Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[jason88cubs]

How far away did they live from town? In some episodes they made it seem like it was a 10 minute walk, in others they made it seem like it was 45 minute walk

 

There was other times where early in the series, Charles would walk to the mill and take a whole different route than what they ended up taking to town later on

[BigBingerBro]

3 hours ago, debraran said:

where did all the customers come from?

Especially in the "Wave of the Future" episode where they sign the franchise contract.  They had Winoka-levels of customers eating there on a daily basis.  The best scene was when Hester Sue got all frazzled and stepped into the kitchen to let out a blood-curdling scream.

[CountryGirl]

Except for that time she left the cellar door open and her being a bit snooty to Joe Kagan when they first met, I absolutely loved Hester Sue. 

And my goodness could Ketty sing.

[CountryGirl]

On 6/11/2020 at 8:21 PM, RedbirdNelly said:

thanks but I was picturing a girl getting shot in the stomach. Now wondering where I got that idea!

There was an episode from the horrible, no good, very bad et al Season 9 (Rage) where a man went crazy and shot his wife and young daughter. 

[jird]

3 hours ago, CountryGirl said:

Except for that time she left the cellar door open and her being a bit snooty to Joe Kagan when they first met, I absolutely loved Hester Sue. 

And my goodness could Ketty sing.

Well of course she was snooty to him, they'd been married in the episode where we first meet him, and yet he didn't seem to remember her at all! 😅 LH was not afraid to reuse actors, that's for sure.

I loved Hester Sue, too. She kinda reminded me of my mom, right down to her "Oh no you did not just say that to me" face.

[ChicksDigScars]

Oh lord. Walnut Grove is being blown up on UP TV today. I guess the blessing in that is that once that is over, the original Little house on the Prairie pilot movie is on tomorrow at 10:00 EST.

 

I was a LIW fanatic as a child. Literally WORE out the paperbacks and have the hard bounds in my bookcase as we speak. Right next to Harry Potter. I was so excited when they came out with the movie, but my 10 year old self immediately began picking it apart. Pa with no beard? Laura with brown eyes? WTF?! But Mary was a snot, so that was consistent.

Edited June 15, 2020 by ChicksDigScars

[Mr. Sparkle]

Oooh, I just found out I have UPTV on my cable package! 

I wish I could watch it on my PC on demand. I might DVR a few classic episodes. 

[jird]

If you have Amazon prime, it's free there, with commercials.

[Mr. Sparkle]

30 minutes ago, jird said:

If you have Amazon prime, it's free there, with commercials.

It is, and I do! I'm totally overwhelmed with the amount of Little House available! 

[debraran]

16 minutes ago, Superclam said:

It is, and I do! I'm totally overwhelmed with the amount of Little House available! 

When I found that in prime I was like Yes! ( hadn’t been there last I checked) they even have the 90 min movies . I love the trivia too

Edited June 15, 2020 by debraran

[Mr. Sparkle]

And in looking at the episode descriptions, somewhere between Seasons 7 & 8 is where I used to lose interest. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Superclam
7 & 8, not 6 & 7

[CountryGirl]

1 hour ago, jird said:

Well of course she was snooty to him, they'd been married in the episode where we first meet him, and yet he didn't seem to remember her at all! 😅 LH was not afraid to reuse actors, that's for sure.

I loved Hester Sue, too. She kinda reminded me of my mom, right down to her "Oh no you did not just say that to me" face.

OMG. I totally forgot she played his wife. Heck, I forgot Joe had a wife.

But I will never forget him getting Harriet's goat, especially when she came across him bathing (Blind Journey episode) and he laughed at her aghast demeanor, saying "black folks take baths, too!"

[Katy M]

5 minutes ago, Superclam said:

And in looking at the episode descriptions, somewhere between Seasons 7 & 8 is where I used to lose interest. 

I'm pretty much over it after Mary goes blind.  There are some good episodes here and there after that, but IMO, the show was better before that point.  The actual episodes where she goes blind are phenomenal.  I'm not a huge Albert fan.  And I feel like Laura goes from braid wearing tom boy to wife in 3 episodes flat.

[Mr. Sparkle]

36 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I'm pretty much over it after Mary goes blind.  There are some good episodes here and there after that, but IMO, the show was better before that point.  The actual episodes where she goes blind are phenomenal.  I'm not a huge Albert fan.  And I feel like Laura goes from braid wearing tom boy to wife in 3 episodes flat.

I don't mind Albert so much, but once James and Cassandra come in, I'm done. 

I like Laura as a student much more than as a teacher. 

 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I don't mind Albert so much, but once James and Cassandra come in, I'm done. 

I like Laura as a student much more than as a teacher. 

 

I actually liked James and Cassandra.

I think I said this before, but the first year of Laura's marriage and teaching she just seemed more like a kid playing house.

[debraran]

I felt James and Cassandra were fillers although they got more lines than Carrie. She really was given nothing to do and might have gotten paid less without a script.

Laura was never a good fit compared to Miss Beadle or Eliza Jane. She seemed to yell and be condescending at times. I guess the transition was just so quick.

I felt Mary had to go blind and I never understood Melissa Sue being upset about it. It was part of the books, to ignore that would be a very big hole. I thought she was excellent during that 2  part episode and deserved an emmy nomination. Even soon after she had some good shows but giving Adam his sight back seemed to end it. Melissa didn't want to be the blind wife while he had better scripts.

[BigBingerBro]

I really feel that the biggest mistake they made was casting Dean Butler for the role of Almanzo.  Not that he wasn't a good actor, but they should have made sure they found someone closer to Melissa's age who she has a bit of chemistry with.  Every time i see the episodes with them as a couple, it feels more like a contentious brother and sister.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, debraran said:

aura was never a good fit compared to Miss Beadle or Eliza Jane. She seemed to yell and be condescending at times. I guess the transition was just so quick.

Exactly. She was basically still a kid and felt she had to prove herself.  Think about how many in that class were her former classmates.

 

1 hour ago, debraran said:

I felt Mary had to go blind and I never understood Melissa Sue being upset about it. It was part of the books, to ignore that would be a very big hole.

Oh, sure she definitely had to go blind.  And, like I said, those episodes are among my favorites.  I just feel like it's a turning point where I don't enjoy the show as much.

 

1 hour ago, debraran said:

Even soon after she had some good shows but giving Adam his sight back seemed to end it. Melissa didn't want to be the blind wife while he had better scripts.

When Adam thought Mary was getting her sight back, he was upset about it and didn't seem to understand her feelings when he actually did get his sight back.  BTW, I also really like the episode when Mary thinks she can see light. The pure joy on her face when she's telling the eye doctor she can see the light and Charles's face simultaneously falling when he realizes that there's no light for her to see. 

[jason88cubs]

As sad as this i checked out when Albert comes in. i still watch it but im not as invested , but there are still some grear episodes

[debraran]

24 minutes ago, Katy M said:

When Adam thought Mary was getting her sight back, he was upset about it and didn't seem to understand her feelings when he actually did get his sight back.  BTW, I also really like the episode when Mary thinks she can see light. The pure joy on her face when she's telling the eye doctor she can see the light and Charles's face simultaneously falling when he realizes that there's no light for her to see. 

As a parent, just a sensitive person, I still feel the gut punch with that, the hope sinking like a rock when there is no light. He had to tell her again. Then Adam gets his sight back and seems to forget Mary is blind. That scene with his new work friends while she sat on a chair gazing at nothing was so sad. He didn't go to the picnic like he said and she mentioned in an interview they'd place her at a football game, again listening but not seeing and she felt like a prop. I wished she helped him in the law office or kept teaching but for reasons we don't know, they didn't. I mean please, no one watching thought Adam would make money in Walnut Grove. lol What cases would they have and what money? They spent it all at Caroline's restaurant. 🙂

Edited June 16, 2020 by debraran

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, debraran said:

I mean please, no one watching thought Adam would make money in Walnut Grove. lol What cases would they have and what money? They spent it all at Caroline's restaurant.

I guess that's why they had to move. 

What happened to all the blind kids?  Did they jsut send them back home?

Edited June 16, 2020 by Katy M

[debraran]

They alluded in interviews they probably did but that's sad. Hester Sue couldn't stay and the state took over (?) but I guess it was up to you to end it yourself. It didn't seem they would have the same love and support.

When Melissa Sue saw she was only in 4 episodes (and barely) in her last season, she said she'd leave. It seems they could have had some nice episodes centered on them but they thought differently. I would rather of had the older originals than the younger kids.

[RedbirdNelly]

On 6/15/2020 at 9:10 AM, CountryGirl said:

There was an episode from the horrible, no good, very bad et al Season 9 (Rage) where a man went crazy and shot his wife and young daughter. 

thank you for jogging my memory

 

[Snow Apple]

Am I going nuts or are they just showing the same episodes over and over? For a show that ran for 11 seasons, I figure there should be enough episodes that I shouldn't be seeing Sylvia at least 4 times in the past three months.

Also, I'm watching the pilot movie again and Laura catches the (innocent) attention of older men right from the beginning. The Native American dude gave Laura an amulet and ignored the other girls like they weren't sitting right there.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Snow Apple

[BigBingerBro]

I caught "Country Girls" on Up today.  Definitely my favorite episode.  I did notice one slight issue.  Laura is just beginning to learn to read and write, but right after the girls buy the slate, the next scene shows Laura doing some multiplication problems at the blackboard such as 5x7=  Seems a bit advanced for a girl just starting in school unless Ma had been teaching them arithmetic at home...

[jason88cubs]

8 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Am I going nuts or are they just showing the same episodes over and over? For a show that ran for 11 seasons, I figure there should be enough episodes that I shouldn't be seeing Sylvia at least 4 times in the past three months.

Also, I'm watching the pilot movie again and Laura catches the (innocent) attention of older men right from the beginning. The Native American dude gave Laura an amulet and ignored the other girls like they weren't sitting right there.

on cozitv they skip a few

[debraran]

I like watching it on Cozi but Amazon Prime is nice because I can skip certain ones. I remember my daughter years ago saying how sad the last one was, blowing up buildings was over the top,  Charles and Caroline in their old house with Carter's things. marching out of town singing, but then the next one is the first...and I remember her yelling "They are little again!"with a laugh and smile. It's the only saving grace.

Without having to watch it again, did they ever say where all the displaced people were going and how they were going to live? Charles had a home, were the others moving in? He did have a bigger home 😁

Edited June 17, 2020 by debraran

[debraran]

3 hours ago, debraran said:

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by debraran
Duplicate

[Fostersmom]

UP TV is having a Pa-ther's Day marathon this weekend. And, the oddest part? There's going to be little snippets of interviews with Albert! I don't know if they've done this in past Father's days and I just never saw it or if it's new, but Matthew Laborteaux doing little clips is new to me at least. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

On 6/19/2020 at 8:46 PM, Fostersmom said:

UP TV is having a Pa-ther's Day marathon this weekend.

I'm watching right now! The Johnny Cash episode is on now, and it looks like they're showing season 3, but not in order for some reason. 

[BigBingerBro]

I've been watching the Pa-ther's day marathon most of the evening.  I like Matthew Labyorteaux's comments. and memories.  Too bad that's the only actor they could find to do it.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Today is pretty Albert-heavy. It's the one with his real father now, and next is the blind school burning down. 

[Fostersmom]

LOL! I just came to post Baby Battering-ram is on right now! Happy Father's Day to Adam!

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

That fire scene is still pretty brutal. Seriously, and forgive me if this has been covered before, but how the hell did Mary or Adam not immediately go get the baby the second they heard there was a fire?? 

I won't even mention Doc Baker finding a dark pipe in a burned out basement in 2 minutes, and then immediately deducing that the pipe was the cause of the fire. 

[CountryGirl]

I’m watching the BBR aka “May We Bake Them Brown” episode right now, too. 

I’ve posted my anger before over the sheer ridiculousness of any parent, blind or not, WALKING AWAY from their baby when they know their home is ON FIRE. Adam dragging Mary away when she could and should have picked Adam Jr up then and there really grates. 

But you also have sighted Hester Sue, SEEING and SMELLING the smoke BEFORE she opens the cellar door. WTF did she think was going on down there? 

And I had forgotten the stupidity of sighted Alice, who physically stops Mary from getting her baby and sending her down the stairs  Then she leaves the bedroom, still WITHOUT the baby to get James out of the bathroom.

And then she gets him started down the stairs and only THEN does she go to finally get the most helpless of them all.

So damn stupid! I hate this two-parter so much and that everyone insta-forgave Albert is just the cherry on this shit sundae. 

But not to worry, we’re just a few episodes away from the “Sweet Sixteen” episodes where Ma tells Pa she’s “just DYING to call him GRANDPA.”

WTF to Ma.

This show.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Thank you, @CountryGirl. I thought that's what happened. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I just saw one I don't remember. Albert is pen pals with a girl from Minneapolis who's in a wheelchair. Pretty boring. 

Now it's 2 hours of Albert on morPHINE. Then the marathon is over! 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I just saw one I don't remember. Albert is pen pals with a girl from Minneapolis who's in a wheelchair. Pretty boring. 

I feel like I've seen that one a million times.  Yep, pretty boring.

[jason88cubs]

5 hours ago, CountryGirl said:

I’m watching the BBR aka “May We Bake Them Brown” episode right now, too. 

I’ve posted my anger before over the sheer ridiculousness of any parent, blind or not, WALKING AWAY from their baby when they know their home is ON FIRE. Adam dragging Mary away when she could and should have picked Adam Jr up then and there really grates. 

But you also have sighted Hester Sue, SEEING and SMELLING the smoke BEFORE she opens the cellar door. WTF did she think was going on down there? 

And I had forgotten the stupidity of sighted Alice, who physically stops Mary from getting her baby and sending her down the stairs  Then she leaves the bedroom, still WITHOUT the baby to get James out of the bathroom.

And then she gets him started down the stairs and only THEN does she go to finally get the most helpless of them all.

So damn stupid! I hate this two-parter so much and that everyone insta-forgave Albert is just the cherry on this shit sundae. 

But not to worry, we’re just a few episodes away from the “Sweet Sixteen” episodes where Ma tells Pa she’s “just DYING to call him GRANDPA.”

WTF to Ma.

This show.

 

you hit the nail on the head lol

[debraran]

23 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

you hit the nail on the head lol

And the fact Michael wrote it and directed it and felt he had to do it for ratings of course. He could have had one tragedy but not killing off babies and Mrs Garvey. It was a good 2 part of wholesome goodness on the praire while dodging the resident rapist. I still remember the phone going off and my aunt exclaiming "What was that!" because without internet and gossip, you didn't hear too much ahead of time.

So sad, not because of what happened as much as it was the beginning of the decline. The Albert part of it and his guilt and absolute forgiveness was puke worthy but very Christian and what most try but can't do. I know Charles loved him and his guilt was enough but Garvey acting the same when he was devastated seemed over the top. I did like Garvey's rant against God because many feel that way.

It was one of the most hated episodes and we always have Country Girls and others like it. I just skip it like Sylvia and He was only 12.

Edited June 22, 2020 by debraran

[CountryGirl]

While I understand why ML deviated from the books where Mary was concerned, having her become a teacher, marrying Adam, having a child, etc., what was the point of all that, for him to then kill off her child in what had to be one of the worst ways imaginable? And Mary had already lost her first child, also a son as she was far enough along for them to know. 

I can deal with the sheer silliness of episodes like The Halloween Dream or The Godsister but the sheer stupidity of episodes like May We Make Them Proud and normally sharp people just losing all sense of reason makes zero sense  

And propping up Drip Lip. Ugh!

[Snow Apple]

This show loves drama and tragedy but if they have to kill off Alice and the baby, I could have *maybe* forgiven them if they died off screen. Like if they found Alice's body covering the baby trying to protect him. But watching her use the baby as a battering ram is way too traumatic for family entertainment.

On another note, I saw Gold Country for the first time since it aired. I found it boring. I don't like episodes where the message is to avoid the big bad city. Like how Albert was a nice wholesome lad until moving to the city which introduced him to morPHINE and got cured because he came back to Walnut Grove.

 

[debraran]

6 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

This show loves drama and tragedy but if they have to kill off Alice and the baby, I could have *maybe* forgiven them if they died off screen. Like if they found Alice's body covering the baby trying to protect him. But watching her use the baby as a battering ram is way too traumatic for family entertainment.

On another note, I saw Gold Country for the first time since it aired. I found it boring. I don't like episodes where the message is to avoid the big bad city. Like how Albert was a nice wholesome lad until moving to the city which introduced him to morPHINE and got cured because he came back to Walnut Grove.

 

To be fair the actress said it was her elbow (or she got so much flak it became her elbow) She was asked on a morning show years ago. She said once "One thing was that they did not rig the windows to break easily and I’m not, as Michael Landon pointed out a lot, a meek, delicate woman, so when I try to bust something, I usually succeed! It was Michael himself who first mentioned that it looked like I was trying to use Mary’s baby as a battering ram to bust the window! So because they’d forgotten to “break away” the windows, I was determined to get out whatever the cost!"

Albert was "bad" in the city but Michael didn't care if James and the girls were there. He said he couldn't uproot them to move back. Reality of course was Caroline wasn't coming. ; ) I felt the city always got a bad rap, even John Jr died there for petes's sake but I'm sure nice cities existed without multiple saloons. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by debraran

[Mr. Sparkle]

4 minutes ago, debraran said:

I felt the city always got a bad rap, even John Jr died there for petes's sake but I'm sure nice cities existed without multiple saloons. 

Haha! The "city" was such a horrible place on this show! Completely Sodom! 

[jason88cubs]

7 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

This show loves drama and tragedy but if they have to kill off Alice and the baby, I could have *maybe* forgiven them if they died off screen. Like if they found Alice's body covering the baby trying to protect him. But watching her use the baby as a battering ram is way too traumatic for family entertainment.

On another note, I saw Gold Country for the first time since it aired. I found it boring. I don't like episodes where the message is to avoid the big bad city. Like how Albert was a nice wholesome lad until moving to the city which introduced him to morPHINE and got cured because he came back to Walnut Grove.

 

Gold Country is absolutely horrendous

 

i struggled through it

[BigBingerBro]

What gets me about the whole Alice Garvey death story line, was the fate of Andy and Jonathan.  It would have been better for him to wind up getting remarried to some nice prairie widow vs moving to Sleepy Eye (or was it Winoka?) and end up living in what seemed like a poorly glorified stable.  What a depressing life for Andy.  If there was more to their story after that, I have no idea, because I am usually pretty checked out on the series at that point anyway.  

[debraran]

7 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

What gets me about the whole Alice Garvey death story line, was the fate of Andy and Jonathan.  It would have been better for him to wind up getting remarried to some nice prairie widow vs moving to Sleepy Eye (or was it Winoka?) and end up living in what seemed like a poorly glorified stable.  What a depressing life for Andy.  If there was more to their story after that, I have no idea, because I am usually pretty checked out on the series at that point anyway.  

Men usually did as their wives died of various things but they never had Lars, Doc Baker or Mr Edwards after they had him ruin his new family. Mr Garvey was a little too dense at times for my taste, could have found someone. It seemed so sad when they left and of course were bullied in the "bad city". Merle went to Father Murphy but yes, could have segued it out on a happy note.

I liked the early years and even when Charles went to get work because of the change of scenery but the city was too biased. I understand Walnut Grove had to be almost perfect and Michael had many "drop in" but it was limited to some degree.

I realize now that back then many didn't understand contracts and pay and thought people left because they wanted too but behind the scenes there was always more going on.  As this article said and repeated elsewhere, women probably were never paid the same as men especially then, but if Mr Edwards got more than "Ma" or anyone else, shame on them. Caroline was the glue even if Laura was the "star". She did agree to come back for the last show. I vaguely remember an interview with Kevin Hagan and I thought he mentioned pay too but it was a long time ago. Any long time show, people want a raise, but I hope that wasn't why so many other docs came through WG 😉

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/70752/17-pioneering-facts-about-little-house-prairie

[ChicksDigScars]

Wow. I forgot that this episode about the Hot Handy Man existed. 

 

Uncle Chris, indeed. LOL

[jason88cubs]

ANyone find it funny Michael Landon took any opportunity he could do take his shirt off/?

[debraran]

1 hour ago, jason88cubs said:

ANyone find it funny Michael Landon took any opportunity he could do take his shirt off/?

I noticed that but didn't think he did it on purpose until I read it. I guess a muscular hairless chest is sexy to some but his ego was a bit much.

The woman certainly weren't allowed to show off anything of course and I can't recall any of the other guys doing it. I also noticed except for "Uncle Chris" and later Mr Carter, no males were especially good looking, I think he liked the spotlight on him. ; )