Missy Francis Movies

The sole survivor of a psycho-led mass suicide awakens from a 13-year coma and begins having visions of the cult leader who was also killed in the fiery death scene. She resists his efforts to have her join him in the hereafter, and soon members from her therapy group start dropping like flies. ~ All Movie Guide

In this melodramatic story, a college professor and his family experience trauma and tears when the professor discovers that his one-time lover in France has recently died and left a son behind -- his son. When the young boy shows up on the doorstep because the shocked father can only do what is right and offer him a home, the professor (Martin Sheen), his wife (Blythe Danner), and their children -- as well as the boy -- face new issues in a crisis that threatens the once-cohesive family. Both Sheen and Danner carry their roles beyond the sappy limitations of the script, but neither can change an unsatisfactory ending meant only to bring out another handkerchief. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, James (Jason Bateman) heads to the Sleepy Eye bank to make a deposit. The bank is robbed and James is shot, leaving him comatose. Seething with grief and rage, James' adoptive father, Charles (Michael Landon), persuades his friend Mr. Edwards (Victor French) to help him track down the outlaws. As they set out on their mission, Charles and Edwards order Albert ( Matthew Laborteaux) to stay behind -- an order he disobeys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It has been several months since Charles (Michael Landon) adopted the orphaned James (Jason Bateman) and Cassandra (Missy Francis), and the children are now fully and happily settled in the Ingalls household. This may soon change, however: The youngsters' grand-uncle Jed (E.J. Andre) suddenly materializes and demands custody of the two kids. Backed up by his new-found wealth, Jed may very well have the law on his side -- and, as expected, the ensuing court battle is not a pretty sight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this special 90-minute episode, the first in a two-part story, the Wilders are beset by one calamity after another: A hailstorm destroys their crops, and Almanzo (Dean Butler) suffers a stroke that leaves him semi-paralyzed. Amidst all this strife, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) gives birth to her first child. Assessing the situation, Almanzo's sister, Eliza Jane (Lucy Lee Flippin), invites the young couple to move in with her -- but this hardly brings an end to their troubles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still grieving over the death of his son John, Mr. Edwards (Victor French) has begun drinking again. Ordered out of his own home by his long-suffering wife, Grace (played by Corinne Camacho, replacing former series regular Bonnie Bartlett), Edwards returns to Walnut Grove and his friends the Ingalls, hoping to start life anew. Alas, he is unable to give up the bottle, and while drunkenly making a delivery to Sleepy Eye, he causes an accident that seriously injures Albert Ingalls (Matthew Laborteaux). His best friends having all but given up on him, Edwards must regain his inner strength on his own -- though he still has some "special help" from a higher source. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pregnant Laura (Melissa Gilbert) insists that she can take care of the Wilders' farm in the absence of her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler). Unfortunately, the land is hit with a drought, and Laura is felled by a heat stroke. It's up to the local schoolchildren to save the crops -- not to mention Laura's own, carefully tended orchard. The title of this episode refers to the famous fable of the same name, used in the story as a means of instilling maturity in perennial classroom troublemaker Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Little House on the Prairie finds Mary Ingalls Kendall (Melissa Sue Anderson, formerly a series regular and now a "special guest star") moving to New York, where her husband, Adam (Linwood Boomer), has joined his father's law firm. Back in Walnut Grove, Mary's father, Charles (Michael Landon), has added orphans James and Cassandra Cooper (Jason Bateman, Missy Francis) to the Ingalls household. Meanwhile, the Ingalls' neighbors the Olesons, suffering from "empty nest syndrome" after the marriage of daughter Nellie (Alison Arngrim), decide to adopt a little girl named Nancy (Allison Balson) -- who turns out to be a terrifying clone of the nasty brat that the now-reformed Nellie had been in her youth. In more serious developments, Charles' daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) must cope with the anger and self-pity exhibited by her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler), when he suffers a stroke -- and his bitterness also threatens to dampen the happiness experienced by Laura when she gives birth to her daughter, Rose. Elsewhere, Charles' old friend Isaiah Edwards (former series regular Victor French) suffers the death of his son, resumes his heavy drinking, and causes the breakup of his marriage; thus, by the time he returns to Walnut Grove, he is seriously contemplating suicide. And in the two-part season-eight finale, "He Was Only Twelve," Charles' adoptive son, James, is left comatose from gun wounds suffered in a bank holdup. Arguably the most fascinating of the season's episodes is "The Legacy," in which an auction taking place in the year 1982 unearths several valuable antiques: chairs designed and constructed by none other than Charles Ingalls. ~ All Movie Guide

Jack Kruschen guest stars as Gambini, an aging circus artist in whose footsteps his sons are reluctant to follow. When Gambini's show comes to town, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) is fascinated with the old man's "escape" act -- so much so that he tries to be Gambini's protégé. This proves to be a near-fatal mistake, not only for Albert, but for many of the other kids in Walnut Grove. On a less dangerous note, Albert develops a crush on another circus performer, a girl named Anna Rosa (Gloria Manos). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Victor French returns to the series in the role of Isaiah Edwards. When his adopted son John a copy boy with a big Chicago newspaper, dies under mysterious circumstances, Edwards is comforted through his grief by his old friend Charles (Michael Landon). By and by, several clues indicate that John was murdered -- whereupon Charles and Isaiah head to the Windy City, there to join forces with a crusading editor to bring the killer or killers to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) thinks she has it made when she sells her restaurant to a national franchise. Before long, however, Harriet is being run to a frazzle in her efforts to live up to the franchise's lofty and exacting standards. Meanwhile, Harriet's husband, Nels (Richard Bull), teams with Charles (Michael Landon) to establish a rival eatery across the street, for the express purpose of "rescuing" Harriet by putting her out of business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Rev. Alden (Dabbs Greer) finds a foster home for the orphaned Cooper children. Charles (Michael Landon) has a bad feeling about this setup -- a feeling that is borne out when it is revealed that the children's new guardians merely want to use them as cheap labor. The kids run away, whereupon Charles finds them -- agreeing to adopt them if it is humanly possible. Jason Bateman and Missy Francis join the regular cast as James and Cassandra in this, the final episode of Little House on the Prairie's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide