Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie - what a great show! Yeah it may be a little cheesy, with a few thousand too many shots of Laura Ingalls wearing ever-present braids and petticoat running away from some shocking news, but still, a very feel-good show. It's nice to watch a show that doesn't rely on nudity or fist-fights to be entertaining. All around a fun show, with good characters, interesting plotlines, and hey where else can you hear the famous Nelly Olsen screech!

This was the pilot to the wonderful TV series. The series did kind of get a little sappy and saccharine as it went along, but it was NOWHERE near as bad as Full House in that department! One of the things I really like about the show is the closeness of the Ingalls family. Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson, and Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush all looked so comfortable and at ease with each other. If you didn't know better, you'd swear they really were a family. This TV movie kicked off a great series that lasted almost a decade and introduced us to many actors who became very familiar and very beloved to viewers. Long live Little House!

I confess that the first time I sat down and watched this show, I thought it would be lame. However, after watching a few episodes, I found myself to be drawn to it. Many people today wouldn't like the show because it has values. Instead they like smut like "Temptation Island" and crap like that. Shows like this with class and emotion are rare to say the least. I love this show and I think everyone who would take an hour out to watch it, would feel the same.

I was lucky to grow up watching Little House and now with repeats I've found it still holds up against the best shows on offer.

Criticisms that the show is too sweet is a little unfair. The characters may be endearing and the children polite but this can not be seen as reason for dismissing the show. In fact not every episode had a happy ending.

The show also dealt with rascism, drugs and alcohol abuse from time to time. Mostly the show gained the impressive ratings with thought provoking story lines, good humour, a sense of love the characters displayed towards another and characters that people could identify with. The hardworking honest farmer (Charles Ingalls) and caring wife (Caroline) tomboy (Laura) studious sister (Mary) as well as the brow beaten store owner (Nells Oleson) his nagging wife (Harriet) and his terrible two-some children (Nellie and Willie) along with others.

The hardships the Ingalls faced were over come with the love they had for each other, friendships with those in the town and a solid belief in God and Christian values.

The show hit all the right places that a solid family drama series should and today it is very hard to find another show that can compare.

I've never sat through a complete episode of Little House on the Praire, but my wife, Michelle, is an addict. She watches the show in syndication constantly. She watches back to back one hour episodes from 9 :00 AM - 11:00 AM several days a week.

She swears by Little House. She thinks that it is one of the best television series ever made. She's told me all about the Ingalls and the life that they live. She actually has the original books that the show is based on. Who even knew there were books. She claims that she has the books. Actually, she said that her father has the books in storage, but he might have misplaced them.

The bottom line is very simple. If my wife thinks this show is that great, it has to be a phenomenal series.

We give it two thumbs up.