I'm sure if I searched it out on Amazon.com reviews or something I could maybe find the answer, but since this thread is already here, I'll ask my question... Question is: The other day at Walmart, I purchased the complete series (on DVD) put out by Lionsgate, I'm guessing it was originally released in 2018, as that's the only date I could find on the box... In the short description on the back, it says that the series is completely uncut, but before I open it, I just want to see if anyone here can confirm if they truly are the uncut episodes. The reason I'm slightly skeptical about it is because it is a Lionsgate release, the same Lionsgate that released the series "ALF" using the syndicated (edited) episodes.
Not a favorite show of mine as a kid. I watched the first couple of seasons when they first aired, even at 11 years old I found it to be too saccharine. Good production and well acted - I can understand why some love it.
It was expertly produced, and there are some standout episodes. The pilot - which hews closer to the books than the series - is very well done. There’s also a two parter where Patricia Neal portrays a dying widow who is looking for a home for her three children - excellent. But the show got awfully strange as it went on and they amped up the melodrama. Anthrax. blizzards. Fire. Tornados. Disappearing children and lookalike replacements. And it all led up to the very weird finale when the whole town blew up.
Yeah, I get that Michael Landon had to return the property to its original state when production ended. But he didn’t have to blow things up in that downer of a finale. The dismantling of the town should have been done off camera.
In fairness though, those type of natural disasters are certainly not out of the realm of reality for that region of the country, and certainly did happen in those days, and some of the stuff still occurs nowadays. The disappearing kids and lookalike replacements, I agree with you on that one. Trying to get "cute" kids back into the stories, sort of like Cousin Oliver syndrome.
In the last few seasons of "Bonanza" that Pa Ingalls hair-do was well under way. Little Joe's hair was essentially the Charles Ingalls 'do, except Charles' hair was longer in the back, but the hairstyle was formed on "Bonanza"...
I agree with Michael's choice...a sad but great ending...the impact back then was amazing...actually still is. : ) P.S. It's always best to reply to the OP post if not, they may get lost...
As for the plot (post explosion) had they worked out how they could pull it off without being sued by the new owners?
Geez, I don't think I ever have seen the final episode! I sure don't remember a town exploding. I liked the show best when it followed the books, and DeSmet South Dakota seems to still be there. I stopped watching entirely at some point eventually, although I remember Laura being a teacher.
I recall the plot had it so that the new owners only had ownership of the land, not the buildings on the land.
Correct. Laura threw a tantrum when she found out she didn’t own her land, so she started breaking all the windows in her house, saying that the new owners would have a lot of cleaning up to do. And then Zaldamo was all like, “Hey, I have some dynamite in my wagon, so we can really screw them over.” Heh heh.
Strange show. Watched the original TV movie because my English teacher made a big deal about it, but bailed on the actual show pretty quickly (probably didn't help that my father disliked both Bonanza and Michael Landon). One thing that bothered me was that the town seemed to look nothing like an actual town. It was as if someone had parachuted the buildings out of a moving plane and they just landed wily-nily all about the landscape (nothing organic about it at all). Also, I always got a kick out of how people came and went, especially in such a small town. It seemed that every week there was a new family or kid in trouble, and by the end of the show everyone would rally around and make them feel welcome and integrate them into community. And then they were never seen again. In a larger town or city that could be explained away, but in one the size of Walnut Grove, it couldn't. And the fact that no one ever seemed to notice (much less appeared to be bothered by it), bordered on the ridiculous. Looking back, I can see why some enjoyed the show, but the suspension of disbelief required, along with the diabetes-inducing levels of sugary wholesomeness was just too much cringe for me to stomach.
Thanks for posting the link-I just wish it was more informative. I mean the title of the link basically says it all, other than who's going to produce it. I'd give it a view, but the way things are nowadays, it'll end up being something that's only available on one of the streaming services.