Inconsistencies

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

I'm just starting watching the complete series, but I watched much of it before so can name a few inconsistencies. I won't get heavily into historical inaccuracies or contradictions with the books or I might never get done. One of the biggest contradictions to the books is there is WAAAAAYYY more crying in the series, in situations in which the real people cried very little if at all. Laura was taught it was babyish to cry and may have even got in trouble for it. (Gotta read the books again.)

At the beginning of Season 1, it is made clear that Laura can't read or write. Her narration states, "If I had a memory book, I'd write (such and such)." A later episode is based around her keeping a memory book when they first arrived in Walnut Grove.

Season 1 makes several references to what was known as Custer's Last Stand, now politically correctly termed the Battle of the Little Bighorn. This took place June 25 and 26, 1876. So fine, Season 1 takes place after that. Only it doesn't, because in 1976 they did a big show celebrating America's Centennial in 1876, so these Season 1 references were to something that hadn't happened yet.

In Season 1, Doc Baker operates on Mrs. Oleson to remove her appendix. Later in the series, in the faith healer episode, the doctor insists a young boy get to a surgeon to have his appendix removed. Why can't Doc Baker perform the operation since he has already successfully done it at least once?

Of course the most famous one was that Albert returned 20 years later as a doctor, but a TV movie implied he died. I haven't seen this movie but understand it doesn't actually show him dying so there's hope.

I know married women were not allowed to teach, and I'm not sure even married men were. Teaching salaries were not enough to support a family, so married people were barred from teaching. There were also rules about being seen while pregnant, though those may have been more strict out east. These rules were broken by Mrs. Simms and Mrs. Garvey teaching and Mrs. Simms leaving class to give birth to a baby.

Two more episodes, two more inconsistencies. In "Survival," Charles says it's been 16 years since the 1862 uprising, implying it is 1878. About a year and a half later it was 1876. Time ran backwards...amazing. In "To See the World," Johnny Johnson ditches school. Later in the episode, he mentions it's July. There isn't school in July. The reason was both that kids were needed on the farm, and that school buildings became intolerably hot in summer. A three month vacation has been a tradition ever since.

As far as research being harder as back then there wasn't Google and all, as a child I was able to grab a World Book without getting out of my chair. I learned things such as: they played baseball, which was invented, but were using gloves, which weren't yet. Albert's pen pal claimed to captain the basketball team. Basketball wasn't invented until 1891 and I'm sure girls' teams started later. Football was also very new then and probably wasn't played on the prairie in the 1870s/1880s in the manner depicted on the show. I often wondered why the makers of a national TV show couldn't afford a set of World Book. These could go on all day and are probably found in every show, though some are more careful than others. (I understand Dr. Quinn was really pretty careful.) I just finished watching Daniel Boone, which was one of the worst offenders. It begins in 1775 and then bounces around in time so much between 1775 and 1807 (in only six years) that you'd think you were watching Quantum Leap. The main thing I kept track of was the music, and hope to list which pieces Daniel Boone could, and could not, have heard in his lifetime. I'm not doing this with Little House because although I recognized most of the fiddle tunes on Daniel Boone, I have recognized very few on Little House. I know Little House does use for instrumental background vintage tunes which weren't written yet back then.

In Season 2, episode 2, the eye doctor tells Mary she must wear her glasses at all times at first, and then only for schoolwork. In episode 3 she is at school without her glasses.

Season 2, episode 13 involves a phonograph or "talking machine." Whether it was invented yet depends on your point of view. The man selling it says that Thomas Edison invented it the previous year. Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, implying this is 1878, which was also implied in the Season 1 episode "Survival," so yes it was invented. But in a later episode it is only 1876, so no it wasn't.

The term "airplane" is used when it should have been "flying machine."

Pa is hammering in round nails, which weren't in use in the United States until the 1890s.

In Season 2, Episode 16, "The Runaway Caboose," Mr. Edwards worries about his son Carl missing school. In the very next episode, the Edwards children are not in school. They are also absent from school and church in a number of other episodes.

In Season 2, Episode 21, "Soldier's Return," Mr. Whipple is a veteran of the Battle of Shiloh, which it is mentioned several times took place 12 years earlier. The previous episode took place in early July 1876, so the Battle of Shiloh, which took place in April of 1862, should have been 14 years earlier. Also (SPOILERS) Mr. Whipple ran away from the battle on two good legs and hid until it was over. He received a medal for having a severely wounded leg, bad enough to have been treated by a surgeon, have a limp years later, and result in a morphine addiction. It was never explained how he got the bad leg.

EDIT: I think I figured out what happened. He would have been executed for cowardice if it was known he ran, so after the battle he found some dead soldier in an out of the way place, took his gun (remember he didn't have one but only a bugle) and shot himself in the leg, then waited for help (if he couldn't walk) or went to the nearest field hospital (if he could). This was just both too gruesome and too long to be shown.

In Season 3, episode 2, "Bunny," Bunny was male in "Christmas at Plum Creek" up until Mr. Oleson said, "Atta Girl," at which time she became female. She is female in this episode.

When people collect in Nellie's room to see if she is all right, a shadow moves in the lower right corner of the screen as if someone suddenly moved out of the shot.

When Nellie breaks the glass on a sampler of a doll, the sampler seems to read "Porcelain 1920," though the doll looks older style than 1920, but the date sure looks like that.

In Season 3, episode 3, "The Race," Bunny the horse is still female, although Charles refers to the horse not being able to pull "his" weight around the farm.

Mrs. Oleson buys Nellie a horse against Nels's wishes and points out that the money came from her own bank account. Married women in America were not allowed to have bank accounts until the 1960s and many still had to have a signature from their husbands until 1974, which was only two years before this episode was made.

In Season 3, Episode 4, "Little Girl Lost," Willie ran into the church/school building to ring the bell when the rope was clearly on the outside of the building.

In Season 3, episode 7, "Journey in the Spring, Part 2," Bunny the horse is still a girl although Grandpa Ingalls says of Bunny, "She loves him," showing Bunny to be gender fluid to the last.

Charles uses the term "living room," which didn't come into use until at least the 1890s. The older term was parlor which became too associated with death, hence "living room."

Not so much an inconsistency, but a difference. The students of Walnut Grove School must have learned a lesson. In "Injun Kid," they practically killed the Native American boy, where in "The Wisdom of Solomon" their response to the black student was merely an unenthusiastic greeting.

Also in "The Wisdom of Solomon," when Solomon gets out of the bath it is visible that he is wearing shorts.

In Season 3 episode 22, towards the end in the scene in church, a child is seen wearing a very modern-looking sweatshirt.

In Season 4 episode 1, when Bandit jumps on the wagon there is a big space between the boxes for him to jump into. In the next shot the boxes are stacked close together completely filling the wagon and looking too tight to shift. In the next shot they have shifted to a different position. Also it is unclear how Kezia knew Bandit's name when all Laura said was that he was a stray.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Season 4, episode 7: when a patient is talking to Doc Baker in his office, a shadow which looks like a microphone swings over his head and back.

Also not exactly an error but for some reason Laura is neither seen nor mentioned.

Season 4, episode 8: Mary accidentally calls one of her employers "Mr. Dobbs" instead of "Hobbs." She was supposed to have been working for them for some time and should have known their names by then.

The year is twice identified as 1876, to coincide with the great Northfield, Minnesota, James brothers raid, though the episode is from 1977 and they did an 1876 episode in 1976 meaning they stayed in 1876 a long time, which I guess is allowed.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Season 4, episode 9: The scene where Charles takes his corn for sale was odd. I have never seen corn for sale already shucked. It always has the husks on and these did not. I guess it depends on the kind of corn.

Season 4, episode 10: In episode 8, the year is most definitely given as 1876. In episode 10, the year is given as 14 years after 1865, in other words 1879. In two episodes they have somehow skipped three years of time, and without the kids significantly aging.

The would-be hanging was rigged up to an awfully flimsy light fixture. It would never have worked.

In the scene where Charles and Joe Kagan talk in the moving wagon, it's obvious the wagon is just being shaken rather than traveling as the same cloud stays in the same position behind them during the entire conversation.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Season 4, episode 11: A dunk tank is featured, a carnival attraction which appeared no earlier than 1899 and is thought to have been more like 1910.
When the balloon is released, a man can be seen at the lower right side of the screen holding a long rope as if guiding it.

Season 4, episode 12: When Nellie is holding the yarn for Harriet to wind into a ball, the yarn Nellie is holding increases instead of decreases at least once, and when Harriet finishes the ball, Nellie is holding as much or more yarn than when she started.
Not an expert on this, but could a Justice of the Peace really annul a marriage by tearing up the certificate, or would more paperwork be involved?

[Tankeryanker]

Originally Posted by Cori aka ChrisSCrush

Not an expert on this, but could a Justice of the Peace really annul a marriage by tearing up the certificate, or would more paperwork be involved?

If nothing was filed, then yes, tearing up the paperwork would be enough. No harm, no foul.
I have no idea what was involved in a state marriage at that time. Where there age limits for marriage? Did you have to go to a courthouse and fill out paperwork? Would an entry into the family bible have been enough?

[biffbronson]

According to the following info I found online, it looks as though the Minnesota Territory had its act together going way back regarding marriages:

"The Laws of Minnesota of 1849 included an "act regulating marriages" in Minnesota. Requirements included that the certificate be sent to the clerk of the county district court in which the marriage was solemnized and be recorded by the clerk. Records begin in counties formed in the 1850s and a few (Ramsey and Washington) counties have records including 1849.

These records may consist of an application for license to marry, a license issued by the clerk of district court, court administrator or other county official giving permission for an authorized officiant (usually member of the clergy, justice of the peace or judge) to solemnize the marriage, and a return of certificate from the officiant noting that a marriage had been solemnized.

Records generally include the names and residence (by county) of the bride and groom, occasionally their respective ages, the date of the application and license, the date the marriage occurred, the place of marriage and name of officiant."

I also saw that in 1906 (statehood era), a law set the bride's min. age requirement at 15 and the groom at 18. The mention of "occasionally" on earlier paperwork seems to suggest there hadn't been much (if any) control previously regarding ages.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Thanks for the information which was really interesting. The episode didn't mention the bride and groom's exact ages but they were in their teens, the bride probably early teens. I know when my dad (as a minister starting in the 1940s) performed marriages a license was required before the ceremony could occur. One of his (probably true) stories involved the license being bought in the neighboring county so they had to drive to the neighboring county, he married them by the side of the road, then they drove back to the church. One case I saw on TV involved a couple who was all ready for their ceremony but didn't have a license. The judge said she couldn't be involved in even a mock ceremony and some of the family members detained and even slightly assaulted the judge. (Dad laughed when I told him that one.) In Minnesota in the 1870s perhaps things were more informal in some particulars, also the TV series sometimes makes up its own rules.

[Tankeryanker]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

and a return of certificate from the officiant noting that a marriage had been solemnized.[/B][/I]

Ripping everything up (even if we had not seen them file for a certificate) would keep it from being solemnized.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Season 4, episode 13: When Charles and Doc Baker are riding in the wagon, a crew member's hand and wrist wearing a watch can be seen shaking the wagon.

Season 4, episode 14: A frog Laura is trying to catch is tied to a log with black fishline.
A closeup of the china shepherdess reveals it has been broken and mended. This doesn't happen in the books and wasn't shown on the series. Obviously an accident on the set and apparently they couldn't get a replacement.
The year is at least 1878 because a '78 bottle of wine is offered at the restaurant.

[paul.austin]

Yes, "18"78 I'm talking about the wine, just to clarify my snark!

[paul.austin]

Originally Posted by Cori aka ChrisSCrush

Also not exactly an error but for some reason Laura is neither seen nor mentioned.

CL laws means minors can't appear in every episode or, at the very least, scenes with their character in some episodes would be sparse (even more so today) but given Mellie G. was the protagonist, it's odd, yes.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Originally Posted by paul.austin

CL laws means minors can't appear in every episode or, at the very least, scenes with their character in some episodes would be sparse (even more so today) but given Mellie G. was the protagonist, it's odd, yes.

Apparently Melissa Gilbert stated at the Simi Valley 50th Anniversary Celebration that she was only ever not in one episode but the real number is more like 14.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Season 4, episode 16: Caroline's family name is given as Holbrook. The actual name was Quiner. This error was repeated in a later episode featuring Caroline's father.

EDIT: It seems Holbrook was Caroline's stepfather's actual name.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Season 4, episode 17: the photograph looks too modern. 19th Century photographs were generally stiff, printed or pasted on thick card or on metal if a tintype. This one is on thin curled up paper. Also the color is too good. In the 19th Century color would have been only tinting, and this looks like a full color photograph with natural color, not painted.

Season 4, episode 20: Caroline looks at her son's grave marker and says he has been gone four years. The date on the marker is 1876. Date the episode aired 1978. Episode in which the son died aired 1974, so four years is correct, but four years from 1876 is 1880. The centennial episode set in 1876 aired in 1976 so only two years should have passed since then. Son's death date should have been 1874 as far as the series timeline was concerned, not 1876, but the grave marker on the series did use the son's actual dates of birth and death although in the series he apparently didn't live as long as he did in real life, that is, unless 18 months were meant to have passed in "The Lord is My Shepherd," nine months for the baby to arrive and then nine more for his life, and he didn't appear to be that old. Also, if the Centennial episode was meant to take place on July 4, 1876, and the real Charles Frederick died on August 27, 1876, he should have been still alive during the Centennial episode where on the series he had died over a year prior.

[paul.austin]

Same actor or same kid actor as different characters sticks out more now that you can binge than it would have then. For a start looks like Anna doesn't miss her stutter