Little House on the Prairie (TV Series) Journey in the Spring: Part I (1976) User Reviews

Poor Grandpa

[mitchrmp · 8/10 · 4 May 2013]

The episode starts on a sad note. Charles' folks are in their house. His mother is bed-ridden, and after hearing a letter from Charles, dies peacefully.

The news is very upsetting to Charles and he feels he needs to be close to his family. So he travels to the Big Woods with the intention of bringing his father home to live out the rest of his days.

Carrie really seems to be getting a lot of air time this season. Not only did she get her own episode in Little Girl Lost, but in the Halloween episode, she got a nice long scene at the beginning. Now in this two-part episode she gets to learn all about turkeys.

I think my favorite part of this episode is seeing Charles as a little boy. Amazingly, that part is played by Matthew Labyorteaux, who later plays his adopted son, Albert Ingalls.

Another guest star that later becomes part of the series is Hersha Parady, who later returns to play Alice Garvey.

This first part focuses on Charles' father and his inability to accept the fact that his wife was gone. His brother, Peter can't do anything with him and gets angry at Charles when Charles says he's there to do something. Then his father tries to kill himself by setting his house on fire.

The show ends on sort of a happy note, but there is still a sadness surrounding the episode. Now we must wait until part two to see how grandpa fare in all this.

Sad Episode

[angelsunchained · 8/10 · 26 August 2022]

Well acted,but sad storyline. If you've lost your mom, you know what I mean. Jan Sterling has a nice role as the mother. Entertaining and keeps your attention, but leaves you feeling melancholy.....

Home Again.

[ExplorerDS6789 · 6/10 · 7 April 2012]

Lansford and Laura Ingalls, Charles' folks, received a letter from their boy one morning. He brings them up to speed on how life's been treating them and hopes that come harvest he can expand on the house, which would allow his folks to come live with them. Despite Laura's poor health, Lansford decreed they would visit in the spring. That's when Laura passed away almost instantly, a devastated Lansford by her side. Meanwhile in Walnut Grove, Charles was at Brewster's farm trying to select a turkey for Thanksgiving, or rather he's letting Carrie do it. Why? I guess somebody complained that she was never given enough to do. When they get home from turkey shopping, Caroline told Charles the bad news that his ma had passed away. Almost immediately Charles was on the next train to Wisconsin, and during the trip, he recalled a time when he was a boy and his father used a very keen trick to stop him from running away, by pretending to run away with him. Back to the present, Charles arrived back in the big woods and was reunited with his brother, Peter, still a douche after all these years, and his wife (and Caroline's sister) Eliza. It seems their pa has been in a bad way since ma died, and when Charles dropped by, the old man momentarily forgot time had passed and Charles was grown up, because he saw him as a young boy plain as day. After coming to his senses, Lansford and Charles visit Laura's grave, bringing on a flashback of Charles and his ma on the river, this was around the time they had lost the farm. Laura told her son to always hang on to his dreams no matter what. Very sound advice, because Charles may not be where he was today without those encouraging words.

Lansford continuously refused Charles' invite to come back and live with him in his little house on the prairie, on account of he didn't want to leave his wife behind. She was still around, even though she was dead. Lansford just wanted to give it all up and not see another day. Charles pointed out to him that's all he ever did when things looked bleak, feel sorry for himself and make everybody around him miserable. One suicide attempt later, Charles decided to bring Lansford home with him, whether he liked it or not. It was tough leaving their house, as well as Laura's grave, but it was for the best. Back in Walnut Grove, Carrie was taking her "pet" turkey for a walk, Mary and Laura couldn't find it in their hearts to tell Carrie the real reason why she was given that turkey in the first place. Let her find out the hard way. See, when she heard they were having a turkey for dinner, she thought they meant as a guest... I wish I were making that up. So Charles comes home with Grandpa Ingalls and that night, they have themselves a shindig, Charles on the fiddle, Edwards on the harmonica and the kids danced around the fire. Afterwards, Charles set his father up in the soddy, however the old man told him not to start on that extra room just yet, as he wasn't sure about staying, seeing as how he didn't really know his own son. That was about to change, however, and hopefully for the better.

This one was quite depressing, to be honest. The entire mood was grim and sad, with a slight sign of hope towards the end. The whole thing was a nice character builder for Charles, as we got to meet his family. I liked the flashback of Lansford getting Charles to change his mind about running away. I was just thinking about that scene today and I couldn't remember if it were in this episode or I Remember, I Remember. In both instances, Matthew Laborteaux plays young Charles Ingalls, and you all know who he went on to play in Season 5. He was very good here, so was Michael Landon and Arthur Hill. Plus, that's Hersha Parady as Eliza Ingalls, who will return in Season 4 as Alice Garvey. So, stay tuned for Part II and see if Lansford will fair any better in Walnut Grove, and if Carrie will ever find out the truth about Tom Turkey.

Charles' Father

[annidez · 6/10 · 14 June 2009]

Grandpa Ingalls is a total irritant. His self-pity makes him entirely unsympathetic, and the pain and need for tolerance he sparks in the family is cruel. I would like this episode much more if they had stuck closer to the father Charles had in "I Remember, I Remember." The acting here is excellent, it's the writing. The ending is a total, senseless downer. It had to be incredibly hard to watch the old man, at the end of all that misery he brought, just walk away. The kids probably wondered if they came from mentally ill genes. Well, perhaps Carrie is evidence of that.

And then, when Grandpa goes home to his burned out house and his wife's grave, it reminds me of that creepy story "A Rose for Emily." Not to be morbid, but maybe Charles should have dug her up, built her a nice casket, and buried her in Walnut Grove. If he cared so much for the old man, and wanted to keep an eye on him, that would have solved it. Heck, that's the least his brother & sister in law (Sarak of Vulcan and the future Mrs. Jonathan Garvey, no less!) could have done. Exhume her, pack her up, and put her on the train to Springfield.

Overall, though, it's not a wretched episode. I'll watch almost any LHOP episode just because the characters feel like friends and family. The only episodes I can't stand are "The Halloween Dream" and that one where Carrie has a apparent LSD trip, "The Godsister."

I recommend this episode, only because of the acting, and the consistency of the characters. My only caveat is the elder Ingalls' selfishness and drama-queen ways.