The Waltons

Both my parents are dead and gone, but where raised in the Southwest mountains of Virginia during the depression, as Baptists, they along with myself and other members of our family watched this show every week. Several of us still watch it every morning, it comes on here at 7 am, it's a great start to my day. Every episode may not be exactly as some remember, that lived during that era, but it's a lot more true to life than most of what is on TV today. It would be nice if there were shows that even came close to this one, made now. Children and grown-ups alike could benefit from acting a little more like the Waltons, than a lot of people they try to imitate from TV in this day and time.

I truely believe that this program is my all-time favorite. I had been married two months when, on September 14, 1972, Earl Hamner Jr. came on the TV screen just prior to the first episode of "The Waltons" to explain the nature of the series. I remember well his dialogue of introduction and the episode that followed. "The Waltons" was well acted, well scripted and very down to earth and touching. I wasn't living during the Depression, but, my parents and my in-laws were and their stories and descriptions of the life back then during those trying times was exactly reinacted in the series "The Waltons". The writing and the cast are truely amazing as they literally make the characters portrayed come alive. I will always love the series, "The Waltons". I only wish they produced programs of this calibre today.

The Walton's series and specials really helped so many people to realize that real families do exist and that one can create the love and caring in their own lives that we saw lived on the screen. My family was a good family, but did not have the love and warmth that the Walton's did. But because of the effect the series had on me, I was able to marry and have children, and raise them to have that bond and that love that I did not know was possible until I saw The Walton's. The acting was wonderful and I watch anything that stars Richard Thomas. He can play an evil man just as realistically as the well-loved John Boy,

TV Land is showing the series in sequence (for the most part), and I'm enjoying seeing it again, for only the second time. The acting is excellent, as are the production values. The terrible reunion shows of the 90s did not do justice to the series. They "messed" with the chronology, jumping ahead in time, for the sake of historical landmarks, when they should have respected the reality of the series. Granted, the last two seasons were strained, but I am currently viewing Season Six, the first without John-Boy, and it works quite well. Some complain that the series is a 70s version of the 30s/40s, but in 2004, I would not agree. I grew up in Virginia during the 60s, and I definitely feel that the series creators have adequately presented the dignity and attitude of the Southeast. Again, the reunion shows were idiotic. (Did these people never buy new appliances, or pave their driveway? The last reunion, set in 1969, was ridiculous. The characters were ten years younger than they should have been. The youngest child would have been around 41 years old, not 30.)

12/2006 NOTE: The current Walton's home set is NOT the original - just check with the studio.

Television has been going to the dogs over the past few years. I recently picked up the DVD set of the first season of The Waltons and have been engrossed with every episode. Each episode is like a miniature movie, with good acting and stories. And what people used to make fun of (the syrupy quality of the show) now is a welcome relief. I'd watch this over 99.9% of the junk on TV these days. One could have a field day writing about this show and comparing/contrasting it to The Sopranos. The Sopranos, a show that I enjoy equally for other reasons (I'm not counting HBO's shows as regular TV shows), is the polar opposite. That family is rich, profane, powerful, violent, confrontational, unhappy--while the Waltons are struggling (not exactly poor, despite the fact that it takes place during the Depression), wholesome, spiritual, loving, and HAPPY. The only thing I can quibble about The Waltons is the outdoor scenery. The tall mountains and pine trees are clearly in California, not Piedmont Virginia. The real Waltons mountain and home is not too far from where I live. There are signs off U.S. Route 29 directing tourists to the home, which I believe is now a museum. It may be worth a visit. All in all an excellent program. Definitely a collector's item.