Have your opinions of the characters changed over the years, or after several viewings?

Charles- when I was younger, I also thought of him as a great dad, Mr. Understanding, etc. (though I never liked the teary eyed over dramatic side of him.) Then I started to see him as a sappy busybody.

Caroline- I always liked her, too.

Mary- she seemed like the textbook bossy older sister, the good one whose footsteps are hard to follow.

Laura- I've always liked her when she was younger. Yes, she got away with a lot. But she was pretty realistic. She did have faults, she did get into fights, she embarrassed herself. And since so much of her character was supposed to be relatable to the kids who were watching the show, I can see where they didn't want to give her the whipping she deserved at times. Kids were usually rooting for her, and wouldn't have wanted to see it happen. I didn't like the rush to have her grow up and court, then marry Almanzo. But I think it was also realistic to have her act so snippy after she was married. In real life, she would have been pretty stressed out and under enormous pressure. She'd gone straight from living with her parents, who did the bulk of the hard work, to having to manage her own household, farm, and still teach school- while still a teenager. Not that it was pleasant to watch sometimes when she'd lash out at people, but it was still better than watching a goody-goody.

Carrie- What can you say about a 7 year old who pees on herself, is afraid of her own feet, and at 13 still believes that Santa is coming?


Nels- always liked him

Harriet- we were supposed to hate her, of course. She was petty, mean, judgmental, snobby, and condescending. But she was also right about not extending credit to a man she had never even met, who hadn't established himself in the community, who strolled right into the store smug as the only rooster in a hen house, demanding goods. And on the flip side of her character, every single time the down was faced with some major drama: illness, people lost in a blizzard, moron down a well, whatever- the Olesons gave freely of ropes, blankets, medicines, and anything else that was needed.

Nellie- hilarious. And forgivable because she always got what was coming to her.

I actually didn't mind most of the characters, but I never really cared for “punch first, ask questions later” Charles (the same way I never cared for Little Joe, which was pretty much an identical character).

I agree about the Oleson's. While Mrs Oleson had a somewhat uppity attitude, she really wasn't any worse than the Ingalls. Look at the beehive incident with Laura and Albert resulting in Mrs Oleson and Nellie being stung. Or when Laura and Albert sold Willie a Billy goat under the assumption that it was a milk goat. Willie was in for a rude awakening, and a quick biology lesson as well, the first time he tried to milk that thing! 😀 (That Willie wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed).

And while I didn't dislike the character, the actress that played Mary was just awful in my opinion. Her crying scenes were so painful, that I often found myself wanting to cry afterwards, so I guess you can say that they were highly effective in a sense 😀

Doc Baker is the one I'd most want to be friends with. He's wise, practical, and low-drama. Rev Alden annoys me a bit because he's a little sanctimonious, and I couldn't forgive his wussiness during the Bully Boys episode.

The actress who played Mrs. Oleson is the best one on the show. Even when she's in the background, watch the expressions on her face. She's a brilliant performer.