Comedian Ray Ellin remembers watching Little House on the Prairie from an early age and being captivated by the Ingalls family adventures in Walnut Grove. His love of the American western drama only grew stronger as a teenager into adulthood when the series landed in syndication.
Ray Ellin
“The show has a bit of everything; drama, suspense, love, villains, action, occasionally comedy,” Ellin said. “I liked watching both the caring, healthy families, as well as the dysfunctional ones.”
“They were constantly overcoming adversity, and I think as a kid I found that intriguing. It’s fun watching the bad guy, but it was also good to watch people come together either as a family or community. And as a kid, seeing the strong kids defend the weak ones felt good to watch.”
Ellin turned this devotion into a weekly podcast Wild Nights on the Prairie with Ray Ellin. The show features guests and conversations regarding life lessons learned from the iconic TV show, which lasted nine seasons. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, we asked this “prairie head” to run down his definitive 10 episodes. Let us know your favorites in the comments below.
10. Season 6 Episode 15 “Whatever Happened to the Class of ’56?”
Ellin always found it interesting when the main characters leave the Grove for a trip to the big city where they are fish-out-of-water and do things like ride elevators. This episode sees Charles elected to represent the farmers of Hero Township at a Grange convention in Milwaukee. At the same time, Caroline gets an invitation to the 25th high school reunion in the same city, so they travel there together.
They find that some of their old classmates are very successful, but wealth doesn’t necessarily equal happiness or a good marriage. And both Caroline and Charles are propositioned by former married classmates.
“Come on, Caroline, go for it! The classmates are a good mix of characters, and the episode is very relatable,” Ellin said. “It gave me a laugh thinking about some of the horrible people at my own high school reunion, bragging about their lives, trying to convince themselves how exciting they are. Watching the implosion of the Class of ‘56 is extremely entertaining”
9. Season 6 Episode 10 “The Faith Healer
Little House on the Prairie
Since the beginning of time, people want to believe in miracles. And many people in Walnut Grove are no different. Enter traveling minister, Reverend Jacob Danforth (James Olson), who arrives, and is able to “heal” people.”
Eventually, Charles, while on a business trip to Sleepy Eye, discovers the truth about Danforth’s method. He performs a hustle from town to town, with the same three people in the audience pretending to need saving. Charles shows up at one of Danforth’s church services and reveals the truth.
“If Instagram had existed in the 1800s, Danforth’s con would have been immediately revealed,” Ellin said. “Then again, millions of dumdums would still think it were real… and they would like, comment, and share the ‘miracles.’”
8. Season 4 Episode 18 “The Inheritance”
In this episode, a lawyer visits to tell Charles that he is the heir to the massive estate of his late Uncle Ned, who owned the Ingalls Carriage Company, and a large house in St Louis. Charles and Caroline get carried away and run up a large debt at Oleson’s Mercantile.
The lawyer returns with bad news. He explains to Charles that, because of Uncle Ned’s eccentric lifestyle, his whole estate amounted to nothing – just a box containing worthless Confederate money. To try and collect her debt, Mrs. Oleson immediately forecloses on the Ingalls farm. But the friends in town come up with a plan to help the Ingalls keep their property. They keep the auction of the Ingalls’ farm a secret and bid on everything themselves for pennies.
“It amazes me Nels Oleson never just said to everyone in town, ‘Look, my wife sucks.’ She’s awful,” Ellin said. “But there are seven women in this town, and six are married, so I’m stuck. What can I do? She stinks. And as a result, I’m giving all of you free salt water taffy for life. Great episode.”
7. Season 9, Episode 16 “Home Again”
Charles and Albert return to Walnut Grove after Albert has repeated run-ins with the law for curfew violations and theft. It’s soon discovered that Albert is hooked on morphine, which increasingly causes him to become violent, and eventually leads Charles to take drastic measures to help his son withdraw from the drug.
“It’s very unexpected that Albert became a drug addict,” Ellin said. “I can’t say it’s ‘fun;’ it’s a terrible situation. But the love his father shows in trying to save him is beautiful. The acting in this episode is excellent. And it’s actually amusing the way Doc Baker says the word ‘morphine,’ with the emphasis on the second syllable. ‘MorPHINE.’”
6. Season 1, Episode 1 “A Harvest of Friends”
Ellin likes this episode for a few reasons. It’s the Ingalls family origin story and shows the immediate challenges they face as soon as they settle on the banks of Plum Creek, just outside Walnut Grove. Ellin believes it’s also where you get first examples of how kind, tough, and hard-working the family was.
“Charles Ingalls builds the iconic little house, and the family is just so grateful to have a home with windows! And a floor made out of wood, not dirt! And a door that locks!…,” Ellin said. “The banter between Doc Baker and Lars Hanson (Karl Swenson) is fun, bordering on the Muppets’ Statler and Waldorf, not seen much in future episodes. I always really liked the Hanson character; for some strange reason, he always reminded me a bit of my grandmother.”
Ellin adds the villain in this episode, Liam O’Neil (Ramon Bieri), the Irish-born proprietor of the Feed and Seed, is laced with just the right amount of charm and sleaze.”
5. Season 1, Episode 17 “Doctor’s Lady”
When Harriet Oleson’s niece Kate (Anne Archer, who played Michael Douglas’ wife in Fatal Attraction) comes to visit Walnut Grove, she and the much older Doc Baker fall in love fast.
“Harriet is her magnificent cantankerous self, and there’s fun banter between Doc Baker and Lars Hanson,” Ellin said. “This episode features a fairly common fantasy for any older guy, having a beautiful younger woman pursue them. Scandal on the Prairie! The Doc gives a lot of thought to the age difference between himself and Kate (30 years, 40?) His friends and fellow townspeople all have opinions on the matter, and he shows more emotional depth than in any other episode in the series. He clearly loves Kate, and crafts an engagement ring out of ‘one of my daddy’s watch chains.’
When Kate accompanies him on a visit to deliver a baby to a woman whose own birth he had handled, their age difference is magnified for both of them.
“This leads to the Doc making a difficult decision,” Ellin added. “He tells Kate, ‘It’s springtime for you. It’s late fall for Hiram Baker.’ Personally, I think he’s a horse’s ass. He should have gone for it. For whatever reason, this charming, stunning woman was into this wise man who made the Quaker Oats guy look like Brad Pitt. I think he blew it. But, onward and upward, Hiram!”
4. Season 5, Episode 15 “The Craftsman”
Albert (Matthew Labyorteaux) takes a job as an apprentice for a woodworker Isaac Singerman (John Bleifer), a Jewish man who is the target of deep prejudice in the community.
“Of course, Harriet Oleson is at her bigoted best, and Mr Singerman soars throughout this episode….Big fan of this episode,” Ellin said. “Albert unknowingly (until the end is near) helps Mr. Singerman build his own coffin. Watch it.”
3. Season 7, Episodes 1 and 2 “Laura Ingalls Wilder”
This is technically a two-part episode where there is a drought and Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler) loses his crop and the land. Laura suggests she take a teaching position to help them earn money for a new farm, but Almanzo objects and postpones the wedding. They continue to argue, and eventually, Laura breaks their engagement.
Meanwhile, the relationship between the prissy Eliza Jane (Lucy Lee Flippin) and Harve Miller (James Cromwell who you may know from a bunch of stuff including most recently Succession) seems to blossom, but when she tells him she loves him, he reveals he is in love with someone else.
“It’s brutal, it’s gut-wrenching,” Ellin said. It makes you think about the times you had your own heart broken. For me, it was Randi Parker in the 10th grade. She stepped on it, mashed it up, and then went to gym class.”
2. Season 2, Episode 21, “Going Home”
A devastating tornado hits Walnut Grove, destroying the Ingalls’ crops and farm. Animals are killed, and the house and barn are severely damaged. Charles is despondent and decides to move his family back to their old house in Wisconsin.
“It’s powerful to watch this devastation, and how they cope with it,” Ellin said. “Of course, it wasn’t really cool that Charles makes this decision without first discussing his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle). But it’s the 1800s, and despite keeping the household together, and being an incredibly vital part of the family, the lady of the house did not always get a say in matters (although Harriet Oleson pretty much controlled her poor husband Nels played by Richard Bull)…Later in the episode, Charles realizes he didn’t ask for his wife’s opinion. Took him long enough. Rube.”
1. Season 3 Episode 18 “The Wisdom of Solomon”
The episode sees Todd Bridges of future Diff’rent Strokes fame guest star as Solomon Henry, an 11-year-old who is the first member of the family not born into slavery. Solomon tells his mother he wants to learn to read and write and go to school, which his mother (Maidie Norman) and brother (David Downing) explain isn’t realistic. Solomon runs away and ends up hiding on the back of the wagon being ridden by Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) and Dr.Hiram Baker (Kevin Hagen) to Walnut Grove.
“Bridges gives one of the best guest star performances in television history,” Ellin said. “Wise beyond his years, Solomon ends up educating the Ingalls family and the other folks of Walnut Grove as to the plight of himself and his family and people. He ends up living with the
Ingalls family, and finally gets the opportunity to go to school. The reaction of bigoted Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) is a treat when Charles tells her that Solomon is his son from a previous marriage….Every few minutes your heart is pulled in another direction. This is a must-watch.