The ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Episode That Helped Decide the Show’s Future

The much-loved Little House on the Prairie ran for nine seasons between 1974 and 1983, but it's a little known fact that the final season—plus the movies—might not have happened at all, were it not for the success of a two-part episode from the season before: “Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow.”

For this double-header, lead actor Michael Landon, who played Charles Ingalls, moved away from the spotlight, leaving the characters of his daughter Laura Ingalls (played by Melissa Gilbert) and her husband, Almanzo James Wilder (Dean Butler) to carry the show.

Butler later explained on the Little House On the Prairie 50th Anniversary Pod (via Parade): “The underlying motivation for the episode was Michael had made the decision that he was going to step away at the end of the eighth season." To determine the viability of the show's future, Butler and Gilbert were given the heaviest of plotlines.

How Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler Proved Their Staying Power

Part one aired on February 15, 1982. Coming hot on the heels on Valentine's Day, there was little in the way of cozy romance to enjoy. The episode begins innocently enough, with Almanzo (nicknamed “Manny”) bringing new horses to the home he shares with a heavily pregnant Laura. Later, during heavy rain, he stubbornly sticks to the task of ploughing their field. He ends up, naturally enough, catching a nasty cold, at which Laura is far from happy.

Nevertheless, Almanzo returns to his work, and eventually collapses with hearing and breathing problems. The doctor arrives and promptly diagnoses a case of diphtheria. When a hailstorm starts up during the night, Manny goes out to try and save his crop, only to drop down with a stroke. His sister, Eliza Jane (Lucy Lee Flippin), subsequently arrives to help take care of him, however she and Laura find themselves constantly clashing.

In part two, Laura gives birth, but Almanzo, who is suffering from a deep depression, remains distant and uninterested. Eliza Jane comes up with the idea for Almanzo to take a desk job in Minneapolis, much to Laura's displeasure. In fact, Laura is so unhappy that serious doubts about her marriage begin to emerge.

The only bright spark in her life is a cat that Laura adopts and names 'Hungry.' There follows, of all things, a severe thunderstorm and tornado. In attempting to save Hungry, Laura is struck by a huge branch and knocked unconscious. She wakes and gradually recovers, only to find later that the entire house has been destroyed (miraculously, Rose, the baby, is fine).

Thankfullly, the sight of a geranium that somehow survived the storm spurs Almanzo into throwing off his sister's cloying attentions and gives him a renewed sense of purpose. He learns how to walk again and aids Charles in rebuilding the house. All ends well—with Laura and Almanzo reconciled, and Eliza Jane apologizing for her behavior. 

As Butler remembered: “As depressing as it was, the numbers were spectacular…I think it was number four the first week and number two the second week for weekly programming." The show received a ninth season, retitled as Little House: A New Beginning, and three post-series specials.