Little House on the Prairie (TV series)

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Little House on the Prairie

Little House title card used until becoming Little House: A New Beginning
Format Family Drama
Created by Ed Friendly, from the original books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Developed by Blanche Hanalis for NBC Studios, Inc. in Association with Ed Friendly
Starring Michael Landon
Melissa Gilbert
Karen Grassle
Melissa Sue Anderson
Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush
Matthew Laborteaux
Richard Bull
Katherine MacGregor
Alison Arngrim
Jonathan Gilbert
Kevin Hagen
Dabbs Greer
Victor French
Merlin Olsen
Dean Butler
Linwood Boomer
Opening theme Instrumental theme by David Rose
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language(s) English
No. of episodes 208 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Michael Landon and Ed Friendly
Camera setup Single-view
Running time 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Audio format Mono
Original run September 11, 1974 – March 21, 1983
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary
Common rating
United States TV-G / E/I
(E/I usage may vary by station)

Little House on the Prairie was an American one-hour dramatic television program that aired on the NBC network from September 11, 1974, to March 21, 1983, bumping the long-running Adam-12 series to Tuesday nights. During the 1982-83 television season, with the departure of Michael Landon, the series was broadcast with the new title Little House: A New Beginning. A miniseries called The Little House Years was aired in 1979.

The show was a loose adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s best-selling series of Little House on the Prairie books.

The series was produced in-house by NBC. As of 2007, the successor company, Universal Media Studios, owns the underlying rights; however, it is distributed in syndication in the United States by CBS Paramount Television (holders of the library of Worldvision Enterprises, the original syndicated distributors).

Contents

Main article: List of Little House on the Prairie (TV series) characters

Main article: List of Little House on the Prairie episodes
Carrie, Mary, and Laura Ingalls frolic down a hill, as shown in the opening credits of the series.
Carrie, Mary, and Laura Ingalls frolic down a hill, as shown in the opening credits of the series.

Although it differed from the original books, and many new characters and situations were added, this television series was one of the few long-running successful dramatic family shows (and it is still in syndication). Although predominantly a drama, the program did have some comedic moments, thanks to supporting cast members such as Mr. Edwards (played by Victor French) and the Oleson family: Nels Oleson (Richard Bull), Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor), Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert), and Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim).

The show's central characters are Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), farmer and patriarch, with his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and three daughters, Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), Laura (Melissa Gilbert), and Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush). The Ingalls family also adopts 10-year-old Albert Quinn (Matthew Laborteaux), whom the family meets when they move (briefly) to Winoka, Dakota Territory in a series of 1978 episodes. Later the Ingalls family adopts more children, James (Jason Bateman) and Cassandra Cooper (Missy Francis), a brother and sister who are orphaned after their parents are killed in a wagon accident.

Clockwise from top: Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls, Lindsay or Sidney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls, and Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls, in a promotional photo from the first season.
Clockwise from top: Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls, Lindsay or Sidney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls, and Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls, in a promotional photo from the first season.

Other essential characters included the friendly Nels Oleson, proprietor of the town's general store, Oleson's Mercantile; his malicious, gossipping wife, Harriet; and their two spoiled children, Nellie and Willie; and later, their adopted child, Nancy (Allison Balson). Also appearing in the series are Merlin Olsen (as Jonathan Garvey), Dabbs Greer (as Reverend Robert Alden), Karl Swenson (as Lars Hanson, the town's founder and proprietor of the town's mill), and Kevin Hagen (as Dr. Hiram Baker, the town's doctor). Malcolm in the Middle creator Linwood Boomer appears as Mary Ingalls's teacher-turned-husband, Adam Kendall, whom she meets at the school for the blind in the 1978-1979 season. In 1979, Dean Butler joined the cast as Almanzo Wilder, and he and Laura are married in the 1980-1981 season premiere.

Michael Landon directed the largest number of episodes (87); producer William F. Claxton handled the majority of the remaining shows (68). Co-star Victor French helmed 19 episodes.

The series theme song was titled The Little House and was written and conducted by David Rose.

As with most TV series set in a distant time or place, the series includes occasional historical inaccuracies. Little House on the Prairie was largely filmed on Big Sky Ranch at Simi Valley, California. Camera vistas sometimes pick up the rugged terrain, far too mountainous for Minnesota, and the Californian chaparral vegetation. In one particular episode Laura runs away and climbs up a mountain. However, there are no mountains on the prairie. Nevertheless, in most scenes the oak savanna is considered to be representative of the real Walnut Grove. Dr. Baker's telephone seems far ahead of its time, since the telephone was newly invented and existed only in large cities in the 1880s.

The most successful western-dramatic series ended in 1983, due to low ratings (after Landon's decision of leaving the show), but this show set the tone for one other series that is similar to Little House: Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. In addition, the show is immensely-popular in reruns in syndication, Hallmark Channel and on TV Land.

During its nine season run, many actors made guest appearances, including both well-known actors and/or unfamiliar actors who went on to become well-known stars. Among those appearing in Little House episodes were: Willie Aames, E.J. Andre, Anne Archer, Lew Ayres, Hermione Baddeley, Olivia Barash, Don 'Red' Barry, Billy Barty, Richard Basehart, Tony Becker, Ralph Bellamy, Ken Berry, Peter Billingsley, Dirk Blocker, Ray Bolger, Ernest Borgnine, Todd Bridges, Walter Brooke, Red Buttons, Leon Charles, Don Collier, Nicolas Coster, James Cromwell, Shannen Doherty, Ike Eisenmann, Lou Fant, Gil Gerard, Ted Gehring, Louis Gossett Jr., Nancy Lee Grahn, Mariette Hartley, Arthur Hill, John Hillerman, Robert Hoffman, Beth Howland, John Ireland, Richard Jaeckel, Lance Kerwin, Tom Lester, Chuck McCann, Richard Mulligan, Jimmy McNichol, Patricia Neal, Sean Penn, John Bennett Perry, Carl Pitti, Eddie Quillan, Kim Richards, Tracie Savage, William Schallert, Eric Shea, James B. Sikking, Madeleine Stowe, Dub Taylor, Forrest Tucker, Mitch Vogel, Burl Ives, among many others. Colonel Sanders made a cameo apparance. Country music legend Johnny Cash also made a cameo appearance as an ex-convict alongside his real-life wife June Carter Cash.

A spin-off series of sorts, Little House: A New Beginning, built around Laura and Almanzo, lasted only one season and aired from September 1982 until March 1983 (and is included in the Little House syndication package). A new family, the Carters (Stan Ivar as John, Pamela Roylance as Sarah, Lindsay Kennedy as eldest son Jeb and David Friedman as youngest son Jason), move into the Ingalls' old home. Meanwhile, Almanzo and Laura, and their daughter, Rose, take in their niece, Jenny (played by Shannen Doherty), when Almanzo's brother dies. The Wilders appear prominently in some episodes, while in others, they appear only in early scenes used to introduce the story or its characters (see, for example, "The Last Summer").

Three made-for-television movie sequels followed: Little House: Look Back to Yesterday (1983), Little House: The Last Farewell (1984), and Little House: Bless All the Dear Children (1984). Two other Little House movies were made in conjunction with the Landon series: the 1974 pilot for the program and Little House Years (1979), a Thanksgiving special/clip show that aired in the middle of Season 6.

CBC Television's Canadian sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie takes its title, logo and pioneering spirit, if not much else, from this series.

Little House on the Prairie was one of only several hit shows on NBC primetime throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. For the first two seasons, the show was aired on Wednesday nights at 8pm ET/7pm CT, to moderate ratings. In 1976, the series became a Monday night staple on NBC; after the move, it remained in the Top 30 for the rest of its run.

Season Ratings Rank
1974-1975 #13
1975-1976 Not in Top 30
1976-1977 #16
1977-1978 #7
1978-1979 #14
1979-1980 #16
1980-1981 #10
1981-1982 #25
1982-1983 #29

  • 1976 TP de Oro, Mejor Actriz Extranjera (Best Foreign Actress), Karen Grassle
  • 1976 TP de Oro, Mejor Serie Extranjera (Best Foreign Series)
  • 1978 Emmy Award, Outstanding Cinematography in Entertainment Programming for a Series, Ted Voightlander, episode "The Fighter"
  • 1979 Emmy Award, Outstanding Cinematography for a Series, Ted Voightlander, episode "The Craftsman"
  • 1979 Emmy Award, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, David Rose, episode "The Craftsman"
  • 1980 TP de Oro, Mejor Actriz Extranjera (Best Foreign Actress), Melissa Sue Anderson
  • 1981 Western Writers of America Spur Award, Best TV Script, Michael Landon, episode "May We Make Them Proud"
  • 1982 Emmy Award, Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore), David Rose, episode "He Was Only Twelve," part 2
  • 1983 Young Artist Award, Best Young Actress in a Drama Series, Melissa Gilbert
  • 1984 Young Artist Award, Best Young Actress in a Drama Series, Melissa Gilbert

The entire series has been released on DVD. The US DVD sets include exclusive interviews by Québécois Little House historian Patrick Loubatière and actors Alison Arngrim, Dabbs Greer, and Dean Butler.

A majority of the episodes in the North American DVD versions have scenes cut from the episodes--these are derived from the syndicated television versions by Worldvision Enterprises, the series former distributor; in fact, their various logos still appear at the end of most episodes (but before the current NBC Universal Television Distribution logo). Other episodes, especially in the DVD versions of some episodes in Seasons 1 and 8 of the original series, and season 9 of "...A New Beginning", are time-compressed; these are NTSC-converted video prints from UK PAL masters. Only a handful of episodes in the DVD sets are in their original, uncut versions (for example, many Season 1 episodes on DVD contain scenes not in current syndication prints). Unfortunately, many episodes on the DVD versions contain tracking lines and audio problems.

The DVD sets sold in the US and Canada were released under license from NBC Universal by Imavision Distribution, a company based in Quebec. Imavision has also released a French-language version of the DVD set, sold separately. Both versions are in NTSC color, and coded for all regions.

The DVD sets sold in the United Kingdom were released by Universal Playback (a Universal Studios Home Entertainment label); this version is in PAL color, and coded for Region 2.

Some time earlier, some single Little House episodes were released on both DVD and VHS by GoodTimes Entertainment.

Before retail DVDs were available, the Little House episodes were available through a Columbia House club subscription. These VHS tapes contained two episodes per tape and were only available at a club price. The episodes on these VHS tapes, unlike the current DVDs, were not edited and remain the only commercially available uncut episodes.

On February 21, 2007, it was announced that Lionsgate Home Entertainment would assume the U.S. video rights from Imavision/Goldhil Home Video as of April, 2007.

Season Episodes Originally aired DVD release date
Region 1 Region 2
1 23 1974 – 1975 July 8, 2003 July 25, 2005
2 22 1975 – 1976 July 8, 2003 March 27, 2006
3 21 1976 – 1977 November 4, 2003 March 2008
4 22 1977 – 1978 February 17, 2004 TBA
5 24 1978 – 1979 June 29, 2004 TBA
6 24 1979 – 1980 October 26, 2004 TBA
7 24 1980 – 1981 February 15, 2005 TBA
8 22 1981 – 1982 June 14, 2005 TBA
9 19 1982 – 1983 November 1, 2005 TBA
10 3 1984 – 1984 November 28, 2006 TBA

Throughout the series' run there were several anachronisms, where elements were used that post-date the series 1870s setting.

  • In the episode, "The Collection" a conman played by Johnny Cash poses as a minister with plans to take a collection for a neighboring community ravished by a prairie fire before being touched by the townsfolk's generosity, and having a change of heart. After giving the funds to Rev. Alden, the congregation sings the hymn "In the Garden", which was not published until 1912.[1]
  • In the second part of the episode of "See the Light," Adam falls ill before taking his entrance exam to law school. On the train ride Charles offers Mary half of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich mentioning she liked them in her childhood. However, peanut butter was little known until the 1904 Saint Louis World Fair.
  • In the 8th season episode "Wave of the Future", a character modeled on Kentucky Fried Chicken's Colonel Sanders shows up saying he was going to open a dining establishment. In reality, Sanders had not even been born at that time. The character was billed only as "Bearded Man" for legal reasons and was played by look-a-like John A. Roberts.
  • In several later episodes, Melissa Gilbert's character is a married woman who teaches school. Married women were not allowed at this time to teach school.[citation needed] In the same vein, Miss Beadle continues to teach the children of Walnut Grove even after marrying Mr. Sims, continues to teach during her pregnancy, and goes into labor in the classroom in the episodes, "Here Come The Brides" and "A Most Precious Gift". All of these would have been unthinkable in the 1870s.

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Although Melissa Gilbert is the only actress to appear in every season of the series, she appeared in 196 of the 204 episodes of the show (almost every episode of the series --- missing 8). Michael Landon appeared in the second highest episodes, having to appear in 183 of the 204 produced.
  • Michael Landon blew up the town before the Big Sky Ranch, California lease expired and he didn't want the facades bulldozed. It was also a defensive gesture by Michael that contained a message to Ed Friendly not to remake his series on the ranch. The show was still popular and there was a chance of this happening, but Landon made sure it wouldn't at the time.
  • After Walnut Grove founder, character Lars Hanson, passes away his large house is left in the possession of the church. After much debate, the house is donated for the creation of a blind school run by Mary Ingalls and her husband Adam. The house burned down in a subsequent episode and the blind school moved to a courthouse in the town Sleepy Eye. In an even later episode, the storyline was disrupted as Harriet and Nels Olsen are shown spending a weekend cleaning Lars Hanson's large house which they claim was left to their family.

  • La Petite Maison dans la Prairie: Walnut Grove - Terre Promise by Patrick Loubatière (224 pages, published 1998)
  • Little House on the Prairie: From A to Z by Patrick Loubatière (86 pages, published October 2005), included in the season 9 DVD set.[2]

  1. ^ C. Austin Miles". "In The Garden". Cyberhymnal (website) retrieved April 26, 2007.
  2. ^ "Little House on the Prairie - The Complete Season 9 (1974)"

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_House_on_the_Prairie_%28TV_series%29"
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