Melissa Gilbert says 'Little House on the Prairie' was telling the stories of the 1970s through the lens of the 1870s.

Melissa Gilbert says 'Little House on the Prairie' was telling the stories of the 1970s through the lens of the 1870s.

Don't let the horse and buggy fool you — the classic show was as contemporary as any other, the star says. Ted Shepherd/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Melissa Gilbert as Half-Pint, aka Laura Elizabeth Ingalls, on 'Little House on the Prairie'On the season 2 episode of Little House on the Prairie called "The Talking Machine," the quiet burg of Walnut Grove is blown away by the arrival of an Edison cylinder phonograph. To hear Melissa Gilbert tell it, …