Little House on the Prairie," based on the young adult book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, was one of the most beloved shows on television when it ran from 1974 to 1983. "Little House" told the story of the Ingalls family's life on a Minnesota farm in the late 1800s.
When the Big Woods of Wisconsin becomes a difficult spot for hunting, Charles Ingalls reluctantly decides to move his family to Kansas's more open and fertile land. Leaving their beloved relatives proves to be devastating, but the resiliency of the Ingalls spirit reigns supreme as they as they head out in their covered wagon.
Mary and Laura begin school at Walnut Grove. While Caroline must deal with the snippy Harriet Oleson, the rich part-owner of Oleson's Mercantile, Laura must deal with her spoiled daughter, Nellie.
A hailstorm leaves the Ingalls family's crops in ruin. To recoup the money, Charles and some friendly neighbors, including a light-hearted Englishman, work in a dangerous railroad blasting job.
While in Mankato, Charles encounters a drunken Mr. Edwards in the midst of a bar fight and brings him to Walnut Grove. To rehabilitate him, Charles gets him a job at Hansen's Mill, while Caroline tries to set him up with widow Grace Snider.
Laura has a crush on a new boy in school named Johnny Johnson, but Johnny is interested in Mary, who finds no interest in him. Laura believes Mary is trying to steal him from her, and they fight about it.
After the death of her dear friend, Miss Amy feels lonely for her family. While talking to the Ingalls girls at her funeral, Laura declares it is not fair for loved ones to ignore a birthday and always show up for a funeral.
While at a party at Nellie Oleson's, Laura hurts her ankle and becomes friends with Olga, a friendly girl with a birth defect causing one leg to be shorter than the other.
The girls and Charles decide to surprise Caroline with a romantic holiday. When Grace Snider cannot make it, Mr. Edwards volunteers for the job. Later on, he finds the Ingalls girls, especially Carrie, to be more than he can handle.
When Miss Beadle is injured and ordered to rest by Doc Baker, Caroline takes over as substitute teacher of Walnut Grove School. During her tenure, an uneducated youth named Abel McKay enrolled.
When Mary accidentally breaks Laura's glass doll, she brings home a raccoon to cheer Laura up. Laura keeps him and prides herself on teaching him tricks and his docile behavior.
Reverend Alden stirs a hornets' nest in Walnut Grove when he pleads for a church bell. Mrs. Oleson offers to donate a large bell as well as a plaque commemorating her generosity.
Mary is entranced by the award for an extra-credit exam, a beautiful dictionary. Her studying and carelessness causes a fire to start in the barn. Worried and furious, Caroline forbids her to take the exam.
The Ingalls family is delighted by the birth of a new baby boy, Charles Fredrick Ingalls. Unfortunately, Laura becomes jealous and refuses to pray for her new brother's good health.
When Christmas comes around, all the Ingallses are caught up in the secrecy and excitement. Charles and Mary take secret jobs to obtain a gift for their loved ones.
Nels Oleson has had it up to here with Harriet's snobbish, meddlesome behavior, particularly toward the Ingalls family. Mrs. Oleson does not take kindly to her husband's old-school beliefs, either.
When Harriet Oleson's niece, Kate (Anne Archer), comes to visit, Doc Baker falls for her and proceeds to court her. Unfortunately, doubt lingering in his mind about his age causes his hopes for a happy relationship to fade.
A typhus outbreak sweeps Walnut Grove, and several people become critically ill. The Ingalls family is spared, but Charles is not so lucky when he is exposed.
A medicine man adorned with bravado and sleight of hand stays with the Ingalls family and advertises his miracle powder. After residents start to prefer his powders over Doc Baker's medical treatment, the Ingallses send him packing.
When Miss Beadle discovers that a kindly boy in her class has taken another beating from his alcoholic father, the town council decides to take action. The Ingallses take in the boy and decide to help rehabilitate his father.
A university-educated farmer named Joseph Coulter convinces the farmers to buy new hybrid corn. During his return trip with the crop, Coulter's horses bolt, which caused his wagon to veer down a steep hill, trapping the farmer beneath and exposing the precious seed to hungry crows.
While returning from a family trip, the Ingalls receive a twofold warning from a mean-hearted Federal Marshal (Jack Ging): he warns them that a blizzard is coming and that a dangerous Indian fugitive is on the loose. He surprises them by claiming his crime was his birth into the Indian race.
Johnny Johnson leaves to "see the world" and Mr. Edwards goes along with him to keep him out of trouble. Johnny meets up with a girl who is able to trick him out of a lot of money. Mr. Edwards talks to this girl to try to have her convince Johnny to go back home.
With a Founder's Day event approaching for Walnut Grove, everyone prepares for a celebration complete with games and heated competition. Everyone in the Ingalls family ends up participating, most notably Charles, who finds an unlikely nemesis in the log-splitting competition.
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I used to love this show as a little girl. Now as a mother, I am sick of the shows on tv that depict entitled, bratty kids, and parents as dumb or completely absent. I wanted a wholesome show to watch as a family. I had forgotten how many topics that Little House covers that are timeless struggles such as economic hardship, death, marital problems, bullying, community/political squabbles, and poverty. Watching this show from the perspective of an adult, now, I love it even more than when I was a kid. My children (9 and 12) absolutely love the show and ask to watch it every night. I've actually noticed a change in the way my children interact with us and others - they are really learning some wonderful values!
I watch Little House reruns every opportunity I get. The wholesome nature of these reruns is absolutely inspiring. So much so that I recently started purchasing the audible version. Im able to listen to it while I'm driving (I drive A LOT) and working in the yard. I was so surprised to find it on Amazon. Im almost through the first season. Kind of watching it marathon style (one episode right after another). I have two more episodes in the first season, and intend on purchasing season two emediatly after those two episodes play. I really believe I learn to be a better man from watching Little House on the Prairie. Michael Landon plays an excellent man, father and husban.
We decided to get this movie on a whim because nothing was on that night. Both my wife and I have always enjoyed the little house on the prairie series, but this first pilot was something different altogether. This was a one and a half hour movie that focused on the Ingles family's journey from the big woods, west, to the prairie. I did some research and found that this movie was very closely taken from the books written by Laura Ingles herself ( unlike many of the later seasons which were mostly the work of the show's writers).
This was no simple TV drama showing daily life on the farm, this was a harrowing tale of pioneers facing the unknown. It was exciting, heart warming, heart BREAKING, well made and well acted. I rarely, if ever, give 5 stars. I absolutely loved it.
It's so difficult to find wholesome television shows anymore. Sometimes I just can't take another minute of the craziness of the world and I have to escape into something simple and inspiring. Little House on the Prairie is my absolute favorite show at those times. And "The Lord is My Shepherd" is one of my all time favorite episodes. I believe Michael Landon was inspired by God when he produced this series.
I watched this as a little girl (it was my favorite show growing up). I have been hoping to catch reruns on TV and get my kids interested (6yr old boy and 3yr old girl). We've been reading chapters of Little House on the Prairie together, so I figured it was time to bite the bullet and buy a digital season through Prime (and I haven't bought a DVD for a long time, love having these available online - no way for little fingers to play with the discs and scratch them).
The quality of the videos is fantastic, and my kids are enthralled. Even my husband watches with us. It's a wholesome show, one that teaches you about hard work, family, friendship, and God. My 6 year old loves asking questions about 'the olden days' before electricity and running water were the norm.
So glad that I can share this show with my family!
Fun for the whole family. I also like that it teaches historical period information, such as what life was like in the frontier and Prarie including (at the beginning) Native American and European American relations, both self-sufficiency and also the value of community, how things were done back then living daily life, the development of cities, kindness toward neighbors and visitors, etc. And thete ate so many other gems to find. When my family can't find something we all agree on, we can always agree on this one.
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2014
Verified Purchase
I bought this for my six year old daughter who is currently reading the Little House books and I thought she might enjoy watching the television series, as well. I remember these shows vaguely from my childhood as well. I knew they strayed from the books (of course they did --- the show ran so many seasons!), but this first season tries to kind of stick to the book. My daughter loves it, for what it's worth. I'd forgotten how cute some of these young actors were....little walk down nostalgia lane. Also strange to see such a "clean" show on television....you just don't see that these days anymore. (Man, now I sound old, lol!) Anyway....4 stars because I thought the price was a bit steep for something that you can watch on any cable channel (ie, Hallmark, etc) on reruns constantly. I was surprised this wasn't available on Amazon Prime, but I'm sure that is some kind of licensing thing. Worth the watch if you are willing to spend the money for the season.
Over the Easter holiday my grandson, Luke, made many references to LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE a book he was reading in his 4th grade class. I could see that the stories of the families' hardships and joys had really impressed him. I would be taking Luke home with with me to spend a few days of Spring Break. Luke, 9 going on 10, is full of energy and youthful curiosity. I wanted to keep him happy and interested in the world and stories of the folks who made this country great. Thanks to PRIME MAIL I was able to order the first years series to be delivered in two days and I was also able to order it to watch on my Kindle Fire. Luke watched the 6 disc series as we returned to my home in Nevada City in the Sierra Nevada mountains. He was totally engrossed by the wonderful stories. Luke and I highly recommend LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRE season 1 to all the grandma's and to all the kids that are 9 going on 10.