In the mid 1970's I heard that a new television show was being built around Laura's stories. I was very excited until I watched a few episodes. While most of them were indeed very good family entertainment, they were nothing like Laura's stories. The episodes in the first few seasons are tolerable, but when Albert Ingalls and Adam Kendall were added to the lineup, I turned off the television.

There were so many things just plain wrong with the central characters, not to mention the additional characters that Landon made up. The episodes were melodramatic, politically correct ramblings of  Landon’s imagination. I hear a common remark from a lot of LIW fans about the TV show. They say that the TV show brought a lot of people to Laura's books. I suppose that is true, but I still have a hard time accepting the later season's episodes. They are just too far fetched to be believed.

Here is what families in October 1982 got to see on LHOP. This  episode was the worst hatchet job of the entire series, including blowing up the town of Walnut Grove. This episode aired on October 18, 1982 and included the following family oriented incidents.

After a man lost his farm due to dishonesty:

• He shot his wife and pre-teen daughter.
• He then held a neighbor woman, her baby and niece hostage.
• He accused the nine year old girl of having a bastard (his words)
• He suggested killing the baby to hide the shame.
• He was killed in a shootout with townspeople.

There was a warning before the above episode started that the content was not suitable for young children. When should a television show based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder not be suitable for young children?! Never!

The above episode description comes from the Spring/Summer 1983 edition of the LIW Lore. It was a letter to the editor submitted to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. The writer encouraged everyone to write NBC to protest such stories in the LHOP series. The Lore editor commented that the LHOP  series was cancelled in May of 1983. Thank goodness!

The Lore is published by the LIW Memorial Society in De Smet, SD. The Lore did a great job of following the lack of accuracy of the TV show and printing their objections to the stories Landon passed off as loose interpretations of Laura's books. They wanted TV viewers to realize the De Smet connection of LIW and her family, and who could blame them.

I also discovered some comments made by Mr. Landon in aother old issue of the LIW Lore. These issues were published in the late 1970s and Landon's comments concerned Laura’s books and the Ingalls family. The comments were very arrogant and inappropriate. They show just how little respect he had for Laura and her books.

Here are the comments quoted directly from the 1978 Fall-Winter issue of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Lore.

Of Pa: "Nothing ever bothered him. He borrowed money, but he always lost his shirt. At one point in his life he moved seven times in one year." (When was this?)

Of the times portrayed:  "It was very difficult to stay alive in those days - but impossible to die of something your parents didn't know of."

Of the family:  "I've seen pictures of them and let me tell you, none of them were dynamite."

Who would have guessed that it was really Darth Vader who blew up Walnut Grove

While, I dislike the hatchet job Landon did on Laura's books, I do admire the performances of some of the actors. Dean Butler, Alison Arngrim, Richard Bull, Karen Grassle, Katherine MacGregor, and Kevin Hagan all did an excellent job with their characters.

Apparently Landon was a pretty nice guy when it came to meeting his fans. I do admire him and any celebrity that takes time to talk to the fans that helped make them famous. There is a web site that has a page of memories from fans who had a chance to meet and talk with Landon. In my opinion, one comment was a little excessive: "Everything Mr. Landon touched was clean and wholesome and wonderful".

Check out this blog; The Ingalls Are Better Than You. Great parody humor about the LHOP TV Show. It does have some strong language.