Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie TV Show

Little House on the Prairie was a 19th century America-based family drama that ran from 1974 to 1984 on NBC.  The show was based on a group of autobiographical books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published between 1932 and 1943.  The books were about Wilder’s life on the prairie in the late 19th century.  The main characters of the show were Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls.  There were a number of made-for-TV movies based on the show that were released in the mid 80’s, as well as a spin-off show titled Little House: A New Beginning.

The series did follow the books directly in content, but did follow the books in spirit and tone.  Charles (Landon) was the farming patriarch of the Ingalls family, Caroline (Grassle) the homemaking mother, and then three girls, with the eldest two being Mary (Anderson) and Laura (Gilbert).  The episodes revolved around the tough life of trying to make a living out west and the interactions between the Ingalls and the other townsfolk.  To illustrate, one episode would have been about the family coping with the financial loss of weather-damaged crops, and another episode about a crush Laura has on a schoolmate.