# What's your favorite Michael Landon tv character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520 "2012-03-02T04:15:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/1 "2012-03-02T04:15:18Z")
Michael Landon had an incredible creative career as an actor, writer, director, and Producer. I listened to a interview with David Canary (Candy Canaday on Bonanza) and he was saying that Michael had taken a lot of control of Bonanza in the later seasons. Fixing bad scripts, writing episodes, and even directing. Michael starred in 14 seasons of _Bonanza_. Then from there he had an incredible nine season run with _Little House on the Prairie_. Michael was executive producer , full time actor, and he wrote & directed many of the episodes. _Highway to Heaven_ ran five seasons and Michael was in charge again. If it wasn’t for cancer I’d bet Michael would have another five or six season show on his credits too. Looking at his acting, writing, and directing credits on imdb, I’m not sure anyone else on TV accomplished this much. Especially for a guy that died at 54 years old. > **[Michael Landon | Actor, Producer, Writer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001446/)** > > Known for: Little House on the Prairie, Bonanza, Highway to Heaven ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/2 "2012-03-02T12:22:02Z")
I watched all three of Michael’s tv shows. My favorite was _Highway to Heaven_. I liked that his Angel character was pretty much a regular guy. Most of the time he didn’t have superior knowledge or any special powers. He followed God’s instructions and events unfolded. Occasionally God gave him powers to accomplish something, but the Angel never knew if or when that would happen. Victor French played the bitter agnostic that gradually regained his faith as he traveled with the Angel. The series was very well written and I really enjoyed it. Especially Season 1. Not every episode ended happy. There were times people died and the Angel couldn’t stop it. Even the Angel didn’t always understand why that happened. ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/3 "2012-03-02T16:10:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I watched all three of Michael’s tv shows. > > My favorite was _Highway to Heaven_. I liked that his Angel character was pretty much a regular guy. Most of the time he didn’t have superior knowledge or any special powers. He followed God’s instructions and events unfolded. Occasionally God gave him powers to accomplish something, but the Angel never knew if or when that would happen. > > Victor French played the bitter agnostic that gradually regained his faith as he traveled with the Angel. > > The series was very well written and I really enjoyed it. Especially Season 1. Not every episode ended happy. There were times people died and the Angel couldn’t stop it. Even the Angel didn’t always understand why that happened. I think the Jon Smith character on Highway to Heaven had super-powers. He was super-strong and could teleport or move at super-speed, at least. He just didn’t use them much because he was not supposed to be a superhero and superpowers were usually not very helpful to his mission which was to put people on the right path to salvation. I do remember him once intervening in a convenience store robbery when he provoked the robber into shooting at him and he simply caught the bullet which caused the robber to freak out and say he was never doing drugs again. Very funny. I also liked that Jon Smith was very human. He had a freakout himself when he saw that his earthly wife had died and assumed that since she had gone to heaven his time on earth was done but when he asked was forbidden to return. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/4 "2012-03-02T16:15:35Z")
Charles Ingalls, but mostly because that’s the only program of his I watched faithfully. I have seen episodes of the other shows as my mom was huge Michael Landon fan. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/5 "2012-03-02T16:16:52Z")
Charles Ingalls, because he was the sorta Dad I wanted to have, but didn’t ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/6 "2012-03-02T17:50:53Z")
Never liked him much except as a teenaged werewolf and an albino. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/7 "2012-03-02T19:35:16Z")
I liked him in _Little House_, too, but I have to give the nod to _Highway to Heaven_, because playing an angel is something that’s really tough to get right, but he hit it spot-on. I’ve seen almost no _Bonanza_, so I can’t judge there. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/8 "2012-03-02T21:30:53Z")
I picked Bonanza. When I was in college I used to watch it at lunch time with friends. Plus it is the only show listed that doesn’t make me want to poke pencils into my ears and eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/9 "2012-03-02T22:35:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Victor French played the bitter agnostic that gradually regained his faith as he traveled with the Angel. Before that he played the bitter agnostic that gradually regained his faith as he interacted wit the Ingalls family. (I’m not sure if any the characters he played on _Bonanza_ fit the bill; the only one I really remember was a total villain.) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/10 "2012-03-02T22:42:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Victor French played the bitter agnostic that gradually regained his faith as he traveled with the Angel. I just wanted to add that Victor French used to be a customer of mine when I was a Jaguar technician. He always drove Jags. One hell of a nice and funny guy in real life. I was sorry to hear of his death. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/11 "2012-03-03T01:54:16Z")
I’ve been trying to remember if French’s death was why _Highway to Heaven_ ended? I recall articles in tv guide and other magazines talking about his Lung Cancer. I’m pretty sure he was already sick that last season. Ironic that Victor French and Michael Landon died at exactly 54 years old. They died two years apart, Victor June 15, 89 and Michael July 1, 91. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/12 "2012-03-03T02:38:37Z")
Charles Ingalls. As cloying as “Little House” can be, it had many touches of realism you just didn’t see on other shows about the West. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/13 "2012-03-03T05:54:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Charles Ingalls. > > As cloying as “Little House” can be, it had many touches of realism you just didn’t see on other shows about the West. The Ingalls house was a big one. Unlike a lot of 19th century houses in films and on TV (including the Ponderosa) it was actually dark at night even with the kerosene lamps and the fireplace. Also, as would have been the case for a family of modest means, there was no sofa or comfy furniture and it was small. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/14 "2012-03-03T07:00:32Z")
I was impressed that they tried to stay true to the Little House books. For example the daughter that got blinded actually happened in real life. The tv show took a popular character played by Melissa Sue Anderson and blinded her. Maybe not a popular decision with the network executives but it did add realism to the show. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/15 "2012-03-03T12:43:47Z")
The first time I saw him was from _Highway to Heaven_, but I didn’t really grow fond of him until _Little House on the Prairie_. But I don’t know how much of that is because LHotP was on all the time during my teenaged years and was a show my sister watched, but I only remember HtH from my earlier years, and it was a show Grandpa watched. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/16 "2012-03-03T12:51:26Z")
I had a massive crush on Little Joe when I was a little girl. I couldn’t stand _Little House on the Prairie_ because how they butchered the books (not just the plot but they completely changed the characters to act in ways they never would have). I only watched an occasional _Highway_, but it was just too treacely for my tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/17 "2012-03-03T16:48:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I was impressed that they tried to stay true to the Little House books. For example the daughter that got blinded actually happened in real life. The tv show took a popular character played by Melissa Sue Anderson and blinded her. Maybe not a popular decision with the network executives but it did add realism to the show. They also let both Ma and Laura give birth to sons who died in infancy. While both their real life counterparts did that, it’s surprising that a feel-good family show allowed it, and probably wouldn’t happen today. Of course they also let Mary marry and have a baby that burned to death. (In real life she never married or had a baby.) Then there was the girl who got pregnant from clown rape and died while pregnant. And there was the woman whose daughter died so she kidnapped Laura to replace her… Damn that show was rough on babies and children. I think TV’s Walnut Grove might have been akin to a Neil Gaiman story: everything will be fine so long as you feed the transplanted Viking god a baby once in a while. During the longest stretch of non child fatalities Ma gave birth to Baby Grace who was healthy and lived… but the crops failed and they all had to move to town. They come back with new son Albert; the first thing they learn is that Mr. Hanson had a major stroke, then after they were there a while Albert set fire to a school for the blind and burns up a baby AND his best friend’s mom (who was probably pregnant but just hadn’t mentioned it). I wonder if somebody saw a woman in black before these things happened? And either way, Nellie getting the hell out of there before she had her twins was a smart move; I guess Nancy would have been sacrificed had the god not realized what a great priestess and procurer she’d make. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/18 "2012-03-03T17:21:41Z")
I do give props to the show for including real events that weren’t in the books (baby that died, working in the hotel), but they changed the character of the whole experience and the people so much it’s frustrating. If they had followed even some of the story lines rather invent these fantastical events, it would have been a stronger show. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-michael-landon-tv-character/614520/19 "2012-03-05T11:21:09Z")
As a kid I saw him in _Bonanza_ and he may as well have died when it ended - I don’t recall ever seeing him again in anything.