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pbeaking profile (must be logged in)
Trailblazer
Washington, USA
Join Date: 05-01-2007
post: 324 | My thoughts on Gold Country | 02-08-2008 4:19:39 am |
| If there is one LHOP episode that always bothers me is Gold Country. It is dark and so emotional. It starts off with a usual friendship that Laura creates with "not so friendly men." The miner tells of burying his treasure in with his wife who is buried beneath a river. When the man kills himself after laura's blabbing causes a character to get gold the easy way by digging up the wife's grave and stealing the jewels it bothers me. Then when Charles buries him next to his wife and then goes back and tells laura that he wasn't mad at her and that he has moved on just gets me every time. What do you guys think? Not a happy ending that's for sure. It's a good show, but the storyline seems different than from most the others for some reason. 
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bethandmanly profile (must be logged in)
Moderator
Massachusetts, USA
Join Date: 08-12-2005
post: 4244 | 02-09-2008 5:08:19 am |
| I rarely watch this one because it's disturbing, but I think Michael did a good job of tapping into what the situation must have been like in California at that time. "Into the West" had a very dark, emotional scene based upon the Gold Rush too, where, if I remember right, two brothers ended up fighting over the gold they found and one of them ended up dead.
"Gold Country" not the typical story which spoke of hope after dealing with adversity like most of the LHOP episodes were, which is why I think it's hard to watch. Even in other very dramatic episodes, the characters still manage to find a way to hold onto the hope they have for the future. In this episode, the only real hope they have is that they are returning home.
Cheryl
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IluvMichael profile (must be logged in)
Homesteader
Indiana, United States
Join Date: 04-09-2007
post: 1087 | 02-10-2008 3:13:49 pm |
| I've watched LH all my life but have only seen this particular episode a couple of times. I, too, am not fond of this one but it does teach a good life lesson. I think the writers (John Hawkins & B.W. Sandefur) were trying to show us what happens when people let greed and jealousy take over. People tend to do things that they normally wouldn't do. In this case, the families were desperately trying to find gold so they wouldn't have to worry about how they were going to pay the bills. One family was fortunate enough to find gold. Some were joyous and celebrated with them. Others were jealous and killed the one who found it then tried to steal it. The writers were trying to show us not to be greedy. It was a good lesson to teach even though it is a tough episode for us to watch. 
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Spanky profile (must be logged in)
Settler
, USA
Join Date: 11-11-2005
post: 697 | 02-10-2008 4:37:52 pm |
| Gold Country is not one of my favorite episodes.I haven't watched in a long time.
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MNJess profile (must be logged in)
Settler
Minnesota, United States
Join Date: 01-11-2008
post: 702 | 02-10-2008 4:11:26 am |
| Gold Country seems so unlike the Ingalls'. It seems so out of charactor for the Ingalls and Edwards ot be greedy like that and want gold, but I supose if your crops failed because of extensive rain we would all be tempted to do the same.
With the fact the Charles told Laura that Zacharia was not mad made her belive that nothing happened after he commited suicide it undersandale, because if Laura knew the truth she would had to have lived with that fact and might have blamed herself fo Zacharia's death for the rest of her life.
Caroline, "Get off this property now!! I mean it." |
Prairiegirl profile (must be logged in)
Pioneer
Minnesota, America
Join Date: 08-12-2005
post: 3231 | 02-12-2008 8:39:42 pm |
| I have to say that I found Gold Country an interesting episode but some things about it bothered me. I think I would have really loved it if it was a movie that didn't have the Ingalls involved. I too, like Jessica, found it to be very strange for the Ingalls and Edwards to join in on gold fever. I guess it did have a good message behind it but just wasn't very Litte House feeling for me.
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Laura.fan profile (must be logged in)
Trailblazer
, Scotland
Join Date: 01-11-2008
post: 184 | 02-12-2008 9:32:36 pm |
| I found Gold Country interesting but it did bother me to. it was dark in some places like when you see the house on fire and all the gun shots.
You can't go through this life being afraid to love,without love, there just isn't any reason for living. |
bethandmanly profile (must be logged in)
Moderator
Massachusetts, USA
Join Date: 08-12-2005
post: 4244 | 02-12-2008 5:24:31 am |
| I know it doesn't seem like the Ingalls and Edwards families to get so caught up in the Gold Rush, but remember what happened to Charles when he thought he had come into an inheritance? He was spending money left and right and he didn't even have it yet. Money is a powerful thing and having it or the thought of having it can make people act in ways they never thought possible when they didn't have it. I think also about the episode where Charles and Caroline traveled to their reunion and found that they had pretty much stayed the same, but the people they knew were very different. Why were they different? Because they had money.
Depsite all the troublesome things about this episode, it does seem the writers had a clear and powerful message for viewers when they put together this episode.
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Laura.fan profile (must be logged in)
Trailblazer
, Scotland
Join Date: 01-11-2008
post: 184 | 02-13-2008 4:44:58 pm |
| yes i totally agree with you
You can't go through this life being afraid to love,without love, there just isn't any reason for living. |
Remember Me profile (must be logged in)
Trailblazer
New York, USA
Join Date: 01-19-2008
post: 114 | 02-13-2008 6:00:23 pm |
| beth and manly, in "The Inheritance", Charles did not want to spend money he didn't have. It was Mrs. Oleson who convinced him to do so. He also felt sort of pressured by Rev. Alden to buy the organ and by the school to buy new books.
Also, in "The Reunion", yes, their classmates were different due to having alot of money making them into greedy, thoughtless and unhappy people. Charles and Caroline were satisfied with their simple life because they and their family were full of happiness and love.
Home is the nicest word there is. |
bethandmanly profile (must be logged in)
Moderator
Massachusetts, USA
Join Date: 08-12-2005
post: 4244 | 02-13-2008 8:47:15 pm |
| Now that you mention it, I remember the pressure exerted on Charles. It doesn't make sense to me that he could so easily forget the lesson he learned with O'Neil and the oxen when he moved to Walnut Grove.
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Kelstokes profile (must be logged in)
Half Pint
Maine, USA
Join Date: 07-10-2006
post: 71 | 02-13-2008 9:57:59 pm |
| I totally agree with you. Also interesting to note, that when TBS used to air the repeats every week day around 9AM to 11AM they did not every show this episode ..you know how there are ones that they play over and over again and then there are ones that you rarely see. Gold Country was one of the ones they rarely showed. I am glad I have on DVD because I really had forgotten about it until the DVDS came out.
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pbeaking profile (must be logged in)
Trailblazer
Washington, USA
Join Date: 05-01-2007
post: 324 | 02-16-2008 6:13:10 pm |
| Thanks for all the insights. I do think the show was well written and sent a strong message, but it is so different from most the other episodes. Dark is a good word. I'm sure the gold rush was like that for many in real life as sad as it seems.
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