Customer Reviews

Little House on the Prairie - The Complete Season 2

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Plenty of people have already reviewed these DVD's complaining about the sound quality and other related gripes that are probably valid. However, I can't give this series any less than 5 stars simply because I'm so thrilled to have them available at last! Rather than reminisce about my vicarious childhood in Walnut Grove (which no one cares to hear), here are the episodes of Season Two, in case anyone wants to know exactly what they'll be buying. These episodes were first aired from September 10, 1975 to March 31, 1976.

The Richest Man in Walnut Grove
Four Eyes
Haunted House
In the Big Inning
The Campout
The Spring Dance
Remember Me, Parts 1 & 2
Ebenezer Sprague
At the End of the Rainbow
The Gift
His Father's Son
The Talking Machine
The Pride of Walnut Grove
A Matter of Faith
The Runaway Caboose
Troublemaker
The Long Road Home
For My Lady
Centennial
Soldier's Return
Going Home

This review refers to the 6 disc DVD set of "Little House on the Prairie..The Complete Season 2"....

So now by Season 2 of the Little House series, we really feel like part of the family. The beauty of having them on these DVD sets season by season, is having the pleasure of watching the characters grow, the relationships strengthen,and the love abundent, episode by episode. And how nice to share them with each new generation, as they are stories that may be enjoyed by the whole family and never get old. And ...without all the commercials!

Season 2 ran from 1975-1976. There are 21 episodes in all on 6 DVDs, for a total of about 18 hours of viewing pleasure for those that loved and still love this series. The stories range from whimsical to heart wrenching. All will move you in some way. The episodes included are: "The Richest Man In Walnut Grove"(Pa may have to work like a mule to provide for his family, but the love he recieves makes him rich in other ways),"Four Eyes","Haunted House","The Big Inning","The Campout","The Spring Dance" and the very touching 2 parter, "Remember Me"(Academy Award winner Patricia Neal is a dying widow who asks Charles to find a home for her children). You will also enjoy "Ebenezer Sprague","At the End of the Rainbow", "The Gift", "His Father's Son"(Mr. Edwards tries to bond with newly adopted son John Jr.), "The Talking Machine","The Pride of Walnut Grove", "A Matter of Faith"(I love this one...how DOES Caroline know exactly when to open the infection, so she won't lose her leg?), "The Runaway Caboose","Troublemaker","The Long Road Home", "For My Lady", "Centennial", "Soldiers Return"(this one took a bold step in 1976 to deal with drug addicted veterans), and finally "Going Home"(Charles wants to sell the Little House after being discouraged one more time by a tornado that ruined his crop).

If you are a big fan, you probably already know just by the titles what these stories are about, and for which ones you'll need to bring the along the Kleenex. And by now, we are also in tune to David Rose's wonderful and familiar music that sets the tone of the story and gives the perfect feel for each character.

I thought the DVDs were great. There are still no title credits for the major guest stars(but you'll recognize them), but the color correction is greatly improved, the picture clear and the stereo sound is great.Features include a photo gallery that shows various characters at different stages, some cast bios,and...the quiz works this time!(I aced it by the way). The fold out box opens nicely to the disc you are ready for and if you take a peek behind the folder in the back of the set you will find a nice brochure that lists all the episodes, what disc they are on and a brief summary of each story. Very Nice!

So gather the family around, "git out the way for Ole Dan Tucker"... and enjoy this treasure!...Laurie

If you have to have em all:
Little House on the Prairie - Collection - Seasons 1 - 9

also recommended;
The Over the Hill Gang - AND - The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Series [DVD] (Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6)
and for reading:
Old Town in the Green Groves (Little House)

I sent the following email to the imavision.com:

Please fwd this to your DVD production dept:

Just picked up Season 1 and 2 of LHOP. Although the USD price is reasonable, I am VERY disappointed in the quality. Here's why:

(1) Over use of EDGE ENHANCEMENT. The people in your tech/production dept will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. DVD is a high resolution format to begin with; there is no need for this TRICK. It degrades the look immensely. Bottom line: images should have a smooth, film-like look.

(2) Variability of source material. Some episodes are sourced from very good elements; others look horrible (e.g., Remember Me Part I, Remember Me Part II in season 2).

(3) Opening intro/credits missing on most episodes. There is EPISODE-SPECIFIC info contained in the opening credits. And, as noted by other, many, many scenes cut from myriad episodes. Imavision cannot honestly make an "uncut and in their original form" claim if these are missing.

(4) Shabby audio: often sped up so it can be fit into a syndicated time slot. AFAICS, the "source masters" ARE syndicated versions, not original NBC prime-time versions.

(4) Lack of proper TOC, chapter encoding, and other random access features. It would be nice to jump from scene to scene (or, at least, mark the ORIGINAL commercial break points).

(5) Shabby packaging (over packaged). Too much to pull out; too many discs. Look at how many other TV series are released, then redesign your packaging scheme for the remaining seasons. The original Outer Limits series DVD set is an excellent example to follow: one easy-open case, each disc is dual-sided dual-layered, which allows all 27 episodes to fit on only 4 discs).

This is a superb TV series and I think it deserves the best DVD treatment.

Sincerely,
K. Hashmi

Our family loves the shows. We have seen the first three season and are watching season 4. Not that we are experts, but none of us have noticed any problems with the cinematography as previously mentioned. It is great to see the example of a family that is NOT disfunctional -- it is something we need more of. I find these shows vastly superior to the majority of shows currently on TV and I highly recommend them.

I won't bother to review Little House, I think pretty much everyone here agrees it's the quintessential American classic. The sad truth is that the company that made these DVD's doesn't seem to share our love for the show. Yes, they made a pretty box and disc's, but to anyone who's a bit of a classic TV box set-buff, you realize all too quickly that the company collecting your cash did a quickie-job on Little House. Some of the most pathetic televison shows are available beautifully remastered, and include interviews with cast members with wonderful stories and memories of the show. You're not going to see anything resembling this in these Little House series. Since most of us (any of us?)didn't have a VCR in the days these shows were aired, it's lovely to be able to own these episodes today on DVD, but don't expect any kind of improvement to some old VHS recordings in these box-sets. And why in the world couldn't they have at least gotten the pictures on the box-covers and disc's correct? Wrong dog, wrong characters on every season. I really don't think the people that made this ever saw the show!

I am somewhat disappointed in the finished product of Season #2 of Little House on the Prairie. The "Product Description" lists one of the features of this DVD set as "Closed Captions" or "Subtitles." I started to watch the 2-part episode "Remember Me" (with the widow Sanderson finding out that she is close to death and asking Charles Ingalls to work on finding homes for her 3 children).

Well, after pushing REWIND several times, and starting the episode over and over again, the opening scene of a momma dog being separated from her puppies by a mean-spirited owner, planning to drown the pups, only to be saved by Laura & Mary Ingalls ... NO SUBTITLES or CAPTIONS!!!!!!!

I am hearing-impaired, and this feature allows me to follow the dialogue of most DVD-related TV series that I watch, and frankly, I am disappointed in the "false advertising" in this particular feature.

Most DVD cases (for movies AND TV series) show some kind of symbol for "Closed Captioned," such as "CC" or a small television/speaking balloon (like in the newspaper comics). Well, season to of "Little House" on the Prairie" shows NO SUCH indication.

TOO bad I cannot return it to Barnes & Noble because the plastic wrapping is already taken off.

SOMEBODY out there .... PLEASE remember the hearing-impaired folks (including those, like myself, who wear hearing aids!) and make ALL TV shows accesible with the SUBTITLE feature.

I totally agree with the negative comments of other reviewers. Love the series, was expecting a solid DVD treatment based on the look of the packaging, but there are too many problems. For example: abrupt cuts between scenes, no opening credits for each episode (as noted elsewhere, every LHOTP episode had episode-specific cast-of-characters details in the opening credits--try to find the names of the guest stars on these DVDs!), inconsistent picture quality, etc. Still happy that I have a few seasons on DVD now ... but I'll be upset if one day soon a new distributor releases an excellent (i.e. the standard quality DVD viewers have come to expect) version of LHOTP.

I loved watching Little House growing up. Very happy to see the release of the intire seasons on DVD. However, most of the episodes are ok when it comes to quality, but there are some that are poorly made. They appear to be the episodes that have been previously released on DVD by episodes. The quality of the previously released episodes were just added to the season set and wasn't brought up to standard as the other episodes. A short cut taken. Opening intro is only on the 1st episode of each disc, I guess I can live with that. But, there is no chapter search. I couldn't believe it when I could not jump a head or back by chapters. You have to fast forward to get to what ever scene you want. If you want to get to 25 minutes into the show, be prepared to hold the fast forward button on your remote for a while. CHAPTER SEARCH IS A MUST FOR ALL DVD's!!! Dah!!! The 6th Disc has a sound and picture defect that lasts for about 30 seconds or more. There was another reviewer that noted this, so it is not just my disc. Packaging may look nice but it is not user friendly. I do not like this booklet version of fliping open several times to get to all the discs. Poorly designed. I perfer Stargate SG-1 season set packaging. There is a pamphlet inside that list the episodes and a discription of them. This is a plus. But, some of the characters listed have not joined the show yet. Almanzo Wilder, Albert Ingalls, Adam Kendall? These characters do not appear in the show for several more years. Look at the picture on the front of the box set. That dog is bandit. Who isn't in the 2nd season. They still have Jack that long haired raggedy dog, but cute. Also you have a picture of Johnathan Garvey on one of the disc. This character is not in the second season. More attention to details is needed for the upcoming season releases. I also couldn't get into the quiz on the last disc. I finally figured it out. You have to go through each of the extra features in order then the quiz will work. What's up with that? Overall I'd give it a 3 star with lots of room for improvements. ESPECIALLY CHAPTER SEARCH!!! The price is ok, but I would not pay any more then the going price of around [money amount]to [money amount]

I'd second what the other reviewer wrote. The quality of the DVDs is very disappointing indeed. One of the DVDs there is an echo. Sometimes there is an annoying noise in it, etc. etc.
These series deserve better.
So 5 stars for the series and 1 for quality.

I highly recommend this series but as a true fan I have to complain about a few things. The box shows a picture of bandit when he was not in season 2. The episodes "Remember Me" are not restored and looked terrible next to the other restored episodes. Sometimes the scenes are cut too quickly and you miss a couple of seconds. The collecotr's box is not user firendly-you have to unfold it out all the way to get the disc you want-I think after time the box could wear out from this. I think the producers should have spent a little extra time with these releases-they seem kind of thrown together. Its still wonderful to have all the episodes on DVD! Hopefully they will release all the seasons.