Cliff Notes – Cast of beloved 70s drama claim one episode ‘would not happen today’
- The cast of Little House on the Prairie reflected on a controversial episode, “Here Comes the Brides,” highlighting its themes of adolescent rebellion and romance that would be deemed inappropriate today.
- Alison Arngrim noted the age disparity between the characters and actors, emphasising that modern productions would require intimacy coordinators to ensure safety and comfort during similar scenes.
Cast of beloved 70s drama claim one episode ‘would not happen today’
The cast of Little House on the Prairie have unpacked a wild episode of the beloved show, insisting it wouldn’t see the light of day today.
The drama ran for nine seasons between 1974 and 1983, and focused on the Ingalls family living in Walnut Grove in Minnesota at the end of the 1800s.
Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Karl Swenson, Richard Bull and Karen Grassle made up the cast, while stars Alison Arngrim and Dean Butler teamed up with Pamela Bob to start a podcast looking back on their experiences ahead of the upcoming Netflix reboot.
Appearing on the latest episode of Little House 50, they reflected on season four episode Here Comes the Brides, which aired on December 5, 1977 – it followed Adam Simms (Joshua Bryant) and his ‘shoeless’ son Luke (Bob Marsic) moving to town and causing a stir with locals.
While Adam made a beeline for Eva Beadle (Charlotte Stewart), Luke quickly fell in love with Nellie (Alison) – with the youngsters running away to tie the knot.
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Their marriage didn’t last long and was very quickly annulled, but that wasn’t the only ceremony to shock locals, as Eva and Adam also went on to get married.
Lifting the lid on the instalment, Alison declared: ‘I love this episode so much … It’s just a display of adolescent rebellion, pouting and smoking, massive hormonal love… it really is Romeo and Juliet just gone berserk.
‘The hormones go wild, it’s just crazy.’
‘I am 15 in this episode,’ she clarified, branding it ‘one of her favorite’ episodes. ‘It aired in December so we shot it a few months before. I would have just turned 15 in January.
‘So I was 15 probably in a few months when we shot this.
‘I was super super super puberty, teenage insanity happening. It was hilarious. So, it was so perfect. The first time she rebels against her mom, the first time she falls in love…’
However, while the actress was 15 during filming, she shared that her character was two years younger.
‘I’m sorry, I’m 15 so she’s just barely 13,’ she continued. ‘This cat is playing, I guess, 16, 17? He’s 27 years old. He was late 20s, definitely older than 25.’
Alison later corrected herself and explained that Bob was 22 at the time.
She joked of the fictional Walnut Grove natives: ‘We’re children, teenagers… We’re not just like, “Gee, he’s cute! Hi there”. We’re like, “[Forcefully] Hi, what are you doing later?”
‘There young girls, these children, accosting a grown man who they have not been introduced to…’
There is set to be a remake of Little House on Netflix
Pamela agreed that there was no ‘swag or subtlety’, quipping: ‘It’s straight in for the kill.
‘There is no swag on the prairie. No one’s got game on the prairie.
‘That would not happen today, right? Casting a full-grown adult to play or even kiss – and it was an innocent kiss, but it’s a kiss – a minor.’
Alison added that, if those scenes were being filmed now, there would be intimacy coordinators on set to help ensure that everyone involved was safe and comfortable.
The actress recently left fans devastated when she confirmed that she would not be popping up on the Little House on the Prairie reboot currently in the works at Netflix.
No one from the original cast is set to appear
Bosses teased that they would offer a ‘fresh take on the iconic story’, with Rebecca Sonnershine leading the was as showrunner and executive producer.
Alison, who played Nellie Oleson from 1974 to 1982, later shared that her original castmates would be taking a back seat.
‘None of us, as far as I know, our gang, are in at this point,’ she told ReMIND, adding: ‘I have been joking for years that I’m finally old enough to play Mrs. Oleson, so call me!
‘This [show] is part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder multiverse. So concerns that they’re going to run amok away from the books and make it into something weird – not happening.’