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Little House on the Prairie (Little House: A New Beginning in its ninth and final season) is an American Western historical drama television series about the Ingalls family, who live on a farm on Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s–90s. Charles, Caroline, Laura, Mary, and Carrie Ingalls are respectively portrayed by Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, and twins Lindsay and Sydney Greenbush. The show is loosely based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books. In 1972, with the encouragement of his wife and daughter, television producer and former NBC executive Ed Friendly acquired the film and television rights to Wilder's novels from Roger Lea MacBride and engaged Blanche Hanalis to write the teleplay for a two-hour motion picture pilot. Friendly then asked Michael Landon to direct the pilot; Landon agreed on the condition that he may also play Charles Ingalls. The pilot, which first aired on March 30, 1974, was based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's third Little House book, Little House on the Prairie. The rest of the regular series premiered on the NBC network on September 11, 1974, and last aired on May 10, 1982. During the 1982–83 television season, with the departure of Landon and Grassle, a sequel series, generally considered Season Nine for syndicated packages, was broadcast with the new title Little House: A New Beginning. Cast and characters Melissa Gilbert has the most appearances of the series, a total of 190 of the 204 episodes. Michael Landon appeared in all but four episodes of seasons one through eight, but departed from being a regular part of the cast when the show was retooled as Little House: A New Beginning (season nine). Main cast Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls (seasons 1–8, guest in 9, two post-series movies) Karen Grassle as Caroline Quiner Ingalls (seasons 1–8, one post-series movie) Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder (seasons 1–9, three post-series movies) Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall (seasons 1–7, guest in 8) Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls (seasons 1–8) Matthew Labyorteaux as young Charles Ingalls and Albert (Quinn) Ingalls (seasons 5–8, guest in 9, one post-series movie) Richard Bull as Nels Oleson (seasons 1–9, three post-series movies) Katherine MacGregor as Harriet Oleson (seasons 1–9) Alison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson Dalton (seasons 1–7, guest in 9) Jonathan Gilbert as Willie Oleson (seasons 1–9, two post-series movies) Victor French as Mr. Edwards (seasons 1–3, guest in 6, 8–9, three post-series movies) Bonnie Bartlett as Grace Snider Edwards (seasons 1–3, guest in 6) Kevin Hagen as Dr. Hiram Baker (seasons 1–9, three post-series movies) Dabbs Greer as Rev. Robert Alden (seasons 1–9, two post-series movies) Charlotte Stewart as Eva Beadle Simms (seasons 1–4) Karl Swenson as Lars Hanson (seasons 1–5) Radames Pera as John (Sanderson, Jr.) Edwards (seasons 2–4) Brian Part as Carl (Sanderson) Edwards (seasons 2–3) Kyle Richards as Alicia (Sanderson) Edwards (seasons 2–3, guest in 6, 8) Merlin Olsen as Jonathan Garvey (seasons 4–7) Hersha Parady as Alice Garvey (seasons 4–6) Patrick Labyorteaux as Andrew "Andy" Garvey (seasons 4–7) Linwood Boomer as Adam Kendall (seasons 4–7, guest in 8) Ketty Lester as Hester-Sue Terhune (seasons 5–9) Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh as Grace Ingalls (seasons 5–8) Queenie Smith as Mrs. Amanda 'May' Whipple (seasons 1–4) Dean Butler as Almanzo Wilder (seasons 6–9, three post series movies) Lucy Lee Flippin as Eliza Jane Wilder (season 6, guest in 7 and 8) Sarah E. and Jennifer Coleman (seasons 8–9), Jennifer and Michele Steffin (three post-series movies) as Baby Rose Wilder Steve Tracy as Percival Dalton (season 6 and 7) Jason Bateman as James (Cooper) Ingalls (seasons 7 and 8) Melissa Francis as Cassandra (Cooper) Ingalls (seasons 7 and 8) Allison Balson as Nancy Oleson (seasons 8 and 9, three post-series movies) Shannen Doherty as Jenny Wilder (season 9, three post-series movies) Stan Ivar as John Carter (season 9) David Friedman as Jason Carter (season 9) Lindsay Kennedy as Jeb Carter (season 9) Pamela Roylance as Sarah Reed Carter (season 9) Guest stars Many actors, who were either well-known or went on to become famous, guest-starred on the show. Episodes Background and production Development Of the 204 episodes, Michael Landon directed 87 episodes; producer William F. Claxton directed 68 episodes, while co-star Victor French helmed 18 episodes. Maury Dexter (who was often an assistant director) directed 21 episodes, and Leo Penn directed the remaining three episodes. Interior shots were filmed at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, while exteriors were largely filmed at the nearby Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, where the town of Walnut Grove had been constructed. Many other filming locations were also used during the course of the series, including Old Tucson Studios and Sonora, California. Many of the exterior shots of Walnut Grove and the other Minnesota towns shown in the series include noticeable mountainous terrain in the background scenery. In reality, however, the southern Minnesota landscape where the show is supposed to take place includes no tall mountains. The series theme song was titled "The Little House" and was written and conducted by David Rose. The ending theme music, also written by Rose, originally appeared as a piece of incidental music in a later-season episode of Michael Landon's previous long-running series, Bonanza. Themes Little House explored many different themes including frequently portrayed ones of adoption, alcoholism, faith, poverty, blindness, and prejudice of all types, including racism. Some plots also include subjects such as drug addiction (e.g. Albert's addiction to morphine), leukemia, child abuse, animal abuse, and even rape. Although predominantly a drama, the program has many lighthearted and comedic moments, as well. Some of the episodes written by Michael Landon were recycled storylines from ones that he had written for Bonanza. Season two's "A Matter of Faith" was based on the Bonanza episode "A Matter of Circumstance"; season five's "Someone Please Love Me" was based on the Bonanza episode "A Dream To Dream"; season seven's "The Silent Cry" was based on the Bonanza episode "The Sound of Sadness"; season eight's "He Was Only Twelve" was based on the Bonanza episode "He Was Only Seven"; and season nine's "Little Lou" was based on the Bonanza episode "It's A Small World". In 1997, TV Guide ranked the two-part episode "I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away" at 97 on its 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list; the episode was about Mary going blind. Release Broadcast Little House on the Prairie ran on NBC from September 11, 1974 to March 21, 1983. From September 1974 to September 1976, it was aired on Wednesday nights from 8:00-9:00 EST. Beginning September 27, 1976, it was moved to Monday nights in the same time slot.: 798  Syndication In the U.... Discover the Sydney Landon popular books. 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