Sorry, but We Already Got the Best ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Reimagining With This ‘Simpsons’ Episode

Able to revisit the Ingalls in Walnut Grove? Netflix believes you’re. The streamer is working on a reboot of the long-lasting, family-friendly Little House on the Prairie; author/producer Rebecca Sonnenshine has been tasked with the challenge, no stranger to healthful fare together with her work on The Boys and The Vampire Diaries. I child, in fact, however other than experiences that the brand new model will observe Charles, Caroline, Laura and Mary as they transfer to Independence, Kansas (per Collider), it is unknown which course Sonnenshine intends to take the reboot. Will or not it’s a rehash of the unique, a contemporary take with a deal with at the moment’s sensibilities, or a parody of kinds? This is the factor: it would not matter. All the things {that a} new Little Home on the Prairie may very well be, or might be, has already been completed within the span of half-hour in The Simpsons‘ Season 14 episode “Helter Shelter.”

‘The Simpsons’ are Dwelling Like Its 1895 in “Helter Shelter”

Seeking to keep away from authorized motion, Mr. Burns (Harry Shearer) provides Homer (Dan Castellaneta) luxurious skybox tickets to a hockey recreation, after a falling girder hits Homer within the head at work (does he know Homer in any respect?). The household is much extra within the perks of the skybox than the sport, apart from Lisa (Yeardley Smith), who goes to observe the sport from rink-side. After having supplied some useful recommendation to one of many gamers, he provides her his stick, which Homer mounts on her bed room wall. Sadly, the stick carries greater than recollections of the sport. It has termites, too, that are quick to damage the home, forcing the household to maneuver out for six months.

However the place to go? Housing for a misplaced household of 5 is not straightforward to come back by, however Barney (Castellaneta) and Carl (Hank Azaria) have a suggestion: The 1895 Problem. The 1895 Problem is a actuality present that captures the 24/7 hijinks that come up when a household should inhabit a Victorian period home, the place they need to reside prefer it’s 1895. Regardless of Homer’s reluctance, they audition, and are chosen, for the present, with producers virtually salivating on the promise of Homer’s overreaction to probably the most trivial of issues. And so they’re proper: the titular “problem” is tough for the household to regulate to, and viewers are captivated by watching their distress.

However issues begin to change because the household begins to adapt to their Nineteenth-century way of life, however as their attitudes enhance, the scores drop. Nobody desires to see a household truly do properly on the present. They wish to see a prepare wreck. Or a stagecoach flesh wound. Determined, the producers act to spice up scores, first by introducing Laverne & Shirley‘s Squiggy (David Lander) into the present, armed with a Taser within the hopes of making chaos. It would not work, so whereas the Simpsons are sleeping, the home is airlifted and dropped in a river, the place it quickly plunges over a waterfall, all caught on movie. The Simpsons survive the autumn (Squiggy, nonetheless, doesn’t) however now should forage for meals and shelter because the crew continues filming, refusing to supply any assist. Quickly, they meet up with contestants from one other actuality present who have been left to their very own units, and collectively they overpower the crew and return to the now termite-free residence at 742 Evergreen Terrace.

‘The Simpsons’ “Helter Shelter” is All the things a Rebooted ‘Little Home on the Prairie’ Might Be

So, does The Simpsons‘ “Helter Shelter” hit all three of these issues {that a} new Little Home on the Prairie may very well be? Let’s assessment. Is the household drawn collectively, stronger than ever, by a shared, healthful expertise, like the Ingalls of TV lore? Verify. Does it supply a contemporary tackle Little Home on the Prairie? Provided that the premise of The 1895 Problem show-within-a-show is forcing folks accustomed to at the moment’s conveniences to manage with out them in a recreated time interval they might solely know from Little Home on the Prairie, that is a verify. Is it a parody? Verify, nevertheless it’s not the way you’d anticipate.

The episode would not play out like a parody of Little Home on the Prairie, however extra an homage, an admiration of the very values it represents. Not that it would not have a bit of enjoyable at its expense (Bart [Nancy Cartwright] in a blue shirt, tucked right into a pair of blue shorts, a pink bow tie and a blue hat with golden curls, appears hilariously like Alison Arngrim‘s Nellie Oleson). As soon as the household will get used to not having their modern-day conveniences, their idyllic household bond is a vindication of the values held by Michael Landon‘s Charles, his household, and the close-knit neighborhood of Walnut Grove. Within the absence of cynicism and distractions, a household’s fondness for each other grows stronger. However when you are searching for a official parody, try Lisa’s studying of “Little Cabin on the Plain” and its follow-up, “The Christmas Orange,” in “It is a Blunderful Life”.

Actuality TV Takes a Hit in ‘The Simpsons’ “Helter Shelter”

The actual goal is actuality TV, which succeeds in an enormous approach. The 1895 Problem the Simpsons participate in shares components of Survivor and Large Brother, however moreso PBS’ short-lived 2002 actuality collection Frontier Home, which adopted three household teams dwelling as Montana homesteaders in 1883. The Simpsons’ being chosen for the present primarily based on Homer’s explosive reactions speaks to how casting administrators purposefully search for these folks that can make the most exciting television. The addition of latest components to “throw a wrench” into actuality TV is hardly something new, from the “Ding Dong Maintain It On” bell in The Masked Singer to the retiring of the Sweat vs Savvy problem in favor of one thing new on Survivor.

Including a B-list celeb in David Lander’s Squiggy, with a decidedly un-1895 taser, is in that vein, and dropping the home in a river is just about as determined a ploy for viewership there may ever be. The behind-the-scenes take a look at the movie crew unwilling, or unallowed, to assist the struggling household is a pleasant contact. Who hasn’t watched a determined Survivor castaway virtually begging for meals and thought, “Cannot the digicam man throw dude a Snickers or one thing?” (though we have seen the risks when a member of a camera crew interferes in The Workplace). “Helter Shelter” would not be the one time that The Simpsons set its sights on actuality TV, both. Season 30’s “Heartbreak Resort” has The Superb Place, whereas Season 17’s “Treehouse of Horror XVI” sees Mr. Burns looking people for The World Sequence of Manslaughter in “Survival of the Fattest.”

The Simpsons

Launch Date

December 17, 1989

Community

FOX