Classic TV: Little House on the Prairie (1974)

Michael Landon hadn't been away very long after Bonanza had ended when he began his next series. He simply reinvented himself, the process of which had begun while on Bonanza when he began writing episodes of that series, some of which would end up being reused for his new project--an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House On The Prairie series of books, which lasted a grand total of 9 seasons. Landon was around for all but one as a performer, perhaps laying the groundwork for his next project.......

Little House began with a 2 hour pilot movie that aired in March 1974. 5 1/2 months later, the series premiered, airing on Wednesday nights for the first two years, then moving to Mondays for the rest of the run. Landon was Charles Ingalls, a father of three when the series started. Middle daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) was the focus of several episodes, particularly dealing with bratty frenemy Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim). Before the series was over, both girls, along with Laura's older sister, Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), would all be married and starting families of their own.

Landon and Karen Grassle left the series after 8 seasons, leading to a title change to Little House: A New Beginning. It was a new beginning, alright, with new families entering the town of Walnut Grove, Minnesota, introducing viewers to two young stars-in-waiting---Jason Bateman & Shannen Doherty. NBC saw star potential in Bateman, and promptly gave him a sitcom of his own, It's Your Move, a couple of years later, which didn't work. Most of you know Doherty's story, though, as she ended up becoming tabloid bait while doing Beverly Hills 90210. Landon continued to write, but the handwriting was on the wall--New Beginning, without Landon as the on-camera center, flopped. Landon would rebound with Highway To Heaven, his last hit series. The cast also included ex-NFL star Merlin Olsen, making his acting debut. Olsen would also be a color analyst for NFL coverage on the network, and left Little House briefly to star in his first series, Father Murphy, but that lasted just two seasons. Co-star Moses Gunn (ex-The Cowboys) came over with Olsen after Murphy was cancelled. The Laborteaux brothers, Matthew & Patrick, debuted on Little House. Matthew was first, cast as Willie Oleson, and Patrick would join the show later. Patrick's still around, last seen on JAG a few years back.

Here's the open & close, with a sample clip:



Rating: B.