Any real Ingalls unhappy about the show?

I was curious to know what the descendents of the real Ingalls family thought/think of the TV series.

Does anyone know of how they felt about so many changes...mostly extra storylines to keep the series running? What about things like adding adopted children, Mary getting married and having a baby (actually losing two).

If you've all discussed this before and don't feel like getting into it again, would someone be kind enough to post the link that leads to it on the forum?


Thank you.

I don't have any answers for you, but I have wondered that too. I've never read about any bad feelings about the show amongst any Ingalls descendants though....

I'll see if Beth Ingalls-Leisses will be willing to pop in and answer your question. I'm pretty sure she's a member here, but Marilyn is the one who is close to her. Poor Marilyn has been suffering with this mysterious ailment for so long that I don't know when she'll be coming back this way.

Great topic ...I too would love to know the opinions of any real descendants

I bet they are really proud that an entire hit TV show was aired about their decendents. I know I would be so happy and proud if one of my family touched so many people like Laura did. She was an amazing person.

I can't speak for Beth Ingalls personally but here is a great interview done by Lennon Parker (Prairiefans.com) with Beth. Some of the questions he asked are similar to some of your questions.

Beth Ingalls

P.S. the picture of the tall blonde in the prairie dress is me...

Thanks, guys.

I'm glad you thought it was an interesting topic.

I read this on the site in which I Love Dean posted the link for.

Question 4: When Laura Ingalls Wilder was alive she declined any film offers because she was afraid they wouldn't capture her books and characters like she had written them, years after Laura passed away her books were developed into a television series by Michael Landon. Have you seen the NBC version of Little House and the Disney and CBS versions that followed? What are your thoughts on these productions? Do you think Laura would be pleased?


Answer: The television series…what wonderful family viewing and entertainment they all were and still are. I can’t speak for Laura as to whether or not she would be pleased with each weekly show. The original series would stray from the facts and stories, but we must remember they filled 9 years of weekly shows. That is a lot to get from the books. I also liked the Disney series (I just watched that again this week) and the CBS followed the books quite closely. I think Laura would be very pleased to know how loved her stories are by the entire world, much of which is a result for the television productions.


At least I know that Laura was afraid, that she had doubts about the show being true to her books. She was right, but I think it's only when they veered way off with storylines that took time away from the Ingalls family and were a bit on the silly-side. I would assume that every writer who truly loves their work, would be afraid of it being changed too much when transferred to film. She was dealing with her life-story, so I'm sure it was hard to just jump up and agree to make it into a film.

I really appreciate the help that I've gotten and that I may get on this topic.

It was a blessing to have someone like Michael Landon write and produce this television series. He made it such a wonderful, family oriented show. It's amazing how much this series touched so many lives, and still does today. It's clearly in a league all of it's own.

I often thought of this too. I even wrote a fan fiction posted on Prairiefans called A Priceless Tour. It took place in Laura and Almanzo's home in Mansfield. In the story I found myself locked inside the home after hours and I run across Laura and Manly's "ghost". As I'm talking to Laura I ask her about the TV show. Look it up....it was my first so I'm sure I needed to do more...but I was proud of it.
I looked up this story....its on Prairiefans...fan fiction...pg 18 in two parts If you are interested in reading it.

Teresa wrote:

It was a blessing to have someone like Michael Landon write and produce this television series. He made it such a wonderful, family oriented show. It's amazing how much this series touched so many lives, and still does today. It's clearly in a league all of it's own.

Very true, and I agree.

Gin wrote:

I often thought of this too. I even wrote a fan fiction posted on Prairiefans called A Priceless Tour. It took place in Laura and Almanzo's home in Mansfield. In the story I found myself locked inside the home after hours and I run across Laura and Manly's "ghost". As I'm talking to Laura I ask her about the TV show. Look it up....it was my first so I'm sure I needed to do more...but I was proud of it.
I looked up this story....its on Prairiefans...fan fiction...pg 18 in two parts If you are interested in reading it.

Thanks. I might take a peek someday.

In my mind, I make a point to separate Michael's Landon's Little House series from the books. While he did capture some of the book's spirit, Landon had a dark side that manifested itself into the television series. I think Laura Ingalls Wilder might have taken issue with episodes like "May We Make Them Proud", "Sylvia", and "The Aftermath." Furthermore, Laura may not have been pleased with episodes like "The Handman" that hinted at infidelity on Caroline's part.

I love Michael's Landon's Little House series and all the drama and romance that comes with it. However, I don't consider the series a reflection of the experiences of the real Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I do agree with you Samantha. I seperate books and show as well. I think Laura might not have thought of putting " May we make them Proud" in amoung the shows. It didn't really happen to Mary.
Although, I have a collection of articles from the newsletter issued by the LIW memorial society. It is called "The Best of the LORE". One of the articles is entitled "On writing the Little House Series." (This article was written by LIW)
In it she tells also of what she did NOT include in the series : A lady named Kate Bender and her two brothers owned a tavern. It was known that people who would stop there seemed to disappear. The Benders garden was always freshly plowed and later there where several bodies found in that garden. This was just one of several sad stories that I'm sure Mary and Laura heard of, but Laura couldn't add in her books.
There really were awful things that happend just as "Sylvia". Laura wanted to only reflect on the good things.

If you all haven't read "Lore" do get it. Its a fascinating read, and a very good collectors item.
($19.95)

Samantha wrote:

In my mind, I make a point to separate Michael's Landon's Little House series from the books. While he did capture some of the book's spirit, Landon had a dark side that manifested itself into the television series. I think Laura Ingalls Wilder might have taken issue with episodes like "May We Make Them Proud", "Sylvia", and "The Aftermath." Furthermore, Laura may not have been pleased with episodes like "The Handman" that hinted at infidelity on Caroline's part.

I love Michael's Landon's Little House series and all the drama and romance that comes with it. However, I don't consider the series a reflection of the experiences of the real Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I always wondered why he went that route. I figured he wanted to keep raitings up reaching people who wouldn't normally watch the show. With the promos of those episodes being played, they were sure to catch many an eye.

Though such events are a part of our world, I don't think they would have been missed if not made into eps for the show.

Gin wrote:

I do agree with you Samantha. I seperate books and show as well. I think Laura might not have thought of putting " May we make them Proud" in amoung the shows. It didn't really happen to Mary.
Although, I have a collection of articles from the newsletter issued by the LIW memorial society. It is called "The Best of the LORE". One of the articles is entitled "On writing the Little House Series." (This article was written by LIW)
In it she tells also of what she did NOT include in the series : A lady named Kate Bender and her two brothers owned a tavern. It was known that people who would stop there seemed to disappear. The Benders garden was always freshly plowed and later there where several bodies found in that garden. This was just one of several sad stories that I'm sure Mary and Laura heard of, but Laura couldn't add in her books.
There really were awful things that happend just as "Sylvia". Laura wanted to only reflect on the good things.

If you all haven't read "Lore" do get it. Its a fascinating read, and a very good collectors item.
($19.95)

Ooh, that's an unpleasant story.

There's no telling what all the family saw, heard and went through, you know?

I don't see anything wrong with focusing on the good things in their lives for the show.

Gin wrote:

I do agree with you Samantha. I seperate books and show as well. I think Laura might not have thought of putting " May we make them Proud" in amoung the shows. It didn't really happen to Mary.
Although, I have a collection of articles from the newsletter issued by the LIW memorial society. It is called "The Best of the LORE". One of the articles is entitled "On writing the Little House Series." (This article was written by LIW)
In it she tells also of what she did NOT include in the series : A lady named Kate Bender and her two brothers owned a tavern. It was known that people who would stop there seemed to disappear. The Benders garden was always freshly plowed and later there where several bodies found in that garden. This was just one of several sad stories that I'm sure Mary and Laura heard of, but Laura couldn't add in her books.
There really were awful things that happend just as "Sylvia". Laura wanted to only reflect on the good things.

If you all haven't read "Lore" do get it. Its a fascinating read, and a very good collectors item.
($19.95)

I had heard this story before and it's quite disturbing. The thought of being exposed to things like that is spooky.

Since the books are written from a young girl's and then a young woman's perspective, it's important that the view of the world be a romanticized. I think the reason that "The First Four Years" isn't a favorite for a lot of fans is because of how it was written. For the first time, Laura's healthy dose of optimism doesn't seem to carry her through the difficulties in life.

As for the show, I think the modern day influence on the storylines can't be dismissed. In addition, though I didn't always like the darker episodes, they helped to portray some of the difficulties that families faced during that time period and some that still plague us today: infant mortality, rape, crime, epidemics, etc. I still remember reading about Laura's experience with her first teaching job and being freaked out over how she must have felt with the woman walking through the house with a knife. That for me, showed a bit of a turning point in the books where Laura was willing to add more to the stories of her growing up years than just optimism, and therefore, I guess I never questioned the darker LHOP episodes.

One of my favorite episodes from Season 9 is "Rage"--which is when Tom Stark goes off the deep end and takes Laura, Rose, and Jenny hostage. Laura shows such presence of mind when dealing with Stark and in helping Jenny escape that I like to watch this episode because Laura's strength and intelligence really shine through. I can't imagine what the real Laura might have thought of this episode--the presence of Jenny, notwithstanding.

Interesting Sorty!!

Quote :

One of my favorite episodes from Season 9 is "Rage"--which is when Tom Stark goes off the deep end and takes Laura, Rose, and Jenny hostage. Laura shows such presence of mind when dealing with Stark and in helping Jenny escape that I like to watch this episode because Laura's strength and intelligence really shine through. I can't imagine what the real Laura might have thought of this episode--the presence of Jenny, notwithstanding.

Choosing from the "darker" eps, Rage is probably my fave.

Another one that was off the track, IMO, was the one where the teen boy visits his grandparents after his mom could no longer handle him. He and his mom were abused by his father, and when his father died, the boy really went off kilter.

Oh, one more - the one where the little boy moves in with Caroline and the girls while Charles helps the father to kick his addition to alcohol. It was a good ep, too. I like how strong the little boy was, though he'd been through the ringer.