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The Waltons - The Complete First and Second Seasons
Actor: Ralph Waite
Directors: Ralph Waite, Gwen Arner, Gabrielle Beaumont, Anthony Brand, Robert Butler
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family, Television

NR 2005 41hr 37min

The Waltons' nearly 10-year run on network television grew out of the popular, 1971 made-for-TV movie The Homecoming, which was derived from a Depression-era, rustic setting ("Walton's Mountain"), and characters based on E... more »arl Hamner Jr.'s autobiographical novel Spencer's Mountain--itself the source for a very nice 1963 feature film starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. That's a lot of entertainment sprouting from Hamner's prose. But something about his seminal story of family values, rugged independence, and big dreams amidst a hardscrabble existence captured the hearts of American audiences, many of whom personally recalled severe economic adversity in the 1930s. The Waltons: The Complete First Season collects those initial episodes from the series building on the strengths of the Homecoming pilot, which introduced the extended Walton clan led by a strong-willed mill owner, John (Andrew Duggan), and his equally resolute wife, Olivia (Patricia Neal). The Waltons recast those key roles (as well as a few others) with Ralph Waite and Michael Learned (yup, a female), but Richard Thomas carried over as oldest child John-Boy Walton, an aspiring writer whose cusp-of-manhood view informs the series. Will Geer (Seconds) replaced Edgar Bergen as Grandpa Walton, Ellen Corby remained as Grandma, and John and Olivia's large brood (seven kids in all) were filled out by largely unknown, young actors. The episodes, still delightful and touching, strong on production values and unusually tight and polished for primetime drama, tended to focus on creator Hamner's pet themes of self-sacrifice and heroic effort when the going got tough. Year 1 highlights include "The Carnival," in which the impoverished Waltons, who can't pay for tickets to see a circus performance, end up sheltering stranded carney folk. "The Typewriter" is a classic about John-Boy "borrowing" a museum's antique typewriter, only to have his sister Mary Ellen (Judy Norton) sell it as junk. "The Sinner" concerns the arrival of a fundamentalist minister on Walton's Mountain, finding comfort in the words of religious iconoclast John Walton after the clergyman makes a fool of himself with moonshine. That's Hamner himself providing touches of narration. During the long run of the multiple-award-winning The Waltons, there were many changes in casting and storylines. But this boxed set reveals a fine series in its pristine state. Year 2 still finds the original cast complete and the show humming along nicely on nostalgia for an earlier America, specifically the Depression-era 1930s, a time of sacrifice and family unity as The Waltons portrays it. The characters we came to know so well in season 1 continue to live in a spirit of cooperation and generosity, and with hope that a younger generation of Waltons will prosper and dream new dreams for everyone. The 24 episodes included in this boxed set feature a number of very strong stories, including a handful of classics, all immersed in the series' typically old-Hollywood production values. (Several season 2 shows were directed by Waltons star Ralph Waite.) Among the best is the premiere, "The Journey," in which the ever-noble, college-bound John-Boy (Richard Thomas) passes on a school dance and an important date to take an aging neighbor, Maggie Mackenzie (Linda Watkins), on a special, final journey. "The Separation" finds Grandpa (Will Geer) and Grandma (Ellen Corby) Walton feuding--even living apart--after the former crafts a secret plan to raise money to pay the family's electricity bill. (Their reconciliation is one of the series' most enjoyable and tender moments.) The memorable "The Thanksgiving Story" is a nail-biter in which John-Boy, facing a hopeful future as he awaits college and a visit from his girlfriend, endures a head injury in the family mill and must undergo surgery. Finally, "The Honeymoon" sees John (Waite) and Olivia (Michael Learned) finally taking their honeymoon after 19 years of marriage and seven kids. Throughout all the major storylines is a constant buzz of subplots concerning John-Boy's younger siblings--their joys and disappointments, first loves, accomplishments and relationships with one another. The Waltons never slows down, but it is capable of revealing the most delicate of feelings within shared or private moments. --Tom Keogh

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Movie Details

Actor: Ralph Waite
Directors: Ralph Waite, Gwen Arner, Gabrielle Beaumont, Anthony Brand, Robert Butler
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family, Television
Sub-Genres: Love & Romance, Family Films, Drama
Studio: Warner Home Video
Format: DVD - Color - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 04/26/2005
Original Release Date: 09/14/1972
Theatrical Release Date: 09/14/1972
Release Year: 2005
Run Time: 41hr 37min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 10
SwapaDVD Credits: 10
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 1
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English
Subtitles: French

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Movie Reviews

THE WALTONS SERIES

Ernesto H. | Colombia,South America | 08/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It could be five stars if the sound volume were higher.I have to move the speakers control to near maximum."

Waltons UK Tour

Tim Benson | LONDON UK | 03/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My wife has loved the Waltons since she was a girl. Unable to get them on DVD in the UK we scoured Amazon. The imports arrived in a week and are of the highest quality. We watch one every Sunday morning when they used to be on UK TV. It will take a year to watch series 1&2 and number three is on order. Just make sure you have a multi region DVD player. Very reasonably priced compared to UK prices even with import duty.

Bilboben"

The mountains and molehills of everyday life

Charles Bowman | Elmer, LA. United States | 01/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These handsome sets are great entertainment for us. The Waltons are a bit teachy for many, but for me, the simple rationale by which they lived is a formula for success in any age. Over and over they discover that it is much more fun to discover the speck in the other fellow's eye that the log that is in our own. They discover and rediscover that sacrifice is always much in demand, but that the survival of the family and the larger unit in general, overwhelms individual desires. Their questions resound until this day, "Why is the discipline of Jesus Christ so difficult that so few will really embrace it when it arbitrates the decisions of everday living? The Waltons are an inspiration and great entertainment in the difficult times that we encounter on a daily basis. Even in their Blue Ridge paradise, the ethics of everyday life and the dicovery of the other fellow and even his point of view, reveal a life that is anything but simple, that is so tense with decisions and drama that it demands the need for constant prayer and leaning upon the arms of God for wisdom and for consolation."

Wonderful and refreshing

Mary Jane | newark, CA USA | 09/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"its a remembrance of a sometimes harder but simpler time where family meant everything."