Thanksgiving on the Prairie

 

Thanksgiving is upon us, and that makes us think of family, friends, and all of our blessings. Little House on the Prairie didn't feature traditional Thanksgiving Day episodes. A recent article by Michael John Petty, appearing on Collider, discusses why. You can check out his article here.

During Season 6 (1979), a two-part clips movie titled, "The Little House Years" featured the Ingalls and Kendall families sitting around the table on Thanksgiving. Laura goes through her remembrance book and shares stories covering the joys, sorrows, trials, and triumphs of their life on the prairie, like coming to Walnut Grove, the birth and loss of Baby Freddie, when Grandpa Ingalls came to live with them in Walnut Grove after the death of Grandma Laura Colby Ingalls, and some of Nellie Oleson's shenanigans. 

Though this two-parter starts out with a blooper--Laura says she wrote, "We go today," in her remembrance book when they left the Big Woods, while in the pilot Laura's narration says if she had a remembrance book she would have written down about leaving the Big Woods--this is a great episode that featured some of the best and most dramatic episodes from the first five seasons.

Due to a rights issue, "The Little House Years" does not appear on the DVD sets. Not sure if that will change in the future. 

Have you seen these episodes? Which stories were your favorites? 

Do You Remember "The Little House Years?"

How many of you remember the three-part clips episode, "The Little House Years?" It's easy to forget, since it isn't included on the DVDs. I spoke to Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) about it once. He eluded to a rights issue, but didn't know the exact nature of the issue.

Sitting around the table at Thanksgiving with Mary and Adam Kendall, Laura shares some of the family's journeys and memories. This is one great way to share the history of the Ingalls family with adopted brother, Albert.

I don't remember all of them, but scenes from when they left the Big Woods, when they bought the house on Plum Creek, when Charles lost his crop and had to travel to find work with the railroad, when Laura ran away, and several others are included. You also catch a glimpse of a young Shawna Landon in the library picking out a copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book.

It is my sincere hope that this part of season 6 is one day released. Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.

The Little House Years

How many of you recall "The Little House Years," which was a clips episode where Laura shares the Ingalls' journeys around the Thanksgiving table? According to the IMDB, this episode takes place in 1882. I would have to dig out my old tapes to see if that date is mentioned. Any idea if that is true?

Survey Results

And the survey says...

78% of you have watched The Little House Years from Season 6.

15% of you haven't watched it, but have heard of it, while

5% had no idea what I was talking about.

I wish this had made it onto the DVDs somewhere, but I guess I should be glad you can still see them from time to time on TV.

Look for a new survey, coming soon!

New Survey

I know it's been a while, but I figured I would add a new poll for Thanksgiving. During Season 6, Little House on the Prairie ran what was known as "The Little House Years". Laura and her family are around the dinner table and she is sharing stories from their past.

This is a clips episode and features the episodes like 100 Mile Walk, Journey in the Spring, and other favorites. I always loved this series of episodes because it was way for Albert to learn more about the family he had been adopted into.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this episode in this post.

A quick bit of trivia, these episodes are not included on the Little House on the Praire DVDs. Last I knew there was some rights issue that prevented it from being included in the original DVDs and the Mega-Pack.