Blizzard

You Can Tell There’s Going to Be a Big Body Count in This One; or My Smurf is Coming Loose! (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: Blizzard Airdate: January 3, 1976 Written by Paul W. Cooper Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: On Christmas Eve, Miss Beadle finally snaps and attempts toContinue reading “Blizzard”

The Bully Boys

Nice to Beat You; or What is This, Straw Dogs? (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Bully Boys Airdate: December 6, 1976 Written by B.W. Sandefur Directed by Victor French SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: When a new family comes to town, Mary and Pa are brutalized, and Ma is molested in the street. ButContinue reading “The Bully Boys”

The Monster of Walnut Grove

All Work and No Play Makes Nels a Dull Boy; or Sworded Scheme (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Monster of Walnut Grove Airdate: November 1, 1976 Written by John Hawkins Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: A Halloween special! Nels loses his marbles and Mrs. Oleson loses her head inContinue reading “The Monster of Walnut Grove”

The Collection

The Murder of Mary Ingalls; or He’s Getting Ten Years of Songs Out of This One Episode (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Collection Airdate: September 27, 1976 Written by Arthur Heinemann Directed by Michael Landon SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Aldi becomes the victim of kidnapping and identity theft when he encounters some unethicalContinue reading “The Collection”

Troublemaker

Bye Bye Beadie; or Crab-Apple-pocalypse Now (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: Troublemaker Airdate: February 25, 1976 Written by John Hawkins Directed by Victor French SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: After the Bead loses a no-confidence vote, a psychopath takes her place. RECAP: Well, after the momentum of “The Runaway Caboose,” our run of good storiesContinue reading “Troublemaker”

The Talking Machine

She Humiliated Me . . . With Science! (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Talking Machine Airdate: January 14, 1976 Written by Harold Swanton Directed by Victor French SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Nellie is bested by Laura in matters of love, so she plans a humiliation far exceeding anything else she’s done so far.Continue reading “The Talking Machine”

At the End of the Rainbow

The Problem is, Laura Isn’t Really This Stupid; or Nels Doesn’t Deserve To Be in This Dream Sequence (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: At the End of the Rainbow Airdate: December 10, 1975 Written by Arthur Heinemann Directed by Michael Landon SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Laura strikes gold (she thinks) and hallucinates hillbillies. RECAP:Continue reading “At the End of the Rainbow”

The Spring Dance

The Love of Willie Oleson; or She’s My Cherry Pie (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Spring Dance Airdate: October 29, 1975 Written by Gerry Day Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Laura fakes a love affair with Willie to get a boy’s attention. Meanwhile, Grace Snider does the exact sameContinue reading “The Spring Dance”

In the Big Inning

The Bad News Millers/Merchants/Mulligans/Heavenly Hosts – In Which the Studly Bearded Stranger’s True Identity is Finally Revealed! (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: In the Big Inning Airdate: October 1, 1975 Written by B.W. Sandefur Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: A baseball game. RECAP: This strange episode was likely a tie-in toContinue reading “In the Big Inning”

The Richest Man in Walnut Grove

The Return of Lemon Verbena (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Richest Man in Walnut Grove Airdate: September 10, 1975 Written and directed by Michael Landon SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: After getting laid off, Charles panics because he can’t pay his bill at the Mercantile, even though Nels says it’s no big deal. That’s theContinue reading “The Richest Man in Walnut Grove”