The Waltons

This was one of the most popular series on CBS in the mid-1970's and it is one of the most ironic. This show came one year after CBS's infamous purge of all of its rural comedies. In 1971 hugely popular shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry RFD, Green Acres, He Haw and The Ed Sullivan show were all canceled because of the perception that they didn't appeal to urban dwellers or young people. Ironically all these shows were still in the top-10 at the time they were canceled. The next year The Waltons debuted and quickly became one of the most popular shows in the network's history, it even was responsible, in part, for the cancellation of the hugely popular Flip Wilson Show on NBC. I wonder how Fred Silverman, the man responsible for the purge, felt after this show became a hit.

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.

Richard Thomas, "John Boy", left the series after Season 5. Ellen Corby, "Grandma Walton", suffered a stroke in November 1976, then was not in any further episodes until 1978, and only on a very limited basis because her stroke greatly impaired her ability to speak. The quality of the episodes without the John Boy character nosedived in Season 6, with many contrived storylines and the limited acting ability of the rest of the cast portraying the other six Walton children. Then Will Geer, "Grandpa Zeb Walton", died after Season 6 had been completed. The producers should have called it quits after Episodes 1-2 in Season 7, which were a tribute to Grandpa Walton and Geer, and the storylines continued to get worse. Michael Learned (Olivia Walton), also curtailed her performances on the series, and the writers had to come up with some dubious reasons why she'd be gone for much of the time, then reappear on occasions. The "Jump the Shark" moment came in Season 8 when they introduced not one but two "Cousin Olivers" (the Brady Bunch had just one) and even a fake John Boy! Given Richard Thomas's strong portrayal of John Boy for the first five seasons, the producers should have been smart enough (I know that's expecting a lot) to realize that a Fake John Boy was a terrible idea. The two kids were gone by Season 9, and I don't remember any explanation being given. In Season 9, the writers even came up with a fake Curtis, "resurrecting" Mary Ellen's husband, supposedly lost at Pearl Harbor in Season 7. The associated storyline was equally ludicrous. After that, the producers, who were obviously more concerned with the Bottom Line than program quality, fired Ralph Waite after just a few episodes in Season 9 in order to dump his salary. With the real John Boy, Grandpa, Grandma, Olivia, and now John Sr gone from the cast, , Season 9 was a complete embarrassment.

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.