“The Raccoon” recap!

Here is it, folks. The one episode of Little House that makes Alison cry. We're recapping "The Raccoon", an emotional roller coaster of a horror story, which you either love or hate (or both!). 

After accidentally breaking Laura’s beloved china doll — a crime that clearly devastates Laura, and makes us ask, how the heck did she get a china doll?! — Mary panics and brings home a baby raccoon as an apology. Because when you break porcelain, the logical replacement is a wild animal.

Charles is understandably hesitant (um, YEAH), but eventually agrees to a temporary raccoon adoption, which is prairie code for “this will absolutely end badly.” Laura is thrilled, the raccoon is chaos in fur form, and Pa quickly realizes that some gifts are not returnable.“

The Raccoon” is a classic Little House lesson about guilt, good intentions, and why emotional peace offerings should not have teeth. Also rabies. Lots of rabies.

Giddy up, because this one's a doozy...with teeth.

Then, join us on Patreon where Pamela and Alison talk about their real horror experiences working with Animals. You won't want to miss it. (The horror! The horror!)


Links and Resources:

Haven’t signed up for Patreon yet? Get more behind the scenes info and fun conversation we can't do on the podcast...PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/LittleHousePodcast

www.LittleHouse50Podcast.com to connect with our hosts and link to their websites.

www.LivinOnaPrairieTV.com  Check out the award-winning series created by Pamela Bob, with special guest stars Alison Arngrim and Charlotte Stewart.

Prairie Legacy Productions - the place to go for info about all new Little House events!
To learn more about Little House on the Prairie, Visit www.littlehouseontheprairie.com

Facebook/Instagram/TikTok:

Dean Butler @officialdeanbutler
Alison Arngrim @alisonarngrim
Pamela Bob @thepamelabob, @prairietv

Social Media Team: Joy Correa and Christine Nunez 
https://www.paclanticcreative.com/


Producer: Tony Sweet
www.ubngo.com



Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/little-house-on-the-prairie-50th-anniversary-podcast--6055242/support.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you're listening right now to the Little House fiftieth
Anniversary Podcast, we know something about you. We know that
you're obsessed with Little House of the Prairie.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
For more than half a century, Little House on the Prairie,
the series, and the books have been bright lights for
people all over the world who seek out goodness, decency,
and human connection.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Here on the Little House fiftieth Anniversary Podcast, we celebrate
everything that made Little House so special.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
The stories, the characters, the actors, and the messages that
have made Little House iconic family television and a.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Perfect counterpoint to a world that feels like it's going
off the rails every day.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Where's Michael Landon when we need him most? I'm your host,
Pamela Bob And.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
I'm your Prairie bitch Alice at Aringrem and I'm Dean Butler.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Our hashtag imaginary boyfriend. Join us for our loving, quirky,
and often irreverent conversations about the finest family drama in
the history of television.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
And the imperfect people who made it that way.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
In this third season, we are extremely grateful for the
support of visit seem me Valley dot com for their
continuing sponsorship of Little House on the Prairie and the
Little House fiftieth Anniversary Podcast. Well, hello, bonnet heads, how
you doing? Hi?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Hi?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Hi, I'm Pamela Bob your host creator and start living
on a prairie.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
I am here.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh yes, I'm super fan and I am here as
always with our beloved prairie bitch Alison Aringram and our
hashtag imaginary boyfriend Dean Butler. Hello, guys, how are you?

Speaker 1 (01:38):
How are you doing?

Speaker 3 (01:40):
Alison? We're recording the day after your birthday, Darling, Happy
happy birthday. Your beatles here.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Are? I want to hear everython. I thought't got a
wild hair bicycle. I love Chili John's. I am like
I worship.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
So now where is Chili Johns?

Speaker 1 (02:04):
Like Burbank, California On Burbek It has been there since
nineteen forty nine. They have not changed the men, all
the goal. It is going into a time war. It
is the Twilight Zone. I discovered it accidentally. I was
getting my car small checked across the street. I walked
in and went, I'm in the Twilight Zone. I've fallen
through a crack and dime. Where what this is? I
walked into this restaurant that doesn't exist. And then I

(02:26):
had the chili win whoa, and then I had the
pineapple pie and lost my mind. So I've been going
there for years and I've been dragging people there for years,
going oh my god, this's ookod and they go think,
oh my god, this is so good. Why I'm not
so I'm hanging out and I said, look for my birthday,
I want to do something crazy. I think, come, And
then they were talking about, you know, we've opened a
whole other room. We serve sandwiches and salad. We have

(02:46):
all this up that we have beer. Now nobody seems
to get it.

Speaker 4 (02:49):
We can't seem to call behind us.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
That's the room.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
Yeah, we were signing there, okay.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
They said. I said, well, how about I have a
book signing here? And they went, you want to what so?
And I said, I'm gonna do books on chili. And
then Dean goes books that our beautiful Jennifer Jannatti, our
baby Rose becaues, can I bring books? I'm like, yes, yes,
it's a fine. Well. Half the Prairie shows up.

Speaker 5 (03:14):
Pama, Charlotte Randall Yerky was there, Rachel Greenbush and Danny
were everybody showed up, so everyone had said we're gonna
go hang out because Alas and all.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
And half the world showed up because it Sol's birthday
and there's still it will be great. So people are
hanging out, and more and more people start trying, and
I mean we were barely open. I just got on
the books and people were coming in the door, going,
I need three books, No, I need you. I have
like five books our friends, and I'm going I don't
even murn around like I saw. It was insane. No,

(03:51):
but almost I had like sixty seven books less ridiculous.
I cleaned and I saw Laurena myself and people were
just going wild. And then they okay, chili and I today,
you have to buy some chili if you want a
picture it. This guy comes in two secs. Oh, we
got to go. He got the giant party vat of
chili and beans to go. People are coming in with
grocery bags that they just bought next door. They saw
so much chili people were eating, and of course we

(04:12):
got free. I think I'm never playing for chili again.
Then they were so happy.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
I was so happy.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Everyone's happy. And now they're talking about like can we
do it again? And I'm like sure, But then we
started talking to him and you know, Steve Wishnows done,
and we went, you know, we kind of know everybody,
and so other ex child stars, other of your favorite
nineteen seventies and sixties TV show people, and they're like
comfort food, comfort TV. Yeah, okay, And people came in

(04:38):
and said, you know, in the other room were we
eat and they're playing nineteen seventies TV themes. They just
played the Little House theme and the themeed happy Days. Yes,
they're getting it, they're getting it. And so yeah, we're
gonna invite everyone to come and do a publicity thing
at Chili John's and invite their fans.

Speaker 6 (04:54):
It's metal well, and people brought gifts alas, and so
I got this picture from her, Sandy jamalo Witz took
this picture and see me valley of Karen and me
and put it in a beautiful Williams Sonoma frame and
brought to me and I'm.

Speaker 4 (05:11):
Sure you've got these two elves. I know you did.
He brought cookies.

Speaker 6 (05:14):
Well, these cookies are These are Kelly Cookies, custom cookies,
sort of sugar cookies with just delicious sugar.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
Frosting on them. I've written Sandy, thank you know what
I'm mailing this morning. I mean, uh, it's just a
very generous Sandy.

Speaker 6 (05:33):
If you're watching that, she is a podcast watcher, Sandy,
thank you for your kindness to your house.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Your house, I got. I got a bunch of mercantiles. Yes,
I got. Okay, mine, Well.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
That's I think that's what they all are.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
I mean, this is no, I think you've got your house.

Speaker 3 (05:50):
Your house.

Speaker 6 (05:51):
I was just this is sorry, this is the house
before it was blown down the tornado. Oh my god,
even better now, Yes, of course she told me that.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Okay, my highlight and the pictures are all over Facebook.
The pictures are all over Facebook. This dude, it is okay, guys,
it's not Barb Marsick. No, it is not the man
who played Luke the Big Farmer. It is a nice
young man named Josh who loves little house and thought
he and his friends, as he said, we were having
a few cocktails. I said, there was some alcohol involved
in this decision to show up in overall blonde hair,

(06:26):
bare feet, their feet, total commitment, bare.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
Feet, quirky, quirky.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Very charming, addressed Luke the Pig Farmer with a bouquet
of flowers and he walks and I first time stunned,
like why he says, oh my god, and he's in
overall and he says, I haven't seen you since the
corner shruck. I'm dead. I'm dead. Head on table a
bottle pirm for your birth because you remember who was
Nellie's birthy that episode. He gets out the ring box,

(06:56):
opens it and there's a little diamond ring and it
says Olsen's mark and tell in the ring box and it's.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
The Rood.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Store.

Speaker 3 (07:04):
So there was planning for this, yes, oh.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
No, this was all for weeks apparently, and he and
his friends are like shrieking and dying and taking pictures
and I was finished and we posed. There's pictures with
the ring and he and some people were like, is
that the guy. I'm like, it's not the guy.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
It's just it's Josh Cousling.

Speaker 1 (07:23):
This was the funniest dancing in the world, and.

Speaker 4 (07:25):
It was, and he was right, very silly.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Crazy day.

Speaker 4 (07:31):
Yeah, we have to go back to Chili John's right now.

Speaker 6 (07:34):
We need to get into this. We need to get
into all No, you tipped it. Let's get into this story.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Okay, Okay, we will get into this. I'm very conflicted
about this episode. We will have a convo. Oh yes,
but first from ubn go Prairie Partners, visit Seeming Valley
dot com and our patrons. This is the Little House
on the Prairie fiftieth annivers three podcast. Okay, you guys,

(08:13):
we're going to get into it this episode.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
Here we go.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Dean, what are we talking about today?

Speaker 4 (08:18):
All right?

Speaker 6 (08:18):
So tay, we're talking about episode ten or eleven, depending
on where you're counting it.

Speaker 4 (08:23):
But it's from season one.

Speaker 6 (08:24):
This is the Raccoon, which debuted on November tenth, nineteen
seventy four, are written by Joseph Bonaducci, really nice script
and directed by William F.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
Claxtons. Is that right?

Speaker 1 (08:43):
Because how many are out there in show business?

Speaker 4 (08:47):
He is?

Speaker 6 (08:47):
He is A.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
Well, yeah, I think.

Speaker 4 (08:49):
It's a nice scratch. It's a nice scratch. Real.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
This episode has a distinction of being the only episode
I'm sure in the home like nine freaking years that
makes me cry. As we know, I am hear hearted
and terrible and cynical, but the episode reduces me to
uncontrollable sobbing every time, including the other night.

Speaker 4 (09:10):
What what what is it about it that gets you?

Speaker 3 (09:16):
Because it's about an animal and not a person. She
has more sympathy for animals than she does for human beings,
which I understand.

Speaker 6 (09:24):
I get it.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
People, Yeah, can you blame us?

Speaker 6 (09:32):
Well, the animals are just doing what they do and
people eat you all come.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
And of course I'm watching it last I'm texting Alison, going,
I hate you. I hate this episode. This episode is
like a roller a roller coaster of emotion.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
What very stupid?

Speaker 4 (09:48):
What is this about?

Speaker 1 (09:51):
That is? I said?

Speaker 4 (09:52):
Here?

Speaker 1 (09:52):
So it gets It starts out like it's not going
to be terrible, but then it's feeling guilty for accidentally
breaking Laura's beloved China doll.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
Yeah, I know, so random that she has a China doll.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
Mary brings home.

Speaker 4 (10:06):
A device device and device.

Speaker 3 (10:11):
Doll, and not ever the whole music boxing.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
She brings home a baby raccoon to smooth things over,
just because nothing smooth things over like a freaking baby,
like you do. Charles is hesitant to allow Lord to
keep it correct up, but he decides it'd be all
right to make a temporary adoption, a choice.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
He later regrets, No, correct Yeah.

Speaker 6 (10:38):
Regrets, I was I was racing this last night, so
so I didn't go into deeper. I didn't dig for
deeper detail about how this could be stated.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
But yes, this goes much deeper than that. It's much more.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
Than a terrible thing.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yeah, okay, so let's let us where do.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
You want to Where do you want to start out this?

Speaker 3 (11:02):
We're one minute into the episode and already Laura has
broken this mysterious China doll that we have no idea
Janus named Janie.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Okay, that was the first thing.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
It's Janice.

Speaker 1 (11:16):
My mind was blown. First of all, she's carrying very
doll like and then she says, okay, Janet, that jan
damn it Janet. Right away, I'm going Janet. Is that
a thing?

Speaker 4 (11:30):
Janice?

Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, sort of existed, but not really till the nineteen sixties.
Anybody Janet in eighteen seventy four?

Speaker 6 (11:37):
What was the what was the name of of Laura's
really simple doll that.

Speaker 4 (11:44):
She loved, Arlotte?

Speaker 1 (11:46):
Charlotte.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
That's an appropriate name for a doll.

Speaker 1 (11:49):
For a doll that Janet is not normal? I wrote,
was like, Janet, Janet chen what also? She said she
was scriptious?

Speaker 3 (11:58):
Scriptious, and I'm like, that's bad.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
She wasn't necessarily.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
Mister indeed, Danny Bonaducci, the Departure Family. Yes, yes, Danny's
father Joseph Ducci, famous director.

Speaker 4 (12:14):
Right now.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
Wow, wow, So we have Danny.

Speaker 4 (12:17):
I just thought his kid was pretty talented. I thought
he was. He was really he was a lot of
fun on the Partridge Family.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
Oh. I had like a crush on him when it
was like, I thought he was.

Speaker 4 (12:27):
Perfect for you.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
I wouldn't I love him.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
You have imagine Nelly and Partridge Family, Danny Bonaduccie together.

Speaker 1 (12:35):
Oh my god, my god, crime way rhyme way together,
bad I do. I've since met Danny many times, been
on his radio show and done stuff. But he's delightful.
Actually he's really quite sweet.

Speaker 4 (12:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (12:48):
No, I think he's probably crazy, very funny. I mean,
you two would be laughing.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
We were We were great. We did a whole Tonight
show thing together. We were a riot and he's really nice.
He makes to me in a show. I had people
call me and go, Danny sans things about the show.
I go, no, no, actually he's killed. I just talked
like we love him. But yeah, scrumptious. Janet, Yes, that

(13:14):
that's weird that she said he's completely weird. No, she
never uses the word scrumptious over it's a British thing.
But okay, sure. So she's reading weird British literature and
has a doll named Janet.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
And Janet dies first minute into the show. Her head
is cracked open. And I have to say, her reaction
of being so emotional about her doll dying was so good.
She was really authentically upset. I mean, it wasn't kid
actor tears. It felt very very authentic and I.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
And it was so real. Oh my god, she's.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
Like killed her.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
It was so.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
I was watching this Margo getting it from a seven
year old perspective. Oh yes, the commentary at this entire
episode was off the chain. It was great. But yes,
So anyway, so she's devastated.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Play with China dolls outside you don't play with outside.

Speaker 3 (14:11):
And Mary feels guilty because she's the reason why the
blah blah blah blah. Okay, yes, so what happens next, y'all?

Speaker 1 (14:18):
He tries to also.

Speaker 6 (14:19):
Okay, so they do a whole thing in the house
where pause trying to fix.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
The china doll scene with her and the little piece
with mon Pond.

Speaker 6 (14:27):
She picks it, you know, she picks up some pieces
and positive chides her for that, and they have a
good laugh over that.

Speaker 4 (14:34):
Mary goes to Mary goes to the.

Speaker 6 (14:37):
To the mercantile. She's looking to find the replacement head.
She needs to get it thrown.

Speaker 7 (14:42):
Yeah, yeah, the yeah, I mean, and the China doll
with the moving eyes a dollar twenty the more reasonable
value fifty nine or sixty nine cents.

Speaker 4 (14:55):
Either way, it's out of it's out of Mary sing.

Speaker 6 (14:58):
So she needs to make amends, and that motivates what
comes down, which begs.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
The question how did I get this doll the first place?
But that's okay, we don't need to know, don't need
to know why.

Speaker 4 (15:12):
These are questions that don't yes, that never don't care.
You don't care, Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Daddy go why is your dad? Oh my god, I
dare you to do that? Yeah, it's insane. So she
decides the best move is to bring her a wild,
biting me completely untamed animal from the words.

Speaker 3 (15:37):
So she finds a baby raccoon.

Speaker 6 (15:41):
Whose mother has died, and the baby raccoon is you know,
still with her mother, with its mother, and and Mary decides,
I mean, boy, I think that would be really something
that this would not be recommended for kids today. If
you found being a raccoon, I think you anyone want

(16:01):
to leave it alone. These are Pod does pause very
accurate when he later talks about the fact that raccoons
are adorable to look at their evil.

Speaker 3 (16:13):
They're evil and they're murderers. They have they can get.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
There.

Speaker 3 (16:20):
They look cute and they are the devil.

Speaker 4 (16:23):
They're adorable looking.

Speaker 6 (16:24):
Well, they're very clever and capable, and they can open
up anything.

Speaker 4 (16:30):
They can.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
They can set open doors. But also pause, Okay, they're
on the they live practically in the forest and the farm,
so they do deal with wild animals all the time. However,
even pauses, raccoons do not make good pets. They are
not domesticated animals. That's some dogs invescade animals. That is
a wild thing. And he even says it's wrong to

(16:52):
make a pet of something that should run.

Speaker 4 (16:54):
Well.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Now, this reminds me of my father who was like none, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Imprisoning animals, this is bad and he didn't even like
to go to the zoo. He's like, you know, as
a kid, oh, can we have an ocelot? I want
an ocelot, that would be great. Of course I wanted
all the wild Anna, oh yeah, baby tiger, and my
parents nah, and this episode my father's and now no,

(17:16):
we do not take in wild Annibal, because they did.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
This is why the whole the whole time, I mean,
the second Mary brings in that raccoon, I'm like, girl, no, girl,
no bad idea. And then Paw comes home and he's like,
absolutely not, and I'm like, yes, Pa, standard ground. He's
absolutely one thousand percent right. And of course they all
even Ma's like, please let her have the animals she's
so upset about.

Speaker 6 (17:39):
And he gives in wells very passive aggressive about it.
You know, I sort of, oh, yes, it's very good advice.
China was very sensible. She says something like that, yes,
so tarted again.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
While I'm watching this, and while I'm watching this, going
that raccoon's gonna kill you all. That raccoon gonna kill
the dog. Bye bye chickens, because the raccoon's gonna get them.

Speaker 5 (18:04):
All.

Speaker 1 (18:06):
You have chickens, you are keeping chickens and raccon it's
a terrible idea.

Speaker 3 (18:10):
Here's my personal raccoon story, which is why I was
terrified from the get go of this episode, the get
and the whole time. Before I watched this episode, I
was like, I remember not really liking this. This is
not an episode that I revisit and watch, right and
I and I was thinking, like, why don't I really
like this episode? What is it about this episode? I

(18:31):
don't know, I don't remember. And then I started watching
it and I was like, this is why I don't
like this episode, because I was terrified the whole time. Okay,
So when I was a kid, our friend had too
like a chicken and a duck in her backyard that
she kept and at night they were in they were
in a penned up cage, totally safe. She loved these
these animals were awesome. We would play with them all

(18:51):
the time. And one morning she wakes up and goes
in her backyard and it is a massacre.

Speaker 1 (18:59):
It is it is.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
It is a mass I mean, it's disgusting. And this
raccoon was able to unlock the lock on the cage
on the pen and get and murdered these animals and
left carnage and wreckage in its wake. And ever since then,
I've been like, oh, raccoons are bad. They're bad. I've
seen raccoons actually in my neighborhood, which is wild, but

(19:25):
they'll walk up through the driveways or the alleyways and
they're huge. I mean they are. They're like it's like
a like a mini I've seen I have run away
in the opposite direction because they are. They are nasty,
nasty killers.

Speaker 1 (19:43):
The people think they're cute, neat fruit financials. You know,
all the places I live with the wild animals all
over the place. And we had a raccoon in our
yard back of the last hour, and the cats were
freaking out, like can we go out there? Like you're
not going out there? The raccoon is shitting like feet
from the window, chilling out and eating. We go, what's
eating The raccoon has apparently killed small rabbit. Yeah, birdy.

(20:10):
He's like got a bunny and going he ate a body.
And he sat there. I'm banging on the window, going shoot,
and he turned around looking at me.

Speaker 8 (20:18):
With I'm.

Speaker 1 (20:21):
Like this, the cats, the cats are going, you're gonna
finish that. You're gonna finish that. He's like, mind your
own business, get your own bunny, and he shat there
and he ate that entire money until it was gone
and then went like wallow.

Speaker 6 (20:35):
So this is the thing, So, Pamela, you hit hit
on something that's important about raccoons and what makes them
so clever is this supposable thumb thing. They really have
the ability to rip things that other animals.

Speaker 1 (20:49):
And they're killers.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
They're serial killers. Now again in the wild, that's what
they're supposed to do. And of course they need to
survive and that's what they're made for. But you don't.

Speaker 1 (20:58):
That's one you Your propensity for unruly behavior exceeds that
of captive skunks. Skunks are freaking better pets than a raccoon.

Speaker 4 (21:13):
That is really.

Speaker 6 (21:16):
Yes, literally you escape with the because you want to
explain you're you're dead but but your.

Speaker 4 (21:26):
But the raccoon will do it to you.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yes, right, the raccoon. And this is the.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
Little episode is done like a horror movie. It is
filmed and shot and directed like and it is a
horror movie. It's it's Kujo raccoon style like it's it's terrifying.
There was a jump scare in this episode that we'll
get to that literally, Margot and I like jumped off
the couch so badly that my husband and what happened.

Speaker 4 (21:54):
Happened was in the barn.

Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yes, when they Okay, we'll get here though I'm jumping
exorcist raccoon. Okay, anyway, we'll get back.

Speaker 6 (22:07):
But let's just say but Carrie had her moment when
they when Paul allows them to keep it, and Carrie.

Speaker 1 (22:13):
Says, yes, yes, yep, I have that great carry moment.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (22:20):
I was talking to ray screen Bush the other day,
Billy Johnson. I said, we're thinking of having the greatest
moments of Carrie's episode, just got great carry moments. Would
you like to step in for that. She's like, God, absolutely,
because we have to do okay, and it gets warm.

(22:41):
She says, it's only a baby. You wouldn't leave Carrie
out in the woods. And I mean there's like a
slight pause thought about it, and it's like the.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
Son.

Speaker 3 (22:55):
He's like, Okay, you can keep it. Not in the
house though, but keep it in the barn, just as
a baby, and it'll go really quick because they grow
up really fast, and then you'll release it in the wild.
And I'm also thinking that's a bad idea too, because
the raccoon then will have no idea how to survive
in the wild. If we've kept it and fed it
and yeah, yeah, this whole thing is a disaster.

Speaker 1 (23:15):
It's in the barn, Yeah, near the animals. It's in
the barn, near the horses and the cows and the
chickens that it's gonna direct.

Speaker 6 (23:22):
The raccoon is not going to bother the horses. I mean,
you know, there's no way the raccoon's going to take
I don't know the chickens.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Because but what.

Speaker 4 (23:33):
Interesting little Laura Marry moment and Mary.

Speaker 6 (23:35):
Once again, the voice of sanity in all of this,
will be the one person who sort of gets everything
and says, uh, you know, makes.

Speaker 4 (23:45):
The little bed.

Speaker 6 (23:47):
And Laura then suggests that maybe that the jasper needs
to come in the house, and Mary says, bad idea,
and Laura chides her, yes, I no, PAS said no
kind of thing.

Speaker 4 (24:02):
But he's so she loves him so much.

Speaker 6 (24:05):
And this this little baby raccoon always looks like it's
sucking on a pacifier.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
I know, it's like a baby.

Speaker 4 (24:12):
Maybe there was, maybe there was something on their hands. Maybe,
but anyway, at.

Speaker 6 (24:18):
One ends with Laura in the barn cuddling with Jasper
and and things. Everything looks like it's okay.

Speaker 3 (24:33):
But then it gets worse. So fast forward they go
to school. Great ideas on the raccoon and drag this
poor animal.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
Did you love when the raccoon stop walking and she
dragged it by the neck on a string through the dark.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
Such a bad idea, and she's all cocky. This is
the other things annoying to Laura's like, I have to
miss caated this wild animal, and I'm special. She's showing
off in front of the class. And there's one boy
in class is like, my dog can do all these
tricks and more, and She's like, I don't care. I
am special, Me, me, me.

Speaker 1 (25:14):
That is the brilliant, redheaded Robert Hoffman who works in Washington.
She absolutely with lobbies and stuff, and it's like terribly
clever and brilliant and I'm still in contact, are you really?

Speaker 3 (25:27):
He was incredibly astute about the raccoon.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
And he plays the brother too. She Shavit, who plays
Cassy Kennedy and I love because both Jonathan and I
get lines. Was I go fish, they eat fish, and
Jonathan little Willy goes the coats. It was like cut up, Willy,
what do you say? And another it was a great

(25:50):
Willy moment. Duds.

Speaker 6 (25:52):
And what was interesting to me is Miss Beetle, who
under ordinary circumstances is very reasonable and sort of a
suit about things, just allows this animal right into allows
the raccoon right into the school. And this is all
part of the buy into. But this was none of
this was a good idea really, I mean, I mean

(26:13):
in terms of what you might really.

Speaker 4 (26:15):
Do with an animal like this.

Speaker 6 (26:17):
I love the moment when the raccoon jumps and everyone
looks sort of shocked except Jonathan, who has this sort
of gleeful smile on his face as that, And I'm
not sure what Jonathan doing like seeing at that moment
or Yeah, but it's so willing.

Speaker 4 (26:38):
Yeah, the.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Miss literally has the children write an essay on what
kind of wild animal? Yeah, a terrible idea.

Speaker 3 (26:53):
Allison tell us some behind the scenes infos, so like
you were in this scene with the raccoon, So who
was the raccoon?

Speaker 1 (27:02):
Actually far? How far back am I? How? There's of
course there's a wrangler, there's a wrangler. Yeah, we've all
been bitten into, and the raccoon has obviously had shots
and things that we're not really going to die for.
But you don't see me getting that near that table.
How far back am I I'm shoving people and go
You know, y'all stand there already close to the raccoon. Okay,
Robert hoff will never go right ahead. I've got I gotta.

(27:22):
I have human shields in front of me in that
scene because.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
I'm not getting working with this anim like where the
kids love it.

Speaker 1 (27:32):
Of course that's that he was adorable, and of course,
unlike wild raccoons, this thing that was brought up by
an animal trainer was dreadfully well behaved and was perfectly sweet.
But you notice how far back I am because sorry,
raised in Hollywood on sets with people animals, and at
some point have me tell you the story about the bear.

(27:53):
I mean that's animals. Sometimes said animals good and sometimes
you get loose when that thing's happened. I when I so,
I'm like, I'll be I'll be over here, behind Robert
Hoffman and behind Jonathan I'm gonna be over here.

Speaker 6 (28:07):
Because was that a blocking thing that that that bill did,
or is that you making a decision that you're going
to be in the back of this group.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
I mean, yeah, we wanted Willie up front the shore ones,
but I wasn't going get in the front rough. I
was as far away from that raccoon as I could
be and still be in the scene. So you were
not enjoying.

Speaker 3 (28:27):
You weren't one of those kids that was like, let's
play with the raccoon. You were like, they know because
I yes some sense.

Speaker 1 (28:33):
And also, like I said, my father, who grew up
on a farm with many animals, had lectured me many,
many times.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
Yeah, no, they're supposed to be wild.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
Or wild animals. I don't care if it's cute. I
don't care if it's on the least.

Speaker 3 (28:44):
I can I tell you a story about working with animals. Okay,
I'm divert I'm diverging.

Speaker 1 (28:51):
Okay, what we're here for?

Speaker 3 (28:52):
I can save this for Patreon. Should I give a
little teaser?

Speaker 1 (28:59):
Maybe we should do all are really.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Terrible, I have terrible, wild, terrible, when ill, we can
say a Patreon, but I'll to give a teaser, which
is when I was a kid, for a few years,
I was in the children's course at the Metropolitan Opera
in City Opera. So I was in a dozen operas
at the met and the City Opera, and it was awesome.

(29:22):
It was awesome. It was totally fun. And let's just
say okay, and and there was one opera in particular.
There are many hazardous things that we were situations that
we were put into in these operas. I mean really,
when I think back, even as a kid, I was like,
this is not safe, like open flames and fires and whatever.
But there was one opera in particular where there were

(29:42):
several animals in it and I did not go well
at all. And I'll save that for Patreon. If that
isn't a teaser, I don't know what else is.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
Okay, okay, go on about the wild possums that I
kept in the hotel.

Speaker 3 (29:55):
What possums are the worst? I think we've actually talked.

Speaker 1 (29:59):
About the.

Speaker 4 (30:02):
We had as let's take we keep as we keep going.
So after the classroom.

Speaker 6 (30:10):
Encounter where Laura sort of uh foreshadows something saying that
Jasper doesn't and and she's not really sure, but she
wants to believe it that Jasper doesn't.

Speaker 4 (30:26):
So on the way home, so the family has been
in town. They're on their way home, and.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
Oh Nelly also she says Nelly also wants a baby rerecord.

Speaker 4 (30:36):
That's she wants to breed.

Speaker 6 (30:40):
She wants to breed, and except that big pop. But
this is but jazzfore that would.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
Be very difficult. He's a record.

Speaker 3 (30:54):
Now before the family church, they uh, they are feeding
Jasper eggs, YadA YadA, and they leave. They leave, oh right,
And of course the little trick that Jasper does is
he can hide his eyes just like that, like a
cute and it is cute. I will admit this one
is cute. They hide the eyes. Yay, sweet.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
The raccoon did it at the audition, and that's.

Speaker 3 (31:21):
Yeah. They tried thousands of raccoons audition for the spot,
and Jasper with the lucky winner, had the trick, had
got it.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
So they put Jasper back in the barn where he's
supposed to be while they go to church and lo
and behold as raccoons do. He figures out how do
we unlock his little cage and he gets into the
window of the house. He pushes his way into the house.

Speaker 1 (31:55):
Jack.

Speaker 3 (31:55):
Jack, by the way, brought it to Jack, because Jack
from the get go was like, what are y'all doing?
This is a mad idea. No one's listening to me.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
Laura's been ignoring Jack. Yeah, yeah, you're just a dog.
I got a raccoon now, in Jackson.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
Oh, I just want to say, I put in my notes.
I don't like this. This whole thing makes me nervous.
The school scene is thoroughly unenjoyable. It's because I was ten.
I was tense the entire time. Okay, you would be
the entire time. And also Jasper's trying to get the chickens,

(32:34):
Jasper the cereal chicken killer, and like the ingles are like,
Ladi not a Jasper's cute. And I'm like, he's gonna
kill your entire family while you sleep, all right, keep going.
So they're out. Jasper's wreaking havoc in the house makes
a total mess, yes.

Speaker 4 (32:49):
And the right, I mean making a total mess.

Speaker 6 (32:51):
And the family gets home and Jack is barking in
front of the door, and they open the do Laura
opens the door and goes in, and of course the
house is completely like the like the kill zone that.

Speaker 4 (33:02):
You saw, yeah, that your friend saw.

Speaker 6 (33:07):
Yes, And Laura runs away as Laura does when.

Speaker 3 (33:12):
Jesus, and I'm like, yeah, Pod get it, yes, like crown.

Speaker 4 (33:18):
Yes, he's made up his mind. We're getting in.

Speaker 3 (33:22):
No crying, yes, no crying yes, Okay, back back.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
And up control takes it back to the woods, Laura.

Speaker 9 (33:32):
Laura of course runs to the bar to scold Jasper,
to tell to tell Jasper that he's been a bad raccoon.
And so Pop feeds him into the bag and puts
him in the bag, and Laura said, and he drives
to the woods and he lets Jasper go, and Jasper runs.

Speaker 4 (33:52):
Off into the woods. The woods.

Speaker 6 (33:54):
It's the open field outside Walnut Grove, alloods.

Speaker 1 (34:01):
They live in nature.

Speaker 3 (34:05):
I'm like, how far did he have to drive to
get the They live outdoors. And just let him go.

Speaker 1 (34:13):
If we want to take.

Speaker 6 (34:14):
Him away so we won't find his way back, of
course is ridiculous. So of course he can find his way.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
He can find his way back.

Speaker 6 (34:19):
So they let him go, and they come back to
the barn and here's Pa bringing the unhitching the horses.
He's brought the harnesses into the barn, and there's Laura
with a racket.

Speaker 3 (34:31):
Oh, he came back because he loves there and he's domesticated.
And isn't this a great idea and that at this
point I want to slam the television.

Speaker 10 (34:39):
And so no, so this is just to confirm for
the audience this is still Jasper Jasper has still has
gotten back quicker than the wagon with the horses.

Speaker 6 (34:52):
Jasper is run on taking a shortcut and gotten back
to the barn before pap can get.

Speaker 1 (34:58):
There softy and goes, okay, okay, I'll do.

Speaker 4 (35:02):
I'll make a cage.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
They Now, this is where it gets crapy, because right
around the cage time, Oh no Jack, and yes it's
it's Jack, a good little raccoon. But he's a raccoon.
And he what was it, you know they said about
that tiger And look, you know he went tiger. He
goes raccoon and he bites Jack.

Speaker 4 (35:24):
Well, he first bites Laura.

Speaker 1 (35:26):
He bites Laura and he bites Jack. And of course
what does she say, don't tell.

Speaker 4 (35:31):
Paul, don't tell, Yes, don't tell.

Speaker 1 (35:34):
Poor Mary. Poor Mary goes to tell, and Mary Mary
gets herself in a bind, which later on turns into
things because she goes, Okay, I'm not going to tell Paul,
and she knows it's wrong, and this turns into just
like a nightmare later so.

Speaker 6 (35:55):
Yes, no, yes, and that's and so Laura looks was
out looking for Jasper, can't find him.

Speaker 4 (36:04):
Jack is and just sends Jack home.

Speaker 6 (36:07):
Why did you have to Why did you have to go,
she says to Jasper, And that's the end of back two.

Speaker 1 (36:14):
Yeah, and it's the dog's fault that he got bit.

Speaker 3 (36:16):
But she's superman to the dog this whole time.

Speaker 6 (36:20):
That was I would have said, as a training thing,
I'm not quite sure how that worked.

Speaker 4 (36:25):
But Jaspers, the training of the.

Speaker 3 (36:29):
Bible, how did that happen? Howd they do that?

Speaker 6 (36:32):
Was was freaking me amazing, Like you look at that
between the and the quick, quick, quick lightning, quick reaction
and Jasper snapping around, and.

Speaker 4 (36:46):
That was pretty impressive.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
Not freak out, like, am I really being attacked by
a raccoon? What dog? But that dog was so weltering
and the freaking raccoon was so well, they made this
happen and we're going out and the hell did you
get the But they raccoons are very smart in this way.
Those are dangerous, but raccoons are very smart.

Speaker 9 (37:03):
Now, that sequence, the biting sequence, also interesting in today's.

Speaker 6 (37:07):
World of nonlinear editing, where you could put a lot
of elements on a timeline and quickly cut them together.
When you look at that sequence of Jasper having bitten Laura,
that's okay, nice status shot, Jasper runs out, and then
Jack and Jasper get into it.

Speaker 11 (37:23):
A lot of angles, a lot of cutting there to
create that tension, to create the moment of the bite,
and have to think about I think of.

Speaker 6 (37:34):
John Leffler, our editor, one of our mini editors, but
our key editor, our primary editor. With the razor blade
cutting those moments to create that tension around that bite,
that would not have been an easy editorial thing to
do there, And of course shooting it would have been

(37:55):
a challenge as well, because you've got maybe there could
have been nice cameras in the space of that because
they had to they had to create this the sense
of movement that something was really happened.

Speaker 1 (38:10):
It looks so terrible because they've had multiple cameras, so
it may have only taken a few minutes, but they
cut this footage and this footage. So that's why this
episode is a horror movie, because the editing is so
brilliant this episode, and the way in the darkness that
shots like that that one when Paul's like going out
to the barn and maw and he's loading the gun.
I mean.

Speaker 6 (38:31):
That right here, because we're gonna have to race. We've
really burned a lot of time here. I've got a
doctor's appointment this morning.

Speaker 3 (38:40):
There, and the horrors only get worse. People will continue
in a minute.

Speaker 4 (38:46):
Right back.

Speaker 1 (38:47):
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(39:09):
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(39:31):
House fiftieth Anniversary podcast.

Speaker 3 (39:37):
All right, ready, okay, we're back now. What happens?

Speaker 1 (39:43):
Yes, Jack?

Speaker 4 (39:44):
All right?

Speaker 6 (39:44):
So all right, So Jack is so in everyone with
the families gathered in the around the table, and everyone's
a little sad. And Jack comes in and gets up
and pause lap and you know, pause heading the dog.
So so now we don't know that the dogs been hurt.
Mary knows, Mary knows, Laura knows, but Pod doesn't know yet.

Speaker 4 (40:06):
It's what the yeah yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:09):
Like later when he says you do blood, he knows.
I mean, here's the dog Laura accuses.

Speaker 4 (40:15):
Makes the whole thing.

Speaker 1 (40:16):
Jasper Jackson, remember hotline Jasper, who we definitely confirmed with
Jasper bit Laura and bit the dog and then disappeared
completely gone. We don't know where.

Speaker 3 (40:30):
Here's the one time that I'm like on team Raccoon,
which is Team Jasper, which is like, yeah, I'd bite
them too, if you kept me in this tiny little
cage with a dog barking at me and wanting to
attack me that hates me, Like, yeah, I'd bite them
and get the heck out of Dodge as well, Like
this is why we don't try to domesticate wild animals.

Speaker 1 (40:50):
Duh, duh. Yeah yeah, But then what happens middle of
the night again horror movie music is happening, and we
see this raccoon come and in fact going the ten
house and depth and they're like, holy crap. And that's
when you know.

Speaker 3 (41:08):
Wait, Pow does not go out hell.

Speaker 1 (41:11):
Shirtless us.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
The iconic this is a photo, This is a freeze frame.
This is like the iconic image of shirtless Paul with
the lantern light and looking off, looking blave and heroic
and manly and pauw like this is.

Speaker 1 (41:33):
And there's so much shirtlessa that doesn't go on, no
scenes that lampler.

Speaker 6 (41:38):
I think that's that we had a get This was
season This was episode ten or eleven of season one,
so they're.

Speaker 1 (41:44):
Still you know, yes, the scene with the lantern where
we're waiting in the dark, it takes forever. That's a
gag we even talked about in the friend Show because
he could you you know, he's in there shirtless, but
you don't get to see him, and it takes a
really long time. So we do it. Think the friend
room people are going, yeah, light finally turns and it's

(42:12):
a it's brilliant. And again it's this whole episode is
long drawn and it.

Speaker 3 (42:18):
Is films like a horror film. I mean, this is spent.
I have to say, like it's so suspenseful, it's so tense.
I mean it's uncomfortably tense. I'm like, oh, I hate
this episode. This is hard. This is a hard watch.
This is scary, and it's scary. Jumps scared right, and
so finally gets into the bar and looking looking again.
Horror film, horror film, horror film. The suspense is building, building, building,

(42:41):
and then jump scared. The raccoon attacks Jesus and that's
when Margaret.

Speaker 6 (42:48):
First he looks up and sees the straw coming through
the is insane.

Speaker 3 (42:56):
And when the raccoon jumped Margot and I and screamed
so loud that my husband ran into the room and
said what happened?

Speaker 1 (43:13):
And then he killed killed the raccoon. He's not with
a gun, he doesn't. He stabbed the raccoon to death
with a picture, making sure he's what is this episode happening?

Speaker 4 (43:32):
So all right, so we need to jump ahead here.

Speaker 3 (43:34):
So the girls are obviously devastated because their father horrible
and Rock.

Speaker 4 (43:41):
It couldn't be it had it had to be done.

Speaker 6 (43:45):
And then we get to the point where we get
to the point very quickly, we get to the point
where Pause with Jack and Ma comes into the How
does pause, I'm just.

Speaker 4 (43:57):
You know, does he know whispers rabbit, raccoons.

Speaker 1 (44:02):
Rabbits, raccoons. We all think it's shaspur, but we don't.
And he is the raccoon came at him and in
the dark of the barn, and when he got the pitchfork,
he saw rabbit raccoon and also he killed it when
he killed.

Speaker 3 (44:15):
Him, probably the phone.

Speaker 1 (44:17):
Okay, like this, oh ship, I just killed a rabbit raccoon.
And he goes back in and then he's checking the
dog goes the dog through blood, so like, oh my god,
we got to tie up the dog. The dog may
have rabies. The dog made rabies. And this is when
Mary has been breakdown most incredible.

Speaker 3 (44:31):
Yes I would too, And.

Speaker 1 (44:34):
She has the breathing thing and he's holding her, holding big,
big face hold and.

Speaker 4 (44:40):
Will did not shoot the shine. He kept it totally
on you. Hear Michael.

Speaker 6 (44:46):
I thought that was a really interesting choice to stay
totally with Mary there and let Michael the hands were Michael, and.

Speaker 1 (44:57):
You cannot breathe. And finally and she she's like, she's
it's a poor child. It's like a robot going against
its burgm I swore got to tell And yeah, he
bit Laura, Hey bit Laura. And she's well, they lose
their minds because they know how bad that is. And
then we're at Doc Baker's and that's the scene where
oh my god, so much lying, so much lying in

(45:20):
this episode, I don't have a raccoon. The raccoon is gone.
The record is here if nobody did anybody. And now
Doc Baker's like, have a gum drop and leave the
room because you're fine. And I'm like, oh god, it's
so bad. You won't even tell her anything. He's just
gonna give her gum drops because he's like, it's too late.
We're doomed. I'm just gonna give her gum drops because
and then they're like going and and he's like, you guys,

(45:43):
seriously know this is bad, right.

Speaker 3 (45:44):
And there's an incubating.

Speaker 1 (45:47):
And then there's the horrible moment like he's saying, you
could take weeks. This is all accurate. He says, this
is how long it shows up in dogs because so many.

Speaker 4 (45:54):
Days, eight days and three weeks or something.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
That is a correct. That was one of those and
he is correct, tada, And then Ma says, and there
the treatment, and Pop puts his hand on her shoulder
and Doc Baker does the look down thing and you
go oh, and she's like, wait, what guys, there's a treatment? No,
you get rabies now, vaccine didn't come out for a

(46:22):
good ten twenty years later. And it ain't a vact
scene really in the brain. It's they shoot you up
if you have rabies. There is still no cure for
rabies' real What there is is a vaccine. And so
if you're a bit by a rabbit animal and you
know or believe it is a rabbit, and you get
the doctor immediately, if you wash the wound right away,

(46:43):
you can get a lot of the virus out. If
the rund is very fresh and scrub scrub scrub right away.
That's lowers the viral load. But you need to go
to the hospital right away and they check you out,
and they do inject Now it used to be the
injections in the stomach. They've changed it. They have a
modern thing. But they pump you up with an anti virals,
this vaccine which will arrest the rabies virus from completing

(47:06):
the infection and killing you without treatment. Without treatment, you
will die of rabies and it will be bad. There's
still I'm looking up and they're going ninety nine point never.
You're dead if you give rabies and you are not treated.
There's been maybe one or two people history you, and
you will get sick and you will have what they

(47:26):
call hydrophobia if you're with water, and you will have
seizures and it will be it goes to your brains
and it infects the brain lining, and it's encephalitis and
coma and it's the unspeakable, ugly, horrible, painful death.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
And you die.

Speaker 1 (47:42):
And nowadays, yes, they shoot you up, but they have
to get there within so many days. It has to
be within so many days. And if they shoot you
up with the anti virus anti rabies vaccine, you don't
get rabies and you don't die, yea, And you will live.
And that's very successful, and you will live. But if
they don't, if you are if it's eighteen seventy four
and nothing and you've been affected with raby, bye, And

(48:06):
the ingles know this, they know this, and they know
how bad a death it is.

Speaker 6 (48:10):
Well, yes, and here my airpad dropped out, so hang on.

Speaker 12 (48:17):
So then so Laura's told that she gets a sucker
and she's gonna go around, and she goes and then right,
but then but she's gonna rest.

Speaker 4 (48:27):
But then, in this very great moment, Laura, at ten
years old, asked, what's.

Speaker 3 (48:35):
Going such a devastating scene. Quite frankly, it's devastating.

Speaker 1 (48:41):
She knows they're all putting her on, and she knows.
She goes, this is a little too convenient. Then the
gum drops and she's like, go on. IMA's like, no,
bed milk, milk, cinnamon, yes, but she it's the eighteen
hundreds version of you get to drink ginger Ale right
soap operas school. She's it's great, she'll do your chores.
And I was like really, and she can't take it

(49:02):
anywhere sistily. And Pad comes in and goes, oh, you
go turn it a wreck.

Speaker 4 (49:07):
That's right.

Speaker 6 (49:10):
Your eyes and you're getting craving for eggs and.

Speaker 1 (49:16):
And she's rolling her eyes and making face. You're teasing,
you're teasy. She goes, okay, seriously really she like no,
She's like, hah, very funny. Doc Baker sent me out
so we could talk to you because something's really wrong.
I'm going to get this is not right. He didn't
send me out of the room so we could talk
to you guys and give me gum drops. Something's horribly

(49:38):
wrong and you guys are lying and he he cops
to it. He says, I don't know yes, yes, you
are correct. There is a disease and you could get sick.
And he tells her and she says, what's going to happen?
He goes, I don't know, and then they cut. They
just go book, they just cut. He goes, yes, you're right,
I have no idea what's going to happen?

Speaker 4 (49:54):
And pray to God you don't That is what Pa says, basically,
and then it just.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
Cuts and we're going, ah ah ah, we're left, We're leftid.

Speaker 6 (50:03):
So now, interestingly, at that point, scene takes a takes
a bowl of water to Jack.

Speaker 4 (50:10):
Jack doesn't drink.

Speaker 3 (50:12):
I didn't know that. I didn't know that was a
Rabi's thing, that you don't want to drink water.

Speaker 1 (50:16):
Why is the hydrophobia?

Speaker 4 (50:18):
It is?

Speaker 3 (50:19):
It is?

Speaker 4 (50:19):
Oh you don't.

Speaker 3 (50:20):
I never knew that that was a symptom that's not drinking.

Speaker 4 (50:25):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (50:26):
It's so weird because I look this up and I
remember going, oh, yeah, I'd heard of hydrophobia, and I'm like, wait,
fear of water. Wait, that doesn't make any sense.

Speaker 3 (50:34):
Facts, there we go.

Speaker 1 (50:35):
One of the symptoms is hydrophobe. In fact, I used
to call rabies, just called it hydrophobia. Fear of water
because there are in late stage rabies where you have
difficulties swallowing. Patients show panic when presented with liquid to drink,
cannot go first. Saliva productions increase because again sometimes trying

(50:56):
to drink will cause excruciatingly painful space in the throat nix.
The infected individual cannot swallows alive and water, so there's
a more chance of being transmitted because of the south
with the biting, et cetera. It's unspeakable. It's commonly associated
what they call furious rabies, which I guess you really
don't want to get, which is most people. And that's

(51:19):
aggression and biting and foaming at the mouth, which is
usually animals, although there are humans where the rabies has
progressed to the stage where they are their brain is
cooked and they are screaming and biting people. It is
that bad. And then there's paralytic rabies with the muscle weakness.
It's total paralysis.

Speaker 3 (51:38):
This is horrific.

Speaker 1 (51:39):
Yeah, no, there's no good news. There's no good news
about rabies. But absolutely people cannot drink water. Their throat
stops working and they flip out when you offer them
water because they're.

Speaker 6 (51:48):
Choking so the family is obviously in a high state
of distress at this point. Bought and Laura playing charades
over things to drink. Mary is telling stories to carry.
Pa can't take it anymore. He has to leave. Wonderful
shot going out the door of the little house.

Speaker 4 (52:07):
Pap can't be has to get away from people. He
walks past the window and they tracked to this and
there's Mo praying in the window, pushing in on Ma praying.

Speaker 6 (52:18):
So the family is in serious, serious distressed at this
It's horror movie times.

Speaker 1 (52:23):
There's lots of in the candle. I'm flipping We're flipping
out at this point. I hate this episode.

Speaker 3 (52:33):
This is an emotional roller goes there.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
Take this. Yeah, it's like you want to soon. Everything's
a signed, everything's asigned, Laura, you thirsty, know, just like
flipping out, flipping out, and then the dog goes insane.
The dog goes insane and starts sparking.

Speaker 6 (52:47):
Well, no, but let's let's do the scene where Laura
and Mary have the scene.

Speaker 4 (52:51):
Do you do you hate me? Why? It's all my fault.
I broad Jasper home, but I wanted him.

Speaker 6 (52:58):
I didn't tell Paul when I you didn't tell pap
because I asked you not to.

Speaker 4 (53:04):
And there's no blame here. Laura's not there's no blame.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
You're the best sister. I love you. But Mary, again,
Mary is torn both. She's blaming yourself for both. But
I I should have told him. I should have told him,
but I promised not to tell you, and then I
did tell him. I broke the promise because I wasn't
supposed to tell him, But I should have told him immediately.

Speaker 3 (53:22):
And she's the one that brought the rascoon home in
the first place. So yes, she's traumatized for life.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
Yes, really so.

Speaker 6 (53:31):
And at the end of that scene, I'm not a
good sister. You're the best sister, is what it ends with.
Cut to Ma in the barn in.

Speaker 4 (53:40):
Total distraction mode, raking hay.

Speaker 6 (53:43):
Pa comforts her and says, Mary comes out, Laura wants water,
So no, why is that a bad thing?

Speaker 1 (53:52):
Right now? You think i'd be good. She's not afraid
of water. But then they're going they said, oh, excessive
thirst or excessive first And at this point everything is signed, Okay,
she's thirsty, and it's.

Speaker 4 (54:04):
Like and Ma says it's a sign. PA says, no,
it's not a sign she's thirsty. That's it.

Speaker 6 (54:10):
It's just let's leave it at that. She's thirsty. Laura drinks.
How do you feel, I'm tired? Lie down, and then
Jack starts barking.

Speaker 1 (54:18):
The dog and that's it. They go, okay, that's it.
Oh great the dog.

Speaker 6 (54:21):
And Jack is jumping up and down. Oh my god,
he's pause, looks.

Speaker 1 (54:27):
And how how much camera time on the gun? So
he gets the gun, he gets the bullets, he takes
the bullets, he puts the bullet with.

Speaker 3 (54:35):
A bullet powder.

Speaker 1 (54:38):
Standing there up in the lawn.

Speaker 3 (54:39):
Well, she has to kill their beloved family pet. I mean,
my god.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
And she knows reached the point of dog that her
daughter is going to die and badly, And you almost
get the sense of she's like, well, okay, we're gonna
shoot the dog. What are we going to do? Now?

Speaker 4 (54:56):
What's next to me? It's like kill her?

Speaker 1 (54:59):
Where he so dark? And they spend so much time
it takes twenty minutes. It seems like, okay, well that's the.

Speaker 3 (55:07):
Thing, because yeah, but that's the thing about this everything.
They build the tension so strongly it's just unbearable to
get through.

Speaker 1 (55:16):
It's so intense. And at that point. I'm flipping out
and they're loading, and he goes up and he's gonna
kill the dog because the dog is ready, and it's
horrid everything and.

Speaker 6 (55:26):
The nice cuts back and forth close on Jasper looking
up at Pa.

Speaker 4 (55:31):
It's just breaking pas Jack exactly.

Speaker 1 (55:33):
Not just the gun stretches it out.

Speaker 3 (55:38):
Yeah, take any cocks the right and he's about to
do it.

Speaker 6 (55:41):
Cocks the rifle and looking can't do it, and then
what's a raccoon?

Speaker 1 (55:46):
And he goes, oh my god, wait does a raccoon?
But I killed a raccoon? And that takes about three days.
And finally take the Jasper.

Speaker 3 (55:54):
It's Jasper.

Speaker 1 (55:56):
Jasper and I go and then there's it takes for
everything the moment because they drag it out some more.
And there's this long sequence where Michael Landon has the
pin light so you can see the quiver of the
chin and the things, and he's doing the build up
to the cry and he's going it takes a really

(56:16):
long time, and he finally goes and I'm dead. I'm dead.
That is okay because as soon as he says, Jasper
have rabies, that's the one which means which means the
dog is okay, which mean Laura's okay, gonna live.

Speaker 3 (56:35):
Can you imagine if he had killed that damn dog
and then found Jasper, I mean.

Speaker 1 (56:45):
Terrible.

Speaker 3 (56:49):
And here's here's my funny thing. When I watched it,
I was like paw, which is he's he has the
rifle out, he's cocked the rifle like it's ready to shoot,
and then he sees Jasper, and in his excitement, he
just drops the gun on the drops the rifle on
the floor and runs into the house. And I'm like,
the rifle was gone, Like, you could have just killed
somebody right now, what.

Speaker 4 (57:09):
Are you doing? Details don't throw the gun away.

Speaker 1 (57:16):
You just caught it.

Speaker 6 (57:18):
So he said, exactly, but but but but David Rose
is telling me that the cue that tells us that
everything's okay, so nothing bad can happen.

Speaker 3 (57:28):
Now, and he runs into the house and then it's
it's all I don't know, like, what the hell is.

Speaker 1 (57:35):
Happening, and all he says, it's gonna be okay, It's
gonna be ok.

Speaker 3 (57:38):
It wasn't Jasper.

Speaker 1 (57:39):
It wasn't Jasper. Yes, it wasn't Jasper.

Speaker 6 (57:43):
And we finished with Laura running to the running to
the barn, untying Jack, wonderful high angle looking down on
the two of them. There, this was really really what
a this is. These kinds of moments.

Speaker 4 (58:02):
Are what made Laura this beloved character.

Speaker 3 (58:08):
And Pa, I mean all them.

Speaker 1 (58:10):
Did you cry when the raccoon showed up or when.

Speaker 3 (58:13):
He no no, I cried the when the whole family
is back together and they're all hugging each other and
they're all hysterically crying. And you know, there there's some
times in the in the prayer where you could tell
someone's fabricating a cry or when it's authentically the actor
is authentically really been affected and is crying. This was

(58:35):
that where every single one of them were absolutely highly
affected by the reality of this situation. They committed so
hard and they they that these cries and these sobs
were these intensely deep emotional outbursts and that's why it
works so well. And I was thinking, my god, they've

(58:56):
all committed really hard to this this is but of
course makes are super high.

Speaker 1 (59:01):
You know, I I cried again watching this last night.
The the hell are you watching?

Speaker 4 (59:08):
Like?

Speaker 1 (59:08):
What is he even going on out here? Okay? I
have to Some years ago, I was flying Jet Blue
and Jet Blue had taken to showing Little House in
the Prairie reruns on its entertainment center. And I only
had a few episodes, and I went, cool, my god,
and so I went to the record. God, oh, I

(59:29):
haven't seen this one ages and it slowly crossed my way.
Isn't this the only one that makes me cry? Probably
didn't watch it? Oh, And so keep the record. And
I start watching this on the plane and I said,
I've grown purses. I proceed to lose it when he
gets the thing and Jazzer and I'm and I'm like,
oh crap. And I'm picking up the menu and the
thing on the plane and holding it up the people here.

(59:52):
And I was so mortified because I had visions of
people on the plane going, yeah, she was on the plane,
she was watching him, watching the show.

Speaker 3 (01:00:05):
Yeah, she's good, She's really good.

Speaker 4 (01:00:07):
Oh my god.

Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
This this episode, this episode is indeed a total emotional rollercoaster.
It's as scary as any horror movie I've ever seen.
The weight was shot and filled, and the suspense and
the tension that they.

Speaker 6 (01:00:19):
Built technically so well done to take us to go.

Speaker 4 (01:00:27):
Yeah, I mean really really well done.

Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
It drags, really.

Speaker 4 (01:00:31):
Does have the sense of voting throughout the episode.

Speaker 3 (01:00:37):
Even Okay, you are easy. Yes, that's what I was saying.
It was like two minutes into it, I was like,
I don't like this episode.

Speaker 1 (01:00:44):
I don't like it.

Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
It makes me feel uncomfortable.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
I had I was like, you.

Speaker 4 (01:00:52):
We got this. I don't know, I just.

Speaker 13 (01:00:56):
We have got we have to hold the We're gonna
It was just such a good such a good episode,
such a foreboding episode, such a revealing episode for Laura's character,
such an emotionally rich episode for the entire family.

Speaker 4 (01:01:13):
Jack is Specia episode.

Speaker 3 (01:01:16):
Better apologize you know how hard it is to make
me cry. And I'm like, okay, okay, everyone.

Speaker 4 (01:01:28):
Check this one out.

Speaker 6 (01:01:29):
If you haven't watched this one, and everybody, you've got
to go back and watch this really really yep.

Speaker 3 (01:01:35):
Yeah. What else is there to say other than I
will never watch this one again. Ever, I've done it,
don't need to do it again. Anyway. That's it for today, guys.
I can't believe we finally did the Raccoon, the famous
Allison cry at the Raccoon episode.

Speaker 1 (01:01:55):
We did it.

Speaker 3 (01:01:56):
We're good. I'm so glad it's over now. Okay, we
will see you next time. Everybody join us on Little
House fifty podcasts on our socials Little House fifty podcast. Judge,
I'm on a website and here it is like, m
subscribe the baby. You know, I feel cheap and dirty
saying that, but I'm going to say it from now on,

(01:02:17):
like and subscribe. Just do it, and then join us
on Patreon because I'm going to tell a crazy story
about the Metropolitan Opera and wild animals. Anyway, We'll see
you next time. Everybody, Bob, get the wig. Here we go.

Speaker 8 (01:02:32):
Let's fly like Jasper being pulled on a leash.

Speaker 3 (01:02:45):
I would hope so