Search - The Waltons Movie Collection (A Wedding on Walton's Mountain / Mother's Day / A Day for Thanks / A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion / Wedding / Easter) on DVD

The Waltons Movie Collection: The Final Goodnight

Josef E. Silvia | 11/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At last, after much anticipation, Warner Brothers is releasing the six TV movies that capped off this series once and for all. The first three were all aired in 1982, and the final three came out between 1993 and 1997. Richard Thomas and Michael Learned who had left the show while it was still going strong in primetime, reprise their roles as John-Boy and Olivia Walton in most of these movies. Olivia returns in the second one, and John-Boy comes back in the final three movies.

These TV Movies pick up practically where the final episode left off, and are as follows:

1. A Wedding On Waltons Mountain (aired Feb. 22, 1982)--Erin and her boyfriend Paul Matthews Northridge decide to get married, and why not on Valentine's Day? Cindy and Ben are expecting their second child, and Mary Ellen is in Medical School studying to be a doctor. Jonesy is about to open his veterinary clinic and Corabeth is playing matchmaker to the reverend, Tom Marshall. The entire cast is reunited except for Michael Learned and Richard Thomas.

2. Mothers Day on Waltons Mountain (aired May 9, 1982)--Mary Ellen and Jonsey are getting married, but an accident occurs that postpones the honeymoon. Will all be well? Cindy's wealthy mother shows up, making Ben feel like an inadequate father and husband, while their baby is born.....but is it too early? Aimee also returns but has she changed? Olivia Walton makes a special appearance.

3. A Day for Thanks on Waltons Mountain (aired Nov. 22, 1982)--Most of the family plans to be away for Thanksgiving, and this leaves Elizabeth feeling sad. However, John-Boy has writers block and leaves his girlfriend Jane in NY and comes back to Waltons Mountain with Jason. At Olivia's insistence, John decides to come home for Thanksgiving and Drew comes home to Elizabeth. John-Curtis is always worrying Mary-Ellen, because he is playing with a "friend" down by the pond....who is that friend? The movie closes with the family at the Thanksgiving Day table, remembering those who can and can't be there. NOTE: While John-Boy retuns to the show in this TV Movie, his role is still played by Robert Wightman.

4. A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (aired Nov. 21, 1993)--We are suddenly catapulted from the late forties and into the early sixties with this very special Walton reuinion movie. John-Boy, played by Richard Thomas, is in New York City working as a television reporter and trying to persuade his fiance to marry him. Everyone comes home for Thanksgiving, bringing their multiple problems with them; including Jason and Toni who are married by this time. Grandma is also home, and John and Ben are arguing about the mill. And the assasination of JFK devestates the country and keeps the family away from each other for Thanksgiving.....or does it? NOTE: This is the first time that the entire original cast is reunited, except for Will Geer who passed away during the series original run.

5. A Walton Wedding (aired Feb. 12, 1995)--Picking up where the last TV Movie left off. John-Boy is back in New York, and he and his fiance, Janet, decide to get married there. Yet, the wedding arrangements drive John-Boy crazy and he returns to Waltons Mountain to relax and fill in some gaps he thinks his new story has. Olivia wants to go back to school, enrolls in Boatwright University, and is met with some resistance because of her age and gender. Yet, all eventually ends well with a wedding celebration that reunites the entire original cast once again.

6. A Walton Easter (aired March 31, 1997)--The year is 1969, and we see man walking on the moon for the first time. John-Boy and Janet make plans to return home for his parents 40th Wedding Anniversary, and Elizabeth returns home and announces to Drew that she is back to stay. However, she is dismayed when she finds he did not wait for her and has a new girlfriend. The Baldwins want to pass on their "Recipe" to someone so it will be made after their death, and problems and new people enter the lives of the Waltons as usual. This movie marks the end of the series, and is a must-watch. I won't give away the ending here, as you want to enjoy it if you haven't already seen it.

All in all, these 6 TV Movies while arguably aren't that terrific when compared to certain episodes in the original run of the series, they do still bring us back home to Waltons Mountain. When times were simpler and people knew it. Perhaps we can still learn from The Waltons in our confusing age. This set is a must-have for every Walton fan. Let's return one last time to that special mountain."

The REAL final season

V. K. Manglaveras | thessaloniki, greece | 10/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At last we can complete our collection with the release of the 6 post tv movies which we can describe AS THE REAL FINAL (10nth) SEASON of this show cause the end of the story lines came with these 6 tv movies which brought the end to this famous tv series.
With a runtime nearly equal to around half of a regular season we can describe these movies as the final 10th (mini season) of the show.
The waltons gave us wonderful moments for 10 long years (1972 - 1981) and it's great to have this set together with the rest of the series in our dvd collection."

A Waltons Thanksgiving Reunion

Postal | New Hampshire | 09/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have watched this movie which was made for television A Waltons Thanksgiving Reunion(1993) which I taped from tv so often it wore out the tape This made for tv movie was set in 1962 just arout the time of John F Kennedys death where John Boy is a successful tv anchorman and gets engaged. The 2nd movie I want is A Walton Wedding where John Boy gets married and Jason Walton expects the birth of his daughter Patsy Kline Walton during the wedding. The last movie is called A Waltons Easter set in 1969 where man walks on the moon and John Boy is expecting his first child...these are wonderful movies if you love the waltons but I cant seem to be able to find them anywhere..I have checked with the tv station that showed the movie ..even the movie publishers and nothing they do not respond. so if anyoine knows where I can find them please feel free to let me know"

The Walton Movie Collection

Hombre Divertido | www.maskedmoviesnobs.com | 02/16/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"On January 26th Warner Home Video released "The Waltons: Movie Collection." The collection consists of six made for T.V. movies that spans the life of this classic family television from 1947 to 1969.

Though these movies are generally considered "reunion" films, the differences between the first three and final three are significant.

The set opens with "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain" which aired on February 22nd, 1982, just a little over seven months after the final episode of the series, and unfortunately picks up where the series left off in 1947. Sans Michael Learned (Olivia) and Richard Thomas (John-Boy), the story revolves around the impending nuptials of Erin (Mary Beth McDonough) to Paul Northridge (Morgan Stevens channeling a young Michael Biehn) and how the return of Erin's former love interest Ashley Longworth Jr. (Louis Welch takes over for Jonathan Frakes and over plays the confidence and smugness of the character) stirs things up. Unfortunately the Erin love triangle is not enough to carry the film, and thus there are numerous sub-plots, all of which are poorly written.

The Waltons was cancelled after nine seasons due to the lack of quality that it had established early in its run. The cast of children had grown, but their acting abilities were still raw, and they were simply not up to the task of carrying the series that now rested on their shoulders in the absence of the talented Thomas and Learned who had been a source of stability in the series. Ralph Waite (John) is a fine actor, but he had been relegated to the role of family advisor by the time the series ended. The writers had simply run out of ideas and the stories had become trite. To produce a movie so soon after the cancellation served no purpose other than to confirm the decision to end the run of The Waltons.

Despite the poor quality of "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain", fans looking for a true reunion tuned in, and CBS followed it with "Mothers Day on Waltons Mountain" three months later, and a Thanksgiving outing on November 22nd titled "A Day of Thanks on Walton's Mountain". Like "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain" the two films were still set in 1947, and continued with the same cast though Michael Learned makes an all too brief appearance in the Mothers Day themed film considering the title. John-Boy does appear in "A Day of Thanks on Walton's Mountain" but he is portrayed by Robert Wightman who was never able to capture the subtle intelligence, creativity, and vulnerability, that Richard Thomas brought to the role. Both the Mothers day and Thanksgiving themed films are over-written, over acted, and tend to focus on one dimensional characters such as Erin's and Mary Ellen's (Judy Norton) significant others Paul Northridge and Joensey portrayed awkwardly by Richard Gilliland who seems a bit confused by the characters motivation, but it may have been the writing and direction more than the limited ability of the actor that made the character so difficult to appreciate. The Mothers Day episode specifically focuses on the exploits of the now trampy Aimee Godsey (DeAnna Robbins takes over for Rachel Longaker) and Ike and Corabeth's (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards) befuddlement with how to handle her. Ultimately the storyline only reconfirms the fact that the Ike character was far more enjoyable when he was single then after he married the cartoon that is Corabeth.

Eleven years after "A Day of Thanks on Waltons Mountain aired" CBS gave fans what they had been waiting for when "A Waltons Thanksgiving Reunion" aired on November 21st. 1993. The entire original cast is reunited in this film with the exception of the beloved Will Geer (Grandpa) who had passed away. Richard Thomas was back as John-boy and even Rachel Longaker returned as Aimee Godsey. Though it had only been eleven years since the last movie, we find our favorite family in the early sixties dealing with the assassination of JFK. John-Boy comes home from New York with his girlfriend (Kate McNeil), John and Olivia are planning for a new house, and as it had been throughout the series and in each of the movies, there were problems at the mill.

Though it was pleasant to see the cast together again in "A Walton's Thanksgiving Reunion", writers Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker, who had written several episodes of the series, seem to care very little about what had been established in previous films. There is no mention of Olivia's illness or return home. Mary-Ellen has additional children even though doing so was established as life threatening to both her and the infants in a previous film. Her son John-Curtis is absent from the film without explanation, as is Ben and Cindy's son Charlie. Other absences are explained such as Mary-Ellen's husband Joensey is apparently in Africa working with animals, and Erin is divorced due to infidelity on the part of Paul. Though there are inconsistencies in the storytelling, and the plotlines tend to be superficial, "A Waltons Thanksgiving Reunion" does manage to allow the audience to see what had become of the characters they loved.

"A Waltons Thanksgiving Reunion" would have been a fine place to end the story of the Waltons, but CBS followed it with "A Walton Wedding" on February 12th 1995. The original cast is once again reunited and the story generally picks up where "A Waltons Thanksgiving Reunion" left off. John-Boy is back in New York, but he is frustrated with the wedding plans being made by Janet's aunt Flo played by Holland Taylor in a somewhat comedically subdued performance compared to characters she would become known for. John-Boy heads home to complete a story he is writing on his Grandmother. Ellen Corby gives an amazing performance as Grandma and shows tremendous range considering her limitations due to a stroke. Once again it is the writing (Peterson and Whitaker) that let's the cast down. The story regarding a skeleton in Grandmas closet proves amazingly anti-climactic, and a plotline regarding Olivia going back to school goes no where.

"A Walton Easter" came along March 31, 1997, and once again the writing (Julie Sayers) seems hypocritical as the story has nothing to do with Easter. Easter is an after thought as a scene with the cast attending Church services at the end of the film seems almost throw in. The story takes place in 1969 as John-Boy covers the moon landing at the news station for which he works, and the family gathers for the fortieth anniversary of John and Olivia. Apparently writer Julie Sayers had failed to do her homework since John and Olivia had celebrated their 25th anniversary in episode 19 of season 6 of the series which was set in 1940. Though the storyline revolving around the relationship between Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) and Drew (Tony Becker), which had been running throughout the films, comes to a pleasant conclusion, other sub-plots in "A Walton's Easter" such as a new business venture for John, Ben, and Drew, and the Baldwin sisters (Helen Kleeb and Mary Jackson) leaving the Recipe to John go nowhere.

Ultimately these films add little to the Waltons legacy. The best analogy can be found in "A Waltons Easter": The character of Aurora Jameson (Sydney Walsh), a reporter from the big city who comes to Walton Mountain with John-Boy and his expecting wife to do an article on John-Boy and his soon to be released book. The character has great potential as not only a classic fish out of water, but also a potential love interest for Jim-Bob. Ultimately nothing is done with the character and the audience is left to wonder; what was the point?

The three disc release contains no bonus material which only adds to the disappointment.

Recommendation: Watching any of the final three movies will give you an idea of how the characters you came to love have grown up and developed. That is all to be gained here.

Though any time you get the opportunity to hear the narration of Earl Hamner, it will remind you of this classic series filled with great family values illustrated through excellent storytelling; it is only the narration that will serve as a reminder of quality storytelling here.

Only for the true fans who need to complete their collections.
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