The Worst Episodes of Little House on the Prairie

#1 Worst Episode
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5.1/10(464 votes)
#1 - The Godsister
S5:E1412/17/1978
In this episode starring twins Lindsey and Sidney Greenbush, Charles takes a job on a telephone crew that is working in southern Minnesota, which requires him to be away from home for several weeks. Carrie, heartsick for her Pa and craving attention, only manages to get into everybody else's way, so the lonesome tyke creates an imaginary friend, Alyssa, to ease the pain.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
5.2/10(423 votes)
#2 - The Halloween Dream
S6:E710/28/1979
Albert's imagination starts to get the better of him when he dreams that he and Laura are taken by Indians.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
5.9/10(346 votes)
#3 - The Nephews
S7:E141/19/1981
Almanzo's brother, Royal, leaves his two kids with the Wilders while he and his wife are on vacation. Laura and Almanzo have their hands full taking care of these boys.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Chris Abbott
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Chris Abbott
6.2/10(316 votes)
#4 - The Older Brothers
S9:E141/17/1983
The Older Brothers is a gang that used to have a notorious reputation. First they hold up Mr. Edwards but end up losing the money. Then they try to get ransom money for Mr. Edwards but that doesn't go very well.
Director:Victor French
Writer:Michael Landon
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Director:Victor French
Writer:Michael Landon
6.6/10(326 votes)
#5 - Fight Team Fight!
S7:E410/13/1980
A former football star moves back to Walnut Grove. He agrees to become coach of the football team. His goal is to win at all costs. This kind of thinking puts Albert in great danger. Towards the end of the show the football coach starts to realize that winning isn't everything.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
6.7/10(351 votes)
#6 - The Legend of Black Jake
S8:E711/16/1981
Nels is kidnapped by two crooks. The crooks try to get Mrs. Oleson to pay ransom for her husband, but she refuses to. This makes Mr. Oleson upset and causes him to help the crooks. The kidnappers aren't very lucky. After kidnapping several different people, the crooks decide that they need to try another line of work. They leave without hurting any of the kidnapped people.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Chris Abbott
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Chris Abbott

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6.8/10(358 votes)
#7 - Oleson Versus Oleson
S7:E121/5/1981
Caroline Ingalls joins in protest with the rest of the Walnut Grove women to try to convince Charles and the other men to sign a petition addressing the injustice of a law that transfers a woman's property rights to her husband after marriage.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Chris Abbott
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Chris Abbott
6.8/10(305 votes)
#8 - Gambini, the Great
S8:E611/9/1981
In an episode about hero worship, Charles and Nels share deep concerns over an aging circus performer's influence on the children of Walnut Grove. Particularly since some of them - Albert and Willie in particular - have tried some of the daredevil's more dangerous stunts, with mixed results.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Jeri Taylor
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Jeri Taylor
6.9/10(413 votes)
#9 - Founder's Day
S1:E235/7/1975
Walnut Grove celebrates this great day with several different competitions. There are very competitive spirits between the Olesons and the Ingallses.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(337 votes)
#10 - Blind Man's Bluff
S5:E161/14/1979
After a boy is in an accident, he pretends to be blind to keep his parents from getting divorced. Laura discovers that the boy isn't blind, but doesn't tell his parents because the boy pleads with her not to. The boy is involved in another accident and has a concussion. The concussion causes him to not remember his pretending to be blind.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Arthur Heinemann
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Arthur Heinemann
7.1/10(516 votes)
#11 - The Love of Johnny Johnson
S1:E510/9/1974
Laura falls in love with a new student, Johnny Johnson. Johnny, who is a lot older than Laura, is interested in Mary instead. Although Mary is not interested in Johnny, Laura's actions cause tension between the sisters. When Charles finds this out, he is appalled that either of his girls is involved with Johnny.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.1/10(353 votes)
#12 - Meet Me At The Fair
S4:E1111/28/1977
The Ingallses and Olesons take a trip to the fair. Patrick, a carnival worker and Mary's boyfriend, and his boss, Cass (a balloonist and suave ladies man) vie for Mary's attention; Charles and Nels entering a jackass riding contest; and Carrie has her own adventure.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Arthur Heinemann
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Arthur Heinemann
7.1/10(409 votes)
#13 - He Was Only Twelve (2)
S8:E225/9/1982
When Charles refuses to admit that James will likely never recover from his gunshot wound, he leaves Walnut Grove with his adopted son. He builds an altar in the woods and hopes that God will bring a miracle.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
7.1/10(305 votes)
#14 - Rage
S9:E410/18/1982
Mr. Stark has gotten himself so far in debt that he has lost his mind. He goes home and shoots his wife and daughter. Then he goes off and ends up at Laura's house. He mistakes Laura and Jenny for his wife and daughter, but when he sees Rose, he thinks that his daughter has had a baby.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(356 votes)
#15 - The Winoka Warriors
S5:E39/24/1978
A blind student feels he is useless. He is reluctant to do anything at the blind school. The student gains self-confidence when he is talked into being the center for the Winoka football team. He is able to throw Albert across the goal line during the game to score the tying touchdown for the Winoka Warriors, keeping the Warriors from losing.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(339 votes)
#16 - Dance With Me
S5:E171/21/1979
Toby Noe turns up again after the Ingalls, Garveys and Olesons decided to leave the town Standish owned (episode 93, There's No Place Like Home (1)). He makes an immediate impact, stirring things up, especially with Amanda. Laura and Albert do some matchmaking for the upcoming dance.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(327 votes)
#17 - Whatever Happened to the Class Of '56?
S6:E151/13/1980
During a visit to a farmer's convention in Milwaukee, Charles and Caroline meet up with old school mates. Charles learns that larger farmers are trying to put his small farming friends out of business and urges them to stand up for their profession. Meanwhile, Caroline becomes envious about the financial fortunes of their one-time friends, but she soon learns there's more to their success stories than meets the eyes.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
7.2/10(299 votes)
#18 - Welcome to Olesonville
S9:E310/11/1982
Harriet finds a bearer bond from Walnut Grove. She uses this to try to get people to follow her suggestions. She tells the town council that if she doesn't get her way, she will cash in the bond which would force the town to pay Mrs. Oleson over $10,000.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Paul W. Cooper
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Paul W. Cooper
7.2/10(270 votes)
#19 - Sins of the Fathers
S9:E131/10/1983
When Mrs. Carter's mother dies, Sarah Carter's father comes to town. He tries to get the Carters to come with home back to New York. He wants the Carters to have a better life. The Carters tell him that home sweet home is in Walnut Grove. After a while, Sarah's father begins to understand while the Carters feel this way.
Director:Victor French
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Victor French
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(310 votes)
#20 - May I Have This Dance?
S9:E203/14/1983
No longer a mama's boy, Willie announces his engagement and plans to marry his sweetheart. All this upsets his mother greatly, who makes several attempts to get her way.
Directors:Michael Landon, Victor French
Writer:Michael Landon
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Directors:Michael Landon, Victor French
Writer:Michael Landon
7.3/10(431 votes)
#21 - Child of Pain
S1:E192/12/1975
When it is found out that a young boy, Graham, is being beaten by his alcoholic father, John, Caroline takes care of the boy while Charles stays with John to try to get him to stay sober.
Director:Victor French
Writer:John Meston
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Director:Victor French
Writer:John Meston
7.3/10(329 votes)
#22 - The High Cost Of Being Right
S4:E911/14/1977
After Mr. Garvey's barn burns to the ground with the crops inside, his wife, Alice, takes a job at the post office. Mr. Garvey opposes this believing that a man should be able to support his family. He is ready to get a divorce until he realizes what his stubborn pride was doing to his family.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(320 votes)
#23 - Dearest Albert, I'll Miss You
S7:E811/17/1980
Albert begins writing more frequently to a pen pal of his. He tries to impress the girl he is writing to. The girl also does the same thing. Albert falls in love with her and goes to see her one time. This girl is very reluctant. Albert thinks that she doesn't like him until he sees her in a wheelchair. Both of them promise to continue writing to each other, but this time they would only tell the truth in their writings.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Michael Landon
7.3/10(355 votes)
#24 - Come, Let Us Reason Together
S7:E131/12/1981
Percival's parents decide to pay a visit. Mrs. Oleson and Mr. Percival don't hit it off so well. Mrs. Oleson is strongly against Mr. Percival's idea of raising Nellie's child as a Jew. An agreement is finally reached between the two. A girl would be Christian and a boy would be Jewish. Nellie ends up having twins, a boy and a girl.
Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Michael Landon
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(300 votes)
#25 - Growin' Pains
S8:E310/19/1981
James is trying to be more like Albert. He even wants to shave like Albert has to. While James is shaving, he breaks Albert's razor. James steals a razor from the mercantile hoping Albert wouldn't notice the difference. When the truth is found out about the razor, James runs away. Albert takes off after him. When Albert finds James, it takes a lot of convincing before James decides to come back home with him.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown