Retro TV1: Little House on the Prairie

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, current corporate sibling Universal Media Studios owns the underlying rights; however, it is distributed in syndication in the United States by CBS Television Distribution, the syndication arm of CBS Paramount Television (holders of the library of Worldvision Enterprises, the original syndicated distributors).

Michael Landon as Charles Phillip Ingalls - A Farmer near Walnut Grove and father of Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace (1974-1982)
Karen Grassle as Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls - Charles' wife (1974-1982)
Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Amelia Ingalls - Charles' & Caroline's older daughter (1974-1981)
Melissa Gilbert as Laura Elizabeth Ingalls - Charles' & Caroline's middle daughter
Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (who were identical twins) as Caroline Celestia "Carrie" Ingalls - Charles' & Caroline's younger daughter (1974-1982)
Matthew Laborteaux as Albert Quinn Ingalls - Charles' & Caroline's adopted son (1978-1983)
Richard Bull as Nelson "Nels" Oleson
Katherine MacGregor as Harriet Oleson
Alison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson (1974-1981)
Jonathan Gilbert as Willie Oleson
Kevin Hagen as Dr. Hiram Baker
Dabbs Greer as Reverend Robert Alden
Victor French as Isaiah Edwards (1974-1977, 1979, 1981-1983)
Dean Butler as Almanzo James Wilder (1979-1983)
Merlin Olsen as Jonathan Garvey (1977-1981)
Linwood Boomer as Adam Kendall (1978-1981)
Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh (who were identical twins) as Grace Pearl Ingalls (1977-1982)

Recurring
Ruth Foster as Mrs Melinda Foster
Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh as Grace Ingalls (1978-1982)
Charlotte Stewart as Eva Beadle-Simms (1974-1978)
Patrick Laborteaux as Andrew "Andy" Garvey (1977-1981)
Karl Swenson as Lars Hanson (1974-1978)
James Jeter as Hans Dofler (1974-1975, 1979-1980)
Queenie Smith as Mrs. Whipple
Ketty Lester as Hester-Sue Terhune (1978-1983)
Allison Balson as Nancy Oleson (1981-1983)
Hersha Parady as Alice Garvey (1977-1980)
Bonnie Bartlett as Grace Snider Edwards (1974-1977, 1979)
Jason Bateman as James Cooper/Ingalls (1981-1982)
Moses Gunn as Joe Kagan (1977-1981)
Missy Francis as Cassandra Cooper/Ingalls (1981-1982)
Stan Ivar as John Carter (1982-1983)
Shannen Doherty as Jenny Wilder (1982-1983)
Lindsay Kennedy as Jeb Carter (1982-1983)
David Friedman as Jason Carter (1982-1983)
Kyle Richards as Alicia Sanderson/Edwards (1975-1977, 1979, 1982)
Brian Part as Carl Sanderson/Edwards (1975-1977)
Radames Pera as John Sanderson/Edwards, Jr. (1975-1977)
Leslie Landon as Etta Plum (1982-1983)
Michelle Downey as Susan "Sue" Goodspeed (1978-1981)
Jennifer and Michele Steffin as Rose Wilder (1982-1983)
Lucy Lee Flippin as Eliza Jane Wilder (1979-1982)
Pamela Roylance as Sarah Reed Carter (1982-1983)
Steve Tracy as Percival Dalton/Isaac Cohen (1980-1981)

Detail

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.

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.

Guest Stars
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.

Anachronisms
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 ravaged 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.
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 eighth-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. 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.

Continuity Issues
Longtime viewers of the series (which repeats every 3 months on The Hallmark Channel) may notice several continuity issues throughout the series's run:

Several actors played more than one character on the show at various times. Kyle Richards played Alicia Sanderson in seasons 2 & 3, but also plays the daughter of Brett Harper in "Somone Please Love Me" in season 5. Richards also reprises the role of Alicia in "A Promise to Keep" in Season 8. Hersha Parady portrayed Charles's sister-in-law in "Journey in the Spring" before she played Alice Garvey in seasons 4, 5, and 6. Billy Barty played a circus clown in "Annabelle" and "Little Lou". Perhaps the most reused actor in the whole series was E.J. Andre, who played at least 4 characters during the show's run. His most prominent role was that of Uncle Jed in two episodes in Season 8.
There are also numerous characters whom the viewer was lead to believe had either been involved in the Ingalls lives for quite sometime, or were prominent citizens in Walnut Grove, but who were never mentioned again with no explanation after their episode. Some of these character emerged on the scene with no backstory. These include the Widow Andrews in "For My Lady", Kezia Horn (of two episodes), Ruthy (from "The Last Summer") and numerous children at the school.
The eventual demise of Albert Ingalls is called into question by two episodes. In Season 9, in the epilogue to "Home Again", we hear Laura in a voice over stating that Albert returns to Walnut Grove as Dr. Albert Ingalls in his adult years. However, in the movie "Look Back to Yesterday", we're lead to believe Albert dies from a blood disorder.
There are also two versions of Caroline Ingalls's maiden name used in the series. In episodes "Journey in the Spring", "I Remember, I Remember" and "Author, Author", her maiden name is referred to as being "Holbrook". It isn't until the episode "Whatever Happened to the Class of '56" (from Season 6) we hear Caroline's actual maiden name, Quiner.
Of course, anyone with a casual knowledge of the book will note that Mary never married after going blind (she lived with Carrie's family until her death) and there was no Albert Ingalls.
The marital status of Rev. Alden is also very ambiguous. He marries a local spinster in "The Preacher Takes a Wife", but she's never mentioned again. When Reverend Alden shares details of his alcoholism with Mr. Edwards in Season 8, he mentions that his first wife left him because of his drinking.

little house on the prairie