The Creeper of Walnut Grove

I was watching this episode tonight so that I could write up my episode review for Prairie Talk, and some things really struck me as off.

This is the one where Laura and Andrew set up a detective agency in the hopes of catching the creeper who has been stealing from people in Walnut Grove. It's also the one where Charles's hair gets turned green. The creeper ends up being Timothy Farrell, who was stealing so that he could help his father get well after a heart attack.

We discover that Harriet has a sister named Victoria, yet, I don't think she is ever spoken of again. Then Laura and Andy meet up with Willie and Nellie at the Feed and Seed, which mysteriously now belongs to a Mr. Tyler? This sets up the scene where Harriet follows her kids to the Feed and Seed and all four children pounce on her until an angry Nels pulls them off. But it is night time when this happens. Why would Laura and Andrew be in town at night? And why would Charles and Jonathan have let them go out at night in the first place? I mean, it's really late. Nels was already asleep and Harriet was putting on her mask. Even if Charles and Jonathan gave permission for the kids to stay in town for a bit, they would have expected them home before bedtime.

Instead of being angry with Laura, Caroline is barely able to contain her laughter when an angry Nels brings Laura home and Charles confronts her for her behavior. Wouldn't she at least have been upset that Laura attacked Harriet? Even Mary is struggling to maintain her composure while Charles rants, which is so unusual for her.

And don't even get me started on how the townsfolk is supposed to be helping out Mr. Farrell while Timothy is away at medical school and how Timothy is supposed to return after he graduates to help out Doc Baker.

Honestly, it's like with this episode, the writers totally lost their minds or something. It's funny, but just out there.

That is soo true Cheryl!

But after the episode "The Godsister" was aired... nothing else shocked me

Fair enough. A-l-y-s-s-s-s-s-s-a-a-a-a!

bethandmanly wrote:

A-l-y-s-s-s-s-s-s-a-a-a-a!

I got some giant grapes from Carrie... eeeeek! I bet them grapes made her have some crazy hallucinations! lol

Oh, you know, I meant to mention too, Timothy Farrell looks a bit like I imagine a young Dean Butler might have looked. It was strange to pick up on that.

bethandmanly wrote:

Oh, you know, I meant to mention too, Timothy Farrell looks a bit like I imagine a young Dean Butler might have looked. It was strange to pick up on that.

He kind of reminded me of Drew Barrymore when she was young... like he could be her brother or something lol

See what I mean

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Definitely one of the oddball episodes. I still enjoy it though.

There are definitely some inconsistencies in this episode, for sure! I always crack up though when Charles goes into church with the green hair, and everyone, including Rev. Alden, starts laughing. I feel sorry for Charles, but it is so funny!

This kind of things happens. It was natural that reverend Alden laughed when saw Charles very serious and even a little angry with his green hair.

When Caroline ask him gently to take his hat off....it was truly hilarious!

Vanesa.

I think they didn't scold the boy, for if they would do it, his father would have known and they needed to keep it in secret.

Vanesa.

I enjoyed this esp.It was pretty good.

This one was a little funny. It ened nice the boy got to go to school/

I'm laughing thinking about Charles' green hair. When he walked into the house with green paint dripping off his head

I loved the part where the bucket of green paint dumped on Charles' haead and he ended up with green hair. Poor Rev.Alden tried so hard to contain his composure in church only to bust out laughing as he recited the 23rd psalm.

I love that part.

I watched this tonight...another person who was supposed to come back and didn't...but then they had a doctor that came to stay and was never shown again.
I suppose it's hard to be consistent with a long running show and actors that go on to other things, but it would have been nice to have him return and work for Doc Baker. : )

The hair scene was funny...you just know they had fun filming this.

another person who was supposed to come back and didn't...

Took place in season 4. Assuming that med school takes eight years, maybe not enough time to return?

Yes Dave, that's true, if anything had a normal time line...babies were born in a day, maybe two..years flew by. The wonders of TV time.

I remember watching this episode a long time ago on a vhs we borrowed from my grandma, and I watched it again a few weeks ago. It is a good episode, sad that the boy thought he had to steal instead of asking for help, but it had a happy ending when the men of Walnut Grove did not tell the boy's father what he had been doing. I think that was the right thing for them to do, even though what the boy did was not the right thing for him to do.

The church scene was funny. When Revend Alden saying Psalm 23. It was hysterical.

funny littl eepisode