We open in the lovely flower garden of Dr. Marvin Haynes, who has been practicing in Walnut Grove for a while (since when? From Day 1, Doc Baker has been the town's only doctor). But he's not only a doctor of people, he's a doctor to plants. But even Marvin wasn't in the greatest of health and because doctors make lousy patients, he refused to let Doc Baker give him a physical he really felt he should have. From there, he went to the Wilders' to give Jenny some jellybeans, but she wasn't there. She'd gone to the swimming hole with Jeb, Jason, Nancy, Willie and the other kids from school. After having fun in the water, Jenny suddenly realized her locket was gone. It held a picture of her father and it meant the world to her, so she went back under to look for it. The good news is, she found it at the bottom of the murky water, but the bad news is, she got trapped and couldn't find her way back to the surface. By the time Jeb dove in to rescue her, Jenny had fallen unconscious. They took her to Doc Baker, who deduced she'd suffered from a lack of oxygen to the brain and as a result now had trouble speaking and control of basic motor functions. There was nothing further he could do, so Laura and Almanzo's next step was a big city specialist.
Because of Marvin's refusal to take his physical examination, he was unable to renew his license and thus he could no longer practice. The main reason being because of his poor eye sight, but rather than try to help correct the problem, he simply gave up the ship and turned to his flower garden as his only solace. So while Marvin is giving up on life, Jenny is trying to get hers back, only Laura isn't so sure. She believed what the doctors had told her about there being little to no hope for the girl. But maybe it's time a newly-retired doctor took a turn. Marvin invites Jenny to come help him out in his garden, for his philosophy is that work is good therapy, and after Laura reluctantly agrees, Jenny becomes the old doctor's new helper. On their first day, they helped mend a bird's broken wing and named it Robin (the bird, not the wing). Yeah, things were going fine, but Laura, ever the pessimist, still sees a problem with Jenny spending her time with Dr. Marvin. No such problems existed, for soon, Robin's wing was completely healed and so he/she flew the coop, and Marvin diagnosed Jenny's condition as improved and she could go back to school. See Miss Plum, Willie, Jason, Jeb who twice saved her from drowning (in the same season), and even that little bitch Nancy, offering her words of discouragement. At the classes' insistence, Jenny told them about what it was like to almost drown and her stuttering made them stare and snicker. Jenny was ready to give up, but Marvin stepped in to help her see things from a different perspective, and even mentions that while he was helping Jenny, Jenny was helping him, in more ways than one. And so, gradually over time, the little Wilder girl was back to normal, and Marvin could officially resign from doctoring and tend to his garden, with help from his last patient of course.
Very good episode, though quite emotional, but with Little House, that's nothing new. Ralph Bellamy stole the show, giving Marvin all the emotional drive his character needed, and little Shannen Doherty pulled off a terrific performance as Jenny and was very convincing in displaying her character's temporary handicaps. In the traditional Little House manner, Dr. Marvin Haynes was never seen or referenced again in subsequent episodes. Nor was he ever referenced in any episode before this one, because here we're expected to believe he's been practicing in Walnut Grove for years. If that's the case, where was he during "Mortal Mission" and all those other instances where the town had run rampant with disease and afflictions and poor Doc Baker was pulled in more than one direction? Anyhow, we see Jeb Carter rescue Jenny from drowning, only this time he's less concerned. Why? I thought he had a crush on her? Had Michael Landon stopped taking notes by this season or something? Anyhow, "Marvin's Garden", not to be missed!
Because of Marvin's refusal to take his physical examination, he was unable to renew his license and thus he could no longer practice. The main reason being because of his poor eye sight, but rather than try to help correct the problem, he simply gave up the ship and turned to his flower garden as his only solace. So while Marvin is giving up on life, Jenny is trying to get hers back, only Laura isn't so sure. She believed what the doctors had told her about there being little to no hope for the girl. But maybe it's time a newly-retired doctor took a turn. Marvin invites Jenny to come help him out in his garden, for his philosophy is that work is good therapy, and after Laura reluctantly agrees, Jenny becomes the old doctor's new helper. On their first day, they helped mend a bird's broken wing and named it Robin (the bird, not the wing). Yeah, things were going fine, but Laura, ever the pessimist, still sees a problem with Jenny spending her time with Dr. Marvin. No such problems existed, for soon, Robin's wing was completely healed and so he/she flew the coop, and Marvin diagnosed Jenny's condition as improved and she could go back to school. See Miss Plum, Willie, Jason, Jeb who twice saved her from drowning (in the same season), and even that little bitch Nancy, offering her words of discouragement. At the classes' insistence, Jenny told them about what it was like to almost drown and her stuttering made them stare and snicker. Jenny was ready to give up, but Marvin stepped in to help her see things from a different perspective, and even mentions that while he was helping Jenny, Jenny was helping him, in more ways than one. And so, gradually over time, the little Wilder girl was back to normal, and Marvin could officially resign from doctoring and tend to his garden, with help from his last patient of course.
Very good episode, though quite emotional, but with Little House, that's nothing new. Ralph Bellamy stole the show, giving Marvin all the emotional drive his character needed, and little Shannen Doherty pulled off a terrific performance as Jenny and was very convincing in displaying her character's temporary handicaps. In the traditional Little House manner, Dr. Marvin Haynes was never seen or referenced again in subsequent episodes. Nor was he ever referenced in any episode before this one, because here we're expected to believe he's been practicing in Walnut Grove for years. If that's the case, where was he during "Mortal Mission" and all those other instances where the town had run rampant with disease and afflictions and poor Doc Baker was pulled in more than one direction? Anyhow, we see Jeb Carter rescue Jenny from drowning, only this time he's less concerned. Why? I thought he had a crush on her? Had Michael Landon stopped taking notes by this season or something? Anyhow, "Marvin's Garden", not to be missed!
