Tragedy in every episode

[TJL]

Originally posted by sonyab
Caroline tries to amputate her own leg after it
becomes infected when she's home alone

she did not try to amputate her leg, she was getting the infection out.. she couldnt reach the doc so she did it herself..

Man, Caroline was tough.
I break out in tears when I can't find my keys...

[sonyab]

yah she was tough rofl..

[jayman75]

Originally posted by sonyab
Caroline tries to amputate her own leg after it
becomes infected when she's home alone

she did not try to amputate her leg, she was getting the infection out.. she couldnt reach the doc so she did it herself..

I've never heard that interpretation of the show. She was going to cut her leg off because she was reading the Bible and it said "cut of thine own leg." I'm trying to find the line in Biblical text searches online, but I'm not having any luck yet.

That's where the assumption of amputation comes from. Plus, she heated the knife to kill all the infection and such. Obviously, she had plans to whomp her leg right off!

[Robert Tilton]

Originally posted by ThomasE


Nancy Oleson was even worse. Uhh! I hated it when Mary went blind. That was emotional for me.

At least in real life Mary had gone blind although she never married or had a baby according to the books. And even the TV shows depicting Mary going blind were pretty decent.

But if you want to see a show that jumps the shark, try watching the episode "May We Make Them Proud".

Uh oh. James Bond is looking at some girls in the Brazilian Amazon as he investigates Drax's Moonraker Program. And now he's fighting a snake!

Gotta run.

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by TV Guy
Every time the ratings went down, the producers would blind another child or something.

I do have to laugh at the endless string of tragedies that befell Walnut Grove. The ultimate tragedy occurred in the three-hour "Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow" episode, which I have heard affectionately referred to as the "Triple Whammy" episode. In this epic story, hail (yet again) destroys the crops; Almanzo is paralyzed after suffering a stroke; and the house is blown away by a tornado. Amazing! They should have lightened up a bit on the tragedy episodes afterward -- what could possibly have topped that?

Actually these events really happened.Except that their house burned down, wasn't destroyed by a tornado. Read Laura' Ingalls Wilder's book "The First Four Years" Things went very badly for Almanzo and Laura at first. And she did have a baby son that died in infancy.
A lot of the episodes were "based" on actual events just a little over-dramatized in most cases! And, yes Mary REALLY did go blind after a case of scarlet fever.
And there was never an "Albert" in the family. Now THAT is pure fiction! And Mary never married.

[Sterling Holobyte]

Well, I wouldn't say a tragedy in every episode! What about the Halloween dream episode where Albert dreamed that he and Laura were mistaken for Indians by real Indians, as they rode to a Halloween party. Can a dream be considered tragic?
Or how about the one where Mrs. Oleson took over Kezia's home so she could use it as a summer home, and Laura, Albert, and that Garvey kid(his name escapes me right now) built a paper-mache lake monster to scare Mrs. Oleson away. That was kind of a light-hearted episode.
I could go on!
Actually, I couldn't because those are the only episodes without tragedies that I can think of right now, but I'm sure there are more.

[Cashodeen]

Originally posted by Penny Lane
...And, yes Mary REALLY did go blind after a case of scarlet fever.

I've never read the books so I'm no expert, so maybe you could settle this for me once and for all. Did Mary go blind because of scarlet fever or measles? I've heard both. I personally thought the way she went blind on the show was a little weak (although the 2 parter "I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away" was done terrificly as a whole).

I thought it was a little unbelievable how she told the eye doctor that she once had scarlet fever, and immediately, it hit him that she will go blind because of scarlet fever alone. Scarlet fever alone just doesn't ruin someone's optic nerve as it was told in the show. Now, if she had complications from the scarlet fever that would cause blindness (ie, encephalitis), that would make more sense. Even then, I don't know if it would take years for her eyesight to deteriorate, but I'm not a medical expert, so I don't care about that point. But the way it played on the show with her doctor's appointment was a little odd to me. I would have liked it better if that appointment would have been more indepth to be more believable. Even in the 1800's, what doctor would really think, "oh, scarlet fever... hmm... now, blindness." I guess we should assume the doc knew the complications that can arrise from scarlet fever that can lead to blindness. I'm such a nitpicker!

Anyhow, in real life, I have been told measles or scarlet fever caused encephalitis and she lost her eye sight shortly after, unlike in the show where it took years. Anyone know the real story there? I outta just read the books, but I hear Laura really didn't get into her sister's illness, it being so tragic. (Thanks all.)

[Cashodeen]

Okay, enough about scarlet fever. Tragedy in every episode... (What took me so long to respond to this post, I'll never know.)

It's funny. For a while now, I have paid attention to how many episodes I can watch without seeing someone in it crying. For weeks I could never do it! There was some trama and tears in every episode I came across! Not long ago the streak was broken though. Not being a regular watcher anymore, it took me longer than it would have if I had watched faithfully everyday. (I have to be fair here.) Still, it is hard to come across an episode where no one cries. I think the episode was "Country Girls." A very early episode, no less! Try finding a later season episode with no crying. It is hard to do. I'm curious to know how many episodes were made where not one tear is shed.

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by Cashodeen

I've never read the books so I'm no expert, so maybe you could settle this for me once and for all. Did Mary go blind because of scarlet fever or measles? I've heard both. I personally thought the way she went blind on the show was a little weak (although the 2 parter "I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away" was done terrificly as a whole).

I thought it was a little unbelievable how she told the eye doctor that she once had scarlet fever, and immediately, it hit him that she will go blind because of scarlet fever alone. Scarlet fever alone just doesn't ruin someone's optic nerve as it was told in the show. Now, if she had complications from the scarlet fever that would cause blindness (ie, encephalitis), that would make more sense. Even then, I don't know if it would take years for her eyesight to deteriorate, but I'm not a medical expert, so I don't care about that point. But the way it played on the show with her doctor's appointment was a little odd to me. I would "have liked it better if that appointment would have been more indepth to be more believable. Even in the 1800's, what doctor would really think, "oh, scarlet fever... hmm... now, blindness." I guess we should assume the doc knew the complications that can arrise from scarlet fever that can lead to blindness. I'm such a nitpicker!

Anyhow, in real life, I have been told measles or scarlet fever caused encephalitis and she lost her eye sight shortly after, unlike in the show where it took years. Anyone know the real story there? I outta just read the books, but I hear Laura really didn't get into her sister's illness, it being so tragic. (Thanks all.)

According to Laura in "By The Shores Of Silver Lake" the fever "settled "in her eyes and caused her to gradually go blind. But later speculations by other authors suggest that she may have had a stroke during her illness. That's all I know! Remember, back in those days they had a different way of explaining things. For example, in "Little House On The Prairie" She describes her entire family suffering from the "ague" which in reality was malaria.

[Cashodeen]

Thanks Penny Lane! Yeah, gradually could make sense like it was done in the show. I still don't like the way the appointment went, but it's a very small infraction because I do love the whole episode.

The old LH board I used to go to talked about Mary's illness so that's where I have heard measles and enchephalitis. I forgot about a stroke, but that was discussed too. I just wondered why neither of those senerios were mentioned in the show to make it more realistic. Of course, that is just one of many "Hollywood changes" they made from the real life Ingalls.

I remember the first time I heard of the word "ague." On my old Oregon Trail game a guy says he has "a touch of the ague today." When I looked it up on my computer's thesaurus/dictionary then, all that was mentioned was chills. I had never heard it was used to refer to malaria as well. I just looked it up today, and sure enough, this dictionary mentioned malaria. Learn something new everyday!

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by Cashodeen
Thanks Penny Lane! Yeah, gradually could make sense like it was done in the show. I still don't like the way the appointment went, but it's a very small infraction because I do love the whole episode.

The old LH board I used to go to talked about Mary's illness so that's where I have heard measles and enchephalitis. I forgot about a stroke, but that was discussed too. I just wondered why neither of those senerios were mentioned in the show to make it more realistic. Of course, that is just one of many "Hollywood changes" they made from the real life Ingalls.

I remember the first time I heard of the word "ague." On my old Oregon Trail game a guy says he has "a touch of the ague today." When I looked it up on my computer's thesaurus/dictionary then, all that was mentioned was chills. I had never heard it was used to refer to malaria as well. I just looked it up today, and sure enough, this dictionary mentioned malaria. Learn something new everyday!

Yes, Hollywood does have a reputation for taking "poetic license"don't they?
I have the Oregon Trail game too! I like it but I haven't played it in a very long time! Guess I'll dust it off!

[~Tropical Punch 19~]

Some tragedy's no one mentioned (or I didn't read) The Ingall's think Laura and Jack might have rabees from a racoon, The Ingall's friend dies leaving her three children with the Edwards, the twon of Walnut Grove is infected with Typhus caused by rats with flees, Laura's friend Ellen drowns and the mother goes physco, Nellie falls of the horse and pretens to be paralyzed, Laura's horse dies and she blames it on her grandpa and so he runs away and she chases after him, Carries falls into the well, Mr. Edwards daughter Alicia gets some sort of deadly rash thing and Laura thinks she has it too, Jesse James holds Mary hostage, Mary has to save a women who is having a baby and Adam after the stage coach crashes and cathes on fire, some jail get aways come to the blind school while Laura and Mary are left alone with the children there, Nancy locks belinda in the icehouse,Nancy falls into a well, Jenny tries to commit suicide after her father dies, but Jeb saves her, this mean guy tries to kill his wife and daughter and then runs away to Laura's house, and Sarah Carter reunites with her father.

Some episodes where I don't think you would cry:

The Camp Out
The Race (When Laura and Nellie compete in a horse race)
The Creepr of Walnut Gorve
The Cheaters
The one with the bullys
Back to Shcool I and II (When Laura meets Almanzo)

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by ~Tropical Punch 19~
Some tragedy's no one mentioned (or I didn't read) The Ingall's think Laura and Jack might have rabees from a racoon, The Ingall's friend dies leaving her three children with the Edwards, the twon of Walnut Grove is infected with Typhus caused by rats with flees, Laura's friend Ellen drowns and the mother goes physco, Nellie falls of the horse and pretens to be paralyzed, Laura's horse dies and she blames it on her grandpa and so he runs away and she chases after him, Carries falls into the well, Mr. Edwards daughter Alicia gets some sort of deadly rash thing and Laura thinks she has it too, Jesse James holds Mary hostage, Mary has to save a women who is having a baby and Adam after the stage coach crashes and cathes on fire, some jail get aways come to the blind school while Laura and Mary are left alone with the children there, Nancy locks belinda in the icehouse,Nancy falls into a well, Jenny tries to commit suicide after her father dies, but Jeb saves her, this mean guy tries to kill his wife and daughter and then runs away to Laura's house, and Sarah Carter reunites with her father.

Some episodes where I don't think you would cry:

The Camp Out
The Race (When Laura and Nellie compete in a horse race)
The Creepr of Walnut Gorve
The Cheaters
The one with the bullys
Back to Shcool I and II (When Laura meets Almanzo)

Those episodes were very entertaining but purely fictional.

[~Tropical Punch 19~]

Originally posted by Penny Lane
Those episodes wre very entertaining but purely fictional.

Which ones, the tragedies or the ones that were more light hearted? I know the show is a little far fetched, but it is still good. The books were also particially fictional.

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by ~Tropical Punch 19~
Which ones, the tragedies or the ones that were more light hearted? I know the show is a little far fetched, but it is still good. The books were also particially fictional.

Remember that when Laura wrote the books she was in her 60's and 70's. She admitted that she didn't remember everything exactly. But according to her there was nothing fictional. She wrote as she remembered things.The scripts on LHOTP were "based "on her books. Michael Landon once stated that the stories were embellished for TV. As he said,"There's not much of a story in 'Laura sees a frog' " Of how Laura and Almanzo met is purely fictional in the series. Actually they met in De Smet, South Dakota . (Read "The Long Winter", "Little Town On The Prairie", "These Happy Golden Years".
I have also read many books about Laura's life by very reputable biographers that substantiate most of her writings. But interestingly she changed the names of some characters because they were still living at the time that she penned the stories. For example, Nellie Olsen's real name was Nellie Owens. And they really did work in a hotel but not in Winoka as the series suggests. This was in Burr Oak Iowa where they lived for 2 years. And it is a mystery who Mr. Edwards was. There is no record of him anywhere.

I could go on and on (which I have) but I am sure that you can find these writings in most libraries. I actually found all my books on Amazon.com.They are very interesting and enlightening to any Laura fan! Just type in Laura Ingalls Wilder and a lot of books will come up!