While Michael Landon famously treated the original Laura Ingalls Wilder books more as a loose launchpad than a script to follow, the original Little House on the Prairie TV series actually kept a handful of core elements, key character traits, and some specific plot points intact. As a self-professed Laura Ingalls Wilder geek, I try to find as many similarities as I can between the original TV series and the Little House books. As you might imagine, it’s no simple task. When you strip away the invented town drama and Hollywood additions, here is what the vintage TV series got Continue Reading
Little House on the Prairie Filming Locations
When I was a kid, I believed that Laura and Mary were running down a hill in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the opening credits of Little House on the Prairie. At 10 years old, it never occurred to me that any Little House on the Prairie filming locations were anywhere other than the places they were called on the show. I was a trusting child. With shows like The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, or even Happy Days, I thought they were filmed in the houses the TV families lived in. So of course, the places where this show was Continue Reading
Little House on the Prairie: The Voice of Tinker Jones
Well, here we are, Little House fans. Another round of lessons learned. What will today’s lesson be? I have no idea. I haven’t watched this show in 50 years, and I don’t remember anything about any Tinker Jones or his voice. Truthfully, I’m still getting over poor, abused Jasper from the last episode. Anyway, let’s get to the next episode of Little House on the Prairie, “The Voice of Tinker Jones.” The Voice of Tinker Jones Skip the opening credits, please and thank you. A man with a jangly and clanging wagon, whom we are seeing for the first time Continue Reading