The Return of Nellie (15 Nov. 1982)

Nellie comes home for a visit and discovers that Nancy is more of a spoiled brat than she ever was. Nancy doesn't want to have anything to do with Nellie and snubs her every chance she gets... See full summary »

Director:

Maury Dexter

Writers:

Laura Ingalls Wilder (based upon the series of books "Little House" by), Don Balluck

Stars:

Melissa Gilbert, Dean Butler, Scottie MacGregor

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Melissa Gilbert	...	Laura Ingalls Wilder
Dean Butler	...	Almanzo James Wilder
Scottie MacGregor	...	Harriet Oleson (as Katherine MacGregor)
Richard Bull	...	Nels Oleson
Victor French	...	Isaiah Edwards
Kevin Hagen	...	Dr. Hiram Baker
Dabbs Greer	...	Reverend Robert Alden
Ketty Lester	...	Hester-Sue Terhune
Jonathan Gilbert	...	Willie Oleson
Allison Balson	...	Nancy Oleson
Stan Ivar	...	John Carter
Pamela Roylance	...	Sarah Reed Carter
Lindsay Kennedy	...	Jeb Carter
David Friedman	...	Jason Carter
Shannen Doherty	...	Jenny Wilder

Storyline

Nellie comes home for a visit and discovers that Nancy is more of a spoiled brat than she ever was. Nancy doesn't want to have anything to do with Nellie and snubs her every chance she gets. Laura and Nellie act like they are best friends. Everyone is paying attention to Nellie because it's her birthday and they haven't seen her in a while and so Nancy is feeling left out. She decides to run away. Nels and Nellie go to look for her, and they find her and it seems she has changed. When Nellie leaves, the find out that Nancy hasn't changed.

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Plot Keywords:

runaway | birthday party | returning home | returning character | character name in episode title | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Romance | Western

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1982 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ed Friendly Productions, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nellie's last appearance.

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Goofs

When Miss Plum dismisses the class, a girl wearing a red dress and pigtails is seen gathering her books and walking past Nancy. Outside of the school, when all of the kids are leaving, this girl has disappeared.

User Reviews

The only episode ...

...which features the two Allison (Balson and Arngrim) is cause for celebration :it's my favorite in the season 9.

Laura and Almonzo have only supporting parts ,which makes the Oleson family (five members!isn't it great?) the true stars of "the return of Nellie" .It's interesting to notice that the stubborn Harriet Oleson is about to repeat the same mistakes she did with her first daughter and Nellie,the bad gal of the first episodes ,now a mature young woman ,feels it deep in her heart.Also notable for the reunion Laura/Nellie but only for a few minutes.

Had Nellie stayed home ,she could have made her "sister" a nice little brat.It was not in the cards,and anyway Arngrim is only a "guest star".It would be her last appearance in the series.