Little House On The
Prairie: Season Four
67. Castoffs
Guest Star: Jim Jeter (Dorfler) Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey) Hermione
Baddeley (Kezia)
When Laura's dog, Jack, dies, her Pa gives her a new dog, Bandit, after
the dog follows him home. Although the dog seems very friendly to Laura,
Laura doesn't want it. When Laura later visits Aunt Kezia, a lonely women,
she realizes that she really loves Bandit.
b: 12-Sep-1977 w: Tony Kayden d: Michael Landon
NOTE: This episode introduces the character of Jonathan Garvey (played by
former NFL star Merlin Olsen). He, in effect, replaces Mr. Edwards. Victor
French (who played Mr. Edwards) had left the show after the 1976-1977
season to star in his own show, "Carter Country," a sitcom version of the
movie "In the Heat of the Night."
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68. Times Of Change
Guest Star: Mike Lookinland (Boy On Train) Radames Pera (John) John
Milford (O'Connell) Herbert Nelson (Hancock)
After going to Chicago for the first time, Charles and Mary are very
disappointed in what life in the city is really like.
b: 19-Sep-1977 w: Carole Raschella & Michael Raschella d: William F.
Claxton
NOTE: Guest Star Mike Lookinland is Bobby Brady from the Brady Bunch. Just
a few years before this episode aired Melissa Sue Anderson guest starred
on the Brady Bunch playing Bobby's crush. Melissa flirts with Mike at the
end of this episode during his cameo.
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69. My Ellen
Guest Star: James Wainwright (Cal Taylor) Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Corinne Camacho (Eloise Taylor)
Laura and Mary convince Ellen's mom to let Ellen come and swim with them.
While they are swimming, a couple of boys come to get a "better look."
When the girls realize the boys are there, they duck under the water.
Ellen never resurfaces. Laura brings Ellen's mother, Eloise, flowers one
day to try and cheer her up. Eloise, still in denial about the death of
Ellen, believes that Laura is actually Ellen and locks her in the cellar.
"Suspicion is raised when Eloise is in town buying a birthday present for
Ellen. As Charles, Jonathan, and Ellen's father are headed out there,
Laura escapes and runs up the hill toward Ellen's grave. Caught by Eloise,
Laura snaps her back to reality, and Eloise deals with her grief.
b: 26-Sep-1977 w: Michael Landon d: Michael Landon
NOTE: This is one of those rare episodes where we see the Ingalls girls
bare-shouldered (the scenes involving Mary, Laura and Ellen
skinny-dipping).
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70. The Handyman
Guest Star: Gil Gerard (Chris Nelson) Hermione Baddeley (Kezia)
Charles must take a delivery to Mankato immediately and is unable to
finish the addition to his house. Caroline hires a handsome man, Chris, to
finish the house. Mary suspects that her Ma and Chris are falling in love.
When Chris hears what Mary suspects, he leaves town. Mrs. Ingalls explains
to Mary what was actually going on. They go after Chris; Mary convinces
him to stay on for a little while.
b: 03-Oct-1977 w: Arthur Heinemann d: William F. Claxton
NOTE: Gil Gerard soon went on to play Captain William 'Buck' Rogers in the
25th Century, along with Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering) and Twiki the
robot.
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71. The Wolves
Guest Star: Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Charles and Caroline go away and leave Mary in charge. Laura and Andy find
some baby wolves and set up a pen for them in the barn. When they were
outing feeding the animals, the barn is surrounded by several wild dogs.
They try very hard to get into the barn. When Laura's dog, who had been
bitten by a wild dog, shows up at the Garveys, Mr. Garvey rides out to the
Ingalls' home. Andy's father and a few other men are able to shoot the
dogs.
b: 17-Oct-1977 w: Lawrence M. Konner d: Michael Landon
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72. The Creeper of Walnut Grove
Guest Star: Bernard Behrens (Bailey) Johnny Doran (Timothy) Merlin Olsen
(Jonathan Garvey)
Things are being stolen in Walnut Grove. Laura and Andy try to figure out
who's the crook. They end up getting a lot of people mad at them,
including Mr. Ingalls, especially after his hair turns green.
b: 24-Oct-1977 w: John T. Dugan d: William F. Claxton
NOTE: This is a particularly, very funny episode throughout. Notably, the
second attempt at catching the Creeper and the church scene.
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73. To Run And Hide
Guest Star: Collin Wilcox (Beth Novack) Burr deBenning (Dr. Logan) Michael
Pataki (Stanley Novack)
When Doc Baker is unable to save a patient of his, he believes that he is
unhappy being a doctor. He finds a new doctor for the town. Doc Baker
stays on when he realizes that the new doctor really doesn't care about
his patients.
b: 31-Oct-1977 w: John T. Dugan d: Michael Landon
NOTE: Melissa Gilbert (Laura) does not appear in this episode
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74. The Aftermath
Guest Star: Michael Conrad (Broder) Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey) Dennis
Rucker (Dankworth) Frank Marth (Lewis Ford) John Bennett Perry (Hobbs)
Jesse James and his brother, Frank, hide out in Walnut Grove. When the
people of Walnut Grove find out who the people really are, the outlaws
begin to take hostages. The outlaws realize they made a big mistake in who
they had taken as hostages. Eventually they release the hostages.
b: 07-Nov-1977 w: Don Balluck d: William F. Claxton
NOTE: The James boys hide out as Dankworth and Hobbs. This historical
episode ends with its own epilogue: 'Jesse James was shot and killed by
Bob Ford on April 3, 1882 in St. Joseph, Missouri.'
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75. The High Cost Of Being Right
Guest Star: Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey) Hersha Parady (Alice Garvey)
Patrick Labyorteaux (Andy Garvey)
After Mr. Garvey's barn burns to the ground with the crops inside, his
wife, Alice, takes a job at the post office. Mr. Garvey opposes this
believing that a man should be able to support his family. He is ready to
get a divorce until he realizes what his stubborn pride was doing to his
family.
b: 14-Nov-1977 w: Don Balluck d: Michael Landon
NOTE: The troubles of the Garveys spreads beyond their own family to
neighbors and strangers. But it ends rather differently that anyone would
suspect. The final scene is well worth waiting for.
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76. The Fighter
Guest Star: Raymond St. Jacques (Moody) Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Moses Gunn (Joe Kagan)
People in Walnut Grove are betting on a big boxing match in town. Mr.
Ingalls does not know that he will be fighting an extremely sick person.
That's why Charles is surprised in the ring when he is able to defeat his
opponent so quickly. After his opponent collapses, he is brought to Doc
Baker. Doc Baker is able to save him but warns him that he needs to stop
fighting.
b: 21-Nov-1977 w: Michael Landon s: Lawrence M. Konner d: Michael Landon
NOTE: This was a 90 minute episode.
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77. Meet Me At The Fair
Guest Star: Dick DeCoit (Cass) Michael Morgan (Patrick)
The Ingalls travel to the annual fair. When Carrie gets tired, she climbs
into the basket of a hot-air balloon. When the hot-air balloon is set
free, the adventure begins as everybody has to catch the balloon that has
Carrie inside.
b: 28-Nov-1977 w: Arthur Heinemann s: Bradley Berwick & Ray Berwick &
Arthur Heinemann d: William F. Claxton
NOTE: When Laura loses her 50 cents on the shell game, she finds a way to
make a dollar - by sitting in the chair over a large water barrel, whilst
fair goers try to hit the 'bullseye'. Then Nellie spots her, but Laura
thinks fast, with a hilarious result.
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78. Here Come The Brides
Guest Star: Joshua Bryant (Adam Simms) Bob Marsic (Luke Simms) Ivor
Francis (Varnum)
Adam Simms and his son Luke move into town. Adam falls in love with Miss
Beadle, while Luke and Nellie Oleson fall for each other. After Miss
Beadle talks to Nellie about love and marriage, Nellie and Luke decide to
get married. Mr. and Mrs. Oleson arrive to end the marriage of Luke and
Nellie. Adam and Miss Beadle get married in the church that night instead.
b: 05-Dec-1977 w: John T. Dugan s: Robert F. Metzler & John T. Dugan d:
William F. Claxton
NOTE: This is one of the first episodes to show the softer, nicer side of
Nellie's character. The effect of love must work wonders on this nasty
teenage girl's personality, we see by later episodes.
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79. Freedom Flight
Guest Star: Richard O'Brien (Hugh MacGregor) Nick Ramus (Little Crow)
Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
An Indian boy comes to Walnut Grove trying to get help for his sick
father. The people of Walnut Grove become very hostile toward the Indians.
Thanks to Mr. Ingalls' help the Indians are able to escape.
b: 12-Dec-1977 w: Ron Chiniquy & Richalene Kelsay d: Michael Landon
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80. The Rivals
Guest Star: Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Charles must try to save his business from a competitor. Laura, who is
love with Jimmy Hill, must compete with somebody else for him.
b: 09-Jan-1978 w: John T. Dugan s: Hindi Brooks & John T. Dugan d: William
F. Claxton
NOTE: Humor throughout this episode with a bitter-sweet scene at the
school for Laura.
As Miss Beadle married in the last episode, she was credited here for the
first time as Mrs. Simms
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81. Whisper Country
Guest Star: John McLiam (Caleb Fisher) Sandy McPeak (Jacob Bond) Mark
Neely (Joshua Bond) Anita Dangler (Miss Peel)
Mary gets a teaching job in a very rural community. Miss Peel, a person of
this community, is against the school. She convinces the other people in
the community that school isn't needed. Everyone in the community soon
learns that Miss Peel can't read when Mary asks her to read a passage from
the Bible. The community, including Miss Peel, then become more receptive
to the school.
b: 16-Jan-1978 w: John Hawkins d: Michael Landon
NOTE: Miss Peel literally tells everyone in her community how to behave
and in one scene she pulls a face, that could crack stone.
Caleb Fisher, the hard working farmer but
domineering patriarch of the family Mary stays with during her teaching
assignment in the backwoods community, was just as hateful to her as Mrs.
Peal (e.g., he thought she was lying when she told other members of his
family about the telephone). Eventually, he saw the errors of his ways
when Mary exposed Mrs. Peal's secret that she is illiterate. His wife,
Ellen -- who is submissive to his will -- proudly supports Mary when she
stood up to the old woman.
The vicious insults and outright lies that
attack and almost destroy Mary's character -- all aimed to protect the
community's superstitious beliefs, most coming from the purely hateful
Mrs. Peal and Mr. Fisher -- come often throughout the episode. It is only
Mary's resolve and perseverance, plus the support of her Pa and Rev. Alden
that help her not only survive the ordeal and become a stronger person,
but get the community to let go of their superstitious beliefs.
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82. I Remember, I Remember
Guest Star: Nicolas Coster (Lansford Ingalls) Virginia Kiser (Charlotte
Holbrook) Matthew Laborteaux (Young Charles Ingalls) Katy Kurtzman (Young
Caroline) Sorrell Booke (Mr. Watson)
Mr. Ingalls is severely delayed when a wheel breaks on his wagon in the
pouring rain. This is the day of Charles and Caroline's wedding
anniversary. Everything had been all prepared and set up for that day.
When Charles doesn't show up in time, Caroline tells the children how hard
it was to get Charles to notice her and how many heartbreaks she had
before she finally knew that Charles loved her.
b: 23-Jan-1978 w: Arthur Heinemann d: William F. Claxton
NOTE: Matthew Laborteaux is seen as Young Charles, before he was to become
a regular as Albert Quinn Ingalls.
Sarah Miller as Laura Ingalls, is the mother
of Charles in this episode, as Caroline tells the story of their first
days together when they were young.
The scene where Young Charles gets his
revenge on the bullying school teacher, is every kids dream.
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83. Be My Friend
When Laura is playing along a creek, she finds a bottle with a note in it.
The note read, "Be my friend." Laura convinces Pa to help her look for the
person who sent the note. They end up finding a baby. Charles then
searches for the parents of the child. The baby belongs to teen parents.
The reason the mother left the baby for the Ingalls to find was because
her dad was opposed to her being with the guy she conceived the child
with. The young parents take the baby and try things again.
b: 30-Jan-1978
NOTE: This was a 90 minute episode.
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84. The Inheritance
Guest Star: Allan Rich (Otto Ripley) Michael Prince (Roger Whitehead)
Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Charles receives a sum a money from one of his relatives. Everybody tries
to tell Charles how to spend the money. Charles spends the money without
realizing that it was confederate money. He puts his farm on the line
against these new debts and Mrs. Oleson holds the deed.
b: 06-Feb-1978 w: Arthur Heinemann d: William F. Claxton
NOTE: Mrs. Oleson changes her tune once she finds out the Ingalls have
money and then becomes nasty, when the Ingalls lose out. She is determined
to get her 'Pound of Flesh'.
The final scene - where Dr. Baker, Lars Hanson, Rev. Alden and Jonathan
Garvey purchase the Ingalls' land and farm equipment for pennies
(literally) - and Nels Olsen's telling auction-goers the sale had already
ended truly depict the deep friendship and caring they have for the
Ingalls. It is indeed, the perfect counter to Harriet Oleson's
ultimately-unsuccessful efforts to force the Ingalls (whom she always has
sneered down upon and detested because of their homely, farming
background) from Walnut Grove once and for all.
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85. The Stranger
Guest Star: Nehemiah Persoff (Mr. Lundstrom) Michael Sharrett (Peter
Lundstrom)
A nephew of Mr. Oleson's comes for a visit to try to learn some morals.
Mr. Oleson ends up sending the child to Mr. Ingalls. Mr. Ingalls has the
child help him on the farm. After being with the Ingalls, he learns how he
should behave. He goes back home being a changed man.
b: 20-Feb-1978 w: Arthur Heinemann d: Michael Landon
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86. A Most Precious Gift
Guest Star: Lili Valenty (Madame Maria) Joshua Bryant (Adam Simms) Merlin
Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Charles and Caroline are going to have another baby. Caroline constantly
refers to the baby as he. Caroline delivers the baby sooner than expected
causing Charles to be the doctor. The baby ends up being a girl, Grace.
b: 27-Feb-1978 w: Carole Raschella & Michael Raschella d: Michael Landon
NOTE: Caroline ("just for fun") consults a "psychic" gypsy woman to see
whether she's going to have a boy or girl. The woman predicts it will be a
boy, but she is wrong. Caroline thinks Charles wants her to have a boy,
since they already have 3 girls.
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87. I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (1)
Guest Star: Ford Rainey (Dr. Burke) Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Mary falls in love with Seth. When Mary's eyesight starts to get worse,
Charles takes her to a specialist. He is devastated when the specialist
tells him that Mary will lose her sight. Charles is unable to tell Mary
for a while that she is going blind. When Mary does go blind, the whole
family suffers.
b: 06-Mar-1978 w: Carole Raschella & Michael Raschella d: William F.
Claxton
NOTE: This is a very emotionally charged episode.
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88. I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (2)
Guest Star: David Opatoshu (Taylor Nash) Linwood Boomer (Adam Kendall)
Merlin Olsen (Jonathan Garvey)
Charles and Caroline sign Mary up for the blind school in Iowa. At first,
Mary is very reluctant to learn anything at the school. However, after
being with her teacher, Adam Kendall, for a while, she turns her outlook
on life around. Mary is such a great student that Adam asks her to help
her teach at the blind school with him.
b: 13-Mar-1978 w: Carole Raschella & Michael Raschella d: William F.
Claxton
