Dear Melissa:
     I am 41-years old and I enjoy reading your Little Men website.  I have only been following the series, seriously, since last September.  I had a baby a couple of years ago and that's probably why I didn't catch it when it was first broadcast.  Also, I live in Canada so maybe they weren't running it on our satellite stations at that time.
     One of our Canadian companies (CTV) has been running Little Men episodes off and on for the last year or two so I haven't seen all the episodes.  They did, however, do a three-week run of episodes around the Christmas holidays so I was able to tape most of the second season (to my husband's chagrin - "Oh no, not Little Men again!").  My husband teases me about it but often he finds himself getting interested in programs or movies I am enthusiastic about.
     I am with you in wanting to watch wholesome programs and movies and, although we have a wide selection of channels on our satellite dish, there is not a lot of programs I spend time watching.  I had read "Little Women", "Little Men", and some of the sequels when I was younger so I was interested in seeing the Little Men program.  I soon realized it wasn't entirely following the book but neither did the "Little House on the Prairie" series. However, I find Little Men enjoyable in its own right.
     I read your article "Ethical Angles" and I do share your thoughts and feelings about some of the words and actions displayed in the Little Men episodes.  My particular feeling is that I wish the characters would more often show remorse and say they are sorry for harsh or unfair words that they have said to each other.  Really I wish they wouldn't act that way in the first place but we are all flawed as humans, aren't we?  And I suppose script writers think it is a good way to "spice" up the stories.  As you have said, we have to take everything we read or watch with a grain of salt.
     What I enjoy most about Little Men is the romance between Jo and Nick.  I do wish, however, that they had spent a little more screen time on certain key scenes i.e. their dance at the Ball and their first kiss.  That kiss scene was WAY TOO SHORT!  I wish the script hadn't made their characters rather silly in not going to the dance together and in Jo suspecting Nick of spying.  Sometimes the scripts don't fit the characters and I think it's a shame when they could display the characters as being more trusting and wise.
     The positive values displayed on Little Men do make up for some of the less positive values.  I like the faithfulness and honesty of Nick and the love and tolerance shown by Jo.  The children are pretty interesting and precocious too - I like Nat and Nan the best.  And I like the simplicity and gentility of the stories.  I hope I'll be able to watch and tape the episodes I've missed.  It's too bad that the run of the series was so short - sigh!
       In Christ,
       Karen

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