Best and Worst of The Waltons

[FormerMod-a1]

Discuss Favorites and Least Favorites by whatever category (seasons, characters, storylines, etc). 

 

Let's start with seasons. Which are your favorites and least favorites?  I have listed some basic info for each (very basic, lol) to help us. Taken from Wiki:

 

Season 1: 1972-73 - The time is 1933–1934, during the Great Depression in the United States
Season 2: 1973-74 - The year is 1934, during the Great Depression in the United States
Season 3: 1974-75 - The time is 1934–1935, during the Great Depression in the United States
Season 4: 1975-76 - The time is 1935-1936, during the Great Depression in the United States
Season 5: 1976-77 - The time is 1937-1938, during the Great Depression in the United States
Season 6: 1977-78 - The time is 1939–1941, during the Great Depression in the United States, which is starting to feel the effects of World War II in Europe
Season 7: 1978-79 - The time is 1941–1942, as the United States heads toward direct involvement in World War II
Season 8: 1979-80 - The time is 1943–1944, during World War II
Season 9: 1980-81 - The year is 1945 and 1946 during the end of World War II and shortly after

[DoughGirl]

Least favs of mine were after John Boy left. Not sure what season that was. Slow decline at that point.

Edited: I'm starting to rethink this. For me, it really started to slide when John Boy started that stupid newspaper. Again I don't know what season that was. The newspaper seemed to really bring out the obnoxious side of John Boy.

Edited June 5, 2014 by DoughGirl

[bigskygirl]

I say the show starting going down hill when Mary Ellen had John Curtis (ugh, I hate that name) and Curt was sent off to the Army. I was not sad to see John Boy and Olivia hit the road. Rose and the brat pack were a very bad idea/storyline. I did have a good chuckle over the Ben/faux John Boy secret lovefest.

[Tim McD]

I think seasons 1 and 2 are the best. There's something elegant and simple about the story lines and everybody plays their part very well. Plus nobody's gotten annoying yet! Also this might sound like a little thing, but the background music used in the first couple of seasons is quite beautiful at times; very acoustic sounding with lovely strings and horns. In later seasons it sounds like they lifted the background music from Barnaby Jones. I also appreciate that a lot of these seasons' episodes were shot on location, away from the Burbank Waltons Mountain set. They pretty much abandoned that practice later.

[oceanblue]

You mean like when World War II happened on the road to Godsey's store?  Yeah, pretty much abandoned is kind.

[DoughGirl]

I think seasons 1 and 2 are the best. There's something elegant and simple about the story lines and everybody plays their part very well. Plus nobody's gotten annoying yet! Also this might sound like a little thing, but the background music used in the first couple of seasons is quite beautiful at times; very acoustic sounding with lovely strings and horns. In later seasons it sounds like they lifted the background music from Barnaby Jones. I also appreciate that a lot of these seasons' episodes were shot on location, away from the Burbank Waltons Mountain set. They pretty much abandoned that practice later.

I agree with one exception. I think Livvie got slightly less annoying as time went on. "They got cigarettes out there boy? An' whiskey?" Seems like she was more self righteous when she had that red rinse in her hair.

That piping flute music they used constantly in the last seasons was really obnoxious. Whenever I heard that I knew it meant a crappy episode or scene. I think they used it occasionally in the early episodes, like for the scenes of Mary Ellen teaching GW to dance, but those were crap scenes too IMO. I think it was supposed to be sweet and charming, but not to me.

[FormerMod-a1]

Move some posts to the All Episodes thread.  This thread is just for ranking (and discussing those rankings) based on whatever category is selected.  I picked Seasons to start, however, if you'd rather rank something else - like secondary characters, or episodes, that's fine.  Just post the new category, with the list, and have at it.  Or if you'd rather just discuss, generally, you can keep that to the All Episodes thread.