Season 9 rewrite (updated 7/22/08)

This is a very interesting point, Savannah, indeed. I never saw the problem under this point of view. :think:

Vanesa.

Okay, latest update:

* Looks like the consensus is that the Ingalls move to De Smet, SD.

* The Carters still move to WG, but live in another house

* The Wilder family (Manly, Beth, Rose) stay in the house that Almanzo built

* Mr. Montague is introduced earlier in the season and lives in the hotel

* Matthew Rogers is eliminated

* We add Mayor Lem McCary to more episodes, making him a regular member of the town (anyone else notice if you switch the "a" and "r" in this character's last name it spells McCray?)

* The Wilder family (Royal and such) visit WG, but do not stay (we have not established who the Wilder family is because most of the selections were a tie)

* Each writer will take one episode and write it as a stand alone episode (like on the show). People can work together on an episode if they want.


The one thing that really needs to be discussed before any actual writing can occur is the make-up of Royal Wilder's family. We have decided that the Wilders will visit, but not stay in WG, but we don't know who is visiting. I still go back to the opinion that it is easier to leave Jenny in the picture and just not write new scenes for her, than it is to take her out of the show, but most people seem to be opposed to that idea. So, since we had a tie in most of the options offered in the poll, let's open this up for further discussion.

Which members of Royal's family do you want to visit Walnut Grove? Things to keep in mind are:

* The amount of work it would take to remove Jenny Wilder from Season 9

* Myron and Rupert were only a few years older when Royal and Jenny visited WG, so they really weren't old enough to be out on their own. If they don't come to WG, how do we explain that?

* Can we make Jenny the adopted daughter of the Wilders?

* If Millie has died, what happened to the baby she was carrying in Season 7?

* If she has not died, what reason do the Wilders have to visit WG for an extended period of time? By the looks of their house in Season 7, Royal must be gainfully employed, so what would happen to his job if they spent most--if not all--of Season 9 in WG? How about their house? Who was looking after it while they were away?

I think once we hammer down these last few details, some writing could be done.

Cheryl

Hey my fellow writers, I'm looking for some input on this so we can get started. Please start the discussion so we can move forward.

Thanks.

Cheryl

Ya know, I get the feeling that people don't like Jenny...but maybe I'm wrong. LOL!

It seems like the zeal for this has waned, and I figure with the holidays coming up no one will have the time to work on this, so I am going to sideline this project until after the new year. In the meantime, if you guys and gals have any idea about the whole Wilder family situation please share them so that when we are ready we can start writing.

Thanks.

Cheryl

Is anyone still interested in working on this? If not, we'll just let it go for now.

Cheryl

bethandmanly wrote:

The one thing that really needs to be discussed before any actual writing can occur is the makeup of Royal Wilder's family. We have decided that the Wilders will visit, but not stay in WG, but we don't know who is visiting. I still go back to the opinion that it is easier to leave Jenny in the picture and just not write new scenes for her, than it is to take her out of the show, but most people seem to be opposed to that idea. So, since we had a tie in most of the options offered in the poll, let's open this up for further discussion.

Which members of Royal's family do you want to visit Walnut Grove? Things to keep in mind are:

* The amount of work it would take to remove Jenny Wilder from Season 9

* Myron and Rupert were only a few years older when Royal and Jenny visited WG, so they really weren't old enough to be out on their own. If they don't come to WG, how do we explain that?

* Can we make Jenny the adopted daughter of the Wilders?

* If Millie has died, what happened to the baby she was carrying in Season 7?

* If she has not died, what reason do the Wilders have to visit WG for an extended period of time? By the looks of their house in Season 7, Royal must be gainfully employed, so what would happen to his job if they spent most--if not all--of Season 9 in WG? How about their house? Who was looking after it while they were away?

I think once we hammer down these last few details, some writing could be done.

Cheryl

This is the only thing that is outstanding before we can start writing...at least that I can see. If we can just come to a consensus on what to do with Royal's family, then we can choose the episodes we each want to work on and start writing.

Cheryl

I'm still interested in this project. You know I'm always ready for it! :woohooo:

Vanesa.

As I mentioned in another thread, I've begun tackling this project as a way to relax a bit from my daily schedule. I have no idea how fast or slow things will move along as I have a couple of very busy months ahead of me, but I figured if we could get moving then at least it might spark some inspiration and make me feel better about how crazy life has been.

You'll see how the opening scene sets up some of the major events that take place in Season 9 when I post it, but here's a run down of what I've gathered from our various polls. Many times there were ties in the voting and I just went with what I thought was best.

* The Wilder family consists of Royal, Myron, Rupert, and an adopted daughter, Jenny. They visit Walnut Grove for an unspecified amount of time, but don't stay.
* Lem McCary who became mayor in "Welcome to Olsenville" becomes a regular member of the town and is part of the Town Council. He will be written into some episodes.
* Matthew Rogers never comes to Walnut Grove--which takes "The Wild Boy" and "Hello and Goodbye" out of the line up.
* Mr. Montague is introduced earlier in the season and stays at the hotel.
* Manly and Laura never open the boarding house and continue to live in the house that Charles and Almanzo built after his stroke.
* The Carters move to Walnut Grove, but do not live in the little house on Plum Creek.
* The Ingalls family moves to De Smet, SD because Charles is getting older and the demands of farm life will continue to get harder for him. Since Albert plans to be a doctor, he can't depend upon him to run the farm--which only leaves James. Since De Smet is being built up, Charles's carpentry skills and his previous work with the railroad will mean a steady stream of income for him.
* Isaiah buys the farm along Plum Creek from Charles giving the Ingalls family money to move and also allowing the house to stay in the hands of someone who would love it as much as the Ingalls family, plus he's someone who wouldn't have a lot of money to change it.

Enjoy watching this unfold.

Cheryl

I thought I would repost our list of episodes and whether they stayed as is, stayed but would be changed, or were gone entirely. This could end up changing as we proceed, but oh well, it's a start.

Times Are Changing - keep, but change (working on this one now)
Welcome to Olesonville - keep
Rage - keep
Little Lou - toss
The Wild Boy - toss
The Return of Nellie - keep
The Empire Builders - ? (I think we can dump this one in light of "The Last Farewell" and maybe come up with some other reason the townsfolk have to come together to help each other out. Your thoughts would be appreciated.)
Love - keep
Alden's Dilemma - toss
Marvin's Garden - toss
Sins of the Fathers - toss
The Older Brothers - toss so far it falls off the edge of the earth
Once Upon a Time - keep, but change
Home Again - keep
A Child with No Name - keep
The Last Summer - toss
For the Love of Blanche - toss farther than The Older Brothers
May I Have This Dance? - keep
Hello and Goodbye - toss

There are 9, possibly 10 episodes that will be gone from this line up, so as others have suggested we might be able to put together some episodes of the Ingalls family in De Smet. I know we really wanted to dump Jenny's character, but I didn't for two reasons: 1) she's in a lot of episodes and it would affect some of the episodes we kept, and 2) since the Wilder family is not staying in WG Jenny's impact on the town and in the episodes she's in will be diminished anyway.

I don't have a LOT of ideas, but I'll throw in what I can.

bethandmanly wrote:

* Myron and Rupert were only a few years older when Royal and Jenny visited WG, so they really weren't old enough to be out on their own. If they don't come to WG, how do we explain that?

Even though they weren't old enough to be out on their own, they may have had jobs, and been unable to travel. Maybe someone else will have a more creative idea.

Quote :

* Can we make Jenny the adopted daughter of the Wilders?

An excellent solution!

Quote :

* If Millie has died, what happened to the baby she was carrying in Season 7?

Millie and the baby could both have died during childbirth. It happened a lot back then. OR......... *gulp* Maybe there was an accident that took the lives of Myron, Rupert AND Millie, since we never heard the boys mentioned. (Did we? I haven't seen that season in so long, I can't remember) OR.......(How about all these "or"s! LOL) Myron & Rupert died in an influenza epidemic, soon after their visit to Laura & Almanzo......and Millie & Royal adopted Jennie shortly afterwards. Millie and her unborn baby, weakened from influenza, didn't make it through childbirth. There are so many possible explanations for them not being mentioned.

Quote :

* If she has not died, what reason do the Wilders have to visit WG for an extended period of time? By the looks of their house in Season 7, Royal must be gainfully employed, so what would happen to his job if they spent most--if not all--of Season 9 in WG? How about their house? Who was looking after it while they were away?

If Myron & Rupert were back home working their jobs, I presume they'd be looking after the house, as well as they could. Maybe they have someone coming in to check on them, and help with the house some, too........

If Millie and the baby haven't died, then maybe Millie just isn't up to travel after a difficult birth, but she wanted Laura and Almanzo to meet their adopted daughter, and insisted that Royal go ahead with the trip. Myron & Rupert could be busy with work, or have been visiting other relatives already.........

I'm probably no help at all. LOL.........But at least I get the subject bumped to the top again. :haha:

This is how I plotted out "Times Are Changing":

Manly receives the letter from Royal that he's coming for a visit. The baby died--it doesn't say how or if it was in utero or afterwards--and they find out that Millie can't have any more children, so they adopt Jenny. Millie takes sick after that and dies. Myron and Rupert supposedly become a minister and a doctor respectively, according to Laura's narrative at the end of "The Nephews", so they can't die. Even though Laura's narrative says 20 years in the future they are a minister and a doctor, the boys look about 8 or 10 in the episode, so that would mean they wouldn't have careers until 28 or 30--which doesn't seem right. So, I am going on the assumption that they didn't wait that long to start pursuing their careers. Both boys will know their calling and begin studying to take on that career within the next few years.

Needing more money, Charles decides to move his family to De Smet, SD. With the town being built up and the railroad coming through, Charles's skills as a carpenter and his past experience with the railroad will give him a steady income stream that isn't dependent upon the weather.

What do you think?

Oh, that's right! I forgot that the narrative mentioned the boys being a preacher and a doctor!

Sounds good, Cheryl!

I was talking to one of the Divas the about this today and she suggested making Jenny the daughter of Alice Wilder and Albert Baldwin. Alice died young and she and Albert had a daughter and a son. I didn't know if this would help the issue or confuse it even more.

What do you think?

The first part is posted. Let me know what you think.

Cheryl