It's that special time of the year once again. For today, Charles and Caroline would be celebrating their wedding anniversary. The little house was decorated right nicely for the occasion, and the only thing missing was the second guest of honor. Don't worry, Charles didn't forget. We're not going for that cliché. Unfortunately, his wagon broke down in the middle of nowhere, an axle snapped clean in half. Looks like he's going to be a while, so it looks like we have enough time for a story. Caroline regales the girls with the first time she ever laid eyes upon the man she was going to marry. It all started when Caroline was a little girl and a wagon pulled up outside her home. From out of it came the Ingalls family, Lansford, Laura, and their kids Peter, Polly and Charles. They were looking for a piece of land they just bought and Charlotte Holbrook was more than happy to point them in the right direction. Charles didn't really make a good impression with Caroline, however their second meeting went a little more smoothly. Caroline showed off her knack with making sweets and Charles admitted to being a dummy, as per what Peter told him to say. Back to the present, Charles still hadn't made it home and it was beginning to storm. Since the girls can't sleep, Caroline tells them the next chapter of the story: there was another boy trying to put the moves on her: Harold Watson, son of their school teacher.
Mr. Watson was a real douche who seemed to dislike Charles right off the bat. He lashed him because he couldn't talk right, apparently. Afterwards, Harold teased him about and Charles tackled him. Even as a kid, he'd resort to raw aggression. Watson came outside and assumed it was Charles who started the fight and lashed him again. However, Charles was able to give Harold a run for his money when he was hassling Caroline. She was pretty impressed. Next day, after that fat bastard lashed Charles again, he strolled out to the outhouse, right where Charles wanted him. The cunning Ingalls boy tied the door shut. Eventually, he got out and told Charles' pa what happened. Lansford didn't even listen to why his son did what he did, he just let Watson use his belt to lash his boy. However, he told him that from now on, he better damn well make sure he doesn't lash them again without a good reason, as if there is a good reason to do what he's been doing. So when all that madness subsided, Caroline dropped hints about wanting Charles to invite her to the dance at the annual berry festival. He did ask, but didn't know how to dance, and Peter trying to teach him left much to be desired. At the night of the dance, Charles was late. Harold showed up and, when hearing whom Caroline was saving her dance for, informed her that Charles wasn't coming. Something tells me he's up to something. When young Charles did show up, it was revealed that Harold and his buddy ganged up on him and beat him up. Good old Peter soon returned the favor, while Charles ran back to Caroline's house to set things right. As you can image, she was heartbroken about being stood up, but when she saw Charles all beat to hell, all was forgiven and they shared a dance right there on her porch. Back to the present, Charles finally made it home. He gave her a lovely broach, and a beaded necklace, a replica of the one he'd made her when they were children. Ironic. And so, they commenced to dancing.
While I didn't enjoy this episode as much as some of the others, it was still well done. Probably the most difficult scenes to watch are Charles getting abused by that awful schoolteacher. Believe it or not, schools were really like that back in the day. The teacher would whip the students who misbehaved, and it's because of those ignorant animals that there are so many regulations put into place that basically force a teacher to allow their student to get away with almost anything. So for what it's worth, "I Remember, I Remember" was okay. Matthew Laborteaux was good as young Charles, as he is the only one who could portray a young Michael Landon properly. He'll be back next season as Albert. I was particularly impressed with Katy Kurtzman as young Caroline. She was so precocious and had an air of maturity about her that is normally found in a woman twice her age. I think they should have had this young actress on the show more often. You may remember her as Anna from "The Music Box." Also, Sorrell Booke was good as that awful Mr. Watson. Booke was a good character actor in his day, having appeared on All in the Family as Archie's boss, then befuddled General Barker on M*A*S*H, and Boss Hog on Dukes of Hazard. Anyway, if you want to see what Charles and Caroline were like as kids, give this episode a look. It's not one of the better episodes, but it's pretty good for what it is. Check it out.
4 out of 7 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
