Okay, everybody, here is my letter to the sole owner of the rights to all things Little House. It fits nicely on an 8 1/2 x 11" piece of paper and is going in the mail in two days regardless. I only post it here in case anyone has any brilliant suggestions or wants ideas for their own letter. I am including my email on the letter in case anyone wants to answer that way. You can write your own letters or submit your ideas by email if they fit on the form on the owner's official website. So now you have no excuse not to at least try, which is as much as anyone can possibly do.
March 7, 2024
Mr. Trip Friendly
Friendly Family Productions LLC
[Address removed as someone said it was not a good idea to share physical addresses online, but can be found through a Google search.]
Dear Mr. Friendly,
The 50th anniversary celebrations of the TV series of Little House on the Prairie display the extreme enthusiasm of fans around the world for this great and timeless classic. Almost certainly millions would adore to see a sequel with as many as possible of the original cast represented. The Brady Bunch and The Waltons have done such projects repeatedly with great success, and the sequel series to Leave It to Beaver ran almost as long as the original.
The sequel (TV movie or better, miniseries) should open when Laura Ingalls Wilder falls on hard times during the Depression and writes Pioneer Girl, which she presents to her successful writer daughter Rose for her opinion. The story should follow their struggles and initial failure, finally ending in the success of Little House in the Big Woods. Plenty of biographical material exists on which to base this and clips from the original series could be effectively used.
The remainder should focus on the surviving cast of Little House on the Prairie, as many as will participate. This would mean taking a few liberties with real life, as a few family members who had died by that time would be alive in the sequel as those cast members are still living, and characters added in the series would also be represented. Cast members who have passed away should be honored with mentions and framed pictures made to look 19th Century style.
As far as getting the many characters together, perhaps there could be some grand event such as rebuilding Walnut Grove and the dedication of some particular structure or institution there, bringing people in from out of town, or some people who left could have moved back to the now changed town. Nellie would be a widow but could perhaps have remarried and had children.
Viewers are divided on bringing Albert back as he apparently died in a TV movie sequel. I say firmly, BRING HIM BACK! Since one episode ends stating that he returned as a doctor, as the town doctor, he could give hope to a seriously ill child by relating how he was either misdiagnosed with a fatal illness, or a cure was found (or both). Since Dr. Baker had no family, he could be honored by having his picture in Albert’s office or at the hospital or perhaps both.
As Melissa Gilbert will be the age Laura was when she wrote the books in a few short years, this project should begin at the earliest opportunity. Thank you for your consideration.
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