As our story begins, we see a pick-up truck driving along a country road with the radio blasting...don't worry, this is Little House on the Prairie, you don't have the wrong channel. This one actually begins in 1982, when basically all the main characters are dead. Kinda sad. So we begin in Acton, Minnesota in 1982 A.D. where an auction is being held. The current item up for bid is an antique wooden table with adjustable sides and the letters 'C' and 'I' mysteriously branded into the woodwork. Well the story of this table dates all the way back to 1885, after Charles Ingalls and his good friend Jack Prescott delivered it and other wooden goods to Sven Johanssen, a grateful customer and dealer. Sadly, en route back to Walnut Grove, Charles and Jack got caught in a nasty storm, so they had to stop and set up camp, and as they sat and got soaked, Jack starts to reflect back on his life and realizes that when all is said and done, there was nothing special or unique he did that anybody would remember him for. Deep; Strange Jack brought that up, because later into the night, he had himself a stroke and was gone almost instantly. Sadder still, his greedy rotten kids wanted to sell the farm and get their share and force their Ma to come live with them. A few days later, a new family moved into the house. This whole experience made Charles do a lot of thinking, especially about what Jack had said about having a legacy, something to be remembered for. Well, before much longer, Charles would soon discover a legacy of his own, and a profitable one: the table he made for Sven, who wanted more.
Even though Caroline tried to tell Charles the greatest legacy he could hope for was his children, the Ingalls patriarch still wanted to follow his dream. Rather than uproot his family and move to Minneapolis, Charles decided to go alone for a few months and test the waters, so to speak. And so, mass production of the Ingalls table commenced, and onto each table was branded 'CI', while back at the farm, the family takes in a hired hand...um, why? Albert is almost a man, Carrie is big enough to pull her own weight and we've seen Caroline handle the farm-work before, so why do they need a farmhand? Maybe Michael Landon owed J.S. Young a favor? Well as you may have guessed, Uriah Cooper was useless...and a drunk. A lot he added to the story. Thanks, Michael; Back in Minneapolis, Addison Fisk, a wealthy man (you can tell by the top hat) showed interest in Charles' table and wanted one for the missus, and so production had to increase, adding round the clock hours. But then, something awful happened: the old Mr. Fisk was a scheister. He planned to steal Charles' design and keep it for himself. As a result, orders from Sven were canceled and thus the night shift was let go. It wasn't long before Charles' discovered what Fisk was up to and when to confront him. Was he sorry? No, for as he put it, times were changing. It was the industrial age, dog eat dog and all that crap. Charles fought hard, but sadly once again he was overpowered and beaten up. And so, Charles lost his table design, he and Sven had a good laugh, and then he goes back to the family...his true legacy, and something nobody could steal. Well, 97 years later, back to the present, the old table sold to the people in the pick-up truck for $125. Now if only they could figure out who 'CI' really was.
Great episode! Michael Landon gave a superb performance. As did Paul Larson as that evil Mr. Fisk. Robert Boon as Sven. Claude Earl Jones as Jack. Everybody. Maybe it's me, but Sven reminded me a lot of Lars Hanson. Maybe it's the accent or his keen sense of style and how he knows good workmanship when he sees it; Great table design too. If they sold for $12.50 in 1885 and $125 in 1982, I wonder what they would sell for in 2010. Maybe...$1,000? Anyway, I urge Little House fans to see this episode. It's great from start to finish, and speaking of start, it's the only time you'll see cars on Little House. This was the first of two flash-forward episodes. The next is "Once Upon a Time" in Season 9.
Even though Caroline tried to tell Charles the greatest legacy he could hope for was his children, the Ingalls patriarch still wanted to follow his dream. Rather than uproot his family and move to Minneapolis, Charles decided to go alone for a few months and test the waters, so to speak. And so, mass production of the Ingalls table commenced, and onto each table was branded 'CI', while back at the farm, the family takes in a hired hand...um, why? Albert is almost a man, Carrie is big enough to pull her own weight and we've seen Caroline handle the farm-work before, so why do they need a farmhand? Maybe Michael Landon owed J.S. Young a favor? Well as you may have guessed, Uriah Cooper was useless...and a drunk. A lot he added to the story. Thanks, Michael; Back in Minneapolis, Addison Fisk, a wealthy man (you can tell by the top hat) showed interest in Charles' table and wanted one for the missus, and so production had to increase, adding round the clock hours. But then, something awful happened: the old Mr. Fisk was a scheister. He planned to steal Charles' design and keep it for himself. As a result, orders from Sven were canceled and thus the night shift was let go. It wasn't long before Charles' discovered what Fisk was up to and when to confront him. Was he sorry? No, for as he put it, times were changing. It was the industrial age, dog eat dog and all that crap. Charles fought hard, but sadly once again he was overpowered and beaten up. And so, Charles lost his table design, he and Sven had a good laugh, and then he goes back to the family...his true legacy, and something nobody could steal. Well, 97 years later, back to the present, the old table sold to the people in the pick-up truck for $125. Now if only they could figure out who 'CI' really was.
Great episode! Michael Landon gave a superb performance. As did Paul Larson as that evil Mr. Fisk. Robert Boon as Sven. Claude Earl Jones as Jack. Everybody. Maybe it's me, but Sven reminded me a lot of Lars Hanson. Maybe it's the accent or his keen sense of style and how he knows good workmanship when he sees it; Great table design too. If they sold for $12.50 in 1885 and $125 in 1982, I wonder what they would sell for in 2010. Maybe...$1,000? Anyway, I urge Little House fans to see this episode. It's great from start to finish, and speaking of start, it's the only time you'll see cars on Little House. This was the first of two flash-forward episodes. The next is "Once Upon a Time" in Season 9.
