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Now that the series that dusted off late-19th-century American prairie life for 1970s viewers has itself been dusted off, keep your kerchief handy. The double feature of "Christmas at Plum Creek" and "The Creeper of Walnut Grove" succeeds, as executive producer Michael Landon and the warm, fuzzy behind-the-scenes folks so obviously intended, at stirring the sap within. "Plum Creek" carries the nostalgic back to the early seasons, when Laura was still a genuine half-pint, braids bobbing on either side of her head. Christmas is coming, and clan Ingalls is intent on surprising one another, their meager means notwithstanding. Secrets and bargain-driving abound, but in the main story line Ma wants a stove and Laura sells her most prized possession, pony Bunny, to nasty Nellie Olsen to buy it for her. When the magic morning arrives, her sacrifice is made bittersweet by Pa's gift of a saddle. "The Creeper" fast-forwards a few years and includes some familiar townspeople, bespectacled teacher Miss Beetle and Dr. Baker among them. Timothy, the town's top student and brightest prospect for a college scholarship to study medicine, turns amateur thief when his pa is laid up and no longer able to tend to the farm. He makes off with a pie, some jam and bread from the mercantile, and a hen in hopes of helping along his father's recovery, but junior sleuths Laura and Andy Garvey are hot on his trail. When the jig is up and Timothy confesses to Pa, the town's good folks come together to pitch in for the foundering family. That way, Timothy can accept the scholarship he's made Walnut Grove proud by winning. Both 46-minute episodes prove timeless--guaranteed to warm hearts and slake the thirst of anyone with a taste for sentimentality. --Tammy La Gorce ... Read more

Reviews (2)

One From The Heart....One For Fun.....
This review refers to the Double Feature DVD(Goodtimes Video) of "Little House on the Prairie" Epsiodes "Christmas at Plum Creek" and "The Creeper of Walnut Grove"...

Goodtimes Video has made another great transfer of two vintage episodes from the Little House series. Although two very different stories, both will leave you smiling.

First up is a holiday classic episode. In "Christmas At Plum Creek",you'll feel the love as you may be reminded of "The Gift of the Magi". It is the first Christmas in Walnut Grove for the Ingalls family. Ma and Pa, Mary and Laura busy themselves trying to get just the right presents for each other. Their days are filled with joyous secrets, loving sacrifices, smiles and tears.Will Laura give up her beloved pony "Bunny" so Ma could have a stove? Even little Carrie will make your heart swell as she remembers the true meaning of the holiday.
This one includes the Olsen family....Harriet at her most Scroogelike self, Nels is affable as always, and mean ole Nellie!
And it's always a delight to see Mrs. Whipple make an appearance.

"The Creeper of Walnut Grove" is just plain fun. The youngins will love this one! Laura and Andy Garvey(a very young Patrick Laborteaux)form their own detective agency, when a serial thief is stealing food from the mouths of the good people of Walnut Grove. They set traps, which naturally backfire and leave poor Pa with green hair, Nellie and Wille covered in flour and Harriet,... well, lets just say you have to see this one for yourself! But Michael Landon is always sure to give us some poignant moments as well,... a young boy, studying to become the town's future Doctor cares for his proud father after a heart attack(try not to think about the fact that they fed him ham, eggs, and apple pie to restore his health..who knew about cholesteral back then anyway!)It's a fun episode, that includes the Garveys,Miss Beadle, and Reverend Alden who also provides us with a good chuckle in this one.

Each episode runs about 45 minutes, so at an hour and a half(no need to flip the disc, they are both on the same side) this is a pretty good deal. The picture is nice and clear, with good color(a bit dated), and the sound is pretty decent in Dolby Digital Mono. These episodes are from 1974 and 1977, and no matter how often I watch them, they still make me laugh and cry!

If you loved this series, you'll be happy to have this on DVD,to enjoy whenever the mood strikes.

Go get those Kleenex, you Know You'll need em and...Enjoy.....Laurie

Great DVD
Again, Little House on the Prairie is outstanding! My 1 year old even loves it. Its honest, clean humor viewing that teaches lessons everyone can take to heart. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

bonanza video dvds or vhs series
i just want the viewers to know that Bonanza is nothing like the lone ranger series. Bonanza is in a class by itself. Bonanza ran for 14yrs in a row. you can't say that about anyother western of that time span. Bonanza has great stories with some shoot outs but not too much violence. Bonanza had excellent actors and writers and producers. If your're not sure of what western series to purchase, you can rest asure that anything that deals with Bonanza is a plus for your collection. trust someone who knows that show well, i promise you won't be sorry. after all we have enough violence in the real world!

Probably a 2 & 1/2 star
First of all DVD quality...It sounded in between I think the only place I noticed it was the theme sounded a little off.; but the picture did look good to me.

Now the other stuff. This has two movies: The Stranger and The Avenger. For those who haven't watched Bonanza on TV (like myself) These are not the mean killing machine type of Westerns that fill the market, but Westerns with very minimal violence. They remind me a lot of the Lone Ranger in almost every aspect. What more can I say? You decide. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Your mission: get the studio to release this great series!
The original Mission Impossible is the most innovative, intelligent T.V. series ever produced. It is the only one of the 60s t.v./movie spy series that is not spoofish. It is about an incredibly cool and professional Intelligence team deployed to perform missions that are -- well, impossible. The amazing gadgetry is employed so imaginatively that it seemed plausible, notwithstanding that much of the stuff is still, forty years later, technologically unattainable. James Bond and MacGyver are amateurs compared to the I.M.F. team. Even more fascinating than the gadgets themselves is the way the team operatives interacted like parts in a well-synchronized machine. The cast was wonderful, but no single individual was the star and no one character dominated. All the roles were straight and serious and the characters performed their job each week with dispassionate, clinical efficiency. This all lent such a degree of verisimilitude that actual C.I.A. and F.B.I. agents reportedly watched the show and took notes.

The plots are so intricate that you must pay attention. If you zone out even for a moment, you'll be confused and hopelessly lost. This show is not amenable to the casual watcher or one who suffers from a short attention span.

This is the one t.v. series that MUST be released on DVD. If you have never seen it (forget the Tom Cruise movie) you owe it to yourself to experience it. Therefore, your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to convince the studio to produce this DVD. If they don't think that there is enough interest, they won't make it. So please give Amazon your e-mail address to notify you when the DVD will be out. They will inform the studio how many people have inquired about it.

Excellent series, much better than the later movie copies
This series was innovative and excellent during the earlier years.After Martin Landau and Barbara Bain left the series, the female substitutes were not as good as Bain and although Leonard Nimoy was good, he was not as good as Landau (who has since won one Academy Award and been nominated a few other times).Steven Hill (recently of Law & Order) played the leader Mr. Briggs the first season; Peter Graves (brother to James Arness) played Mr. Phelps beginning in season two.
As an aside, Peter Breck was one of Barbara Stanwyck's sons in the Big Valley, and was not a regular on Mission Impossible.
For anyone interested in accurate details of TV shows, a good reference is "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present."
I consider this TV series so good that it is one of the few series that I want in DVD format (VHS tapes just don't last).The review is based on the complete set of IM tapes that have Bain and Landau on them.

Mission Impossible
I'm 58 years old.This is the only place I could find
to submit a review.

The original TV series of the 1960's is not to be
confused with anything that came after.

Starring Peter Breck (bother of James Arness of
Gunsmoke), Barbara Baines, Martin Landau (husband
of Barbara Baines), and Greg Morris, each week's
episode started out with Breck being contacted by some
unknown department of the Executive Branch concerning
a problem no one else could solve.

The recording always started out with the famous line,
"Good Morning, Mr. Phelps,"and from there presented
the problem (a great help for the viewing audience).
It invariable wound up, "...and as usual, if you or any
of your IMF are caught, the Secretary will disavow any
knowlege of your actions This recording will self-destruct
within ? seconds".And it always did, except that the
setting and the recording machine was always different
each week.

So, the IMF was off to the races, and with that they overcame
the most unimaginable situations using the ultimate high
technology, much of which doesn't even exist today.And
while the plots were usually quite intricate, the sceenplay
writers made them easy to follow.

I'm eagerly awaiting a complete DVD set for this series.
It will certainly take me back to my college years.

To sum it all up, the series was absolutely intriguing,
not to mention highly imaginative.Rather than just
a sci-fi series, the interaction between the players was
very real, as well as quite gripping.


Michel Martin
michel_91941@yahoo.com
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Reviews (1)

Bonanza At its Best
bitter water has some serious and funny moments clay feet hoss is all torn up over a little boy shows a big man can have feelings too. ... Read more