La famille des collines

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 can't help but be amazed at the few individuals who feel compelled to give negative reviews to this totally entertaining television show. It's one thing to accurately note that the quality of some specific episodes weren't up to the normally high standard that had been set by the vast majority, but it's a different matter completely when someone who obviously either hasn't watched any episodes, or who is basing their opinion of the entire series on one or two specific episodes, takes the time to run the series down. In virtually every case of someone taking the time to run down "The Waltons", it is obvious from their comments that either they have never seen it, they haven't seen enough of it, or they just "don't get it". "The Waltons" is fictional entertainment based loosely on the Hamner family's experiences during the thirties and forties (framed mostly against the Great Depression and WWII). It was almost never overly sentimental or "soppy" and most who have viewed the series agree that it was generally extremely well acted, written, and produced. There were very few exceptions. My wife and I raised three kids in the seventies and eighties, and "The Waltons" was, and is, universally loved and (still) viewed by all of us. The characters are almost like members of our family... and the love, devotion, and family values displayed on that series, became an integral part of the life lessons we chose to make a high priority in the raising of our own children.

The standards generally set for kids today is worlds away from those of just a generation ago, and it's not hard to see why those who were, and are, being raised without benefit of a strong family ethic might see "The Waltons" as somewhat "simple" and overly sentimental. Thankfully, these people are still in the minority. Most people still "get it" and we are forever grateful to the people who were involved in any way with the production of this wonderful television show for giving all of us a standard to which we might aspire even as society in general continues to degrade and cheapen the concept of a nuclear family at every opportunity.

To those who haven't tried it... I suggest that you do so while it is still available. I'm sure that somewhere some group of "new thinkers" is trying to outlaw shows like "The Waltons" for the very reasons that it became so monumentally popular in the first place. As a country, our standards, morals, and sense of family values is being eroded every day... we parents are very much aware of how hard it is today to instill a sense of right and wrong in our children. "The Waltons" made the "medicine" go down in the easiest and most effective way... as an integral part of an extremely entertaining TV show that everyone in the family could/can view without a worry that the wrong values might be represented in a positive light. I've seen the entire series multiple times (except the "reunion specials) and I've never seen an exception to that statement. Again,I invite the "snobs" out there to take a look... or even a second look... the vast majority knows what I know... that a very pleasant surprise awaits you if you'll just give "The Waltons" a chance.

John Christie

("Thumbs-down TVLand" and "Thumbs-up Hallmark Channel"

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.

This is a delightful series with wholesome values that my own family often watched together during my son's earlier growing up years. It chronicles the ongoing story of a Depression Era family living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia...often seen though the eyes of the oldest son John Boy, a budding author, who relates his family's experiences in a journal. The series follows the Walton family through both the Depression and World War II. It also portrays the career paths, courtships, & marriages of many of the children, the births of new grandchildren, and the illnesses, aging, & deaths of some of the characters.

The mother, Olivia, is a devout Baptist who must deal with an extended stay in hospital as she suffers from tuberculosis. The father, John, though perhaps a little lapsed in his own faith, runs a saw mill and is a hard working man of integrity. The couple have seven children. John Boy eventually goes off to Richmond for college, Boatwright University, and later embarks upon a journalistic career in New York. Mary Ellen, a feisty tomboy, grows up to become a nurse and marries a doctor, Curtis Willard, sent to Pearl Harbour just prior to the Japanese attack. Jason is the family's budding musician, sometimes providing lively entertainment at the local Dew Drop Inn. Ben marries at a young age the pretty Cindy, and the two are set up with charming little accommodations adjacent to the main Walton house. Erin, the pretty one with her various beaux, is employed at the local telephone switchboard and later by G.W. Haines. Jim Bob is a mechanical tinkerer, and Elizabeth the rather spoiled and generally irritating baby of the family.

Also living under the same roof are John's parents, the devilish but wise old Grandpa Zebulun and the strict & proper but feisty Grandma Esther. Years ago, it became a family chuckle that if Grandma Walton wouldn't have approved of the language, then it just wasn't acceptable! The banter between these grandparents is absolutely precious. I liked the multi generational aspects of the program with eventually four generations of Waltons. An ongoing storyline involved the stroke suffered by Grandma (and actress Ellen Corby), which restricted her movement and left her with a severe speech impediment. Also, actor Will Greer passed away, so the family was forced to grieve the loss of Grandpa.

The likable country store keeper, Ike Godsey, and his prim & snooty wife, Corabeth, appear regularly on the show. Other local characters are featured, including Yancy Tucker and a succession of various parsons (one was portrayed by actor John Ritter). Of course my favourites are the charming, elderly Baldwin sisters with their legendary Recipe inherited from their dearly departed father! Olivia and Grandma were strongly opposed to alcohol, but Grandpa would sometimes stop by at the Baldwins for a wee nip of the Recipe, actually moonshine whiskey. Some episodes also featured interactions with 'outsiders', including circus acrobats and gypsies.

Most of the individual episodes are quite engaging, and the family's interactions even during conflict show an underlying warmth. Their famous extended calls of Good Night are of course legendary! Many plot lines revolve around their various financial struggles to live a decent life during the Great Depression. The marital relationship between John & Olivia is well captured, as well as the siblings' interactions and their relationship with their parents & grandparents.

Sadly, I am not surprised that this heartwarming series is receiving a few disparaging reviews these days. Perhaps life wasn't all rosy and moral back in the 1930's with issues of poverty, racism and so forth. However, its values were generally preferable to the decaying ones of today, where materialism reigns supreme, parents & offspring alike feel entitled to their self absorbed attitude, rudeness is the norm in human interactions, the nuclear family and moral absolutes are becoming obsolete, and faith is mocked everywhere. This series represents the very antithesis of all such modern views, but thankfully, the vast majority of reviewers here still seem to appreciate it. Yes, better the Waltons than the Simpsons. My son is now a college sophomore, but admits to looking back fondly upon the series.

Indeed, these Walton characters are almost like family members in many homes, including my own. My compliments to actors Ralph Waite (John), Michael Learned (Olivia), Richard Thomas (John Boy), and all the others who brought them so vividly to life. Yes, the series can be sappy at times and may not always be realistic, but it is really not overly sentimental as some claim. Rather it is a depiction of the way we should ALL treat each other and the love, closeness, concern, warmth, and often unselfish giving that should be found in ALL our homes. Pity there aren't more TV programs nowadays that give us something worthy to aspire to.

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.