Little People, Big Income

When I first started watching Little People, Big World, I was enthralled by the Roloffs.

Matt, the father, was a real go-getter. Amy, his wife, was no slouch, working two jobs and mothering four children: twins Jeremy and Zachary, daughter Molly, and young Jacob. The hook was that Matt, Amy, and Zach are dwarves, while Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob are not.

I appreciated the fact that their house was messy, that the kids, especially teenagers Jeremy and Zachary, were often uncooperative, that Zach failed his driver's license test a zillion times, that Jeremy was almost impossible to get up for school. I thought it was very realistic that Matt and Amy did not always see eye to eye (Amy was worried about finances while Matt was more grandiose), and that Matt's father, who lived down the road, often got irritated with his son.

Topping it all off was the wonderful setting. The Roloff's 34 acre Oregon farm was shown off to its best advantage in time-lapse photography, and I especially liked the warm, charming, yellow farmhouse. And there were the surprises--like the full-size pirate ship and castle and western town that Matt had built for his children.

I was fascinated by the Little People of America conventions, excited by Zach's soccer team beating the top dog L.A. Breakers, educated by the family's dealing with various physical problems associated with dwarfism.

Of course, after a couple of seasons, the well began to run dry and the family started doing the television inevitable--taking trips with not-so-discreet product placements. Then there were Matt's high-dollar purchases at the drop of a hat. When things got dull, he got a DUI ticket and was hauled into court. And we saw Roloff Farm become a financial success as a pumpkin farm and tourist attraction. Last season Matt's half-finished remodel of the no-longer-yellow farmhouse into what looks like the Taj Mahal was left hanging when he ran out of funds.

Will Matt come up with the cash to finish the job next fall? Of course, he will. After all, he has a successful reality show. He doesn't have to sell computer systems any more, and Amy doesn't have to work outside the home.

But to me the show has lost some of its charm. There is so much money being thrown around-- and Matt is becoming more and more megalomaniacal. I was appalled when he spouted off about the plural form of "dwarf," which is "dwarves." His contention was that, as a dwarf, he should be able to decide what the plural is, and he preferred "dwarfs." But the word "dwarf" existed before the LPA decided it would be the preferred term, and the plural has always been "dwarves," as with "whorf/whorves," "leaf/leaves," "hoof/hooves," etc. One can't change the language just to suit Mr. Roloff.

The show may have run its course. The twins will graduate from high school this year and Zach, at least, will be off to college. Molly is reaching a very interesting stage, though, and maybe Jacob, who has been monumentally ignored throughout the series, will come into his own.

I admire what Matt and Amy have been able to accomplish with their family and their farm, and I tell myself that if they, with their various handicaps, can do all this, maybe I can reach my own goals. But can I do it without a reality series? Hmmmm . . . .

All in all, I still like the show, but I used to like it better.