Netflix's adaptation of Little House on the Prairie is a scattered CliffsNotes version of the original story, lacking the depth and breath of the original NBC series. While the Netflix version is well-intentioned, it falls short in its attempt to condense Laura Ingalls Wilder's books into a concise eight-episode season. The show feels flat and polished, lacking the texture and immersion of the original series, with a heavy reliance on montage and a cloying score that dictates the audience's emotions.
The cast, including Luke Bracey, Crosby Fitzgerald, Skywalker Hughes, and Alice Halsey, delivers earnest performances, but their efforts are often overshadowed by the show's technical limitations. The Netflix version is haunted by the ghosts of war, displacement, and the emotional strength of its onscreen predecessor, which it fails to replicate. It shortchanges the more serious questions it raises, such as the Ingalls family's settlement on Osage Nation territory, and the show's honesty is undermined by its overreliance on a copacetic tone.
The best episode of the season, directed by Erica Tremblay, suggests a show that's settling into a rhythm closer to the '70s show's style. The scenes are subtle and resonant, and the cast is given more to work with. However, this technical high point is fleeting, and the rest of the season fails to challenge it.
Overall, Netflix's Little House on the Prairie is a rushed and compressed adaptation that lacks the depth and breath of the original series. It's a missed opportunity to explore the complexities of the story and the characters, and it feels like a scattered CliffsNotes version of the original story.
