Second Spring

Crazy Wife, Crazy Life; or Why Don’t You Just Move to Fucking Chicago, Nels (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: Second Spring Airdate: February 18, 1980 Written by John T. Dugan Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Nels has an honest-to-God affair with the fake-Irish lass to end all fake-Irish lasses. (HeContinue reading “Second Spring”

Wilder and Wilder

It’s a Beef Butt Roast; or Almanzo Furioso (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: Wilder and Wilder Airdate: February 11, 1980 Written by John T. Dugan Directed by Maury Dexter SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Half the town goes sex-crazy when Almanzo’s puke of a little brother comes to visit and a new student matriculates. (ZeroContinue reading “Wilder and Wilder”

Silent Promises

It Must Be Hard to Ghost Somebody in Walnut Grove; or The Deafisode? (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: Silent Promises Airdate: January 28, 1980 Written by Carole and Michael Raschella Directed by Maury Dexter SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Laura teaches herself ASL in about ten minutes to help socialize a deaf teenager, who thenContinue reading “Silent Promises”

The Werewolf of Walnut Grove

Eliza Jane Triumphant; or What Can You Write About the Sky? (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Werewolf of Walnut Grove Airdate: January 7, 1980 Written by John T. Dugan Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: In this very odd mélange of previous story elements, Laura and Albert pull a supernaturalContinue reading “The Werewolf of Walnut Grove”

The Faith Healer

The Banality of Evil; or Total Eclipse of the Appendix (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Faith Healer Airdate: November 19, 1979 Written by Don Balluck Directed by Maury Dexter SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Another Reverend Alden one. This time, Dabbs gets to flex his acting muscles when Aldi is challenged by a rivalContinue reading “The Faith Healer”

Annabelle

Nels Into Darkness; or The Flying Zaldamos (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: Annabelle Airdate: October 15, 1979 Written by Del Reisman Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: It’s another tale of fat-shaming, cruelty, and soul-sickness as Nels’s estranged sister comes to town . . . with the circus. [UPDATE: It cameContinue reading “Annabelle”

“Back to School,” Part Two

Welcome to the Grove, Zaldamo; or Here’s Mud in Your Eye (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: “Back to School” [sic], Part Two Airdate: September 24, 1979 Written and directed by Michael Landon SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: In the aftermath of the cinnamon-chicken holocaust, Laura gets punked, Nellie gets slimed, and Almanzo gets a knuckleContinue reading ““Back to School,” Part Two”

“Back to School,” Part One

Love is a Manly Splendored Thing; or Flippin’ Awesome (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: “Back to School” [sic], Part One Airdate: September 17, 1979 Written and directed by Michael Landon SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Walnut Grove experiences an outbreak of immortal TV moments when a grown man named Almanzo Wilder comes to town. RECAP:Continue reading ““Back to School,” Part One”

“Here Come the Brides”

Midnight in the Garden of Simms and Beadle; or Le Nozze di Pigaro (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: “Here Come the Brides” [sic] Airdate: December 5, 1977 Written by John T. Dugan Story by Robert F. Metzler and John T. Dugan Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Nellie forgets she’s evil,Continue reading ““Here Come the Brides””

The Creeper of Walnut Grove

Carri-et the Spy; or Harriet Oleson’s Baadasssss Song (a recap by Will Kaiser) Title: The Creeper of Walnut Grove Airdate: October 24, 1977 Written by John T. Dugan Directed by William F. Claxton SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL: Laura and Andrew call a truce with Nellie and Willie to solve a fairly obvious mystery. RECAP: FirstContinue reading “The Creeper of Walnut Grove”