When to start Little House shows when reading series

[busymama7]

We are enjoying the little house series right now on audio. We have listened to Big Woods and Prairie. I'm thinking of starting the TV shows with them after On the Banks of Plum Creek.  We read Farmer Boy as a stand alone a couple years ago but might revisit it after the series.  Or we might actually stop as a family after Plum Creek or possibly Silver Lake.  Still debating. I just re read them all myself in 2019 and Im not sure the later books will hold their attention as well.  Kids at home are 6-15.  

Anyways I ❤️ the TV series and grew up watching it. I don't want to introduce it too early (they've seen some occasionally) so am debating. When my six year old and I were in isolation for covid in the fall we listened to Big Woods and started the show about halfway through because we were bored and desperate for something to do. I was bummed though when we got to the next one and the whole scene with the crossing and jack was there but she had already seen it.  That's why I'm debating when to start enjoying the shows with the rest of the kids.  

Side note, my six year old is going through Big Woods again for the 4th times.  She ended it and just re started it right away.  I made her a blue calico Laura dress and bonnet 🥰 if I knew how to post a picture I would 🤷‍♀️

[Beth S]

Oh, I love hearing that you're raising your kids on Little House. 😉

My Mom sewed a Laura dress &  bonnet for my daughter . . . and now HER daughter wears it (as a 6 year old).

I can't give specific advice, except maybe read the episode guides ahead of time?
I think most of the TV episodes are completely different from the events in the books.
But I loved both, and have fond memories of imagining myself on the Prairie as a girl! 

[teachermom2834]

Sounds like you have watched some recently but I’m just popping in to say the series is much “older” appropriate than I remember it. It actually is pretty intense/scary at times and there is a lot of alcohol use. I like the show but I’m always a bit surprised that otherwise media conservative homeschoolers are so into this show.

My dd watched them when she was about 11 yo after having read all the series. She really enjoyed them at that point but there were still a couple that were too sad/scary for her to really enjoy. 

 

[busymama7]

17 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

Sounds like you have watched some recently but I’m just popping in to say the series is much “older” appropriate than I remember it. It actually is pretty intense/scary at times and there is a lot of alcohol use. I like the show but I’m always a bit surprised that otherwise media conservative homeschoolers are so into this show.

My dd watched them when she was about 11 yo after having read all the series. She really enjoyed them at that point but there were still a couple that were too sad/scary for her to really enjoy. 

 

Yes for sure. I do remember that although I don't remember it being a big deal when I watched them as a kid on re runs. I wonder if the networks just played the "best" or most popular episodes. We will totally skip the one when her baby brother dies and she runs away to that mountain and meets that old man. What even is that? 🙄

I wish someone would review each episode so it would be easier to pick and choose.  Many of them are great but then every once in awhile....  I remember the one where Carrie falls in the well as scary too from when I was a kid.  We will skip that too.  

My six year old and I are dreaming today of going to see the sites 🥰. She wants to see pa's fiddle so badly! I am currently almost done with Prairie Fires and I read Pioneer Girl a couple years ago. 

I distinctly remember being read the books when I was little.   I have always loved her story and grew up wanting to be a pioneer 😊

[teachermom2834]

It’s funny because I was not allowed to watch much as a kid but we did watch Little House as a family. None of those scary episodes made any impression on me that I remember. However, there is one from a later season that Albert had a female friend that was being abused. I don’t even remember the details except that that episode really freaked me out and I remember some images from that episode even though I surely haven’t seen it in 30 years. Definitely would be good to have a directory that flagged some of the most upsetting ones.

[KungFuPanda]

I say jump in and and start whenever.  The series took on a life of it's own and doesn't quite line up with the stories in the books anyway.  It's going to be way off no matter when you start.

[itsheresomewhere]

Disney did a lovely movie version of Little House on the Prairie.  You kids are the ages they would enjoy it.  The tv series is doesn’t follow the books and has some dark episodes later in it. 

[busymama7]

1 hour ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Disney did a lovely movie version of Little House on the Prairie.  You kids are the ages they would enjoy it.  The tv series is doesn’t follow the books and has some dark episodes later in it. 

That feels like watching a different Anne other than megan follows 😬😂. Not sure I can do that.  

And I know it doesn't follow the books but was thinking after Plum Creek because Nellie is introduced etc.  I want them to create a picture in their mind before seeing the characters and such is all.  And that whole scene with Jack and the river is totally in the books so I was trying to remember what else.  

[Wishes]

2 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

It’s funny because I was not allowed to watch much as a kid but we did watch Little House as a family. None of those scary episodes made any impression on me that I remember. However, there is one from a later season that Albert had a female friend that was being abused. I don’t even remember the details except that that episode really freaked me out and I remember some images from that episode even though I surely haven’t seen it in 30 years. Definitely would be good to have a directory that flagged some of the most upsetting ones.

Yes, that was the episode where the girl was raped by the blacksmith. I think she ended up pregnant. Some people thought it was Albert’s. Her father rejected her. She dies trying to escape the blacksmith as he tries to assault her again. The blacksmith wears this creepy mask. It is a dark, dark episode and it freaked me out as a kid. 
In Allison Angrim’s (Nellie) autobiography she mentions that Michael Landon veered off the books pretty early because he didn’t think they were interesting enough. 

[Annie G]

2 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

It’s funny because I was not allowed to watch much as a kid but we did watch Little House as a family. None of those scary episodes made any impression on me that I remember. However, there is one from a later season that Albert had a female friend that was being abused. I don’t even remember the details except that that episode really freaked me out and I remember some images from that episode even though I surely haven’t seen it in 30 years. Definitely would be good to have a directory that flagged some of the most upsetting ones.

Was that the one where the abuser wore the scary mime mask?  I think she girl got pregnant and Albert was going to marry her. The later episodes like that one weren’t very family friendly. 

[Beth S]

Adding = In season 1, Nellie hosts a birthday party & then the Ingalls host one.
It's a spin off of a chapter in On the Banks of Plum Creek.

Here, someone talks about Episode 108:  Town party, Country Party.

https://littlehouse.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_108:_Town_Party,_Country_Party

***
ETA = I was asked to babysit the pastor's 2 girls & was told to watch the Little House episode that dealt with that clown attacking the little girl (being on broadcast TV that night, for the first time).
I was maybe 15yo, and had NO idea what happened, or how to explain it to these 2 little girls.
Totally scary & frankly off-the-charts inappropriate plot!?!

Edited March 17, 2021 by Beth S

[itsheresomewhere]

19 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

That feels like watching a different Anne other than megan follows 😬😂. Not sure I can do that.  

And I know it doesn't follow the books but was thinking after Plum Creek because Nellie is introduced etc.  I want them to create a picture in their mind before seeing the characters and such is all.  And that whole scene with Jack and the river is totally in the books so I was trying to remember what else.  

It is done very well.  I am not a fan of remakes often but this one I really enjoyed.  

[itsheresomewhere]

17 minutes ago, Annie G said:

Was that the one where the abuser wore the scary mime mask?  I think she girl got pregnant and Albert was going to marry her. The later episodes like that one weren’t very family friendly. 

That is the one.  

[lmrich]

the TV series is, obviously made for TV.. so much drama. 

But my advice for all is to read The Long Winter in the middle of a scorching hot summer. Laura's descriptions of a raging blizzard will have you shivering in 100+ heat. She is a master description writer!

[busymama7]

2 hours ago, Wishes said:

In Allison Angrim’s (Nellie) autobiography she mentions that Michael Landon veered off the books pretty early because he didn’t think they were interesting enough. 

Well yes that is true. There really isn't much action in the books. Certainly not enough for a long run on TV

[katilac]

 

7 hours ago, busymama7 said:

 I wish someone would review each episode so it would be easier to pick and choose. 

I live to serve: Little House on IMDB and  Little House on Fandom.com will both have at least summary for each episode, sometimes a synopsis, sometimes quotes and such. Fandom definitely has a very long plot synopsis for the Sylvia Was Raped by a Mime episode. Which is a two-parter, and also features Willie Olsen being a voyeur. Good times. 

And it doesn't usually give episode names or numbers, but you can cross-reference many of the dark episodes pretty easily at sites like Primetimer: The Mime That Raped Thylvia and Other Dark Moments. Dark Moments and similar lists are a must-read for those who only have happy, hazy memories of a wholesome little prairie, lol. 

People will tell you that the darker episodes only come in the last seasons, but people are very wrong. There are 9 seasons. In season 6, Mary's baby dies in a fire caused by her brother, mostly because both parents fail to grab the baby who is in the same room, in the crib that his mother literally has her hands on. Season 4 has Laura's friend drowning, and then Laura being held captive in the cellar by the grief-stricken mom. I think it's Season 2 that features both Pa and Mr. Edwards being gruesomely hurt while alone with one of their children (gunshot and bear attack, I think); these are completely unrelated episodes, lol, and a little early for them to be reusing plots. Michael Landon was very big on suspenseful danger scenes and near-death scenes. 

The last seasons are the ones that go way over the top for sure, with more gore and death, sexual violence, drug addiction, you name it. But there's a good bit of scary stuff in the early seasons as well. 

5 hours ago, Annie G said:

Was that the one where the abuser wore the scary mime mask?  I think she girl got pregnant and Albert was going to marry her. The later episodes like that one weren’t very family friendly. 

People who do not remember or never watched this episode should google The Mime That Raped Sylvia; there are an astounding number of reviews and recaps, lol. 

[easypeasy]

I waited until we had finished the entire series to even attempt the tv show. It's so vastly different from the books and I wanted their own imaginations to do the heavy lifting.

With that said, they found the tv show dreadfully boring, which bummed me out! lol I had long envisioned nights all cozied up with hot cocoa, watching Little House! *sigh*

[EKS]

6 hours ago, easypeasy said:

I waited until we had finished the entire series to even attempt the tv show. It's so vastly different from the books and I wanted their own imaginations to do the heavy lifting.

This is what we did.  Then they never took to the TV series.

I never read the books as a kid and loved the series.

I agree with the others who have said that after the first few seasons the TV series veers into some pretty heavy stuff.

[Annie G]

9 hours ago, katilac said:

 

 

People who do not remember or never watched this episode should google The Mime That Raped Sylvia; there are an astounding number of reviews and recaps, lol. 

Oh yeah, the old Television Without Pity site had an astounding amount of discussion about this episode!

[RootAnn]

I'm going to vote for never. The tv episodes ruin the internal picture you can have in your head. But I'm a fan of "the book is always better than the movie," too. :)

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, RootAnn said:

I'm going to vote for never. The tv episodes ruin the internal picture you can have in your head. But I'm a fan of "the book is always better than the movie," too. 🙂

Oh, but the episode where the town helps finish stacking the grain or whatever, so that Pa doesn't lose his house (or something) makes me get all teary eyed and happy! There is definite good in the tv show. 

[RootAnn]

37 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Oh, but the episode where the town helps finish stacking the grain or whatever, so that Pa doesn't lose his house (or something) makes me get all teary eyed and happy! There is definite good in the tv show. 

The books are soooo much better, IMO. If I had to choose, I'd choose the books. If it is possible to separate the tv show from the books to watch some decent episodes, I'm not opposed. I just think the show "ruins" the inner picture each person gets when visualizing the books. 

I am a fan of the Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables series, so it isn't a hard and fast rule for me.

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

The books are soooo much better, IMO. If I had to choose, I'd choose the books. If it is possible to separate the tv show from the books to watch some decent episodes, I'm not opposed. I just think the show "ruins" the inner picture each person gets when visualizing the books. 

I am a fan of the Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables series, so it isn't a hard and fast rule for me.

Oh, if I had to choose, I'd choose the books too. Absolutely. But I like both. I like the books way better, but like both. 

Same with Anne 🙂

[KungFuPanda]

On 3/18/2021 at 2:00 AM, katilac said:

 

I live to serve: Little House on IMDB and  Little House on Fandom.com will both have at least summary for each episode, sometimes a synopsis, sometimes quotes and such. Fandom definitely has a very long plot synopsis for the Sylvia Was Raped by a Mime episode. Which is a two-parter, and also features Willie Olsen being a voyeur. Good times. 

And it doesn't usually give episode names or numbers, but you can cross-reference many of the dark episodes pretty easily at sites like Primetimer: The Mime That Raped Thylvia and Other Dark Moments. Dark Moments and similar lists are a must-read for those who only have happy, hazy memories of a wholesome little prairie, lol. 

People will tell you that the darker episodes only come in the last seasons, but people are very wrong. There are 9 seasons. In season 6, Mary's baby dies in a fire caused by her brother, mostly because both parents fail to grab the baby who is in the same room, in the crib that his mother literally has her hands on. Season 4 has Laura's friend drowning, and then Laura being held captive in the cellar by the grief-stricken mom. I think it's Season 2 that features both Pa and Mr. Edwards being gruesomely hurt while alone with one of their children (gunshot and bear attack, I think); these are completely unrelated episodes, lol, and a little early for them to be reusing plots. Michael Landon was very big on suspenseful danger scenes and near-death scenes. 

The last seasons are the ones that go way over the top for sure, with more gore and death, sexual violence, drug addiction, you name it. But there's a good bit of scary stuff in the early seasons as well. 

People who do not remember or never watched this episode should google The Mime That Raped Sylvia; there are an astounding number of reviews and recaps, lol. 

He was also very big on not caring one bit whether or not he looked like Pa Ingalls.  I think he was simply too vain to grow a beard for the role or even keep is shirt on.

[katilac]

55 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

He was also very big on not caring one bit whether or not he looked like Pa Ingalls.  I think he was simply too vain to grow a beard for the role or even keep is shirt on.

So much truth!

[happypamama]

Also, the Halloween episodes!  Some of those are creepy!  

 

And the one with the blind school burning.  I didn't like that one as a kid, and I like it even less as an adult. (Ditto for the ones where Laura's brother and then her son die.)

 

And the one where James and Cassandra's parents die in the wagon accident.

 

Or how about the one where the woman whose daughter dies kidnaps Laura?

 

There were a lot of really good episodes, but read the previews ahead of time.  I know there were a couple we weren't allowed to watch as kids (Sylvia).

 

And I'd take the books any day but grew up on both.

 

[teachermom2834]

I really like the show but it definitely is something to use discretion on depending on your family. 
 

When I watched it recently with my dd I couldn’t help myself from pointing out to her that the women back then would not have had such well manicured eyebrows and perfect teeth. Don’t even get me started on the beauties from When Calls the Heart. 😂

[busymama7]

Update: we finished on the banks of plum creek and started the shows today. The kids were begging.  My 15 year old used to do a lot of "grandma sitting" and had seen many doing that because the woman liked them. And the 6 year old watched a few with me back in November.  But it we'd brand new for the middle 3.  They all LOVED it.  Begged for more and tried to get me to let them stay up.  We watched the pilot and the next episode (where pa gets hurts and the town helps him stack the grain).   I came back to this thread so I could bookmark the sites to check episode descriptions.   I don't see us watching anywhere near all nine seasons but want a heads up.   

They kept pointing out discrepancies.  It's fine though. We watch lots of movie adaptations and they are used to comparing and contrasting.   

I'm looking forward to the episode where Mr Edwards babysits 😂

[PeterPan]

On 3/18/2021 at 3:54 AM, easypeasy said:

With that said, they found the tv show dreadfully boring, which bummed me out! lol I had long envisioned nights all cozied up with hot cocoa, watching Little House! *sigh*

Don't worry, there's always Star Trek the original series for you.   When my dd was approaching high school we watched through it as sort of political/philosophical commentary. It was fun that way.

[ktgrok]

7 hours ago, busymama7 said:

Update: we finished on the banks of plum creek and started the shows today. The kids were begging.  My 15 year old used to do a lot of "grandma sitting" and had seen many doing that because the woman liked them. And the 6 year old watched a few with me back in November.  But it we'd brand new for the middle 3.  They all LOVED it.  Begged for more and tried to get me to let them stay up.  We watched the pilot and the next episode (where pa gets hurts and the town helps him stack the grain).   I came back to this thread so I could bookmark the sites to check episode descriptions.   I don't see us watching anywhere near all nine seasons but want a heads up.   

They kept pointing out discrepancies.  It's fine though. We watch lots of movie adaptations and they are used to comparing and contrasting.   

I'm looking forward to the episode where Mr Edwards babysits 😂

I LOVE that episode where pa gets hurt...makes me all teary eyed when the girls start trying to stack it themselves, and then the town pitches in. 

[stripe]

There’s also an episode when the mom goes nuts and is about ready to cut off her own foot.

The Anne show went off the rails. Whatever you do, do NOT watch the third one, where Anne is a WWI spy dressed up as a nun, going to help Gilbert on the front lines in Europe. I am NOT KIDDING. Totally ridiculous AND in the books one of their SONS goes off to WWI. There’s a fourth one, too, but I don’t even want to know.

[egao_gakari]

28 minutes ago, stripe said:

The Anne show went off the rails. Whatever you do, do NOT watch the third one, where Anne is a WWI spy dressed up as a nun, going to help Gilbert on the front lines in Europe. I am NOT KIDDING. Totally ridiculous AND in the books one of their SONS goes off to WWI. There’s a fourth one, too, but I don’t even want to know.

**blinkblink** what. The Netflix show? I always avoided it because I saw from some early reviews that it just didn't capture the spirit of the books at all, and oh boy now I'm glad I did. Wow.

[vonfirmath]

On 3/17/2021 at 4:27 PM, teachermom2834 said:

It’s funny because I was not allowed to watch much as a kid but we did watch Little House as a family. None of those scary episodes made any impression on me that I remember. However, there is one from a later season that Albert had a female friend that was being abused. I don’t even remember the details except that that episode really freaked me out and I remember some images from that episode even though I surely haven’t seen it in 30 years. Definitely would be good to have a directory that flagged some of the most upsetting ones.

Agreed. We were allowed to watch very little TV growing up. But I spent my TV budget on Little House on the Prairie.

I do remember an episode where things burned as being scary enough to not want to watch again.

 

I wonder if it has something to do with the scary bits are not the problem -- kids know life is scary. THe ending comes out well at the end. Like that G.K. Chesterton quote "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

[busymama7]

1 hour ago, egao_gakari said:

**blinkblink** what. The Netflix show? I always avoided it because I saw from some early reviews that it just didn't capture the spirit of the books at all, and oh boy now I'm glad I did. Wow.

She's talking about the Megan follows series.  The third one is totally messed up as far as the books go. Not the story AT ALL.  Its an ok movie if you just take it as the movie.  I JUST saw that the fourth one existed last weekend. I'm curious enough and a huge Anne fan that I'm going to watch it.  

[stripe]

Anne with an E… yeah, I wasn’t even getting into that! Ha ha

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Green_Gables:_The_Continuing_Story
Stay far away! 

[katilac]

On 5/26/2021 at 8:58 AM, vonfirmath said:

Agreed. We were allowed to watch very little TV growing up. But I spent my TV budget on Little House on the Prairie.

I do remember an episode where things burned as being scary enough to not want to watch again.

 

I wonder if it has something to do with the scary bits are not the problem -- kids know life is scary. THe ending comes out well at the end. Like that G.K. Chesterton quote "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

It definitely doesn't always end well on Little House. Michael Landon be like, sometimes you get pregnant at 15 because you were raped by a mime and then you die trying to escape him the second time, and that's just how life is on the prairie. 

[HomeAgain]

6 hours ago, katilac said:

It definitely doesn't always end well on Little House. Michael Landon be like, sometimes you get pregnant at 15 because you were raped by a mime and then you die trying to escape him the second time, and that's just how life is on the prairie. 

Dude.

Yes.

Sylvia part 1 and 2 are banned episodes in my house because they are so messed up.  I was horrified the first time I watched them and then more so the second time.  Not that my kids actually watch LH, but I enjoy an episode now and then.