Little House Cliches? - Little House on the Prairie (1974) Discussion

-Things catching on fire

-People dying of mysterious illnesses

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weird looking townsfolk who die in that episode.

hanging a sheet to separate laura's from albert's bedrooms

ms beadle doing nothing in regards to carrie's duh ness.

doc baker doing nothing in regards to carrie's equilibrium

'no school or church until further notice.' they are using the building to quarantine the typhoidians.

OH THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU SO BLOODY MUCH!!! Basil Fawlty

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] deem_bastille 9 years ago

every damn time.

she falls down that hill...

every
damn
time!

without fail.

OH THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU SO BLOODY MUCH!!! Basil Fawlty

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[–] LAtvGuy 9 years ago

She also pissed herself when they first got to Winoka. Then later on Ma said she was so excited about going home that she wet her bed.

That girl had issues.

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[–] flanagan-eng 9 years ago

-Caroline reading the bible in bed,although surprisingly it didn't appear to put Charles off (as it were!)

-use of the expression "lamb sakes"

-singing "Bringing in the Sheaves" at every opportunity

- Laura (usually), learning a valuable moral lesson after doing the wrong thing for the right reason.

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[–] SydLorraine 9 years ago

Eating popcorn in bed!

Willie coming out of the outhouse.

Doc Baker being paid in chickens, jarred goods and perishables.

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[–] deem_bastille 9 years ago

willie in the corner.

harriet having to have her ass constantly handed to her... but without her the show would be SO BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ma's pale blue flowered shirt.

laura and ms beedle continuing to teach after their marriages.

cinnamon chicken

Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

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[–] soap1022 9 years ago

Charles always involved in decision making. He was on the school board, allowed Joe Kagan to join the church, chosen to be the jury foreman and sent to represent the Grange. No one else was qualified?

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[–] crockett_john 9 years ago

Yeah, Charles was capable of everything except being able to hold onto a nickel.

---
I'm just expressing my opinion.

You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.

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[–] hchudy 9 years ago

Or have a successful crop.

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[–] Ditto-head 9 years ago

- Episodes feature long time citizens whom the audience had never seen before and never will again.

- Charles gets on a high horse and demands special treatment, even if he is in the wrong (The Odyssey is a perfect example.)

- Moral lessons are preached, but not practiced "Cash on the barrel."

- Charles cries (yeah, I know you posted it, but it happened so often it was worth a second mention.)

- A bigot sees the light and error of his/her ways.

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[–] ohsparkly 9 years ago

Caroline selling eggs and Mrs. Olsen dissing her.
Laura being a sneaky brat.

http://audrey-raines-sucks.fanfictiononthenet.com/

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[–] Rytman 9 years ago

Thought of 2 more;

-Charles laughing way too hard at something not that funny.

-Whenever there is a town counsel meeting, it includes at least 1 member of W.G. who we've never seen before, and never will again.

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[–] AutumnCider 9 years ago

Caroline's catchphrase: "Oh, Charles! We're going home?"

Wasn't his answer "no" in one episode (I think it was Gold Country.) That cracked me up!

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[–] AutumnCider 9 years ago

Or Charles' catchphrase: "Hold it, now. What about your homework? What about your chores?"

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[–] jason88cubs (2346) 7 years ago

i can just see that now. Caroline crying all hapy

Charles making a dramatic turn and saying "NO"

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[–] LAtvGuy 9 years ago

-Charles laughing way too hard at something not that funny.

I was watching an episode this weekend when Albert first showed up. Anything out of Albert's mouth had Charles laughing hysterically like a mental patient.

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[–] Katiedidd 8 years ago

Anything out of Albert's mouth had Charles laughing hysterically like a mental patient.

I'm laughing much like a mental patient at the posts in this thread. You all are hilarious. I love it.

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[–] tinathetoad70 8 years ago

Actually, that was Michael Landon's real laugh. He was on Johnny Carson and laughed like that. Very jovial.

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[–] sambda 8 years ago

Eggs:

Caroline: "Yes, and they're all double yolks".

How the hell did the Ingalls' chickens always lay so many double yolks?

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[–] webbrl-177-543920 7 years ago

- Episodes feature long time citizens whom the audience had never seen before and never will again.

-Charles laughing way too hard at something not that funny.

EXCELLENT!

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[–] jonathan_k80 9 years ago

-use of the expression "lamb sakes"

I think you mean "lands sake!" Or did anyone ever use the phrase be ready (or be done) in "two shakes of a lamb's tail?" I can't recall offhand.

Another cliché:

-Laura has an 1870s version of a BFF. It's implied that they've known each other all their lives. However, the classmate appears in only one episode, then is neither seen nor mentioned again.

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[–] cataclysm1071 9 years ago

An entirely different student body at the school every week.

Nellie or Mrs Oleson befriending and kissing the a$$ of the town villain of the week, while Mr. Oleson passive aggressively seethes in the background.

The Ingalls family....usually Charles....saving an emotionally crippled and angry train wreck of a person.

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[–] moonglum9 9 years ago

An entirely different student body at the school every week.

To be fair, fatal diseases were quite rampant back in those days. Not to mention all the house fires.

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[–] sambda 8 years ago

Yes, but houses rebuild themselves in Walnut Grove! The blind school is a big
mansion place and it burns down (the ep where Mary's baby burns), but lo and behold, it becomes the place bequeathed to Laura later, in "May I Have This Dance?"

It was also seen before, in any case, as the house of at least one (probably more) of the lonely old men that Laura periodically befriends. I'm sure it had other appearances too.

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[–] Katiedidd 8 years ago

The blind school was Lars Hanson's house, but Laura's inherited house was from some old resident, wasn't it? I agree how silly it was for Walnut Grove to have big homes conveniently pop up. One was that rich widow's that Chuck gets the china from. Laura narrates they used it from that point forward, but we never see it again!

I'm smellin' foul play. I can just imagine Carrie's equilibrium problems caused a big crash, breaking each and every one of them.

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[–] sambda 8 years ago

Yes - some old woman who we've never seen before dies and leaves Laura the oft-used mansion.

We're not supposed to notice these sort of things. Like where Doctor Ledoux ended up, or where Rev. Alden's wife vanished to. Or why the *other* Doctor (the old guy seen in "Marvin's Garden", who, we are told, had been around Walnut Grove practically forever) never helped out during the numerous plagues etc. Or why the midget clown (Billy Barty) who ended up working at the bank was never seen again after his first day.

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[–] myystk (368) 2 years ago

The blind school was the same house as the widow Elizabeth Thurman from season 2 episode 18 for my lady.

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[–] jason88cubs (2346) 7 years ago

all the families left after having to deal with Charles

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[–] SoAudreyHepburn 9 years ago

As it was said before, I'll say it again

A "longtime known, beloved" Walnut Grove citizen that we've never seen before or see again

Mrs Oleson/Nellie/Nancy being all b-tchy

Unbeknownst to us longtime viewers, Mary, Laura, Doc Baker being secretly racist at onetime or another

Take a drink everytime an Ingalls says "cash on the barrell"

Caroline/Charles despartly wanting to have a son. (I.e. praying Baby Grace was a boy, adopting Albert, Caroline going through menopause then faking a miscarriage, adopting James and Cassanda)

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[–] crockett_john 9 years ago

Harriet doing something. When she does it, it's bad. Anyone else does it, it's okay.

People praising Charles for being poor.

Someone has a misunderstanding that could easily be avoided with a simple explanation.

---
I'm just expressing my opinion.

You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.

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[–] Henahey41 9 years ago

Laura and Almonzo fighting all the time.
Laura fighting all the time

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[–] sjbradford 9 years ago

Is this thread three pages long and no one has mentioned the show's obsession with the blind?

Someone goes blind.
Someone who is blind regains their sight.
Someone who is blind thinks they are regaining their sight, but remains blind.
Someone pretends that they are blind.
Someone who is blind goes to the circus and pretends they are having fun.

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[–] deem_bastille 9 years ago

it's not 3 pages long for me -- and I have my pages at 25 threads/posts per page.

Reading the paper can really be depressing. Mr. Dithers fired Dagwood again.

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[–] mmlovers90 8 years ago

Is this thread three pages long and no one has mentioned the show's obsession with the blind?

Someone goes blind.
Someone who is blind regains their sight.
Someone who is blind thinks they are regaining their sight, but remains blind.
Someone pretends that they are blind.
Someone who is blind goes to the circus and pretends they are having fun.

I was taking a big swig of my soda when I read that last line and nearly choked! That episode was so silly!!!😂

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[–] sambda 8 years ago

Somebody who is blind is a good artist! Huh?

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[–] kimmie_baever 8 years ago

Pretends to have fun? I haven't met a blind person who didn't enjoy going to the circus myself included. The show focused a lot on blindness because of Mary.

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[–] Navaros 9 years ago

Anymore I missed

Yup, sure did. LH often recycles all kinds of plots over and over and over again.

They include:

- Laura falls in love with a dopey boy.

- A WG resident or visitor turns psychopath and terrorizes others in WG.

- Nellie terrorizes another WG resident or visitor.

- Willie says something funny then gets sent to the corner.

- An older man and younger woman fall in love with each other, then break it off at the end because the man feels "guilty" about being too old.

- Charles adopts random orphans.

- Mrs. Oleson refuses to help people who she could if she wanted to.

- A scammer comes to WG and causes trouble until he is kicked out of town.

- Mr. Edwards' family members randomly get killed.

- Laura acts like a crazed harpy (in pretty much every scene & episode from after she got married until the final LH tele-film ever made.)

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[–] bookworm-coslet 8 years ago

As a side note to Charles adopting orphans, how about him calling every boy he interacts with "son"? That sure is a way to make your wife feel good when all she can think about is how she's not given you any sons.

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] tapdancer 8 years ago

As a side note to Charles adopting orphans, how about him calling every boy he interacts with "son"? That sure is a way to make your wife feel good when all she can think about is how she's not given you any sons.

Charles is the reason they had so many daughters. But, to be fair, I guess they didn't know back then that the man's sperm is what determines if a child will be male or female.

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[–] moonglum9 9 years ago

-the numerous bodies strewn in Little Albert's murderous wake

-Caroline's puzzlement over why the sheet hung between Laura and Albert's bed always had a hole torn in the middle and Laura's frequent skipping of breakfast (it's okay, Albert was adopted)

-Charles kicking ass for the lord

-big bearded buddies who's families die

-Nels Oleson's dwindling stash of arsenic and his family's increasing sickliness

-Doc Baker: Pioneer Drug Dealer (blue morphine was his signature stuff)

-The one thing about Walnut Grove that I never could stomach: All the damn vampires!

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[–] jason88cubs (2346) 7 years ago

hilarious

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