Ted Shepherd/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty On the season 2 episode ofLittle House on the Prairiecalled "The Talking Machine," the quiet burg of Walnut Grove is blown away by the arrival of an Edison cylinder phonograph. To hearMelissa Gilberttell it, the townsfolk would have grooved along and murmured "right on" if it playedMarvin Gaye'sWhat's Going On. In a recent appearance onJennie Garth'sI Choose Mepodcast, Gilbert explained how the famousMichael Landon-led show may have been set in the 1870s, but was actually tackling issues relevant to contemporary audiences of the 1970s. (We will now pause to allow you to scoop your brains up from off the floor following this revelation.) NBCUniversal via Getty "It's wild to be a part of something that has that kind of longevity," Gilbert said of the show that ran on NBC from 1974 to 1982, and is currently readying fora remake version on Netflix. "It's so beloved," she continued. "People love that show. They love the stories that we told. They love the relevance of the stories that we told. Now people are looking back and going, 'Oh,Little House. They told some pretty palpable stuff.' Gilbert, who launched a clothing and lifestyle brand calledModern Prairiein 2022, added that the beloved series "was not exploitive. Michael Landon was consciously telling the stories of the 1970s through the lens of the 1870s. We were talking about civil rights and veterans coming home from the Civil War on our show, where [in our time] the veterans were coming home from the Vietnam War." She continued, "These were all topical and important stories, and unfortunately, so many are still things we need to discuss today. So that's why I thinkLittle Housecontinues on." Bettmann/Getty With that Q.E.D. officially on record, she concluded by saying, "I mean, we, you know, did dumb, fluffy episodes where we just had fun, but it was pretty hard-hitting. We took on rape, arson, crib death, all kinds of horrible, horrible things on that show." Indeed — wasn't there an episode where a school for the blind caught on fire and an infant died? Did we hallucinate that? It seemswe did not. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Netflix's new version ofLittle House on the Prairieis currently in production in Manitoba, Canada. The cast includes Australian actor Luke Bracey as Pa Ingalls,October Road's Warren Christie as Mr. Edwards, andJocko Sims as Dr. Tann, a character new to the show but a physician who Laura Ingalls wrote about in the original books. You can listen to more of Melissa Gilbert's chat with Jennie Garth by clicking play on the link below. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly