Return to a Simpler Time With Season Two of Little House on the Prairie

A while back, my friend lent me some seasons of Little House on the Prairie as comfort viewing for my mom as she was recovering from hip surgery. It’s a wonderful show to lose yourself in, a reminder of a time when life was simultaneously simpler and more difficult. Granted, the vision of Michael Landon and others cast a rosier glow on some aspects of pioneer life and also gave it a more contemporary feel than the original Laura Ingalls Wilder stories. Nonetheless, it’s the sort of feel-good, wholesome show that grandparents love and kids don’t mind watching because there’s always so much mischief for youngsters to get into.

The second season is much like the first, focusing largely on the Ingalls family, especially demure Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) and spunky Laura (Melissa Gilbert). Several of my favorite episodes involve Laura’s open-hearted and rather tomboyish tendencies, which lead her to form strong bonds with lonely bachelors. I especially love Ebenezer Sprague, in which Laura befriends the crotchety title character at the fishing hole, having no idea that he is the miserly new banker who is currently the least popular man in town. This episode exemplifies the warmth, humor and optimistic spirit that pervades the series.

Many episodes involve school-day trials, such as Mary and Laura’s ill-advised attempts at Sunday school fundraising or the class project that results in the pesky Olesons tagging along on the Ingalls’ camping trip. Long-suffering shopkeeper Nels (Richard Bull) is particularly easy to sympathize with here as his wife and children do their best to drive everyone batty, though his bratty daughter’s worst moment comes in The Talking Machine, when she tricks Laura into a public confession of a crush.

While those episodes are largely light-hearted, some have a more somber tone to them. Centennial reminded me of the Occupy movement as heavy taxes have the Walnut Grove residents up in arms – until a humble immigrant forced out of his new home due to the previous owner’s back taxes gives them a new perspective. The most emotional episode is the two-parter Remember Me, which was of particular interest to me because it was excerpted in the final season of LOST. A dying woman appoints Charles (Landon) to find a suitable future home for her children, an act that throws one of Walnut Grove’s most colorful residents into turmoil as he finds himself growing attached to them.

The second season contains 22 episodes in all, and each one is enjoyable. The show focuses almost equally upon the children and adults in this tight-knit community, so it really is a show the whole family can enjoy together, with different aspects standing out to different viewers. Additionally, the series is episodic enough that there’s no disadvantage to starting with this season instead of the first. No matter where you begin, once you’ve fallen in love with the characters, Walnut Grove is a place to which you will want to return.