How fans do we have?
What were the funniest episodes?
What episodes made you cry?
What were the most touching?

Mary going blind was one of the most depressing epsiodes I had ever seen, the next after that would be Mary's baby along with Mrs. Garvey dying in a fire(What the heck was Michael Landon thinking?) I was in a gospel play a few years back and received a visit from Hersha Parady(Mrs. Garvey) She was an acting coach for cute kid actor Scotty Cox who I co starred with in this play. (If you Check the IMDB, you can see what credits Scotty has) She told me about her expericence wiht LHOTP and made me feel better because I was not happy with my performance but she said I was fine, but there lots of Technical Difficulties.

She talked about how cool it was when they did the effects of the fire on the show. (It was Michael Landon's idea) She said she was on the show longer than she had anticpated. After her first season was up, she took on the role as school teacher which gave her something to do as a main character. Her TV Husband Merlin Olsen was pre works of getting his own Drama(Father Murphy) so her character was killed in 1980 and Merlin Olsen along with TV son Patrick Laborateaux were phased from the series the following year. She said for a while the ep "May we make them proud" did not air because there were angry viewers. (I was one of them) If you notice, TBS does not air this ep in consistence with other eps from the 1979-1980 season. She gave me an autograph telling me to get back on the stage and that we will see each other again. She is an acting coach now and lives with her husband in St Petersburg, FL who is part of the administraion for ST Pete Junior college.

Meeting her that night changed me in part. It was one of the best days of my life.

Originally posted by ThomasE
How fans do we have?
What were the funniest episodes?
What episodes made you cry?
What were the most touching?

Mary going blind was one of the most depressing epsiodes I had ever seen, the next after that would be Mary's baby along with Mrs. Garvey dying in a fire(What the heck was Michael Landon thinking?) I was in a gospel play a few years back and received a visit from Hersha Parady(Mrs. Garvey) She was an acting coach for cute kid actor Scotty Cox who I co starred with in this play. (If you Check the IMDB, you can see what credits Scotty has) She told me about her expericence wiht LHOTP and made me feel better because I was not happy with my performance but she said I was fine, but there lots of Technical Difficulties.

She talked about how cool it was when they did the effects of the fire on the show. (It was Michael Landon's idea) She said she was on the show longer than she had anticpated. After her first season was up, she took on the role as school teacher which gave her something to do as a main character. Her TV Husband Merlin Olsen was pre works of getting his own Drama(Father Murphy) so her character was killed in 1980 and Merlin Olsen along with TV son Patrick Laborateaux were phased from the series the following year. She said for a while the ep "May we make them proud" did not air because there were angry viewers. (I was one of them) If you notice, TBS does not air this ep in consistence with other eps from the 1979-1980 season. She gave me an autograph telling me to get back on the stage and that we will see each other again. She is an acting coach now and lives with her husband in St Petersburg, FL who is part of the administraion for ST Pete Junior college.

Meeting her that night changed me in part. It was one of the best days of my life.

Thats great that you were able to meet her, I too was very dissapointed when Mrs. Garvey and Mary's baby were killed in the fire. I don't what episodes really made me laugh or cry but I do think the show is very good.

Thanks Dr. Crane. I want to try and call her. My old acting coach knows her well and I will probably get the phone number from her. I love your animated Snoopy Logo under your text message.

This show really had a love it or hate it attitude between its critics and fans. Many people have said that the Little House Books are so different than the series that they can't even watch the series after reading the books. For example in real life:

1. Caroline Ingalls was a very quiet reserved woman, who was nowhere near as outgoing and friendly as portrayed in the series.

2. In real life Mary Ingalls did indeed become blind and went to a school for the blind. She never married however, and never had children. (So the characters of Adam Kendell, and Mary's baby are complete fabrications.)

3. Laura did not meet and mary Almonzo Wilder until she was much older than portrayed in the series. He was the one in real life that "chased after her." She never really "chased after him."

4. The Oleson's were actually named "The Owens". Like the Oleson's, the Owen's owened a mercantile. The character's of Nellie and Willie Oleson where drawn from at least three people whom the real Laura Ingalls disliked.

5. The charactor of Mr. Edwards is very sketchy in the real life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. There were several townspeople that lived in Walnut Grove that the family was close to in real life, but according the research, there is no specific mention of Isaiah Edward's in the real laura's childhood (Remember the Saunderson children, who's mother had a terminal illness and after she died they went to live with Isaiah and his wife, this was fictionalized for the series.)

6. Albert is a total fictional charactor. Same with the Cooper kids.

7. Laura did have a baby brother who died a couple months after he was born. But Laura never felt jeoulousy or anger towards him when he was alive as the series wants you to believe. He did however die in his sleep.

The show was cool when you get past the inconsistencies. Producer Michael Landon fired the shows creator Ed Friendly, who wanted to stay more faithful to the books. Landon was not this religious zealot that you saw on the show. According to Allison Angrim. (Nellie Oleson) he would drink, and swear from time to time and was very funny and spontanious. Landon did believe in family values however, and wanted the show to be more modernized to foccus on domestic family problems and situations.

"May We Make Them Proud" is disturbing. I never like Mary's "milk-toast" personality husband Adam, he comes in the room and says, "Um....Mary, there's a fire." and Alice Garvey is there with Mary's baby. One of the kids from the school gets locked in the bathroom and Mary goes to HELP THE STUDENT as Alice offers to take the baby!!!!" NO MOTHER IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD GIVE HER BABY UP IN A TIME OF CRISIS TO HELP ANOTHER NON-RELATED KID!!!! Landon you screwed that up....BIG TIME!

I hated Albert!!! He brought nothing but more unrelated kids to the show! He was a fabrication, but at least the writers could try to get the stories straight. In one episode it says that Albert dies of a blood disease, but in another episode, Albert returns years later (after he dies....who knows!!!! LOL!) and becomes a doctor! What do you think was the real intended faite for "Albert?"

The Oleson's were funny(like the modern day Bundy's) and saved the show from turning into a "Goody Too Shoes...Walton's) It amazed me how Neils and Harriet were able to stay together for as long as they did! I recall an episode when he met some other woman when he was on the road traveling and he says he wasn't married! As nosey and domineering as Harriet could be...she could be funny. Nellie and Willie gave the show some realisitc conflicts for the Ingalls family. It's hard to see the show, without them. I loved the charactor Percivel, whom Nellie married! He put her in her place and Harriot almost droped dead when she first finds out he's Jewish! But, when Nellie and Percivel got married and left, they brought Nancy in, in haste, just to have a chacator that was "like Nellie" but you could see it wasn't the same and the writing went downhill big time

The Carter' and Laura and Almonzo's niece Jenny never fit into the earlier strong chemistry of the show. (Too many characters and story lines that were repeating themselves.) What ever happend to Royal and Millie? Who were they from Almonzo's family? They had the bratty kids Meyron and Ruport, whom Almonzo and Laura had to take care of, but after that epiosde, you never saw them again!

What other elements of the show do you like or dislike? What other inconsistencies can you find?

Jack

Now this is what I'm talking about. I really can't think of other inconsistencies. What did happen to Hester Sue? She lived in Walnut Grove and then 2 eps after her appearance we heat that Willie will be running the restaurant with his new wife. That I have an issue with.