Author, Author

Caroline's mother and father come for a visit, but while on the train her mother passes away. Caroline's father is then distraught until he is convinced to write an autobiography. Meanwhile, Mary gives birth to the Ingalls' first grandchild, Adam Charles Holbrook Kendall.

Just some quick notes......
I liked this one. Seeing how Carolines dad handles his wifes death, pulling himself out of the darkness of grief to create a legacy for himself, his autobiography.
Albert is a bit of an agent provocateur isn't he? The way he manipulates Harriet to purchase the whole lot of books is another example that this kid is one smart cookie.
No Nellie though, darn it.

Yes, I enjoy how Albert tricks Mrs. Oleson, who reads, "Her DI-A-PER!!! Her DI-A-PER!!! She was a baby, who cares?" I like how Mr. Oleson gets a good laugh out of that.

A few things about this episode are confusing, especially when considered with other episodes. First of all, was Mr. Holbrook Caroline's father or stepfather? Isn't there another episode ("The Christmas They Never Forgot" maybe?) that's a flashback where Caroline has trouble adjusting to her new stepfather? Also, is Caroline's maiden name Holbrook or Quiner? In "Whatever Happened to the Class of '56?", she's identified by classmates as "Caroline Quiner". Is this another example of those wacky writers being sloppy with continuity?

Another question -- when was Mary's pregnancy with Adam, Jr. first mentioned? I watched this episode and the preceding season 6 and season 5 episodes recently on DVD, and unless I missed something or the DVDs omitted a scene, "Author! Author!" is the first time Mary's pregnancy is mentioned. In "The Sound of Children" (the one where Adam's father comes to visit), she miscarries, but I don't recall any mention of Mary being pregnant after that until "Author! Author!".

jes9 wrote:

A few things about this episode are confusing, especially when considered with other episodes. First of all, was Mr. Holbrook Caroline's father or stepfather? Isn't there another episode ("The Christmas They Never Forgot" maybe?) that's a flashback where Caroline has trouble adjusting to her new stepfather? Also, is Caroline's maiden name Holbrook or Quiner? In "Whatever Happened to the Class of '56?", she's identified by classmates as "Caroline Quiner". Is this another example of those wacky writers being sloppy with continuity? .

Papa Holbrook was Caroline’s stepfather. In real life, Henry Quiner died when Caroline was I think 5. Her mother, Charlotte married Frederick a few years later. In A Christmas They Never Forgot, they say that Frederick and Henry knew each other and were best friends. I don’t know if that’s true.

Caroline’s name was always Quiner, so that’s how her classmates would have known her.

jes9 wrote:

Another question -- when was Mary's pregnancy with Adam, Jr. first mentioned? I watched this episode and the preceding season 6 and season 5 episodes recently on DVD, and unless I missed something or the DVDs omitted a scene, "Author! Author!" is the first time Mary's pregnancy is mentioned. In "The Sound of Children" (the one where Adam's father comes to visit), she miscarries, but I don't recall any mention of Mary being pregnant after that until "Author! Author!".

You’re right. Mary's pregnancy isn't mentioned until that episode. It seems when Caroline or Mary is pregnant, they only get one episode; but when Laura was pregnant, it lasted a very long, long time. She announced she was pregnant in I Do, Again from Season 7, but she doesn’t have Rose until almost the end of Season 8. In between that she manages to go off to Arizona all by herself to meet Eliza Jane at that conference and be hit on by their professor.

Yes. Holbrook was her stepdad. As far as I know, Caroline loved him as much as if he was her real father.

In real life, there's no evidence about anykind of friendship between Holbrook and Henry Quiner. Most likely they never knew each other, since Charlotte Quiner, Carline's mother met Holbrook in Concord. He was much younger than her, and the couple had a girl from their own: Charlotte. Her father wanted to name her right by her mother.

Vanesa.

This is a good episode. It was heart breaking, seeing Caroline finding out her mother passed away. Albert cleverness is so great. he tricked the people in Manko & Mrs. Olsen. I laughed, when Mrs. Olsen was reading the part when Caroline was naked, has her DI-A-PER came off. Mrs. Olsen got owned.

Albert is always so cute when he is scamming someone, isn't he? He's a bit of a scoundrel, but usually with good motivations. I love those kind of characters.

Buttercup wrote:

I laughed, when Mrs. Olsen was reading the part when Caroline was naked, has her DI-A-PER came off. Mrs. Olsen got owned.

Oh yeah!

alexczarn wrote:

Buttercup wrote:

I laughed, when Mrs. Olsen was reading the part when Caroline was naked, has her DI-A-PER came off. Mrs. Olsen got owned.

Oh yeah!

That is sooo funny!!!!

I love it when Albert says,"There was this one part...where my Ma was in public place...and... she..."
Harriet: "What??? What did she do???"

Albert: "Well she didn't do anything...And she wasn't wearing anything!!!"

Harriet: "OHHHHHHH!!!!!! You mean that she????"

Albert:"NAKED."

lol...I crack up every time...

Ruth wrote:

alexczarn wrote:

Buttercup wrote:

I laughed, when Mrs. Olsen was reading the part when Caroline was naked, has her DI-A-PER came off. Mrs. Olsen got owned.

Oh yeah!

That is sooo funny!!!!

I love it when Albert says,"There was this one part...where my Ma was in public place...and... she..."
Harriet: "What??? What did she do???"

Albert: "Well she didn't do anything...And she wasn't wearing anything!!!"

Harriet: "OHHHHHHH!!!!!! You mean that she????"

Albert:"NAKED."

lol...I crack up every time...

So funny.I agree

I liked this episode...so sad when Caroline went to say hello to her Mom and she was in a casket

I felt sorry for Caroline when she went to greet her mother and found a casket instead. I wish Charles would have gotten down off the wagon and told Caroline that her mother had died before Caroline walked to the back of the wagon. Albert was a smart cookie in making Mrs.Oleson believe Caroline was naked.

That was sad, back then it must have been awful to hear about death so long after it happend (before telephones)

I still see companies today that will publish a book for you if you pay, easy to get sucked in if you don't read everything or understand.

Harriet reading in bed with Nels was funny, just hoping for some more juicy tidbits for the next paper. : )

jes9 wrote:

Another question -- when was Mary's pregnancy with Adam, Jr. first mentioned? I watched this episode and the preceding season 6 and season 5 episodes recently on DVD, and unless I missed something or the DVDs omitted a scene, "Author! Author!" is the first time Mary's pregnancy is mentioned. In "The Sound of Children" (the one where Adam's father comes to visit), she miscarries, but I don't recall any mention of Mary being pregnant after that until "Author! Author!".

I just realized that last night watching it, she was "just pregnant", and far along. Knowing the shows, I found it bittersweet, I couldn't feel any good feelings seeing the baby knowing how awful they were going to kill him. He was cute and Laura was right when she said, "Males don't do well in her family". Charles Jr. had to die, but Albert and Mary's baby didn't.

Harriet is funny, she'll believe ANYTHING about anyone if it's juicy enough.

littlehouselover wrote:

jes9 wrote:

Another question -- when was Mary's pregnancy with Adam, Jr. first mentioned? I watched this episode and the preceding season 6 and season 5 episodes recently on DVD, and unless I missed something or the DVDs omitted a scene, "Author! Author!" is the first time Mary's pregnancy is mentioned. In "The Sound of Children" (the one where Adam's father comes to visit), she miscarries, but I don't recall any mention of Mary being pregnant after that until "Author! Author!".

I just realized that last night watching it, she was "just pregnant", and far along. Knowing the shows, I found it bittersweet, I couldn't feel any good feelings seeing the baby knowing how awful they were going to kill him. He was cute and Laura was right when she said, "Males don't do well in her family". Charles Jr. had to die, but Albert and Mary's baby didn't.

Harriet is funny, she'll believe ANYTHING about anyone if it's juicy enough.

I agree it was unecesarry to have Mary's baby die and later on have Albert develope a blood disease and die.

Am rewatching the show on the remastered box set and "Author Author" stands out as a really nicely integrated family story. It was written by Carole and Michael Raschella, who I always thought wrote the best episodes for the show, especially for Adam and Mary.

I liked how they brought Caroline's father into the episode however the whole thing of her Ma dying en route to visit her was sooo sad! (especially how Caroline finds out, it was so shocking to me when I re-watched it recently).  They would have done better having her Ma pass away before the train journey to visit her, did that even happen in the real Caroline's life?  

Anyway...Mary is pregnant in this episode and of course we never saw a long pregnancy with her character...in Season 5 she miscarried and here she's fully pregnant.  Always hated that Mary and Adam's stories were not fully developed and Season 6 seems to be the beginning of the end for her and Adam.

Being an Adam and Mary fan I just loved the humorous scenes where he jokes about her possibly having twins, the scene where she has typical pregnant woman food cravings for fried chicken, and the scene where she is telling Adam "it's time" for the baby to be born.  We see so much of Adam and Mary being tragic, that their happy scenes are real GEMS in some of these episodes.  

Also all of the Grandpa Holbrook scenes were well done and the whole episode was really a true FAMILY one, the whole family being involved with his book getting published.  What gets me is that this same type of POSITIVE family feeling didn't last the whole rest of Season 6, which I think is what brought the show closer to cancellation, especially with that awful fire episode.

I've always thought the coffin in the wagon scene was ridiculous. What husband in their right mind would let his wife walk around and find her Mother's coffin in there without even so much as a warning before doing so. It was poorly done!

Michael should have known better than to allow that scene to be shot that way.

Davetucson wrote:

I've always thought the coffin in the wagon scene was ridiculous. What husband in their right mind would let his wife walk around and find her Mother's coffin in there without even so much as a warning before doing so. It was poorly done!

Michael should have known better than to allow that scene to be shot that way.

Yep I can't believe Michael Landon permitted that scene to be included? I guess he always gave the story ideas and the writing team just had to come up with the scripts??
Always wondered how that worked on the show.

I agree, Dave. Charles should have stopped her and her and told her. That was an awful way for her to find out that her mother passed away.

Joe wrote:

Caroline's mother and father come for a visit, but while on the train her mother passes away. Caroline's father is then distraught until he is convinced to write an autobiography. Meanwhile, Mary gives birth to the Ingalls' first grandchild, Adam Charles Holbrook Kendall.

Just some quick notes......
I liked this one.  Seeing how Carolines dad handles his wifes death, pulling himself out of the darkness of grief to create a legacy for himself, his autobiography.
Albert is a bit of an agent provocateur isn't he?  The way he manipulates Harriet to purchase the whole lot of books is another example that this kid is one smart cookie.
No Nellie though, darn it.

Nellie was there in the kitchen at her restaurant when Caroline went to work during the week.

littlehouselover wrote:

jes9 wrote:

Another question -- when was Mary's pregnancy with Adam, Jr. first mentioned?  I watched this episode and the preceding season 6 and season 5 episodes recently on DVD, and unless I missed something or the DVDs omitted a scene, "Author! Author!" is the first time Mary's pregnancy is mentioned.  In "The Sound of Children" (the one where Adam's father comes to visit), she miscarries, but I don't recall any mention of Mary being pregnant after that until "Author! Author!".

I just realized that last night watching it, she was "just pregnant", and far along. Knowing the shows, I found it bittersweet, I couldn't feel any good feelings seeing the baby knowing how awful they were going to kill him. He was cute and Laura was right when she said, "Males don't do well in her family". Charles Jr. had to die, but Albert and Mary's baby didn't.

Harriet is funny, she'll believe ANYTHING about anyone if it's juicy enough.

I also felt sad watching the baby at the end, knowing what is going to happen, and also how Grandpa Holbrook told them to take good care of his great-grandson.

I actually don't like what Albert and Laura do in begging in Mankato......it was really dishonest and although I understand their motive was pure, I think that they did wrong in this scene.....and Charles and Caroline don't seem to mind a single bit even though I think they may suspect that something not exactly right was done for them to get that money.