Carter Country was a Norman Lear production, it would be intelligent, humorous and fair-minded in its approach to different ethnicities interacting in the US South. Guess what? It proved a total fail in all the above criteria to the point that I quit watching without the slightest regret (someone on another Subforum said that they liked the mayor's catchphrase of 'Handle it! Handle it!' but even that at best was barely worth a feeble, labored chuckle instead of being close to a sidesplitter).  I didn't blame Mr. French one bit for evidently kicking himself for having jumped the LHOTP ship for THAT and then doing his mea culpas to ML who took him back and even had him be his human bestie/sidekick in HtH.

[jason88cubs]

I randomly thought of the episode where Charles gets a bunch of money from his Uncle but it's confederate money and Charles has to sell everything since he failed at cash on a barrel again since he bought a bunch of stuff for people who asked for things

 

Then they bough Charles stuff for cheap and sold it back to him

[Blergh]

5 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

I randomly thought of the episode where Charles gets a bunch of money from his Uncle but it's confederate money and Charles has to sell everything since he failed at cash on a barrel again since he bought a bunch of stuff for people who asked for things

 

Then they bough Charles stuff for cheap and sold it back to him

Not to mention, prevented the Ingallses from having their farm bought by outsiders- even though this meant that the Olesons  and virtually everyone else in Walnut Grove took big fiscal blows to keep the Ingallses from sinking via spending more than what they believed they'd had in hand at the time!

No wonder the whole town wound up sitting ducks with nothing but goose eggs to show for it X months later when they [temporarily] were driven out of Walnut Grove and had to try to restart anew in Winoka, et. al- but no one ever considered how the Ingallses' spendthrift ways (and everyone else bailing them out) contributed to the town's downfall!

[Zella]

5 hours ago, Blergh said:

no one ever considered how the Ingallses' spendthrift ways (and everyone else bailing them out) contributed to the town's downfall!

This reminds me of how mad Pa gets when Harriet won't give him store credit when he's new in town, despite the fact that she has perfectly prudent and commonsense reasons for doing so. As she explains to him, they only extend credit to farmers they know and even then it's not all of them because of the history that people's farms have of failing. She doesn't know him and he's new to the area, so of course he's not getting credit. 

The funniest part to me is she talks about how they'll run up credit and then run off in the night to avoid paying the debt, and he indignantly says he wouldn't do that. But the real Charles Ingalls totally did when it came to avoiding paying rent at least once.  

Edited May 14, 2023 by Zella

[jason88cubs]

23 hours ago, Zella said:

This reminds me of how mad Pa gets when Harriet won't give him store credit when he's new in town, despite the fact that she has perfectly prudent and commonsense reasons for doing so. As she explains to him, they only extend credit to farmers they know and even then it's not all of them because of the history that people's farms have of failing. She doesn't know him and he's new to the area, so of course he's not getting credit. 

The funniest part to me is she talks about how they'll run up credit and then run off in the night to avoid paying the debt, and he indignantly says he wouldn't do that. But the real Charles Ingalls totally did when it came to avoiding paying rent at least once.  

also how they nicely explained how they couldn't give him credit and he stormed out of there.."I UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

surprised he didn't throw himself off the steps and break his ribs

[Mr. Sparkle]

DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM??? 

Actually, no, you literally just walked in here for the first time ever, asking for a ton of expensive stuff on credit. 

[Zella]

"I'M CHARLES INGALLS! THE PROFESSIONAL MARTYR OF MINNESOTA AND I DEMAND FINANCING!" 

25 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

surprised he didn't throw himself off the steps and break his ribs

I can't stop laughing at this! LOLOLOL 

[CountryGirl]

2 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

also how they nicely explained how they couldn't give him credit and he stormed out of there.."I UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

surprised he didn't throw himself off the steps and break his ribs

I, too, am surprised at Pa-Messiah's restraint. After all, any excuse to bare his manly chest.

[Zella]

35 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

I, too, am surprised at Pa-Messiah's restraint. After all, any excuse to bare his manly chest.

I almost typed "I'M CHARLES INGALLS! THE PROFESSIONAL MARTYR OF MINNESOTA AND I DEMAND SATISFACTION!" before realizing that having a credit account at the store would not give Charles anywhere near as much satisfaction as a chance to be martyred, break his ribs, and bare his chest. 

[jason88cubs]

and then falls out the tree, break his ribs, almost breaks his contract THAT HE WILLINGLY SIGNED, and the other guy is the bad guy

 

No wonder why Charles said"we're home girls" as everyone did his work for him

 

He probably had the whole thing planned!!

[jason88cubs]

I always like in "Barn Burner" when  the judge asks the Rev. to pick someone to pick a jury and he instantly picks Charles as  the most honorable person and he looks around shocked

 

BS Charles. You couldn't wait to go home and tell Caroline as Uncle Chris scampered off

[Blergh]

7 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

and then falls out the tree, break his ribs, almost breaks his contract THAT HE WILLINGLY SIGNED, and the other guy is the bad guy

 

No wonder why Charles said"we're home girls" as everyone did his work for him

 

He probably had the whole thing planned!!

Caroline: Charles, it would a LOT easier to mend the broken kite or even make a new one than it would for you to mend those ribs!

Charles: It's either broken ribs with an ace bandage- or the audience has to see me topless the rest of the series!

Caroline: No, not THAT! We'll be cancelled in one episode  with the whole show winding up a gag reel on something called Ewe Toot!

[debraran]

I sometimes have random thoughts on the poor Oleson's store when I think of it realistically and not TV. The number of times they lost money. They gave a very real and very honest explanation of why with all these goods, we can't loan them to everyone and hope we get paid. We just met you. (I read your book!) The only money they got was from markup but they bought a lot of merchandise. There were times when credit was so bad they had to say "enough". They aren't Santa Claus and viewers would be "how mean" Think of the times during the health epidemics when they donated and didn't get back blankets and medicine and other things. They always donated coats or lamps when looking for kids or Carrie in the well....so many shows "Nels and sometimes Harriet said "Anything you want".  How did those things get replaced? No one bought them. Even the funny show where the sweet Ingall's kids had Nel's lose merchandise with 100% off sale to get back at his wife. Did they return all the expensive clocks and fabric etc. Did they feel it was their right to hurt both of them but of course Laura was always right and Albert could do no wrong. (not defending Harriet but this was Nel's too)

Just random thoughts of binging once and seeing so many times they stepped up to the plate and didn't get anything but thank you in return. In real life that would be hard for a store that size.

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by debraran

[Blergh]

On 5/14/2023 at 10:38 AM, Zella said:

This reminds me of how mad Pa gets when Harriet won't give him store credit when he's new in town, despite the fact that she has perfectly prudent and commonsense reasons for doing so. As she explains to him, they only extend credit to farmers they know and even then it's not all of them because of the history that people's farms have of failing. She doesn't know him and he's new to the area, so of course he's not getting credit. 

The funniest part to me is she talks about how they'll run up credit and then run off in the night to avoid paying the debt, and he indignantly says he wouldn't do that. But the real Charles Ingalls totally did when it came to avoiding paying rent at least once.  

I have to wonder if ML had known that RL CI had done that at the time of the episode.

Of course, I know that he quickly veered off 'The Books' to make his own often warped vision of the Ingallses and Walnut Grove but I wonder if he bothered to do any thorough research in the Ingallses' bios- beyond just glancing at book series' somewhat shilly notes 'about the author'.  The closest evidence I can think of him possibly having done so was at  the close of  the later season episode when the young married mother Laura  toyed with the idea of writing a totally fictional book about her family but then decided to stick to her integrity and only write 'the truth'. Anyway ML himself narrated that RL Mrs. Wilder would publish the first of her Little House books in her 60's and then showed one of the then-preteen  Landon daughters running into a then-contemporary early 1980's public library and picking  one of Mrs. Wilder's books off a shelf. Oddly enough, I thought having ML instead of MG as Laura do the narration seemed a bit intrusive!

Edited May 16, 2023 by Blergh

[Egg McMuffin]

I’ve said before in this forum that it would be fun to see a LHOTP reboot told from the point of view of the Olesons (a la Wicked). We’d see the ugly, retaliatory side of the Ingalls clan, which justifies cruel treatment of the Olesons when the Ingalls think the Olesons deserve it (poison ivy, angry bees, “cinnamon” chicken, fake newspaper advertisements, etc).

[jason88cubs]

9 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I’ve said before in this forum that it would be fun to see a LHOTP reboot told from the point of view of the Olesons (a la Wicked). We’d see the ugly, retaliatory side of the Ingalls clan, which justifies cruel treatment of the Olesons when the Ingalls think the Olesons deserve it (poison ivy, angry bees, “cinnamon” chicken, fake newspaper advertisements, etc).

Well according to Charles, it's ok to be mean to people in person if it's done to the Oleson's just don't listen to people's conversations or create fake news in the paper

[debraran]

20 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I’ve said before in this forum that it would be fun to see a LHOTP reboot told from the point of view of the Olesons (a la Wicked). We’d see the ugly, retaliatory side of the Ingalls clan, which justifies cruel treatment of the Olesons when the Ingalls think the Olesons deserve it (poison ivy, angry bees, “cinnamon” chicken, fake newspaper advertisements, etc).

I would love that!  I forgot for a moment about the bees, that was really awful and cruel. I guess Rev Alden's sermons were too weak, they didn't get the Christian way of doing things at times. ; ) The poison ivy too was not needed, they should have known Ivy but still, Laura forgot when she thought she had that horrible disease when again she didn't listen and went to Mr Edwards place to see Alicia.

[Zella]

5 minutes ago, debraran said:

I forgot for a moment about the bees, that was really awful and cruel.

The bee thing is just so appalling to me. I can have a dark sense of humor, but there is nothing funny about that to me at all. 

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, debraran said:

I would love that!  I forgot for a moment about the bees, that was really awful and cruel. I guess Rev Alden's sermons were too weak, they didn't get the Christian way of doing things at times. ; ) The poison ivy too was not needed, they should have known Ivy but still, Laura forgot when she thought she had that horrible disease when again she didn't listen and went to Mr Edwards place to see Alicia.

And the crazy thing is that that was one of the very few times Laura was depicted actually making the effort to see Alicia!  It didn't even seem as though the two wrote each other when the Edwardses were 'in California' - and barely acknowledged each other when Laura popped in with Pa to see them when Isaiah had to start his 'redemption arc' before he could return to Walnut Grove full time- without the REST of his family (and no mention of Laura keeping in contact with Alicia thereafter).

Oh, here's another rule that only applied to Charles- if you decide you're having an emergency (e.g. your kids are on a loose caboose OR you found out they're riding the rails to California with their dying pal),  just PUNCH the nearest horse's rider  right off their saddle and 'borrow' the horse. Don't even try to ask much less explain how much of an 'emergency' you're having. Just PUNCH then  swipe  then leap up  then ride off with this strange horse at breakneck speed (for rider AND horse)!  Oh, and don't bother to try to reunite the horse with the legit human after all is said and done- or even leave a note explaining where  the horse came from !  Sure, there all these annoying pesky laws on the books in many 19th century communities that spell out that horse thievery is a capital and HANGING offense but don't worry about that- you're Charles Ingalls!

Seriously, ML is lucky no one attempted to do Grand Theft Auto to any of his motorized 20th century vehicles via just using one or two babysteps re ML justifying 19th century horse thievery!

Edited May 19, 2023 by Blergh

[Snow Apple]

When Mary was in the hospital and Charles and Mr. Edwards went to look for jobs to pay the medical bills, didn't Charles fight the foreman who didn't have work for them? And we're suppose to be on his side because it's for his sick daughter, but just like Harriet wouldn't give him credit, the foreman didn't know him and already had all the workers he need. It's like strangers are supposed to see is aura and hand him whatever he wants.

[BusterHymen]

14 hours ago, Blergh said:

And the crazy thing is that that was one of the very few times Laura was depicted actually making the effort to see Alicia!  It didn't even seem as though the two wrote each other when the Edwardses were 'in California' - and barely acknowledged each other when Laura popped in with Pa to see them when Isaiah had to start his 'redemption arc' before he could return to Walnut Grove full time- without the REST of his family (and no mention of Laura keeping in contact with Alicia thereafter).

Oh, here's another rule that only applied to Charles- if you decide you're having an emergency (e.g. your kids are on a loose caboose OR you found out they're riding the rails to California with their dying pal),  just PUNCH the nearest horse's rider  right off their saddle and 'borrow' the horse. Don't even try to ask much less explain how much of an 'emergency' you're having. Just PUNCH then  swipe  then leap up  then ride off with this strange horse at breakneck speed (for rider AND horse)!  Oh, and don't bother to try to reunite the horse with the legit human after all is said and done- or even leave a note explaining where  the horse came from !  Sure, there all these annoying pesky laws on the books in many 19th century communities that spell out that horse thievery is a capital and HANGING offense but don't worry about that- you're Charles Ingalls!

Seriously, ML is lucky no one attempted to do Grand Theft Auto to any of his motorized 20th century vehicles via just using one or two babysteps re ML justifying 19th century horse thievery!

spot on about Charles Ingalls (tv series)...another two-faced hypocrite with double standards..."do as I say, not as I do" philosophy...there are many examples of his boorish behavior throughout the series where he literally contradicts what he preaches (ad nauseam) just as long as it suits his needs and wants. 

[BusterHymen]

Ok, now I'm confused....just got done watching all of the LHOTP episodes (seaons 1 - 9)...Did not see the three movies just yet but I read on various forums that Albert came back to Walnut Grove while studying to become a doctor but had become seriously ill with cancer, nosebleeds, leukemia? and it wasn't made clear or not if he actually died, right? He's seen walking with Laura at the end "Look Back to Yesterday" and then he isn't in the grand finale "The last farewell" when everyone leaves and blows up Walnut Grove?!!...but in season 9 "Back Home" episode when he is battling his morphine addiction, Laura tells at the end of that episode in her "voice over" that Albert returned back to Walnut Grove 20 years later and became the towns doctor!...what??!!!...He never became a doctor and the town was blown up!...Did I miss something?!...these LTHOP snafu's are giving me headaches!...LOL!

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, BusterHymen said:

Ok, now I'm confused....just got done watching all of the LHOTP episodes (seaons 1 - 9)...Did not see the three movies just yet but I read on various forums that Albert came back to Walnut Grove while studying to become a doctor but had become seriously ill with cancer, nosebleeds, leukemia? and it wasn't made clear or not if he actually died, right? He's seen walking with Laura at the end "Look Back to Yesterday" and then he isn't in the grand finale "The last farewell" when everyone leaves and blows up Walnut Grove?!!...but in season 9 "Back Home" episode when he is battling his morphine addiction, Laura tells at the end of that episode in her "voice over" that Albert returned back to Walnut Grove 20 years later and became the towns doctor!...what??!!!...He never became a doctor and the town was blown up!...Did I miss something?!...these LTHOP snafu's are giving me headaches!...LOL!

Logic/consistency and late LHOTP are like oil and water. 

These TV movies have to be seen to be believed. As batshit crazy and nonsensical as season 9 is, they're even more batshit and crazy and nonsensical. 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Zella

[BusterHymen]

11 minutes ago, Zella said:

Logic/consistency and late LHOTP are like oil and water. 

These TV movies have to be seen to be believed. As batshit crazy and nonsensical as season 9 is, they're even more batshit and crazy and nonsensical. 

Very true and funny...as I mentioned earlier, every season got progressively worse...the crappy writing and storylines, the inconsistencies, etc. all which range from the sublime to the ridiculous!...just a few more annoying and snafu tidbits....I'm kind of brainstorming and piggybacking from other comments (seems like every topic was hit very well on these pages)...Reverend Alden gets married and we never see or hear from his wife again? The Edwards just disappeared somewhere between seasons 4 - 5 and the Garvey's show up mysteriously to take their place as though nothing ever happened? The courtship of Laura and Almanzo is disturbing on many levels...She is still very young (14 or 15) and Almanzo is at least 10+ years older than her? (basically pedophilia)...Mary's hair going from long and blonde to almost black and with that goofy ass Ms. Clairol hair weave from the 80's?!!...really??!!...and the character Klezia?...was she even necessary?...it really irked and bothered me when she worked part time at the post office and opened up and read everyone's letters and then re-sealed them!!...blatant invasion of privacy which is now considered tampering and a felony in most states!...and one last thing...lets not forget all of Michael Landon's revisionist history of Walnut Grove! If I didn't know any better, I think a good part of our country's history was started and perpetuated in Walnut Grove...Frank and Jesse James??!!...and of'course Bob Ford who shot and killed Jesse James was another one hit wonder student at the school of Walnut Grove!...Colonel Harland Sanders?!! who wasn't even born yet for fuk's sake!!...and let's not forget the woman's suffrage movement, women's rights, and the right to vote all started in Walnut Grove too when all of the housewives staged a protest and let the husbands fend for themselves!...and how exactly did the Mercantile stay in business when everyone was piss poor and had no money?!!...Even Doc Baker was paid with food, apple pies, chickens, etc!...It's a damn wonder the Oleson's didn't go bankrupt when they always extended credit but no one ever paid!...a very bad business model...I could go on and on, but you get the point...batshit crazy, nonsensical storylines which made absolutely no sense!...that's LHOTP for you in a nutshell!

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, BusterHymen said:

.Frank and Jesse James??!!...and of'course Bob Ford who shot and killed Jesse James was another one hit wonder student at the school of Walnut Grove!

I've had a meltdown about this several times on here. LOL Them having Bob Ford as a sworn enemy of the Jameses rather than an admirer who was intimately familiar with the family is also a choice.

7 minutes ago, BusterHymen said:

The courtship of Laura and Almanzo is disturbing on many levels...She is still very young (14 or 15) and Almanzo is at least 10+ years older than her? (basically pedophilia)

It also profoundly bothers me that he makes it pretty clear he's interested in her, like their special nicknames for each other, and then acts bewildered she thought he was interested. I'd actually been looking forward to their courtship because it is charming in the books, but it was the point where I thought the show got really off-kilter. 

7 minutes ago, BusterHymen said:

Very true and funny...as I mentioned earlier, every season got progressively worse...the crappy writing and storylines, the inconsistencies, etc. all which range from the sublime to the ridiculous!

What really bothers me too is the first two or so seasons are pretty solid. They do tend to have the one-episode characters that appear and disappear, as 70s TV was prone to do, and they can be a bit shmaltzy, but the general stakes of the episodes are much more realistic and the characters don't act like cartoons. Those early episodes are genuinely enjoyable to me. The fact they went so far off the rails after showing themselves capable of making good TV is baffling to me. 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Zella

[Blergh]

10 hours ago, BusterHymen said:

spot on about Charles Ingalls (tv series)...another two-faced hypocrite with double standards..."do as I say, not as I do" philosophy...there are many examples of his boorish behavior throughout the series where he literally contradicts what he preaches (ad nauseam) just as long as it suits his needs and wants. 

And it seemed he was oblivious to how vital it was for other folks to keep the horses they'd bought, bartered and/or had borne to them in a herd. I mean, it's not as though 19th century folks only used horses to pull hay wagons to look at stars. They needed them for everything from transportation to pulling plows,etc. not just to help them for their livelihood but even to live (and this often included city dwellers ). Yet CI seemed to think horses for other folks were mere toys like skateboards.

Edited May 20, 2023 by Blergh

[jason88cubs]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:02 AM, Snow Apple said:

When Mary was in the hospital and Charles and Mr. Edwards went to look for jobs to pay the medical bills, didn't Charles fight the foreman who didn't have work for them? And we're suppose to be on his side because it's for his sick daughter, but just like Harriet wouldn't give him credit, the foreman didn't know him and already had all the workers he need. It's like strangers are supposed to see is aura and hand him whatever he wants.

Hey give him some credit. he showed some restraint when the banker wasn't sure if he should give him a loan

 

It could have playe out like this

banker: i'll have to think about this

Charles: What's there ot think about?!?!?! I gave you my word

banker: yes I heard

Charles: I'm Charles Ingalls, doesn't my name mean anything

banker: well I heard about the confederate money issue

Charles: OH come on it was a accident that could have happened to anyone!

banker: or you couldn't supply coffee or writing pencil and you had to hire Chris to build your add on

Charles: Oh Come On!

banker: See me tomorrow

(Charles punches banker, takes money, trips running out of bank, breaks ribs)

(at Doc office as Charles is shirtless getting wrapped up, the banker and whole town show up)

banker: seeing you hurt made me realize how horrible i treated you. Take the loan Mr. Ingalls and take your time paying it back. No rush. Anytime you need a loan just le me know, we will make it work

Charles: what a banker, it does do a man proud to feel appreciated by the bank

[crazy8s]

5 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

Hey give him some credit. he showed some restraint when the banker wasn't sure if he should give him a loan

 

It could have playe out like this

banker: i'll have to think about this

Charles: What's there ot think about?!?!?! I gave you my word

banker: yes I heard

Charles: I'm Charles Ingalls, doesn't my name mean anything

banker: well I heard about the confederate money issue

Charles: OH come on it was a accident that could have happened to anyone!

banker: or you couldn't supply coffee or writing pencil and you had to hire Chris to build your add on

Charles: Oh Come On!

banker: See me tomorrow

(Charles punches banker, takes money, trips running out of bank, breaks ribs)

(at Doc office as Charles is shirtless getting wrapped up, the banker and whole town show up)

banker: seeing you hurt made me realize how horrible i treated you. Take the loan Mr. Ingalls and take your time paying it back. No rush. Anytime you need a loan just le me know, we will make it work

Charles: what a banker, it does do a man proud to feel appreciated by the bank

Then Laura pipes up "No thank you Mr Banker. Cash on the barrel head, that's what Pa always says. Or at least that was the way that one time me and Mary needed the slate and slate pencil for school."

Edited May 22, 2023 by crazy8s

[Mr. Sparkle]

5 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

(Charles punches banker, takes money, trips running out of bank, breaks ribs)

Ok, this part made me LOL. 

[jason88cubs]

2 hours ago, crazy8s said:

Then Laura pipes up "No thank you Mr Banker. Cash on the barrel head, that's what Pa always says. Or at least that was the way that one time me and Mary needed the slate and slate pencil for school."

and then Harriet mutters something under her breath

[Egg McMuffin]

I originally thought the nadir of the show was when Colonel Sanders showed up and wanted to turn Nellie’s Restaurant into a KFC. Never let logic get in the way of a good gag!

But then season 9 and the movies happened.

[jason88cubs]

12 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I originally thought the nadir of the show was when Colonel Sanders showed up and wanted to turn Nellie’s Restaurant into a KFC. Never let logic get in the way of a good gag!

But then season 9 and the movies happened.

Never seen the episode but I can guess what happens

No one takes Sanders seriously so he's about to give up and leave, Charles begs him to stay, then goes to church and criticizes the town for not supporting him. Next morning everyone's lined up to eat the chicken. Sanders looks at Charles and Charles winks

[Mr. Sparkle]

I think that episode was relatively Charles light with a focus on Harriet? I've only seen it once or twice, it's just as dumb as it sounds. 

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, Superclam said:

I think that episode was relatively Charles light with a focus on Harriet? I've only seen it once or twice, it's just as dumb as it sounds. 

Well, Charles DID have a pivotal role in it. He sank Harriet's Pan-Fried Chicken Franchise via serenading the zillions of Walnut Grove patrons with his violin (despite, as always , holding the bow about a foot away from the strings) with Nels's cooking being only a tiny part of the downfall.

Yes,it's quite dumb indeed!

However, considering the fact that both Ketty Lester and Karen Grassle each sang high praises about the late Miss MacGregor in their autobios, it's kind of nice in retrospect to see these three performers actually somewhat bond together in adversity despite the totally bogus premise!

Yeah, by this point, ML the scriptwriter was strictly going through the motions and not even trying to attempt a decent plot any more than real than his version of Charles's violin playing!

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Well, Charles DID have a pivotal role in it. He sank Harriet's Pan-Fried Chicken Franchise via serenading the zillions of Walnut Grove patrons with his violin (despite, as always , holding the bow about a foot away from the strings) with Nels's cooking being only a tiny part of the downfall.

LOL, I don't remember this in the slightest! I remember them looking at the contract a lot, Harriet being harried and Colonel Sanders at the end. That's about it. 

In my initial run watching this in the mid-80s and then my second pandemic run, there were quite a few that I would skip, or just not pay attention to. This was one of them. 

[Blergh]

I actually think Harriet's singing would have been more entertaining than Charles's air violining!

Yeah, I always thought it was a bit much that for all of ML's determination to learn such intense physical activities such as horseback riding,boxing,millstone door slamming,etc., in the eight years of LHOTP he never attempted to learn how to play the violin (despite Pa's skill in it being a highlight of Mrs. Wilder's tomes) - nor even to fake playing one!

[CountryGirl]

ML's Pa, such a Renaissance Man with all the things you mentioned @Blergh and pit-fiddling with the best of them.

[jason88cubs]

20 hours ago, Blergh said:

I actually think Harriet's singing would have been more entertaining than Charles's air violining!

Yeah, I always thought it was a bit much that for all of ML's determination to learn such intense physical activities such as horseback riding,boxing,millstone door slamming,etc., in the eight years of LHOTP he never attempted to learn how to play the violin (despite Pa's skill in it being a highlight of Mrs. Wilder's tomes) - nor even to fake playing one!

Family out of money yet that violin sits in corner collecting dust

[Blergh]

34 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

Family out of money yet that violin sits in corner collecting dust

You mean, there's a market for air violining?

[Snow Apple]

On 5/25/2023 at 1:48 PM, jason88cubs said:

Never seen the episode but I can guess what happens

No one takes Sanders seriously so he's about to give up and leave, Charles begs him to stay, then goes to church and criticizes the town for not supporting him. Next morning everyone's lined up to eat the chicken. Sanders looks at Charles and Charles winks

You forgot the part where Charles licks his fingers because the chicken is so good, leading Sanders to come up with his famous slogan.

Seriously though, like others said, a man (they never said his name but if you know, you know) told Harriet about his idea of a restaurant that only serves chicken and she said no thanks by explaining how they tried serving only 3 meals and failed. He goes away and Nels come out and ask why she's laughing. She told him the man's idea and he laughs with her. The end.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Snow Apple

[Blergh]

On 5/27/2023 at 10:11 AM, Snow Apple said:

You forgot the part where Charles licks his fingers because the chicken is so good, leading Sanders to come up with his famous slogan.

Seriously though, like others said, a man (they never said his name but if you know, you know) told Harriet about his idea of a restaurant that only serves chicken and she said no thanks by explaining how they tried serving only 3 meals and failed. He goes away and Nels come out and ask why she's laughing. She told him the man's idea and he laughs with her. The end.

With scripts like that, they could have easily just hooked up Mrs. Wilder's spinning grave to the sawmill  geers and have  had no need to build a waterwheel to 'power' it up!

[Pirpana]

On 5/26/2023 at 4:11 AM, Blergh said:

Yeah, by this point, ML the scriptwriter was strictly going through the motions and not even trying to attempt a decent plot any more than real than his version of Charles's violin playing!

On the 40th Anniversary documentary featured as a bonus feature on Blu-ray, Charlotte Stewart told how she saw ML writing next episode script in-between the takes of an episode being shot at the time. And he was directing it. And to be clear, Stewart stated this in a very admiring tone, like, "Oh, what a super man to be able to do that"! Sometimes, it really feels like the script was written while doing something else. Our pet peeve episode May we bake them brown comes first in mind.

[jird]

Was watching Whisper Country, and damn, Mary is really awful in it. She's a terrible houseguest (oh, it's time for dinner? I'm gonna wash up and change instead of being on time), she yells at everyone instead of speaking like a reasonable human being, and she interferes with everything (leave the rooster tied up, nosy!) because she thinks she knows best. It's like she's channeling Charles - I guess it's a good thing she didn't fall down and break her ribs.