The Waltons - General Discussion

[sATL]

24 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Keep in mind that Mr. Hamner's sibs made it clear that Walton's Mountain was where he'd have LIKED to have grown up not his actual home!

hmmm.. I didn't know that - what was reality ?

Meaning did he grow up with some kind of wealth, but not the loving home of siblings, grandparents and parents, saying good night to each other and being at home for every evening meal ?

OR  parents not happily married together, father always out of work,  outdoor plumbing, someone didn't finish high school, pregnancy out of wedlock, etc.

Edited June 12, 2022 by sATL

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, sATL said:

hmmm.. I didn't know that - what was reality ?

Meaning did he grow up with some kind of wealth, but not the loving home of siblings, grandparents and parents, saying good night to each other and being at home for every evening meal ?

OR  parents not happily married together, father always out of work,  outdoor plumbing, someone didn't finish high school, pregnancy out of wedlock, etc.

In terms of familial closeness, by all accounts, the show reflected that as well as the fact that   they appear  to have said goodnight to each other in their abode. 

However, there WERE differences in how they actually lived contrasted to the show. For one thing, instead    seven children   growing up  in a somewhat idyllic house with three generations living cozily with a large yard, barn, a large home garden surrounded by a wooded meadow on the side of the family's own mountain for which their town was named. The Hamners had EIGHT children and they lived in a smaller company house in a soapstone manufacturing town in the mountains  called Schuyler (which, amazingly, thanks to it being a company house, DID have electricity and indoor plumbing)!  

Mr. Hamner confessed that his late father had a MUCH more profane vocabulary than John Walton, Sr. had for television (and in one odd hybrid TV movie, Mr. Hamner had his sibs get 'interviewed' by the cast playing their 'roles'- and one of his brothers said that while he DID have adventures, none of them could have been put on television). 

Also, Mr. Hamner said that   the Baldwin Sisters were based on a virtually unique female duo who lived nearby that his father and grandfather had patronized. However, they were mother and daughter who made the most of 'Papa's recipe', who, unlike their genteel  and daffy   counterparts, wore overalls[!] and  knew EXACTLY what they were making!  Yes, in those days, it was an unwritten law that  the distillers and customers alike were virtually all men but this duo was an amusing exception. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Blergh

[Prairie Rose]

On 6/7/2022 at 7:49 PM, LadyIrony said:

Corabeth and Ike were always a bad match. Corabeth being so pretentious and all and Ike being more like the humble yet sturdy store owner. He deserved better than her but probably thought she was as good as he was ever going to get. I never felt the love between them and Corabeth was most likely bored stupid by him. 

Agreed!!!! They were one of the most mismatched couples in the annals of primetime.

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, Prairie Rose said:

Agreed!!!! They were one of the most mismatched couples in the annals of primetime.

And yet, if they hadn't met each other, I can't help but think that both Ike and Corabeth would have had rather humdrum lives, I just wish they'd never adopted poor Aimee who Corabeth especially seemed to treat as a neglected toy more often than not and made little if any effort to try to understand her (as a child then teen) as she was rather than project grand ideas about how she wanted her adoptive daughter to be! 

[Egg McMuffin]

Aimee later turned into a temptress (see “Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain”).

[Blergh]

1 minute ago, Egg McMuffin said:

Aimee later turned into a temptress (see “Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain”).

True - and one who flirted with Elizabeth's late-show swain Drew (who, oddly enough, had a strong resemblance to a young Ozzie Nelson) and . ..  Jim-Bob(?!).

But this was a two-time performer  ( one DeAnna Robbins) playing her as a bit of a live wire  instead of the more. .  .subdued usual performer  Rachel Longacker . 

[sATL]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

And yet, if they hadn't met each other, I can't help but think that both Ike and Corabeth would have had rather humdrum lives, I just wish they'd never adopted poor Aimee who Corabeth especially seemed to treat as a neglected toy more often than not and made little if any effort to try to understand her (as a child then teen) as she was rather than project grand ideas about how she wanted her adoptive daughter to be! 

hmmm - not so sure. Cora would have been on the first bus (since it already stopped at the store) or train to a city where she could live the life she felt she could have. 

I can only think of Ike must have rolled her eyes back in bed, in addition to being a big-snob in a small town were the some of reasons that kept her there. Did she want to have an affair with a man she had dinner with in Charlotte ?

Edited June 15, 2022 by sATL

[LadyIrony]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

And yet, if they hadn't met each other, I can't help but think that both Ike and Corabeth would have had rather humdrum lives, I just wish they'd never adopted poor Aimee who Corabeth especially seemed to treat as a neglected toy more often than not and made little if any effort to try to understand her (as a child then teen) as she was rather than project grand ideas about how she wanted her adoptive daughter to be! 

Aimee reminded me of Nellie from Little House. I remember she had the hots for one of the Walton boys but by the time the boy realized it she had moved on lol. 

Corabeth was quite attractive when she let her hair out, I recall the ep she did that and she had classic movie star looks. I think she could have found someone easily enough. Ike could have as well but perhaps not as attractive as Corabeth. 

I often felt Cora was putting on an act anyway. I think there was an ep with Aimee where she more or less admits to it, something about her conditioning when she was younger. 

I think she liked being a fancy fish in a small town. She may not have stood out somewhere more sophisticated. 

[Prairie Rose]

4 hours ago, sATL said:

I can only think of Ike must have rolled her eyes back in bed

Ewwwwwwwww... thanks for the visual! 🤢😉😂

[Blergh]

7 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

Aimee reminded me of Nellie from Little House. I remember she had the hots for one of the Walton boys but by the time the boy realized it she had moved on lol. 

Corabeth was quite attractive when she let her hair out, I recall the ep she did that and she had classic movie star looks. I think she could have found someone easily enough. Ike could have as well but perhaps not as attractive as Corabeth. 

I often felt Cora was putting on an act anyway. I think there was an ep with Aimee where she more or less admits to it, something about her conditioning when she was younger. 

I think she liked being a fancy fish in a small town. She may not have stood out somewhere more sophisticated. 

I agree that for all her wailings about being stuck in a 'Virginia backwater', that deep down Corabeth knew she'd fare better on Walton's Mountain being a fancy fish, then trying to swim upstream in Richmond or even Charlottesville. Let's not forget that she got intro'd when her mother died and she originally was on her way to Richmond. .. to try to become a secretary but wound up accepting Ike's proposal and staying in the Mountain. Note that she wasn't going to attempt to open a charm school there or seek employment as a restaurant hostess but during the Depression with offices closing right and left, the odds of her landing a job as a secretary in the big city especially with no evident previous experience and not being fresh out of high school were somewhat stacked against her. Corabeth also admitted to Jim Bob (in the episode in which he openly told her everyone laughed at her pretensions ) that she knew that others ridiculed her and that she'd never visit Paris but that by throwing in the odd French phrase she could imagine herself a little closer. 

Still, I think Ike and Corabeth should not have attempted to become parents. 

[Notabug]

On 6/12/2022 at 6:24 PM, sATL said:

hmmm.. I didn't know that - what was reality ?

Meaning did he grow up with some kind of wealth, but not the loving home of siblings, grandparents and parents, saying good night to each other and being at home for every evening meal ?

OR  parents not happily married together, father always out of work,  outdoor plumbing, someone didn't finish high school, pregnancy out of wedlock, etc.

There was a TV movie that served as the pilot for the show called 'The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'.  Patricia Neal played Olivia, Edgar Bergen played Grandpa; but Ellen Corbin and Richard Thomas played their familiar roles.  It aired in 1971.

In that film, the Waltons have a whole lot less than they did on the series.  Their house isn't as nice, Daddy Walton has left the mountain to work at a factory in the city or something and hasn't been home for a while because there was no money to be made farming.  The kids are dressed in more threadbare clothing and there is talk of re-purposing old clothing and other items because they couldn't afford to buy anything.  They stretch their food as much as possible.  At one point, the kids go to a church Christmas party where they are given old toys as gifts and Elizabeth, who was maybe 5 at the time, gets a doll whose china face is broken and it scares her.

Daddy is late coming home on Christmas Eve but finally gets there and has gifts for all the kids like pads to write on for John Boy, nothing fancy.  I think he might also bring some oranges for them too, but I remember my mother, who grew up in the countryside during that era, talking about what an exotic treat oranges were and how exciting it was to get one in her stocking at Christmas; so I might be conflating the stories

Anyway, they definitely seemed a lot poorer in the original movie than we saw on the show.

[Zella]

8 minutes ago, Notabug said:

I think he might also bring some oranges for them too, but I remember my mother, who grew up in the countryside during that era, talking about what an exotic treat oranges were and how exciting it was to get one in her stocking at Christmas; so I might be conflating the stories

I have not watched the pilot, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was in it. My grandparents have also told me about how excited they were to receive oranges as presents back in the 40s, so I think it might have been a popular special treat for the time. My grandfather's father was not a terribly diligent soul, to put it mildly, but he would also occasionally wander down to Florida for work and return to them in North Carolina with oranges. 

[Egg McMuffin]

Yep, they were poorer in the movie. But I think TPTB understood that what might work for a one-off TV movie might not be as appealing for a weekly series. So things weren’t quite as grim in the series, financially. Also note how Livvie quickly toned down her bible-thumping ways during the first year; they clearly didn’t want mama to come off as quite so harsh.

[Blergh]

23 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

Yep, they were poorer in the movie. But I think TPTB understood that what might work for a one-off TV movie might not be as appealing for a weekly series. So things weren’t quite as grim in the series, financially. Also note how Livvie quickly toned down her bible-thumping ways during the first year; they clearly didn’t want mama to come off as quite so harsh.

In her Emmy TV Legends Interview,  Michael Learned recalled that there was an early episode in which Olivia insisted that everyone had to wait for the arrival of a minister ('The Sinner' John Ritter's debut as Reverend Matthew Fordwick in 1972)  before they were to partake even  a sip of lemonade  in spite of the stifling heat within the house- and the camera lingered on the lemonade glasses saturated with beads of condensation. This  made Miss Learned  so uncomfortable with  Olivia's rigidity,  that Miss Learned herself openly objected to the producers- calling the idea of a parent  insisting on her children having to sit in a hot room   forbidden to drink any of the lemonade  as 'child abuse' (her words). I suppose TPTB agreed because it does seem that Olivia became a more reasonable character from that point on. 

[Egg McMuffin]

LOL. Michael Learned also said that the original script for “An Easter Story” called for a paralyzed Olivia to miraculously rise from her wheelchair during sunrise church service. She refused to do it. What they eventually came up with wasn’t a whole lot better, but at least it was an improvement.

[Prairie Rose]

On 6/15/2022 at 1:29 PM, Zella said:

I have not watched the pilot, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was in it. My grandparents have also told me about how excited they were to receive oranges as presents back in the 40s, so I think it might have been a popular special treat for the time. My grandfather's father was not a terribly diligent soul, to put it mildly, but he would also occasionally wander down to Florida for work and return to them in North Carolina with oranges. 

Definitely seek out The Homecoming. Even as a stand alone, it's a compelling and well-written (and well-acted, of course) Christmas story. To my utter surprise, it was a cherished favorite of an artist friend of mine. He was by no means a Christian and the Christianity in The Homecoming is much more pronounced than it was in the series. No matter what, it's well worth seeing as a Walton fan.

[Zella]

5 minutes ago, Prairie Rose said:

Definitely seek out The Homecoming. Even as a stand alone, it's a compelling and well-written (and well-acted, of course) Christmas story. To my utter surprise, it was a cherished favorite of an artist friend of mine. He was by no means a Christian and the Christianity in The Homecoming is much more pronounced than it was in the series. No matter what, it's well worth seeing as a Walton fan.

Thank you! I will definitely check it out. 

[Prairie Rose]

1 minute ago, Zella said:

Thank you! I will definitely check it out. 

You're welcome!! Let us know what you think once you've seen it. 😁

On 6/15/2022 at 9:39 PM, Egg McMuffin said:

Also note how Livvie quickly toned down her bible-thumping ways during the first year; they clearly didn’t want mama to come off as quite so harsh.

I think Patricia Neal probably could have pulled that off better than Michael Learned, to be honest.

[sATL]

Watching the movies from last weekend more closely... .looking at Erin's wedding movie.

When did Jonesy go from Geology professor (can't remember if he was a Phd) at Boatwright to Dr. of Veterinary medicine ? Did I forget to record a movie ?

[Blergh]

11 minutes ago, sATL said:

Watching the movies from last weekend more closely... .looking at Erin's wedding movie.

When did Jonesy go from Geology professor (can't remember if he was a Phd) at Boatwright to Dr. of Veterinary medicine ? Did I forget to record a movie ?

No, you didn't! The only thing I can think of was that when he first met Mary Ellen, he'd had an accident in . ..Rockfish- so maybe he was combining a love of rocks and fishes via his career changes! 

[Egg McMuffin]

Making Jonesy a vet set up a situation where he’d have more interaction with other members of the community (and where he’s be around the mountain more).

[Blergh]

BTW, Kami Cotler (Elizabeth) had played Ted Bessell's young daughter called Kitty in the lamentable sitcom called Me and the Chimp (1971-1972) in which Mr. Bessell got   talked into sheltering a chimpanzee by his loopy wife (Anita Gillette) against his own better judgement and did  his best to try to earn a living, raise two young kids and endure the chimp's constant mishaps and messes. 

But then she got cast as the youngest child in the landmark The Homecoming TV movie (1971) which led her to be part of this long running drama series when CBS decided to transform Mr. Hamner's  TV movie depiction into the full time series.

Here's the incredible twist, though, The Waltons debuted ONE week after Me and the Chimp's last show had aired- and it was on the same network in the very same timeslot so I have to wonder if there were any Me and the Chimp viewers who'd been fans of young Miss Cotler who might have not known about the earlier show being cancelled but stayed  tuned  to see how she'd do in a new show and wound up becoming Waltons fans.

P.S. I can't help but think Miss Cotler likely prefers folks recalling her contributions to the latter series  about a family set in the rural US South during the Depression than the earlier one focused on a family dealing with a primate set in a blah suburb during contemporary times (early 1970s).

Edited June 19, 2022 by Blergh

[jason88cubs]

My favorite moments is Olivia or Grandma going up to John because there's a issue and him acting all annoyed lol

There was a episode where Ben and Jim Bob were fighting and Elizabeth went and told John and Olivia and John say s"Good maybe we can have some peace around here" and Olivia goes"JOHN!" and John takes a deep sigh and goes "ok"

and in another episode John and John Boy are going somewhere and Grandma comes running out screaming "JOHN! JOHN!" and John says something like "Ahhh Now what" all annoyed  lol

[Blergh]

34 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

My favorite moments is Olivia or Grandma going up to John because there's a issue and him acting all annoyed lol

There was a episode where Ben and Jim Bob were fighting and Elizabeth went and told John and Olivia and John say s"Good maybe we can have some peace around here" and Olivia goes"JOHN!" and John takes a deep sigh and goes "ok"

and in another episode John and John Boy are going somewhere and Grandma comes running out screaming "JOHN! JOHN!" and John says something like "Ahhh Now what" all annoyed  lol

Sometimes, I'd wondered if John, Sr. sometimes wished Olivia were rebellious and/or argumentative towards his 'Ma' instead of being Grandma's ally who almost always agreed with her.

Still, I liked how the show had Olivia and Esther be genuine friends with each other who helped each other keeping the Walton home running smoothly and Olivia nearly an equal to Grandma instead of being totally passive or, worse, browbeaten by Grandma.

I also liked (especially in the early years) how all major decisions got made with all four adults discussing the issues, strategies,etc. then delegating  the tasks to the children as to what the children's ages and capacities were(sometimes with John-Boy as their intermediary). Yes, I know that these was an idealized rather than typical household but it still was good to see!

[Egg McMuffin]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

Still, I liked how the show had Olivia and Esther be genuine friends with each other who helped each other keeping the Walton home running smoothly and Olivia nearly an equal to Grandma instead of being totally passive or, worse, browbeaten by Grandma.

I’d argue that Livvie was higher in the hierarchy than Grandma. John was head of the household, and Livvie was second in command. There were several times when Livvie told Grandma that when the children needed correcting that she - their mother - would do it. She let Grandma have it when Grandma planned Mary Ellen’s quilting against her wishes. And in that same episode, she tells John what a great “help” Grandma is to her, implying that it’s Livvie’s household, not Esther’s.

They seemed to go back and forth on who built the house. In “The Burn-Out”, John mentions that he built the house. In another episode, Grandma mentions that she helped clear the land for the house as a newlywed. I always thought that Grandma and Grandpa raised John and his brothers at the original homestead on top of the mountain (the one where there were burned remains) and that they eventually moved in with John and Livvie.

[izabella]

I loved Grandma and Grandpa as a couple.  She was a little salty, he was a romantic, and they adored each other. 

I also really liked when John would get flirtatious with Livvie, and brought out that saucy little smile she saved for John.

[Egg McMuffin]

John and Livvie are among my favorite TV parents. They are steady and reliable and warm, but also strict when needed. They have chemistry to spare, not surprising given Michael Learned’s revelation that she and Ralph Waite had feelings for each other offscreen.

And Grandma and Grandpa are the best! The best episodes are the ones where both of them are present, IMHO. I wonder if in real life such opposites would have had a lasting, happy marriage. Grandpa seemed quite progressive for the time while Grandma was clearly conservative, not just in her politics but in her approach to life. But the two actors were so wonderful and had fantastic chemistry, so you just have to go with it.

I do like those rare occasions where we see the softer side of Grandma. Like when Jim Bob is complaining that there’s nothing to do and Grandma rattles off a list of what he could do, ending with, “You could come and sit on my lap.” Jim Bob says, “Aw Grandma, I’m too old for that.” And she replies, “I’m not.”

[jason88cubs]

It's funny, when I was younger I thought Grandma was just a crabby old woman, I feel much different about her now

[Zella]

I honestly thought both Grandma and Livvy were kind of uptight assholes at times. It bothered me less with Grandma because she was an old lady, and I think being crochety can come with the territory. 

[Blergh]

One thing that stood out when  Esther recalled having cleared the land for the future house is that she mentioned that she worked alongside Zeb tending the field  right up to the births of all three children then went right back to work once she'd born them. Only John, Sr. was depicted and eventually it came out that he had an older brother named Ben (whom his 2nd youngest son was named for) who volunteered for the Great War then died in combat.

However, the fate (and identity) of Esther and Zeb's 3rd child would forever be a mystery. The closest to a possible clue was onetime one of the kids was in the attic with Grandpa and they came across the picture of a young girl which prompted this grandkid to ask Grandpa her identity- and he just replied in a choking voice 'Amy!' which has led some viewers to speculate that this could have been Esther and Zeb's only daughter who died quite young. However, it was a bit telling that Zeb didn't tell the grandkid in the attic that it was their 'Aunt Amy' so if that wasn't an aunt (therefore the Walton grandparents' daughter) who was this girl and why would Zeb have gotten so choked up about finding her picture? Was it too painful for them to display the picture in an easily seen spot instead of keeping it in the attic?  It's not just on TV that families have their mysteries that never get entirely solved. 

[methodwriter85]

Judy Norton on the time Mary Ellen was addicted to pep pills. 

Man, those cars were solid. You hit a tree with a modern car now and that bumper is done for.

[LadyIrony]

On 6/20/2022 at 12:05 AM, jason88cubs said:

My favorite moments is Olivia or Grandma going up to John because there's a issue and him acting all annoyed lol

There was a episode where Ben and Jim Bob were fighting and Elizabeth went and told John and Olivia and John say s"Good maybe we can have some peace around here" and Olivia goes"JOHN!" and John takes a deep sigh and goes "ok"

and in another episode John and John Boy are going somewhere and Grandma comes running out screaming "JOHN! JOHN!" and John says something like "Ahhh Now what" all annoyed  lol

John Snr really did just want to be left alone. I loved it when John Boy would get all pretentious (which was often) with his talk about European wars and Hitler and other lofty issues and concerns and John Snr would just sit and nod. Not that he didn't understand what John Boy was on about, he just didn't care for it and figured JB would shut up sooner if he didn't encourage him too much. 

I felt for John Snr he is trying to run the family mill and one son wants to be a writer and the other wants to play music. I'd be laying down the law "Under my roof, you work my mill!"

[jason88cubs]

Only good thing about the later episodes is Erin. What a beauty

[jason88cubs]

5 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

John Snr really did just want to be left alone. I loved it when John Boy would get all pretentious (which was often) with his talk about European wars and Hitler and other lofty issues and concerns and John Snr would just sit and nod. Not that he didn't understand what John Boy was on about, he just didn't care for it and figured JB would shut up sooner if he didn't encourage him too much. 

I felt for John Snr he is trying to run the family mill and one son wants to be a writer and the other wants to play music. I'd be laying down the law "Under my roof, you work my mill!"

I laughed way too hard at your post

[methodwriter85]

6 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

Only good thing about the later episodes is Erin. What a beauty

Was this hair accurate? Hell no, but it was extremely flattering.

[LadyIrony]

7 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Was this hair accurate? Hell no, but it was extremely flattering.

“Mama, Grams, I’m off to the Charlie’s Angels audition, wish me luck!”

”Well I don’t know what you’re talking about Erin but Angels is Biblical so it can’t be half bad. Have fun, but not too much fun!”

[jason88cubs]

I watched The Literary Man yesterday

Very good episode

[LadyIrony]

1 hour ago, jason88cubs said:

I watched The Literary Man yesterday

Very good episode

Is that the guy who does scripts for films and John Boy gets a chance to replace him but stands on his moral high ground?

[jason88cubs]

20 minutes ago, LadyIrony said:

Is that the guy who does scripts for films and John Boy gets a chance to replace him but stands on his moral high ground?

no that was the second apperance

this one he shows up, JOhn Boy follow shim around, Jim Bob gets sick, they can't complete a order, the guy leaves them 22 dollars which would pay for Jim Bob's surgery surgery

[methodwriter85]

On 6/17/2022 at 10:58 PM, Prairie Rose said:

I think Patricia Neal probably could have pulled that off better than Michael Learned, to be honest.

Patricia Neal's version definitely felt rougher, like she really was a stern woman who loved her kids but also had a pretty tough life. I think that was just reflective of the fact that the OG Christmas movie depicted their circumstances as being much rougher than they were depicted as being on the t.v. show. 

Compare that to Bellamy Blake's Olivia, who looks like she has a dedicated botox routine. LOL

Edited June 24, 2022 by methodwriter85

[Blergh]

6 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Patricia Neal's version definitely felt rougher, like she really was a stern woman who loved her kids but also had a pretty tough life. I think that was just reflective of the fact that the OG Christmas movie depicted their circumstances as being much rougher than they were depicted as being on the t.v. show. 

Compare that to Bellamy Blake's Olivia, who looks like she has a dedicated botox routine. LOL

Not to mention that Miss Neal brought FAR more gravitas to Olivia than either Miss Learned and even more Miss Blake! 

But then the house in the newer Homecoming seemed a virtual mansion so fancy and spacious that would have been more suitable for the Baldwins than even the series Casa Walton! Moreover, the grandparents in the newer production  lived nearby but not in the actual house despite having plenty of extra room for them. In the original Homecoming they WERE living in the same much smaller (and more realistic) house as the younger generations- although where their sleeping quarters (and, for that matter, John and Olivia's) was never clear as only John Boy's BIG room and the room with the giant bed for the other six(in the original broadcast that's been edited out ) was all that got shown! 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Moreover, the grandparents in the newer production  lived nearby but not in the actual house despite having plenty of extra room for them. In the original Homecoming they WERE living in the same much smaller (and more realistic) house as the younger generations

FWIW, the grandparents don't live with them in The Homecoming book.

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

ohn Boy's BIG room and the room with the giant bed for the other six(in the original broadcast that's been edited out )

OK, it's one thing for John Boy to get his own room when there are 3 girls and 3 boys sharing.  But, how on earth would it make sense for him to have his own room with 6 coed kids sharing?  Ridiculous.

[LadyIrony]

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Patricia Neal's version definitely felt rougher, like she really was a stern woman who loved her kids but also had a pretty tough life. I think that was just reflective of the fact that the OG Christmas movie depicted their circumstances as being much rougher than they were depicted as being on the t.v. show. 

Compare that to Bellamy Blake's Olivia, who looks like she has a dedicated botox routine. LOL

I'm getting a Desperate Housewives goes Hillbilly vibe from that  pic. 

[Blergh]

12 hours ago, Katy M said:

OK, it's one thing for John Boy to get his own room when there are 3 girls and 3 boys sharing.  But, how on earth would it make sense for him to have his own room with 6 coed kids sharing?  Ridiculous.

I agree! Even by the movie Jason was already a teen boy so it would have made more sense to have had at least him (if not all the boys) in a different room (and bed) from his three sisters! 

BTW, this didn't get overlooked by Carol Burnett when she spoofed the series on her own variety show calling it 'The Walnut Family' in which she starred as 'John-Girl' (FWIW, like Mr. Hamner before her, Miss Burnett herself had originally wanted to grow up to be a writer). Anyway, it had Harvey Korman as Grandpa, Vickie Lawrence as Grandma. ..and (of all people) guest stars Vincent Price(?!) as Daddy and Joan Rivers(!) as Mama! Anyway, the skit finished with the entire family  saying 'goodnight' to each other . .. in a single gigantic bed! 

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

I'm getting a Desperate Housewives goes Hillbilly vibe from that  pic. 

Inasmuch as neither the New Millenium Olivia nor the aforementioned so called Desperate Housewives ever seemed to consider contemplating   cleaning an oven or scrubbing a floor, I'd have to agree! 

13 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

Edited June 25, 2022 by Blergh

[jason88cubs]

I think it's really sad as the show goes on and on you start to see fewer people at the table for dinner

like a real family

[Blergh]

20 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

I think it's really sad as the show goes on and on you start to see fewer people at the table for dinner

like a real family

This was especially true in the War years when Grandpa had died, Grandma had had the stroke but was 'visiting' her never depicted sister, Olivia was Red Crossing/ TB relapsing, John Boy/s was ailing/ cabin sulking and lastly John, Sr. wound up tending Olivia. I mean just having Cousin Rose and whatever Walton kids were straggling just didn't cut it!

Oh, BTW, I thought it was bogus when Ben wasn't sure about going into the Service or getting deferred due to being the Only Walton Son at the Mill AND being married with a baby and went to John Boy2's cabin for advice. And, despite John Boy2 having been wounded and supposedly recuperating from said wounds, he reacted to Ben's angst as though this was a friend-of-a-friend pondering to change majors in college NOT as someone who'd seen combat's shadowside considering what truly would have kept his brother   from risking death and/or dismemberment   and the family intact regardless of outsiders' judgments! 

[Zella]

6 minutes ago, Blergh said:

he reacted to Ben's angst as though this was a friend-of-a-friend pondering to change majors in college NOT as someone who'd seen combat's shadowside considering what truly would have kept his brother   from risking death and/or dismemberment   and the family intact regardless of outsiders' judgments! 

I think there was such tremendous internal pressure to serve during WWII that it is hard to relate to in the modern post-Vietnam era. I know at the beginning of Band of Brothers when the real vets are being interviewed, they're talking about guys committing suicide because they were declared 4F. Ben certainly had many legitimate reasons to sit the war out, but he wouldn't be the first person to opt for serving anyway.

My great-grandfather was from a little town in Appalachian North Carolina that was probably very similar to the real Waltons' life. He was also married and had 3 kids but still felt very strongly about signing up (family has a very long history of military service) and was actually genuinely baffled by people who tried to get out of it. He ended up getting KIA. Ben had a pretty mild fate in comparison, especially since the show's version of being a POW seems like a summer camp. 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Zella

[Blergh]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

I think there was such tremendous internal pressure to serve during WWII that it is hard to relate to in the modern post-Vietnam era. I know at the beginning of Band of Brothers when the real vets are being interviewed, they're talking about guys committing suicide because they were declared 4F. Ben certainly had many legitimate reasons to sit the war out, but he wouldn't be the first person to opt for serving anyway.

My great-grandfather was from a little town in Appalachian North Carolina that was probably very similar to the real Waltons' life. He was also married and had 3 kids but still felt very strongly about signing up (family has a very long history of military service) and was actually genuinely baffled by people who tried to get out of it. He ended up getting KIA. Ben had a pretty mild fate in comparison, especially since the show's version of being a POW seems like a summer camp. 

I agree with you re Ben's possible MO's.

However, it just seemed bogus that combat-wounded John Boy2 wouldn't have urged his brother  (who, at that point, was weighing pros and cons) to ignore the naysayers for the reasons I listed instead of reacting as though this was a friend-of-a-friend pondering whether to change majors in college! 

And,if you like,  I could PM you about how my grandfather urged my own late father to sign up for WWII despite there not having been any true need under their  possibly  unique circumstances. 

[AgathaC]

16 hours ago, Zella said:

I think there was such tremendous internal pressure to serve during WWII that it is hard to relate to in the modern post-Vietnam era. I know at the beginning of Band of Brothers when the real vets are being interviewed, they're talking about guys committing suicide because they were declared 4F. Ben certainly had many legitimate reasons to sit the war out, but he wouldn't be the first person to opt for serving anyway.

My great-grandfather was from a little town in Appalachian North Carolina that was probably very similar to the real Waltons' life. He was also married and had 3 kids but still felt very strongly about signing up (family has a very long history of military service) and was actually genuinely baffled by people who tried to get out of it. He ended up getting KIA. Ben had a pretty mild fate in comparison, especially since the show's version of being a POW seems like a summer camp. 

There was, indeed, a very real service mindset at the time. One of my great uncles was 4F (and ended up living to 100 despite those “lung spots”), and worked in recruiting during the war. He had stories of people absolutely devastated they were turned away.

He was an Arkansan and part of his job was to go up into the (at that time largely isolated) Ozarks to determine if young men were “ignorant” or “slow.” They could work with uneducated, but not developmentally delayed. Even then, there were fathers who would try to convince him to let their son serve anyway.

Socially, people who didn’t go to war got a lot of side eyes (if they were lucky). Even if there was a legit reason for deferment.