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 Earl 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. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
They built their home on the timeless mountain that bears
their name. They built their lives on even stronger stuff:
the bedrock of family. This 5-disc set features all 24
Year-One episodes of the beloved series that ran 9 years and
won 5 Emmy Awards its inaugural year, including Outstanding
Drama Series. Richard Thomas plays the key role of John-Boy
Walton, a youth on the verge of manhood during the Great
Depression and a fledgling writer whose observations are
filled with the growing-up lessons and love he receives from
father John, mother Olivia, Grandma, Grandpa and all the
rest of The Waltons.
