Hendry2 ...is Laura!What a pain in the neck. Always causing her family grief over her dog, or her horse, or her raccoon, and on and on.Mary on the other hand was always very practical - until Laura would push Mary to do the wrong thing, like waste the Sunday School money on Dr. Briskin's Homeopathic Remedies (a/k/a colored water with apple cider).Then there was the music box - until she broke it and gave Nellie the chance to blackmail her, and on and on...There's such a thing as headstrong being a good thing, but then there's being a royal pain...Other than that, its one of my favorite shows...

Faith I grew up watching this show and I sort of read the books and biographies of Laura Ingalls Wilder at the same time I was watching the series (I was and still am very interested in her and her life) so right-off-the-bat I knew that this series wasn't completely accurate and took liberties. I enjoyed how it took on a life of its own separate from the books-even adding characters and such. I thought that was appropriate, seeing as if they had just stuck to following the plot strictly of the 9 children's books, they would not have had enough material. (Also, I love the books, but there are entire chapters on making butter and preserving meat. Not exactly prime-time TV fare.)However, I still loved it. The casting was incredible. Melissa Gilbert was just great as a young Laura;I really can't imagine anyone else taking her place. She, being only 8 or 9 when the show started, took the character and really made you love her and root for her. She portrayed Laura in all the right ways: tomboyish, free-spirited, spunky, buck- toothed and braids flying. Very realistic.I thought all of the actors and actresses did a great job-Michael as Charles became a well-loved TV dad. Some say he cried too much for a pioneer man or didn't look the part-but that was just how his acting was and I appreciate it. He was like that in Highway to Heaven as well. As far as looking the part-you don't really think he'd cut that 70's hair off, did you? ;) But seriously, I never thought it detracted from his acting.Karen Grassle as Ma was terrific, so kind and caring but tough when she needed to be. Melissa Sue Anderson was a good little actress as Mary, especially after she went blind. To this day I still haven't seen anyone who has portrayed being blind as well as she did. Sure, the series took its sappy turns, but that was what made it family- fare and enjoyable.It also had its dark times, it addressed the issues of drinking, child abuse, suicide, martial unfaithfulness, death, drug abuse, crime, and even rape. A wonderful show that I always go back to after a bad day or after seeing too much crap on TV. 10/10

flackjacket I'm amazed this show actually lasted nine years. But then again, it was that unreal era when NBC mastered in the art of shows that sucked. For example, CHiPs, C.P.O. Sharkey, Different Strokes… and the even more unbearable spin-off The Facts of Life.But without fail, every week my mother and brother would watch it. Every once in a while I'd hang out with them and try to suffer through an episode. To be honest, it was only because Melissa Sue Anderson was my age and for lack of a better word, "doable".The first thing that bothered me was the hair styles of all the male characters in the show. They either had a curly perm or a 70's shag cut, neither were available or known in the 1800's. It really destroyed the authenticity and believability of the show. Apparently there was such a stigma against short hair back then, that they even made war movies where the actors (supposedly in the military) had haircuts that were no where near regulation.Second thing, was the incredibly bad acting of the twins (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush) that played Carrie. A bad casting choice that became painfully obvious as time passed. Thankfully, they eventually eliminated her (them) having any lines.But after seeing a few episodes, it got to the point I could predict the outcome - the guest star would always die a horribly tragic death. Unfortunately, like a bad case of chlamydia, the show went on for years and years and grew worse and worse.The show's descent into the black hole of all that sucks started with the introduction of the character "Albert" (Pa's new drooling adopted son). Then, when they ran out of guest stars to kill off, they throw Mary's character under the bus. "Hey, lets take the only semi-attractive cast member, have her go blind, marry an annoying douche and leave her newborn in a house fire." Great wholesome family show right?But it gets worse. Suddenly Laura becomes a teacher, meets a pedophile the same age as her dad and marries him. And I'm only guessing, but in order to make sure viewers around the world would need a barf bag, she call's him "Manly".In the end, after killing off 9 years worth of guest stars in every way imaginable, blinding the only attractive character, making her a baby murderer and having the main character hook up with a perverted pedophile, all that was left for the final episode was blowing up the entire town.This show is 9 years of proof the Landon was the master of sentimental, sappy, soap opera drama overkill and the all time king of suck.

g_dekok The series was OK at first, when the girls were younger, but once they grew up, Landon must've been desperate to keep the program on the air, because: Mary never married and certainly was never a teacher. She lived at home with Ma and then Carrie, after Mrs. Ingalls passed away. There was no child named "Albert", nor did the Ingalls family ever adopt any children, as they almost starved during the time period of "The Long Winter". There was a baby boy who died in infancy due to failure to thrive.If you want to read a great book, read Alison Arngrim's book "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch". Hysterical!