When I was a little girl, I watched "Little House on the Prairie" every afternoon when I got home from school. Between the books and the TV show, I literally grew up on the adventures of Laura, Mary and Carrie. (And Nellie. And later, Almanzo. And much, much later, Albert. Remember him? That might have been when "Little House" jumped the shark, to reference another 1970s TV show.)
Anyway. In an ironic twist of fate, Natalie spent her after-school hours with "Little House" yesterday. Only this was a homework project.
You can read about it at 5 Minutes for Parenting today.
And if you want, leave me your favorite "Little House" memory in the comments here. Because I think a whole generation of kids grew up watching Pa cry at every halfway sentimental moment.
Here's some trivia to get you started: Did you know the Carrie falling in the opening sequence was an accident? It wasn't supposed to happen, but they were filming, she tumbled down the hill and refused to run again after that, so the fall ended up making history.
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I had no idea that Carrie falling was an accident--definitely a classic moment though!
ReplyDeleteI too loved watching (and reading) LHOP as a kid. We just finished reading the Little House on the Prairie with the 4 yo and and are starting in on Farmer Boy. My son very quickly latched on to Pa as the great protector and hunter, saying when the wolves came around, "They don't have to worry cuz Pa has his gun!"
LOVED LHOP. I watched every episode, read every book. I definitely agree that the addition of Albert is when the show jumped the shark. Don't remember a specific episode that was best, I loved them all.
ReplyDeleteI always loved it when Nellie got doused in some food object or something gross. And, after the shark jump, when she met her husband to be and they fought like crazy? Hilarious.
ReplyDeleteJust in case you don't get the comments directly from 5 Minutes:
ReplyDeleteThree months without homework?
Oh friend, just wait until middle school and high school when they have a summer reading assignment and a paper(s) on it due the first day of school. Don't EVEN get me started.
And you are such a young thing. When I was little, there was no Little House on TV. But I adored the books. And I was thrilled beyond belief when the show came on. I think I was in high school? Maybe junior high.
And I was totally aggravated when they introduced Albert. Totally not in line with the books. Although he was adorable. (And same thing with Mary being shipped off to blind school.)
I pretty much had those books memorized.
And to continue what Mocha With Linda started... Mary didn't get married!! My elementary teacher read us the entire series during my 1st through 4th grade. I loved them so much that I have been to the Little House in the Big Woods in Wisconsin and also the house she lived with Almanzo in Missouri. My husband was quite thrilled when I went to see her grave, too. Total fan!!
ReplyDeleteI adored that show! My favorite episode was the one where they make the faux Loch Ness Monster to scare Mrs. Olsen and Nellie when they are camping at the lake.
ReplyDeleteRemember the really creepy episode with the serial rapist who wore the clown mask? Albert's girlfriend got pregnant by the rapist, he was going to marry her, but then she died after falling from a ladder. It was like CSI: Walnut Grove. I think that's when it did some shark jumpin'.
What about the one where Albert gets addicted to the morphine in Doc's office?
ReplyDeleteI totally hated LHOP when I was a kid—I thought it was boring!
ReplyDeleteBut... a few years ago, when Abraham was in full-time school (while doing a full-time job), I borrowed the DVD sets from a friend and watched all.nine.seasons.
I fell in love with it.
To be honest, I always hated Carrie. She just annoyed me to no end. And when there was an episode that focused on her, I fast forwarded through all those parts! :-)
I love to make fun of the fact that Michael Landon seemed to find every opportunity to bare his freshly-waxed, freshly-oiled chest. So hilarious!
i used to watch it as a kid but now i pretty much can't stand it. i really hate how far it went from the books.
ReplyDeleteI loved LHOP the TV show. My friend Tara and I used to pretend we were Mary and Laura. I always had to be Mary. Tara was such a bully. Anyways ... I just read the books for the first time this past year. And I loved them, but found myself still thinking back to the TV show. Gotta say, it was hard to read them and not compare them to the TV show. Oh well, both are great! And didn't the kid who played Albert play a young Charles too? That was always confusing.
ReplyDeleteI have been on a quest in antique stores to find an old, old copy of one of the Little House books! (not as cruicial as finding a recipe for Caramel Cake!) Thanks so much for stopping by KitchenScoop.com and for your comment. I promise to do a full report when I get the recipe right!
ReplyDeleteNot only every day after school but Saturday mornings as well!
ReplyDeleteRemember when Pa and the girls were gone and Ma got an infected cut in her leg? Then she heated up the knife in the fire...suspense suspense suspense....and RIGHT when she was going to do SOMETHING to her leg IN WALKED PA TO SAVE THE DAY!
Oh the Drama. The Drama.
While everyone else in school had crushes on boys like Corey Haim and Christian Slater and Kirk Cameron, Rob Lowe (shoot... I don't know... who DID they have crushes on?), I had a crush on Michael Landon. I was crushed when I found out he was married.
ReplyDeleteI started making a chart once of all the ways the books were different from the TV shows. Never finished it (and don't plan to).
I lived and breathed Little House. We had a "be someone famous day" in Jr. High and everyone else were famous stars of the day like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Mr. T... and I was Laura.
I was pretty much awesome in jr. high.
But I'm not ashamed. I only have to hear the opening theme song to get the tears a-rollin'.
My sister and I were HUGE Little House fans. We used to run down the hill in our backyard pretending to be Mary and Laura. We never tried to pretend to fall. I had no idea that was an accident. And I thought I was a fan. Sheesh.
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