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Season 9, episode 20: Isaiah Edwards speaks of Matthew as living in his home, and the house contains a second bed, undoubtedly Matthew's. There is no explanation of where Matthew was in previous episodes after meeting Edwards but when Edwards was living alone.
Baby Rose setting fire to the house is based on a real life incident, at least if you take Rose's word for it. She was three years old on August 23, 1889 when the house caught fire, shortly before the time portrayed in the show. In the show, the baby boy died on August 24, at which time the fire had not occurred yet, and in episode 20 the children are in school, so it is probably already September. The baby playing Rose appears to be about a year old so about two years younger than Rose in real life. In real life, Rose claimed to have accidentally set fire to the house while helpfully trying to put more wood in the stove. How the fire actually started has never been proven. In real life, Laura, not Blanche, saved Rose, and there was no Jenny to douse the flames. Laura and Rose escaped and the house burned to the ground.
Season 9, episode 17: Charles and Albert borrow Isaiah Edwards's house. Again, there is no sign of Matthew or indication that he has ever been there. Edwards goes alone to stay elsewhere.
Season 9, episode 18: The year of birth for Almanzo and Laura's son, Baby Boy Wilder, is given correctly as 1889, but the dates are incorrect. The dates on his marker read August 12-August 24, 1889. The correct dates should be July 11-August 7, 1889. It's odd that the show got this wrong while it got Laura's brother's dates right. Neither baby has a marker with dates in real life.
Season 9, episode 13: Two different night shots show the restaurant windows reading "Nellie's" after the name has been changed to "Caroline's."
Season 9, episode 15: Naturally the depiction of how <i>Little House in the Big Woods</i> was written is almost entirely fictional except that it does use real incidents from the book and does present the book as a collaborative effort. The statement at the end that no one made any changes to the Little House books as Laura finally wrote them is quite wrong. Laura's daughter Rose Wilder Lane was a huge influence in shaping the final versions of the books.
Season 9, episode 16: Matthew inexplicably reappears just as he inexplicably disappeared. He is at least working with Isaiah Edwards, if not living with him. There is another night shot of the restaurant windows reading "Nellie's."
Season 9, episode 11: Some serious retconning going on here. The episode involves getting Reverend Alden, and ONLY Reverend Alden, a house. In Season 6, Episode 6, Reverend Alden was married to Anna Craig, a kindly but lonely widow living in affluent circumstances since the death of her husband Parker. That is, she had a nice house where he would have moved. Even had she died, he would have stayed in the house. The only way he wouldn't get that house is if Anna Craig left him and took the house, or the house was destroyed in some way either resulting in Anna's death, or she died at a separate time. None of these events is ever mentioned or hinted at. Somehow in Season 9, episode 11, Reverend Alden is not married, perhaps never has been married, and must be living in a single room somewhere (of which not that many are available in Walnut Grove) and it's decided to obtain a house for him.
Season 9, episode 10: Walnut Grove is a place of sudden and inexplicable disappearances. Probably among others, there was Reverend Alden's wife, who was mentioned maybe once after the episode in which they were married and never seen or heard of afterwards. In this one, it is Matthew Rogers, the former "wild boy." In Season 9, episode 7, Isaiah Edwards was given charge of Matthew for an indefinite time. In Season 9, episode 10, Edwards is shown at home. There is no sign Matthew ever was there, and Edwards states he lives alone. Now, it's possible either Edwards or someone else considered a 45ish bachelor unsuitable for raising a young boy, and Matthew was placed with a family with children his own age, but it would be nice if whatever happened were explained and not just treated as if the entire episode never occurred. Matthew seems to have been Chuck Cunninghamed for sure.
Season 9, episode 5: When she meets Lou Bates, Mrs. Oleson claims she has never seen a little person before. Seems like she was so busy laughing at the fat lady when the circus came to town in Season 6, episode 5 that she missed the little people entirely.
Season 9, episode 1: This season of <i>Little House on the Prairie</i> is called <i>Little House: A New Beginning</i>. Well, for Almanzo's brother Royal and family, it is a REALLY new beginning, in fact, it is a leap to an alternate reality. Almanzo starts out by saying he hasn't seen Royal in ten years. This is BLATANTLY untrue! The current year is stated as 1887. Almanzo and Laura were only married in 1885, around which time Royal and his wife and two hooligans of sons visited them in Season 7, episode 14, by which time Almanzo and Laura were married. These boys can't have been grown and on their own by Season 9 as they weren't that old only two years earlier. They also can't have died as the narration states they both became successful adults. Their existence also is not mentioned in the Season 9 episode at all. Instead Royal has a daughter, Jenny, around ten years old, who is by all indications an only child. Royal's wife stated she was expecting at the end of the episode with the boys, but if so that child would be under two years old, so where did Jenny come from and where did the boys go? Jenny is Royal's wife's biological child as he states she is so much like her. This is the biggest unanswered and unreconcilable question in the series. The boys were not Chuck Cunninghamed but they were sure retconned.
Season 9, episode 2: Before Jenny goes in to see Royal, she is holding a crucifix. When she enters the room she doesn't have it. When she hugs Royal, suddenly she has it again. This makes no sense unless she concealed it in a pocket or something.
This episode features boys and girls swimming together. The 1880s were still Victorian times, and mixed swimming probably wasn't a thing.
Season 8, episode 21: The bandits who rob the bank all have bandanas but not one pulls his over his face. This doesn't seem like something outlaws would do. The script called for it for Albert to recognize which man shot James.
Again, not exactly an error, and the script called for it, but I was really bothered when the bank clerk fired down a crowded street at the robbers. It was as bad as Bert the cop firing down the crowded street in <i>It's a Wonderful Life</i>. Even though it was an alternate bad reality, it's a bad idea in any reality to indiscriminately shoot down a crowded street.
No, but I post it in four different places in case anything happens to one.
Season 8, episode 19: As with an earlier episode, a night shot shows the restaurant windows reading "Nellie's" while the next day they read "Caroline's."
Season 8, Episode 18: Pa and Almanzo open a box of period correct square nails, and are then shown using incorrect round nails.
Eliza Jane rips opens a letter with some news she wants to share. When she goes to tell the family about it, she is holding an unopened envelope.
I got a lot of vaccinations as a child but must not have had that one as my sisters and I all got mumps.
Season 8, episode 15: In a relatively rare instance of an actual consistency, the distance between Walnut Grove and the Ingalls place is given as three miles, exactly the distance in the book <i>On the Banks of Plum Creek</i>.
Personally I was very uncomfortable with Uncle Jed hugging and kissing Cassandra after Doc Baker told him he had consumption. Doc Baker was the only one who knew so the others would have no notion of protecting themselves. Consumption is contagious and deadly.
Season 8, episode 14: The year is given as 1885 and Laura is already five months pregnant with Rose, showing that the show isn't sticking to the timeline of Laura's life. Laura was married in August of 1885 and didn't give birth to Rose till December 5, 1886. She should have been five months pregnant in August 1886.
The factory is shown with electric lights, which Minneapolis did have as early as 1882.
Season 8, episode 11: In a flashback set during the Civil War, Santa Claus is depicted as wearing a red suit. This image was popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast, and the red suit wasn't really standard until 1881. Santa is also spoken of as living at the North Pole, a brand new idea at the time, also promoted by Thomas Nast.
It is Christmas and Laura is still expecting baby Rose. Rose's real birthday is December 5. Unless Laura was planning to carry her for another whole year, the series didn't intend to use Rose's actual birthday.
Season 8, episode 12: Confusing weather. In the previous episode, they were snowed in up to the level of the house's second story. In the very next episode, there is no snow whatsoever. Some of the trees appear as in summer while others look like in fall. It is cold enough for Caroline to wear a coat and scarf, but warm enough for James to go swimming. Laura is still expecting baby Rose.
Season 8, episode 9: This is only the second episode I have noticed in which Michael Landon does not appear.
Season 8, episode 10: At the end an unnamed man clearly based on Colonel Sanders appears. At this time Laura is expecting Rose, who was born on December 5, 1886. Laura is clearly showing, so this is well along in 1886. Colonel Harland David Sanders wasn't even born until September 9, 1890. He started his restaurants in 1952. His appearance was clearly an inside joke because whenever fried chicken appeared on the show, KFC was used.
Season 8, episode 3: Charles tells Almanzo, "I've got a bridge to sell ya." This can't have been an expression in the mid-1880s, at which time the famous Brooklyn Bridge selling scheme was barely started. The con artist responsible, George C. Parker, was not arrested until the 20th Century.
I'm going to say definitely Season 8, Episode 1 fits the definition of a true shark jump. A true shark jump is not one bad or below average episode, but an episode after which the entire series is never as good. The departure of Adam, Mary, Percival, and Nellie all at once was too much for Mrs. Oleson and it was too much for the viewer. Then you have the introduction of the evil Nancy, who is Nellie all over again and worse. Still an above average show, but I'm going to say after this episode never as good.
Season 8, Episode 1: Caroline is seen walking on her way to work with the older children as they go to school. There is no sign of Baby Grace or explanation as to where she is. This is one of a number of unexplained absences of Grace.
Laura promises to write Mary in Braille so Adam can't read it. Adam can read Braille and is the one who taught it to Mary.
It is strange that Belinda Stevens is found at the bottom of the ice house near the blocks of ice. She should be near the door desperate to get out.
Season 8, Episode 2: A teddy bear is seen at the bazaar. Teddy bears were not invented until 1903.
Season 7, episode 15: Hester Sue leaves a lantern burning in the basement of the new blind school. She should know better as a fire in the basement destroyed the old blind school.
Season 7, episode 16: Laura tells her class of the five boroughs forming New York City. These were not consolidated until 1898. She also speaks of the Brooklyn Bridge being incomplete. She is way behind the times as it was completed in 1883 and since Laura is already married it should be at least 1885 here.