Little House on the Prairie/Trivia

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Book Series

  • Science Marches On: Mary's blindness is blamed on scarlet fever in the books. Modern studies suggest that she had contracted meningoencephalitis, a type of brain inflammation, which caused her blindness. The 'scarlet fever' diagnosis was probably a misdiagnosis, common back then.
  • Write Who You Know: Justified Trope, since the books are partially autobiographical.

TV Series

  • Hey, It's That Guy!:
    • Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls of course.
    • Former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle, and later NFL broadcaster for NBC, Merlin Olsen had a recurring role as farmer Jonathan Garvey.
    • Also Victor French, who had been on Bonanza with Landon, then on Highway to Heaven, too.
  • Serendipity Writes the Plot: When the series started, the show's producer had signed an agreement that when the show ended, the site of the town would be returned to its original state. When filming the series finale, they were faced with the cost of demolishing the buildings. Michael Landon had the idea of blowing them up with dynamite, making them easy to haul away. He then wrote the memorable final scene where the townsfolk blow up their own town to accommodate the real-life demolition.
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