Harriet Oleson

what is your opinion of Harriet Oleson? Harriet certainly was not my favorite character on the show but at the same time she wasn't my least favorite either. :shy: she could be quite nasty very often, and it seemed like she was nastier to the Ingalls family than anyone else, but rarely was she kind or emotional! what do you think of Harriet? :sillySmiley:

Oh, I love Harriet. I thought she was hilarious. I love the character, that is. If I knew someone like that in real life, I'm sure I'd feel the same way about her as everyone else in Walnut Grove did.

if there is one moment in the entire show that just made me laugh, it was when Isaiah Edwards said to Harriet either: "You're Ugly" or "You're Fat". I don't remember which he said to her but I know it was one of those things. I laughed because someone was finally putting Harriet into her place!

Harriet was cool. She had her moments of kindness and we saw that she really didn't have a heart of stone.
Nancy, on the other hand, was the Olsen I couldn't stand. She was an orphan and must have come from the devil himself, I think, lol.

I like Harriet! Not in the nice sence, but she was so FUNNY! I don't know how, uhm...shoot! I forgot what her real name was! Anyway, I don't know how the actor kept a straight face during all those funny moments! I would have died from laughter! But I don't think the show would be the same without her AT ALL. I also think Nels is a very funny.

I loved AND hated Harriet. She was so nasty but also very funny.

I loved the scene in To Run and Hide where she gets drunk on the new doctor's medicine and is sitting in her rocker singing at the top of her voice! Nels' face is a picture!

Another favourite is in The Campout when she tries to jump the river and falls, breaking the china teaset in her backpack! Hiarious! :haha:

Only Katherine McGregor could play the part!

Katherine MacGregor. She did a great job. The children on the set loved her.

Harriet is the character you love to hate. LOL!! I loved the Oleson's! The show wouldn't have been the same without them.

Very true! And Harriet had some incredibly funny scenes. She was such a hoot! :Hahaha:

"Nels..........MAKE HER A WIDOW!"

Poor Harriet when Caroline decided to take her on .....such classy ways of telling someone to pull their head in, even funnier when Nels enjoyed it too....every town needs a Harriet Olsen

I enjoyed the character. She was great for comic relief. I missed her in the movies, especially The Last Farewell.

Harriet is one of my favorite characters. :) I think the Olesons are really what helped keep the show going for so long. Of course the Ingalls are awesome, but no show is complete without antagonists!

I also think its neat how Harriet's character changed throughout the course of all nine seasons.

I really like Harriett...I agree that she was a necessary part of the show...SOMEBODY had to be nasty! Of course, Nellie was pretty bad too until she grew up and got married.

I really like the scene from "Creeper of Walnut Grove" when the children jump on Harriett in the barn and get hay all over her heavily night-creamed face. Hysterical!!

Harriett kept the show from being to "sweet"...she made it fun to watch the show just to see her facial expressions and to be a part of her nastiness...

And where would the show be without Mr. Oleson's sarcastic comments, followed by Mrs. Oleson's, "What did you say, dear?", followed by Mr. Oleson's slight rephrasing or rewording of the original comment. And, of course, who else could pull off the disgusted, "Oh for heaven's sake!"?

jes9 wrote:

And where would the show be without Mr. Oleson's sarcastic comments, followed by Mrs. Oleson's, "What did you say, dear?", followed by Mr. Oleson's slight rephrasing or rewording of the original comment. And, of course, who else could pull off the disgusted, "Oh for heaven's sake!"?

This is so true. You can't help but have a love/hate sort of feelings toward Harriett. And Nels....OMG he just helped add that special little touch to those scenes.

Savannah wrote:

Very true! And Harriet had some incredibly funny scenes. She was such a hoot! :Hahaha:

"Nels..........MAKE HER A WIDOW!"

I watched 'Here Comes the Bride' for the first time last week. I nearly died when she said that!!!! I really cracked up when she told Nels: "you never had any taste," he said "Your right." She said, "what did you say?" "I said good night!"

Harriet is definitely one of my favorite characters!

She is so funny.

I love Harriet! Even when she's mean, she looks ridiculous doing so. When she says things like, "Oh for Heaven's sake!" she reminds me a lot of my mom... Sorry mom! :haha:

I loved when she got drunk off of the cough syrup! Then she fell over in the chair.

She is very funny and tends to be very mean, but I love the moments where she seems human and we can see kindness and normal reactions from her. My favorite scene is when she tels off Larabee! :) Then next episode she was laughing at his doragatory Jewish coments. She never learned. :( It would have been great to see her nonprejudeced and stay that way, and just remain a bit snoby and a drama queen.