7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Family | 100% |
Romance | 40% |
Western | 18% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (5 BDs)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Little House on the Prairie had settled into a comfortable rhythm by the time it entered its third season in the fall of 1976. But the fact that the show even made it to a third year is a bit surprising, given the fact that after a Top 15 first season, the series failed to place in even the Top 30 for its second year. Despite that lackluster sophomore season showing, Michael Landon doesn’t radically reinvent the wagon wheel for the third year, and indeed relies on several well established tropes the series had already exploited in its first two years. Audiences rediscovered the show during the third season, and for the rest of its original broadcast run, the series never again left the Top 30 (the fourth season would garner the highest ratings for the run of the show). Part of what makes Little House on the Prairie click is its very familiarity, and this season does its requisite share to depict the hardscrabble grit of the Ingalls family (as well as a number of other settlers), while also providing rather regular trips to hankie or tissue land, courtesy of treacly but undeniably effective heartstring tugging sequences. The focus is again largely on Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls, so much so that I half expected Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls to burst into a non sequitur, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.” But the sweet relationship that Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) shares with all of his daughters is one of the series’ enduring aspects, and that is also well on display during the third year.
Little House on the Prairie: Season Three is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. This third season follows very much in the largely admirable footsteps of the first two seasons of the show on Blu-ray. Once again the restorative efforts have gotten the elements into very good condition, though there may have been some slight digital scrubbing done here as well, as grain is slightly inconsistent at times. There appears to be less contrast boosting on this season than season one especially, and while that perhaps deprives some darker scenes of huge levels of shadow detail, overall things look largely organic. Colors are nicely saturated and accurate looking, and close-ups provide good to very good fine detail. The series embarks on a few more filming gimmicks this year, with shots like point of view from a galloping horse's perspective and the like, and some of those shots look relatively soft when compared to the bulk of the season. These techniques add to somewhat inconsistent sharpness and clarity, but overall Little House continues to impress on Blu-ray, offering a largely commendable viewing experience.
Again very much in line with the releases of the first two seasons of the show on Blu-ray, this third season of Little House on the Prairie offers a decent if unambitious DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono accounting of the series' original soundtrack. Once again, dialogue and score are very cleanly presented, and the well done foley effects, which can include everything from thundering horses' hooves to torrential downpours, give a nice slice of authentic sounding Old West ambience to the series. Fidelity is excellent, though dynamic range is somewhat limited.
Like Charles Ingalls working his plow out in the fields, Little House on the Prairie had found its comfortable rut by this third season and never strays very far from the straight and narrow exposition of family values and easy to swallow lessons like honesty, forgiveness and basic decency. The morals on display here may be downright pat (and unapologetically old fashioned), but they're delivered sweetly and unpretentiously. The show is repetitive, but it provides the same sort of reassurance as comfort food tends to. Technical merits here continue to be strong, and the third season of Little House on the Prairie comes Recommended.
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1974-1975
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1975-1976
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1977-1978
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1978-1979
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1979-1980
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1980-1981
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1981-1982
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1982-1983
2008
1991
55th Anniversary Edition
1960
2014
1993
1982
1987
1994
2005
2002
1991
30th Anniversary
1994
1955
Koneko monogatari
1986
The Man from Snowy River II
1988
1957
2005
1993
2017
2018