Fast food is the wave of the future, now back in 1885 nobody really believed it, but here in 2010 not only do we believe it, we have the pounds to show for it. But back to 1885 in Walnut Grove, the restaurant business was in full swing. Seriously, Nellie's was packed, and poor Hester Sue had to wait on all the tables by herself while Caroline had to prepare the dishes, all by herself. This may soon change, for one night, stuffy Major Guffey visits the restaurant. He represents the Mrs. Sullivan restaurant franchise, running them with military efficiency, and cutting cost at the same time. Greedy Harriet was more than willing to sign her business away for that kind of profit, and instantly, the restaurant was closed and completely revamped. For it was Caroline's Restaurant no longer, it was now Mrs. Sullivan's Kitchen. The Olesons were contractually obligated to purchase tacky table cloths and silverware because, according to Major Guffey, all the troops eat with the same utensils so as not to create dissension in the ranks. Makes sense in a civilian eatery, right? Well, opening night was a mad house. Caroline, Hester Sue, Harriet and even Nels were forced to wear disgusting green aprons and go at twice their normal speed. Cooking, serving...man, does that food look good.
But that crazy major was only getting started. It wasn't long before he launched Phase 2: a 12-hour day. Nels tried to put his foot down, saying such an operation was ridiculous to ask of them, but it was either that or Guffey would sue, as they were contractually obligated to obey what the parent company commands. It pays to read the fine print; with Caroline away all day long, James and Albert began fighting over who would do the cooking, so Charles intervened and set up a system: whoever hates the meal one night can cook the next, so needless to say the boys will be cooking for the Ingalls household indefinitely. Well, Mrs. Sullivan's Kitchen continued to run like clockwork. Caroline and Hester Sue were so tired and overworked...um, why couldn't they hire on a few extra servers? Do they really expect 2-3 people alone can handle all that? So while Guffey continued to hold Harriet at contractual gunpoint, Charles deliberately cooked bad food so the kids would complain and have to take over the cooking duties. Way to set an example, Charles. Well, when even he tires of his own cooking, he packs up Albert, Carrie, Grace, James and Cassandra and takes them all to the restaurant, while at the same time hatching a scheme with Nels to make a statement about being forced to work all day and cook all night. Yep, Mrs. Sullivan has gotten herself some competition, for Oleson's Mercantile branched out and opened Oleson's Restaurant, with Nels cooking and Charles providing the ambiance. And as a result, Mrs. Sullivan lost business. This invoked the wrath of Major Guffey who, when seeing how poorly the restaurant was doing, ripped up the contract, debased Mrs. Oleson for being a woman and thusly not knowing how to run a business, and marched out the door. Oleson's Restaurant subsequently closed and all went back to normal, but not before Harriet turned down a potential million dollar deal from a kindly old colonel. Only one meal, only fried chicken. Perish the thought. I suppose next there will be places that only serve hamburgers, or just culturally diverse foods like tacos and burritos and even pizza. Yeah, that'll be the day.
Yes, folks, the old man at the end of this episode is supposed to be Colonel Sanders of the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. Interesting idea, but historically inaccurate. See, this episode is apparently set in 1885 and Harlan Sanders wasn't even born until 1890. His restaurant franchise didn't even begin until the 1930s, so I must say it was out of place and nonsensical, but then this whole episode was silly and nonsensical in itself. It was yet another attempt at a funny episode but only emitted a few chuckles. Major Guffey was annoying and should have been put in a loony bin. He had serious issues. Just a crazy old warhorse who wanted to run the world like the military. Something tells me he could do with a Section 8; "Wave of the Future" is forgettable to say the least. There's no drama or serious dilemmas, but then there isn't much else going on either. The whole episode feels out of place, like it should be for a different show or the person who wrote it didn't watch Little House regularly. It isn't terrible, but it isn't remarkably good either. See it if you really like the show, you like to eat, and you have an hour to kill.
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