My family enjoyed watching the updated “Little House on the Prairie” recently on ABC’s Wonderful World of Disney. It was a five-part, six-hour mini-series that more closely followed the book than the ’70s TV version. This show was well-acted, entertaining, and good viewing for the whole family. I can’t remember the last time there was a show on network television that I could sit down and watch with my two daughters (ages 4 1/2 and almost-2) without worrying about the content.

Some of the things that are worth special mention: the adults were adults and the kids were kids. Unlike most shows today, the kids were not smartalecs, but respectful of their parents and other adults. They were well-behaved (though not perfect), and loved each other and their parents. The parents were hard-working and competent, and you could tell they loved each other and their children in the tender moments as well as when they faced adversity. The story dealt with American Indians, settlers’ sentiments toward them, and the government’s treatment of them in a balanced way — showing that some settlers were afraid of them, some were wanting to coexist with them, and some hated them, but all had various degrees of ignorance about them. It also showed that there were good and bad Indians just like there are good and bad people of all races, but that overall, they really just wanted to preserve their way of life and often didn’t know which white people to trust.

I wish the networks would create more good shows like this for families. I commend ABC/Disney for putting this show on the air. Now my four-year-old wants to be Laura Ingalls! 🙂