Sorry, but We Already Got the Best ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Reimagining With This ‘Simpsons’ Episode

2 weeks ago 14

Ready to revisit the Ingalls in Walnut Grove? Netflix believes you are. The streamer is working on a reboot of the iconic, family-friendly Little House on the Prairie; writer/producer Rebecca Sonnenshine has been tasked with the project, no stranger to wholesome fare with her work on The Boys and The Vampire Diaries. I kid, of course, but apart from reports that the new version will follow Charles, Caroline, Laura and Mary as they move to Independence, Kansas (per Collider), it's unknown which direction Sonnenshine intends to take the reboot. Will it be a rehash of the original, a fresh take with a focus on today's sensibilities, or a parody of sorts? Here's the thing: it doesn't matter. Everything that a new Little House on the Prairie could be, or will be, has already been done in the span of 30 minutes in The Simpsons' Season 14 episode "Helter Shelter."

'The Simpsons' are Living Like Its 1895 in "Helter Shelter"

Looking to avoid legal action, Mr. Burns (Harry Shearer) gives Homer (Dan Castellaneta) luxury skybox tickets to a hockey game, after a falling girder hits Homer in the head at work (does he know Homer at all?). The family is far more interested in the perks of the skybox than the game, except for Lisa (Yeardley Smith), who goes to watch the game from rink-side. After having offered some helpful advice to one of the players, he gives her his stick, which Homer mounts on her bedroom wall. Unfortunately, the stick carries more than memories of the game. It has termites, too, which are quick to damage the home, forcing the family to move out for six months.

But where to go? Housing for a misplaced family of five isn't easy to come by, but Barney (Castellaneta) and Carl (Hank Azaria) have a suggestion: The 1895 Challenge. The 1895 Challenge is a reality show that captures the 24/7 hijinks that arise when a family must inhabit a Victorian era house, where they must live like it's 1895. Despite Homer's reluctance, they audition, and are selected, for the show, with producers practically salivating at the promise of Homer's overreaction to the most trivial of things. And they're right: the titular "challenge" is hard for the family to adjust to, and viewers are captivated by watching their misery.

But things start to change as the family begins to adapt to their 19th-century lifestyle, but as their attitudes improve, the ratings drop. No one wants to see a family actually do well on the show. They want to see a train wreck. Or a stagecoach flesh wound. Desperate, the producers act to boost ratings, first by introducing Laverne & Shirley's Squiggy (David Lander) into the show, armed with a Taser in the hopes of creating chaos. It doesn't work, so while the Simpsons are sleeping, the house is airlifted and dropped in a river, where it soon plunges over a waterfall, all caught on film. The Simpsons survive the fall (Squiggy, however, does not) but now must forage for food and shelter as the crew continues filming, refusing to offer any help. Soon, they meet up with contestants from another reality show who were left to their own devices, and together they overpower the crew and return to the now termite-free home at 742 Evergreen Terrace.

'The Simpsons' "Helter Shelter" is Everything a Rebooted 'Little House on the Prairie' Could Be

So, does The Simpsons' "Helter Shelter" hit all three of those things that a new Little House on the Prairie could be? Let's review. Is the family drawn together, stronger than ever, by a shared, wholesome experience, like the Ingalls of TV lore? Check. Does it offer a fresh take on Little House on the Prairie? Given that the premise of The 1895 Challenge show-within-a-show is forcing people accustomed to today's conveniences to cope without them in a recreated time period they would only know from Little House on the Prairie, that's a check. Is it a parody? Check, but it's not how you'd expect.

The episode doesn't play out like a parody of Little House on the Prairie, but more an homage, an admiration of the very values it represents. Not that it doesn't have a little fun at its expense (Bart [Nancy Cartwright] in a blue shirt, tucked into a pair of blue shorts, a pink bow tie and a blue hat with golden curls, looks hilariously like Alison Arngrim's Nellie Oleson). Once the family gets used to not having their modern-day conveniences, their idyllic family bond is a vindication of the values held by Michael Landon's Charles, his family, and the close-knit community of Walnut Grove. In the absence of cynicism and distractions, a family's fondness for one another grows stronger. But if you are looking for a legitimate parody, check out Lisa's reading of "Little Cabin on the Plain" and its follow-up, "The Christmas Orange," in "It's a Blunderful Life".

Reality TV Takes a Hit in 'The Simpsons' "Helter Shelter"

The real target is reality TV, which succeeds in a big way. The 1895 Challenge the Simpsons take part in shares elements of Survivor and Big Brother, but moreso PBS' short-lived 2002 reality series Frontier House, which followed three family groups living as Montana homesteaders in 1883. The Simpsons' being selected for the show based on Homer's explosive reactions speaks to how casting directors purposefully look for those people that will make the most exciting television. The addition of new elements to "throw a wrench" into reality TV is hardly anything new, from the "Ding Dong Keep It On" bell in The Masked Singer to the retiring of the Sweat vs Savvy challenge in favor of something new on Survivor.

Adding a B-list celeb in David Lander's Squiggy, with a decidedly un-1895 taser, is in that vein, and dropping the house in a river is pretty much as desperate a ploy for viewership there could ever be. The behind-the-scenes look at the film crew unwilling, or unallowed, to help the suffering family is a nice touch. Who hasn't watched a desperate Survivor castaway practically begging for food and thought, "Can't the camera guy throw dude a Snickers or something?" (although we've seen the dangers when a member of a camera crew interferes in The Office). "Helter Shelter" wouldn't be the only time that The Simpsons set its sights on reality TV, either. Season 30's "Heartbreak Hotel" has The Amazing Place, while Season 17's "Treehouse of Horror XVI" sees Mr. Burns hunting humans for The World Series of Manslaughter in "Survival of the Fattest."