After school one fine day, Laura went to the pond to hunt an elusive crayfish, and she might have caught it, had Jack's barking and Mary's yelling not scared the little bugger off. Mary came to call Laura back to the house, because ma's got a big announcement. The girls have been invited to a party, and not just any party: Nellie's birthday party! They were disappointed, and Caroline pulls the "how would you feel if the shoe were on the other foot" spiel. That night, during a lovely supper of corn on the cob and apple fritters, Mary gushes about finally seeing Nellie's house and if it's really the store-bought paradise she's always building it up to be. In another household, the new girl in town, Olga Nordstrom, was also invited, but her father, Jon was a bit reluctant to let her go. He knew how the other children treated her because of her handicap, they treated her as an outcast, but she was allowed to go anyway. She'll show'em; Mary, Laura and the other girls arrived at the Olesons' to celebrate yet another year of Nellie's existence promptly at 2:00. The Ingalls girls were astonished at the Olesons' living room and the birthday brat greeted them by tossing their heartfelt gifts aside, and showing off an expensive doll she received. When Laura tried to touch it, a piece of the dress came loose, though easily fixable, Nellie and Harriet acted as though the world were coming to an end. So while the other kids ran around in the yard like idiots, Laura and Olga, both feeling like outcasts and because Laura twisted her ankle coming down the stoop, went down to the pond to catch frogs. They had a ribbetting good time...sorry. So Olga enjoyed herself, but Jon was unsatisfied just because Olga only got to talk to one girl. How fickle can a guy get?
Charles and Caroline got to talking that night, due to the "success" of Nellie's party, why couldn't the girls throw their own? They thought it was a fine idea, provided they invite Nellie too. You know, "shoe on the other foot" and other such crap. Mary asks Olga to come and when she hears Nellie will be there, she admits that she pities the Oleson girl, because she was very poor on the inside. Meanwhile, Charles and Laura have one of their world famous talks, as she explains Olga's plight, having been born with one leg shorter than the other, but whenever she steps on a thick enough plank of wood, it evens it out, kind of like a horseshoe, so Charles pays the Nordstroms a visit and while grandmother Helga was cordial, Jon wouldn't give Charles the time of day. Basically the Ingalls patriarch wanted to fix Olga's shoe to give her balance, but Jon told him to buzz off. Fortunately, the sensible Helga brought the girl and her shoes to Charles, explaining that her son is an overprotective, bullheaded lout who never listens to reason. So Charles rigged the shoe, and Olga walked perfectly! So the party was on and everybody enjoyed themselves...except Nellie, naturally. But when they go wading in the creek, she's really all wet! When Jon finds out Charles rigged the shoes behind his back, he storms over to the Ingalls' place... what is this guy's problem? Does he want his daughter to stay crippled? So he confronts Charles, they wrestle in the hay, and then Jon sees how much fun Olga is having with her new friends, and a change seems to come over him. He realizes what a douchebag he'd been to everyone, and so all was well. Olga had a newfound self-esteem and she fit in with the other kids, made new friends, and was never seen or heard from again after this episode.
A very good character building episode, for both Olga and her father. It just shows that people need a helping hand here and there, and it can make a world of difference. Kim Richards was very good as Olga, as was Jan Merlin as her bullheaded father, Maya Van Horn as the ever-patient Helga, not to mention Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Allison Arngrim and Katherine MacGregor also gave notable performances. You can really learn to despise Harriet and Nellie towards the beginning, and see just how rotten and cheeky that little girl can be. I recommend checking out this episode, as well as the rest of Little House's first season. I've critiqued each episode and I think it's a solid introductory season. Sure the first seasons of most TV shows are weak, but that's just because it's setting everything up, and while Season 1 probably isn't the show's best, it's still really good. My favorites would have to be "Money Crop", "Ma's Holiday", "100 Mile Walk", "A Harvest of Friends", "The Raccoon", "The Voice of Tinker Jones" and "Christmas at Plum Creek", with my least favorites being "Love of Johnny Johnson", "Founders' Day" and "The Award." So check this season out, you'll be glad you did.
Charles and Caroline got to talking that night, due to the "success" of Nellie's party, why couldn't the girls throw their own? They thought it was a fine idea, provided they invite Nellie too. You know, "shoe on the other foot" and other such crap. Mary asks Olga to come and when she hears Nellie will be there, she admits that she pities the Oleson girl, because she was very poor on the inside. Meanwhile, Charles and Laura have one of their world famous talks, as she explains Olga's plight, having been born with one leg shorter than the other, but whenever she steps on a thick enough plank of wood, it evens it out, kind of like a horseshoe, so Charles pays the Nordstroms a visit and while grandmother Helga was cordial, Jon wouldn't give Charles the time of day. Basically the Ingalls patriarch wanted to fix Olga's shoe to give her balance, but Jon told him to buzz off. Fortunately, the sensible Helga brought the girl and her shoes to Charles, explaining that her son is an overprotective, bullheaded lout who never listens to reason. So Charles rigged the shoe, and Olga walked perfectly! So the party was on and everybody enjoyed themselves...except Nellie, naturally. But when they go wading in the creek, she's really all wet! When Jon finds out Charles rigged the shoes behind his back, he storms over to the Ingalls' place... what is this guy's problem? Does he want his daughter to stay crippled? So he confronts Charles, they wrestle in the hay, and then Jon sees how much fun Olga is having with her new friends, and a change seems to come over him. He realizes what a douchebag he'd been to everyone, and so all was well. Olga had a newfound self-esteem and she fit in with the other kids, made new friends, and was never seen or heard from again after this episode.
A very good character building episode, for both Olga and her father. It just shows that people need a helping hand here and there, and it can make a world of difference. Kim Richards was very good as Olga, as was Jan Merlin as her bullheaded father, Maya Van Horn as the ever-patient Helga, not to mention Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Allison Arngrim and Katherine MacGregor also gave notable performances. You can really learn to despise Harriet and Nellie towards the beginning, and see just how rotten and cheeky that little girl can be. I recommend checking out this episode, as well as the rest of Little House's first season. I've critiqued each episode and I think it's a solid introductory season. Sure the first seasons of most TV shows are weak, but that's just because it's setting everything up, and while Season 1 probably isn't the show's best, it's still really good. My favorites would have to be "Money Crop", "Ma's Holiday", "100 Mile Walk", "A Harvest of Friends", "The Raccoon", "The Voice of Tinker Jones" and "Christmas at Plum Creek", with my least favorites being "Love of Johnny Johnson", "Founders' Day" and "The Award." So check this season out, you'll be glad you did.