Customer Reviews

Little House on the Prairie - The Complete Season 1

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Little House On The Prairie - The Complete Season One is probably the very best season of this series. This is because all the episodes are beautifully done with great character acting, beautiful scenery and wholesome true messages that are very realistic.

Michael Landon was the writer, star and executive producer of this drama series. Landon set the bar for excellence so high that no one in the past 30 years has come close to the accomplishments of "Little House On The Prairie."

It is rather unfortunate that TV has gone way downhill compared to the days of "Little House On The Prairie." But we still have all the beautiful episodes preserved on DVD.

I have seen every single episode of this series (thanks to TBS, because the first-run series was years before I was born) and I noticed that some of the episodes included clips that were not on the syndicated version. These are very short, but noticeable if you are a longtime watcher and fan like myself.

Some of the very best episodes from this season include: A Harvest of Friends, Country Girls, If I Should Wake Before I Die, and Christmas at Plum Creek.

Here is a full episode listing and description of every episode that is included in the Season One box set:

* A Harvest of Friends (original air date: September 11, 1974)
There's money for farm land, but nothing left over for a plow and seed until Charles discovers his "harvest of friends."

* Country Girls (original air date: September 18, 1974)
A lesson about snobbery awaits Mary and Laura on their first day at school, when they meet Nelli Oleson. Laura becomes a great storyteller but still needs to work on her spelling, according to Miss Beadle.

* The 100-Mile Walk (original air date: September 25, 1974)
After his crop is destroyed by hail, Charles hits the road in a search for work. He meets 2 friends at his new job, one of whom is killed tragically.

* Mr. Edwards' Homecoming (original air date: October 2, 1974)
Charles brings home Mr. Edwards, the Ingallses longtime friend (since the Pilot Movie). Caroline plays matchmaker, trying to set up the Widow Snyder and Mr. Edwards.

* The Love of Johnny Johnson (original air date: October 9, 1974)
Laura fancies a new and older classmate (Johnny Johnson) who seems to have eyes only for Mary that couldn't care less about him.

* If I Should Wake Before I Die (original air date: October 23, 1974)
To gather her family together, elderly Amy Hearn fakes her death and arranges for a wake on her 80th birthday with the help of Charles, Caroline, and Doc Baker.

* Town Party, Country Party (original air date: October 30, 1974)
Mary and Laura go to a lavish party at Nellie's. Mean-spirted Nellie twists Laura's ankle which gives Laura insight on how her disabled friend Olga may feel. Olga showcases her new shoes (enabling her to walk, courtesy of Charles) at the girls' country part.

* Ma's Holiday (original air date: November 6, 1974)
Despite being Inexperienced, Mr. Edwards baby-sits with the girls while their parents are away for a few days on Ma's holiday.

* School Mom (original air date: November 13, 1974)
Substitute teacher Caroline finds her biggest challenge in a shy teenager who never learned to read or write. She deals with him with kindness and compassion; two characteristics that Mrs. Oleson never learned.

* The Raccoon (original air date: November 20, 1974)
Although Charles advises against it, Laura tries to make a pet out of a raccoon. Jasper the raccoon causes much trouble and a due to a misunderstanding causes a rabies scare.

* The Voice of Tinker Jones (original air date: December 4, 1974)
A traveling coppersmith (that cannot speak) plays a key role in resolving a squabble over a bell for the church.

* The Award (original air date: December 11, 1974)
Mary's life is filled with complications as she prepares for a special exam. And, Caroline learns a lesson in punishment and discipline.

* The Lord Is My Shepherd, Part 1 (original air date: December 18, 1974)
A son is born to the Ingalls (Charles, Jr.), and everyone rejoices except Laura, who is afraid that the baby will replace her in her father's affections. Charles, Jr. passes away leaving Laura to blame herself without cause.

* The Lord Is My Shepherd, Conclusion (original air date: December 18, 1974)
Jonathan, a mountain dweller comforts Laura, who has run away out of guilt over the death of a baby brother she never wanted. Charles and Mr. Edwards are guided to Laura.

* Christmas at Plum Creek (original air date: December 25, 1974)
The Ingalls family is short on cash but long on ingenuity in celebrating Christmas at Plum Creek. Laura trades her horse (Bunny) to Mr. Oleson for a new stove for Ma Ingalls and her only regret is that her father spent too much time on a new saddle for Bunny (not knowing that Laura had already agreed to trade her).

* Doctor's Lady (original air date: January 15, 1975)
Doc Baker romances Mrs. Oleson's niece and contemplates marriage until he realizes that their age-gap is just too big. This is probably Doc Baker's only romance in the shows 10-year run.

* Family Quarrel (original air date: January 22, 1975)
The Olesons finally separate, and neither will budge an inch to patch up their differences until Caroline and Charles intervene to help patch things up.

* The Circus Man (original air date: January 29, 1975)
A traveling entertainer dispenses powders with "healing powers" and is asked to leave Walnut Grove due to his irresponsible message. Charles reluctantly asks him back for Laura's sake; and Laura learns a valuable lesson in honesty.

* Plague (original air date: February 5, 1975)
An epidemic of typhus breaks out in Walnut Grove. Charles, Doc Baker, and the Reverend Alden help care for the sick as they turn the town church into a hospice.

* Child of Pain (original air date: February 12, 1975)
An alcoholic farmer abuses his young son until the town of Walnut Grove intervene. Charles helps the father sober up while Caroline and the Ingalls girls invite the young son (Graham) into their home as their guest for a few weeks, while his father gets better.

* Money Crop (original air date: February 12, 1975)
Hope turns to anger when a young agronomist fails to return from Minneapolis with a promising new seed corn.

* Survival (original air date: February 26, 1975)
A U.S. marshal involves the family in his bigoted pursuit of a Sioux Chief. Charles helps save the life of the Chief after he is shot by the marshal while the entire family is holed up in a small shack waiting out a spring blizzard.

* To See the World (original air date: March 5, 1975)
Farm boy Johnny Johnson runs off to see the world and learns a valuable lesson from Mr. Edwards and Miss Mei Mei.

* Founder's Day (original air date: May 7, 1975)
An aging logger puts his pride on the line in the Founder's Day log-chopping contest. Charles learns that sometimes it is more important to have compassion than it is to win, and he lovingly passes that message on to Laura.

I am so happy I own this season on DVD. And, I plan on getting more of the "Little House On The Prairie" DVD box sets. Please know that the Season One box set does not include the original pilot movie of "Little House On The Prairie." That is sold separately. I suspect that is because the original pilot movie was not actually part of the first-run series but more of a movie as it did not ever appear in syndication. Speaking of syndication, I hope TBS will bring back "Little House On The Prairie." Until a couple of years ago it was shown twice daily. This is such a wonderful show for all generations. It is a classic!

"Washed His Face in a Frying Pan......". Everybody has their favorite characters when it comes to these vintage TV episodes of "Little House on the Prairie". I guess it's obvious who mine is..who's yours? All your favorites from this first season(1974-1975) are here in these 23 complete(without all the commercials)epsidoes.You'll cry over sentimental favorites including "A Harvest of Friends" and "The Lord is My Shepherd". Then you'll find yourself grinning ear to ear with such joyous stories of "Christmas at Plum Creek", and "The Voice of Tinker Jones"."Survival" will have you on the edge of your seat as Charles tries to protect a Souix Indian from a vengeful man, and Johnny Johnson and Mr. Edwards(Victor French) will keep you chuckling when they lose their hearts and all their money to "Miss Mimi" in "To See The World".Each episode has it's own charm. Many are inspirational,some humorous, and all are sure to stir your emotions in some way.

These stories are rare TV programs that the whole family may enjoy.They have stood the test of time and should be shared with each new generation.The music by David Rose gives the perfect feel to each story and character. The set also includes "Country Girls", "The 100 Mile Walk","Mr. Edwards' Homecoming","The Love of Johnny Johnson","If I Should Die Before I Wake(this was a great episode of an eldery woman faking her funeral to get her children to visit her),"Town Party, Country Party","Ma's Holiday", "School Mom","The Racoon","The Award"(after starting a fire while studying for a special test, will Mary heed Ma's punishment?),"Family Quarrel","Doctor's Lady","The Plague"(look for a very touching scene between Michael Landon and real life daughter Leslie Landon in this one),"Circus Man", "Child of Pain","Money Crop", and "Founder's Day"(the Ingalls and Oleson's competetive spirit come out in this one).

Although there are occasional signs of age, and every once in a while the color seems to be off a little(green eggs and ham anyone?), for the most part these classic TV programs were given some wonderful attention to the transfers to DVD. The picture enhancement is clear and sharp, color nicely corrected and they sound great.There are six discs, in a nice fold out case, with pictures of various cast members.Four episodes to a disc each running about 45min.(about 19 hours in all)."The Lord Is My Shepherd" being the only two part episode in the set. You can "play all" or choose the episode you wish to view. In either case, the opening credit scene (the family in the wagon), is only shown at the beginning of each disc.Although each story opens with the technical credits, what you miss is the major guest stars(the rest are all shown at the end of each episode). But...you will surely recognize such legendary greats as Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, and Forrest Tucker, and such notables as Chuck McCann,Dirk Blocker and Bonnie Bartlett.The Special features are not so special..a quiz that doesn't work, a few pictures of cast members from various seasons and some bios of some of the stars.But the real bonus here are these wonderful stories. My only reason for going 4 stars is that the pilot epsiode("The Premiere Movie") is not included and must be bought separatly at one third the price of what this whole season cost. I would suggest to go with the "Goodtimes" edition. It is a nice transfer and costs less. Otherwise this is a five star set. Fans of "Little House" should grab this up.I am always so inspired by these stories I just want to go out and plow my yard..but...I'll probably just kick back and check out "Season Two" now....

"Git out the way for Old Dan Tucker, he's too late to get his supperrrrrr"......enjoy...Laurie

The first season of "Little House On the Prairie" is an excellent example of what a smaller independent distributor can do for television shows on DVD. Take a classic show like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", for instance: it's first season was released by mega-studio 20th Century Fox in September 2002. Ten months later, we still don't even know if Fox will release the rest of the series due to poor sales and the fact that they are busied with franchises like "24", "The Simpsons" and "The Shield".

Enter Goldhil Home Media, a smaller company who I wish held more distribution properties than it does. Because, simply put, it makes the best of what it does have. Case in point, releasing two beautiful 6-disc season sets of "Little House On the Prairie" on the same day in July. Further assuring us that we're not wasting our money on a series we know will never be completed, they've included a message in the episode guides/booklets stating that seasons 3 and 4 are coming soon. Now that's awesome.

Did I mention these sets are beautiful? Each disc features a member of the Ingalls family against a beautiful blue sky and golden prairie. The handy booklet gives a rundown of every episode. The menus are great and play the classic theme song until you select an episode (4 eps per disc). The opening theme only appears over the first episode on each disc but the end titles are included for every episode. Unless you obsess over the opening theme for some reason, this is not a big deal.

The content of the show itself is great. They've restored and remastered the original material and it looks and sounds better than you've ever seen it on television. To quote the booklet: "The vintage material included is this Special Collector's Edition has been restored using state-of-the-art color correction, picture enhancement and noise reduction technologies."

I'm only through the first disc (having just found this at a retail store 3 days before its expected release date) and have found plenty of heart-warming moments and can tell that there will be many more hardships for the Ingalls family before the first season concludes. As soon as I am able, I plan to empty my pockets for the season 2 box set. From there, I'll be anxiously awaiting the release day for seasons 3 and 4. Goldhil Home Media has certainly won me over and proven that the indie distributors really tend to appreciate their properties and treat them with all the respect they deserve.

Note: The 2-hour pilot episode is not included on this set, as it was run as a TV movie before the series was set in stone. The good news is that Goldhil is releasing the pilot separately on the same day! As is, the series picks up with the episode entitled "A Harvest of Friends", in which the Ingalls have just moved from Kansas to Walnut Grove, MN.

EPISODE LIST:

DISC 1 - A Harvest of Friends, Country Girls, The 100 Mile Walk, Mr. Edwards' Homecoming
DISC 2 - The Love of Johnny Johnson, If I Should Wake Before I Die, Town Party Country Party, Ma's Holiday
DISC 3 - School Mom, The Raccoon, The Voice of Tinker Jones, The Award
DISC 4 - The Lord Is My Shepherd (2 hours long), Christmas at Plum Creek, Family Quarrel
DISC 5 - Doctor's Lady, The Plague, The Circus Man, Child of Pain
DISC 6 - Money Crop, Survival, To See the World, Founder's Day

I really love watching the show on TV and I am so happy that they have them on DVD! Just for the people who wanted to know the names of the first episodes here they are (I'm just a little fanatic!)

1. Harvest of Friends
2. Country Girls
3. The 100 mile walk
4. Mr. Edwards Homecomming
5. The love of Johnny Johnson
6. If i should wake before i die
7. Town Party - Country Party
8. The Lord is my Shepard (2 part episode)
9. Ma's Holiday
10. School Mom
11. The voice of Tinker Jones
12. The Raccoon
13. The Award
14. Christmas at Plum Creek
15. Doctors Lady
16. Family Quarrel
17. Circus Man
18. Plague
19. Child of Pai
20. Money Crop
21. Survival
22. To see the world
23. Founders Day

I can't wait for the next DVD's (3-9)

Even though I had read the reviews of this DVD set on Amazon.com, before buying it, I hadn't taken them that seriously, and I'd thought that the people who had left negative reviews were just disgruntled nit-pickers who can find fault in any and every little thing. So I did not take the negative reviews very seriously. Now I wish that I had.

After spending my hard-earned money to buy this set, I am EXTREMELY disappointed. I would even have returned it, if I considered it worth all the trouble and hassle.

This DVD set is a TOTAL DISGRACE to the memory of the wonderful Michael Landon.

Poor Michael would be spinning in his grave if he could see the shoddy treatment that Goldhill Home Media, and ImaVision Studios have given his beloved and popular series, in its sorry excuse for a DVD season set.

As I said, I bought this DVD set aware of, but not completely believing the negative reviews. When I first started watching the DVD's, I did not see anything really wrong, other than the fact that though my TV was at maximum volume, I could barely even hear, let alone decipher and understand parts of the dialogue. At first I thought it was my TV and DVD player, until the same thing happened on a newer model. Then I realized it was not my TV or DVD player that was the problem, it was the DVD's themselves.

Unfortunately, the problems did NOT end there, with sound issues. As I got further into the set (by the 2nd or 3rd disc) I realized that a MASSIVE amount of scenes had been cut from the episodes - more than were even cut in the syndicated episodes.

Being that I wasn't born until 4 years after this series first premiered, all the episodes of Little House on the Prairie that I've ever seen, have been in syndication. I never (that I can recall) have seen LHOTP during its original run on NBC, and only remember seeing them in reruns on TBS, and other channels. So I don't even know what was in the NBC episodes that were cut for the TBS version.

But when I started watching this DVD set, and I got to the 2nd or 3rd disc, I realized that many MAJOR scenes had been cut, even from what I remember was on the already syndicated episodes.

What I'm trying to say is that, when LHOTP went into reruns and syndication (on TBS and other channels)scenes were cut, as shows usually are, to make room for more commercials. But scenes that were there on the syndicated episodes are MISSING from the DVD's!!

We are paying good, hard-earned money to buy these DVD's, and we are getting LESS than if we had taped it FOR FREE off of TV!! This is just UNACCEPTABLE!

This set has many other problems too! There is NO scene selection feature, so you have to fast forward through an entire hour's episode if you want to see something near the end, there is no opening credit music/theme song at the beginning of each episode, only at the beginning of the disc. The sound quality is AWFUL! I have 20 - 25 year old tapes that have better sound than the crap on these DVD's. The video quality is also not that great considering all the equipment, that studios have at their disposal to remaster old film.

Some other reviewers on here have claimed that those who left negative reviews are being too picky, that we should not expect the studio to be able to release a 30 year old show on DVD in pristine condition with all the scenes intact. They claim that film disintegrates and scenes are lost, and can cause more problems if included.

To that I say, HOGWASH! There are much older shows from the 50's and 60's that are making its way to DVD with no missing scenes, and Digital enhancement and sound remastering. If they can do it for shows from the 1950's and 1960's, they can certainly do it for a much-loved show from the mid-70s to early 80's like Little House on the Prairie.

So why don't they?? Because Goldhill Home Media, and ImaVision Studios are too cheap to spend money that will eat into their profits to release a quality product.

I regret buying this DVD and the Season 3 DVD. I only hope that someday, somewhere down the line, another studio will get the rights to this wonderful series, and they will re-release season sets of this classic, with all the scenes intact, as well as Digital Sound and Video enhancements.

Maybe then hopefully I can sell these wretched sets, at least for a fraction of what I paid for them, and buy the re-released season sets of Little House on the Prairie.

Maybe someday another studio will do justice to this timeless classic, and when season sets of this show are re-released, in its entire glory, then FINALLY Michael Landon will be given the respect he deserves.

I have long been a fan of the Little House series ever since Michael Landon first introduced the pilot in 1974 and the subsequent series with the talented Melissa Gilbert. This first season DVD brought back all the memories and joy I remembered from watching the show during the seventies.

Unfortunately, I discovered that quite a number of pertinent scenes had been deleted from some of the episodes. For example, on Disc 2 "Town Party, Country Party" where Laura and Olga are at Nellie's party, Laura walks out of Nellie's house limping, and Olga, following behind her and seeing her stop and rub her ankle, asks "Oh Laura, did you hurt your ankle running?". The scene where Laura hurts her foot is missing, so one is left wondering when Laura was injured, since the previous scene takes place in the Olsen's parlour.

Then, in a later scene, Laura discusses with Pa how she and Olga were walking on a wood plank on the way home from school, and how she noticed that when Olga walked with her shorter leg on the plank and her normal leg off, she had no limp. This bit of conversation is what inspires Charles to craft a special wooden sole for Olga's shoe, which allows her to walk normally.

I clearly remember the "plank walking" scene from the series. I thought perhaps I had missed it on the DVD and so I backtracked the disc but it was not there.

I noticed a few other examples of deleted scenes on this DVD. I wish Goldhil Home Media 1 Studio, which put out this series and, I assume, the other series DVDs', could explain the logic of cutting important scenes on a DVD set, which the customer is paying FULL price for! I was planning on buying this DVD for my niece, but in light of the missing scenes I have reconsidered.

The Little House lead and supporting actors fine performances warrant my giving this DVD 5 stars, but due to the deleted scenes, I can only give it 3. What a shame.

The box and dvd pictures are beautiful with quality packaging, but the buck stops there.

I am returning this product to the store for false advertising. The box states that the episodes are uncut and unedited - this is to the contrary. Opening credits are cut on every episode except for the first episode on each dvd.

It appears that the episodes are time compressed. This is a shame and is only used as a cost cutting factor instead of providing one or two more dvds in the set. Has sombody made it a maketing rule that you can not have more than 6 dvds in a package or is it that no one has come up with a holder that holds more than 6 dvds

It is also a shame that the episodes were not remixed to a dolby 5.1 standard - another cost cutting factor or no access to a quality studio.

These episodes are nothing more than standard poor quality TV prints that have been digitally enhanced to where the outcome is somewhat mediocre. The colors have been so digitized that the shows look like some kind of Ted Turner B&W Classic that has been colorized. No natural color variations.

There is apparent over use of digitally sharpening the picture. The actors teeth look like glowing white mouth pieces when they smile (No lines to distinguish teeth). The original prints were dirty as well with dust and dropout that just show more because of the digital sharpening used. This could have been cleaned up digitally with a bit of time and effort. I can do this at home with my cheap home computer and cheap editing software. Surely someone with access to a halfway decent studio and up to date equipment could do the same thing in a fraction of the time it takes me.

I think I would have rather waited for a cleaner release and am also surprised to see that NBC has there name plastered on the box as a NBC Home video release.

I agree with other reviewers that it is a shame that corporate greed supercedes art even though it does not have to. I would rather pay more money for better quality episodes.

NBC - give me decent prints and access to a good studio and a year of pay (with two assistants) and I will gladly transfer the tapes to dvd in dolby 5.1 format.

It just goes to show I should read Amazon reviews before buying a product.

I know I am being very critical, but when the technology is available it should be used correctly. I am an afficionado of LHOTP and hate to see it being butchered to make a quick buck. This seems to be the trend lately. Quanity over quality.

ephemera:
Other dvd sets that I would like to see marketed in a quality format is the Andy Griffith Show and The Beverly Hillbillies.

First, like many here, this is one of my top favorite shows. I feel like I've grown up with the Ingalls family and really care about them as characters in these stories. Many of these episodes give me a special feeling that can often bring tears to my eyes (Just hearing the music can do that). You'll have to buy the pilot episode separately but it's worth the money. The first 2 episodes (Harvest of Friends and Country Girls) are a magnificent start! The Ingalls settle in and we get to meet some of the most enduring characters to ever appear on TV. I was about to list my other favorites of the first season but the list is too long. :) Highlights are The Racoon, a 2-parter called The Lord Is My Shepard, Christmas At Plum Creek, Plague, Child In Pain, Money Crop, Survival and Founder's Day. I'm glad to have these in DVD form so that they will last forever.

Now with that out of the way, I cannot in good conscience give this set a *****/***** like I'd like to. At first glance all looks great with this set...beautiful packaging (I wish they had included a set of cards with the pictures on the packaging). But after watching each episode I've discovered the problems mentioned from other buyers. The image and sound quality varies from episode to episode. Even ones with a sharp picture can have problems with jagged edges. Every time the outside of the schoolhouse/church is shown I cringe a little bit. It looks like it needs its horizonal hold adjusted. But this isn't fatal. Many look fine reguardless. And most others are acceptable while a few just look bad at first...but close up shots of the characters are always sharp. Many have what looks like a sheet of grain across them (I saw a similar effect in some of my Monty Python episodes so I figure its just the age of the program). I would've paid more money for a proper cleanup job on some of these episodes and anamorphic transfers for all. Little House is one of the best offerings in American television, ever. It deserves the best it can be. I think many problems are probably less noticable on a regular TV (I use a 19" monitor so problems show very well).

One big grevance is the fact that the packaging says these are uncut. This is not true. Uncut means that we get each episode with the teaser at the beginning, the original opening credits, the episode and then previews for the next, then closing credits for that episode. Again, this program deserves to be presented in it's original complete form (which is what we all thought we were buying). The opening credits do not play at the beginning of each episode (at least on every player I've tried). By "uncut" I guess they mean that none of the program has been edited out to make room for commercials...so for that this company has done what they advertised. I did notice some odd time-compression signs. Not as bad as trying to watch The Waltons on TVLand. I wonder if it's just an error they made when processing these digitally. Anyway, it didn't distract from my enjoyment.

I had no difficulty with the quiz. I tried it twice and it worked perfectly. Well designed questions.

The cast bios were very incomplete. What's there isn't bad.

If these are ever re-released in a better form I will ebay these and buy the newer versions. I'm crossing my fingers. But, still, kudos to this company for putting this series on DVD. Not bad, just should be better. I have seasons 2 & 3 to watch next and I can't wait! I gave this set ***/***** instead of **/***** because the price is right!

I'm a 37 year old New York City Fireman. I need to admit and come clean that this show had a huge impact on my life and my morals. I am happy to have them and I hope my kids will enjoy it as much as I did.

If this ever gets out I'm in big trouble at the Firehouse. BUT....show me a show that has ANY type of morals now a days. You can't. This is all about a family with a hard working dad, a great family and a cute dog. My kinda life.

T

I can only assume people giving this DVD set a high rating are doing so for the emotional value they put on the Little House Show. The DVD set for Season One and Two are Horrible.

1) - Unlike what another has said the color is washed out terrible in some episodes.
2) - Video quality is average to poor.
3) - The sound track is OK to poor.
4) - Show openers are gone for a single common show opening clip.
5) - There are NO chapters. If you click next on your remote you end the episode. This is unheard of in DVD.
6) - There are NO extras... this is unheard of on DVD.

If you own a bunch of VHS tapes with kiddy finger prints all over your 27 inch TV screen then you may be fine with this. But if you own a nice television and are familiar with DVD quality and standards then this set and Season two both lack.

Things improve slightly in Season three where chapter points are added to the episodes & video and audio quality improves slightly.

People really should tell the objective truth when rating a product. All too often folks get on here and just VOTE for their favorite show with no regard to the fact others are reading these ratings to see HOW the product stands up. Just because you loved the Ingles growing up doesn't mean the studio should get a pass on delivering a weak product. How will that force them to do better next time?

If you truly LOVED Little House as we did then you should be OUTRAGED when it is presented so poorly.