On Screen: “Little House on the Prairie”
Little House on the Prairie
Loosely based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s timeless, semi-autobiographical novels and Michael Landon’s ‘70s TV series, Netflix’s reboot of “Little House on the Prairie” is a gentle, family-friendly glimpse of American frontier life, as the Ingalls family head for Independence, Kansas, in 1869 to stake a claim for their own homestead.
When ever-optimistic Charles “Pa” (Luke Bracey) and ambivalent Caroline “Ma” (Crosby Fitzgerald) Ingalls arrive with their two bickering daughters — serious, cornbread-baking Mary (Skywalker Hughes) and spunky, slingshot-wielding Laura (Alice Halsey) — they almost drown crossing a deep river in their covered wagon and their beloved dog Jack is swept away by the current.
Staggering ashore, they meet compassionate Dr. George Tann (Jocko Sims), a real-life Black physician, followed by tortured Civil War veteran John Edwards (Warren Christie), who tells Pa that the so-called ‘free land’ isn’t officially open for settlement. It belongs to the Osage Nation, and the U.S. government has yet to negotiate a treaty but — “These settlers are like prairie fire, and prairie fire can’t be stopped.”
While coping with the trials and tribulations of building their log cabin, along with a strong sense of community, jeopardized by economic hardships and an outbreak of malaria, the hopeful Ingalls befriend their Indigenous neighbors, the resilient Mitchells (Meegwun Fairbrother and Alyssa Wapanatahk), and young Good Eagle (Wren Zhawenim Gotts) bonds with inquisitive “Half-Pint” Laura.
Admirably re-imagined with more historical accuracy by showrunner Rebecca Sonneshine and splendidly cast by Rachel Tenner and Rick Messina, the townsfolk include amiable Emily Henderson (Barrett Doss), who owns the general store, abandoned Caleb (Kowen Cadorath), along with predatory railroad promoter Eli James (Michael Hough), his meddlesome, snooty wife Jemma (Mary Holland) and their ‘mean-girl’ twins.
As the idyllic, traditional narrative unfolds, punctuated by Pa’s fiddle music, Ma’s fruit cobblers and the lure of delicious peppermint sticks, there are more questions than answers. Why did the Ingalls abruptly leave Big Woods, Wisconsin? And how do they wind up in Walnut Grove, Minnesota? Fortunately, the wholesome series has already been renewed for a second season as their homespun story continues.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Little House on the Prairie” is a spirited, sentimental 7 — with all eight episodes streaming on Netflix.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.