Ed Friendly, a former network vice president and co producer of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, was a savvy television veteran. Like Landon, he was looking for a new television series. To that end, he had acquired the dramatic rights for Laura Ingalls Wilder's nostalgic nine-volume Little House on the Prairie book series from her family estate. Until Landon entered the picture, Friendly was unable to generate any interest in producing a television series based on the books. Networks were unimpressed with the no frills, values-oriented approach such a series would require. As luck would have it, Friendly proposed Little House to Landon at a time when his daughter, Leslie, was immersed in the Little House book series.

     NBC had witnessed the success of CBS's The Wal­tons and commissioned Little House on the Prairie as direct competition for the program. That was perfect for Landon, who differed from many of his Hollywood peers. He opposed TV violence, eschewed traditional Hollywood business models, and used Little House on the Prairie to convey positive family values. Landon wanted a show that families could watch together and he wanted to feature themes that would be important to a modern generation. Landon wrote, directed, and starred in the series from 1974 to 1982. Initially, he co­ produced Little House on the Prairie with Friendly, but everyone knew from the outset that Landon was in charge. Friendly wanted the series to remain true to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House book series, but Landon had other ideas.

     Those viewers who tuned in to Little House on the Prairie expecting to see a Bonanza clone may have been disappointed. Both series were one-hour dramas and both were period pieces from the late 1800s, but the similarities ended there. There were no fights, shootings, or other instances of violence as there had been on Bonanza. Rather than the massive, sprawling Ponderosa ranch of the Cartwright clan, there was the humble Ingalls family log cabin. Instead of the eligible bachelor named Little Joe Cartwright, Michael Landon had a new alter ego in the settled, frontier family man named Charles "Pa" Ingalls. Landon's on-screen character may have been different, but his creative work delighted audiences.

     Although Landon considered the Little House books to be depressing, he knew the setting would work for a program that would be uplifting. From the beginning, Landon let Friendly know the direction the series would take; there was little relationship between the books and TV series. Landon blamed much of the inconsistency on the physical location for shooting the series. For example, Landon refused to have his character wear a beard as the real Charles Ingalls had done. Simi Valley, California, where the program was filmed, could reach temperatures of up to 110 degrees-something that would certainly not be commonplace in Minnesota, where the Ingalls family lived. Landon refused to let the child actors go shoeless like the children of the book. He was careful not to let them step on the thorns, glass, or snakes that were frequently discovered on the California set. And there was the fact that the main character in the book was Laura Ingalls-not her father. Since Landon was to play the father, he wanted that character to be the centerpiece of the production.

     Friendly wanted the series to be like the books, but during production of the pilot commissioned by NBC, Landon's intentions became obvious to Friendly. Friendly knew the cards were stacked against him, because NBC was in Landon's corner. The two-hour Little House on the Prairie pilot aired on March 30, 1974, garnering a 26.2 rating and a 45 share. As a result, NBC picked up the series. It debuted on September 11, 1974, on NBC and was instantly successful with viewers. Friendly did all he could to wrestle control from Landon, but he knew there would be no series without Landon. Friendly gave up his fight before the series aired, but he may have found some solace in that numerous television critics panned the series. Many compared it unfavorably with The Waltons.

     As farmer Charles "Pa" Ingalls, Landon played a pioneer father in the 1870s. Ingalls had built a farm near the border of Kansas and Oklahoma in the 1870s, but he was forced to move when the federal government set aside the land for a Native American reservation. Ingalls, his wife Caroline (Karen Grassle), and their three daughters moved hundreds of miles to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. In Walnut Grove, the real-life Ingalls family lived in squalor. Charles situated the house on the banks of Plum Creek, where he literally made it from sod and mud. As the family crops paid off, Ingalls built a modest wooden house that had glass windows. Although the frontier was a difficult place to make a home or living, Landon did not want the TV family of Little House on the Prairie to live in such a primitive home. The TV series was uplifting to many viewers, but it was equally depressing to others, with its weekly disasters ranging from swarming locusts, to blindness, illness, and prejudice.

     The daughters were Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), who was the eldest, Laura (Melissa Gilbert), who narrated the stories, Carrie (twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush-alternating), and Grace (Wendi and Brenda Turnbeaugh-alternating) who was added in 1977. The Ingalls characters later adopted other children.

     When the series began, Landon believed the show was good for a four-year run. Its popularity kept it going for eight years, when Landon discontinued his regular appearances. He continued to produce the program for a ninth season when the show transformed into Little House: A New Beginning (1982-83). Charles and Caroline moved to Iowa, leaving Walnut Grove to other family members. After the series ended, Landon produced three Little House TV movies for NBC: Look Back to Yesterday (1983), Bless All the Dear Children ( 1984), and the appropriately named The Last Farewell (1984). During its nine-year run, Little House on the Prairie finished the year in the top 20 programs six times and was in the top ten two times (1977-78, 1980-81). Its highest annual rating was a tie for sixth in 1977-78. It has remained popular in syndication.