Favorite Episodes: Little People, Big World

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Before Little People, Big World, I really hadn't given much thought to what life might be like for someone who is only four feet tall, despite having met several dwarfs throughout my life. This show really did a nice job of showing all sorts of adaptations that can be done to enable dwarfs to participate in every activity that those of average height do. I especially enjoyed learning about the Dwarf Athletic Association, the Little People conferences, how the pedal extensions work in the cars, and the different medical complications faced by various types of dwarfs. We watched Matt and Zach undergo multiple procedures, we celebrated with the Iraqi dwarfs whom Matt helped, and we learned about other issues from the various friends who we saw throughout the series.

Little People, Big World ran for six seasons on TLC (wrapping up just last week), but they pulled off over 200 episodes, so there's a lot to go through. Season 5 is my favorite, by far. It has all of the Europe episodes, the planning for the Ireland DAAA games, plus some exploration of the state of Matt & Amy's relationship, and all kinds of other goodies, like the twins being shocked that they're behind in college preparations and Zach refusing to go on a trip that his mother can't attend. Oh, and the LP Space Camp was good, too. But here are a look at favorites from each season... keep in mind that video isn't as readily available for this show as it is for many others.

Season 1: "Zach's Future" (S01E13) It's a simple premise: Matt takes Zach to meet a bunch of dwarfs who have different jobs, so he can see that his options aren't limited. What I like about it is the variety of the careers that they show, including a Navy submarine guy. If you have Netflix, you can watch it here.

Season 2: "Zach's New Ride" (S02E35) So it's apparent in every opening sequence that Jeremy and Zach are twins, but Zach is a dwarf, while his brother is not. Zach and Jeremy have a lot of the same interests, like video gaming and playing soccer, but sometimes it's difficult for Zach to keep up with Jeremy - like when it comes to bike-riding. So, Matt finds someone who can build Zach a custom bicycle so he can keep up with Jeremy and his other friends. It just warms my heart to see Zach able to play like he's average. This one doesn't look like it's available online.

Season 3: "A Little Competition" (S03E12) Zach has some LP friends over for the weekend from out-of-town, and they do a bunch of stuff (similar to the things they do when they hang out at the LP conferences), including challenge Jeremy and his friends to a paintball game. This one doesn't look like it's online, either.

Season 4: "The Graduate" (S04E25) This is one of my favorite Molly episodes. She's the valedictorian of the 8th grade, and she has no intention of giving a speech. She also picks a great graduation dress, but when it's against the dress code, she and Amy figure out something that will work. I think it does a great job of showcasing Molly's personality. This is a small bit of the episode.

Season 5: "Dwarfs in Space" (S05E37) After the previous season saw Jacob and Amy head off and check out a Space Camp, Amy and Zach go to head up the very first Little Person Space Camp. I really like watching Zach try out a leadership role, and it was fun to watch the kids do something that had previously been pretty much unavailable to them. Again, a short bit of the episode.

Season 6: "Little Noah" (S06E10) Both storylines in this episode are fascinating. On the one hand, we have Matt trying to get a Noah's Ark replica moved to the farm, but it's not in the best shape. On the other, Amy isn't really thrilled with the idea, but when a government official trespasses on Roloff property, she takes it upon herself to do anything necessary to get to the bottom of what's going on. I still can't believe how she climbed into the car, LoL. Couldn't find any of this episode, either.