The Waltons - General Discussion

[jason88cubs]

"Dust Bowl Cousins" is great

[jason88cubs]

After John Boy moved out did Jason get JOhn Boy's old room?

I can't remember

Edited August 30, 2022 by jason88cubs

[Egg McMuffin]

In the season after he left, Kurt got drafted into the army, so Mary Ellen and John Curtis moved into JB’s old room. They glossed over whether someone had moved in in the interim and later got kicked out.

[Katy M]

On 8/30/2022 at 4:31 PM, Egg McMuffin said:

In the season after he left, Kurt got drafted into the army, so Mary Ellen and John Curtis moved into JB’s old room. They glossed over whether someone had moved in in the interim and later got kicked out.

Until they really needed it for ME, they were probably just keeping it as a shrine in case JB decided to come back.

[ctlady]

Hallmark showing every episode which started last night at 9pm

watched Dust Bowl Cousins and The Actress so far. I’m curious as how a depression era family of 11 can feed 3 extra people ( including a teenage boy) for a month and a dramatic actress for a week

[Egg McMuffin]

So many of the early episodes focus on the Waltons taking in some shirt-tail relatives, old friends, or lost souls that if the Waltons couldn’t afford to do it, nothing would ever happen on the show.

[Cattoy]

3 hours ago, ctlady said:

I’m curious as how a depression era family of 11 can feed 3 extra people ( including a teenage boy) for a month and a dramatic actress for a week

In reality, it wouldn't have been much of an issue. The family had chickens, a cow, pigs and a garden; John hunted and the kids fished. They wouldn't have bought a lot of groceries. They might not have money, but food was abundant, if not extravagant.

BTW, Judy Norton has a Youtube channel where she talks about the show. She has trivia - like the kids loved when they filmed at Ike's store, because they would raid the candy display between takes - guests from the show and behind the scenes insights. She also answers questions.

[Zella]

1 hour ago, Cattoy said:

In reality, it wouldn't have been much of an issue. The family had chickens, a cow, pigs and a garden; John hunted and the kids fished. They wouldn't have bought a lot of groceries. They might not have money, but food was abundant, if not extravagant.

My grandparents grew up in similar circumstances, and they still remember older relatives being salty about how much certain guests ate, specifically teenaged boys with bottomless stomachs. Having the extra resources from still only goes so far and a lot of it is cultivated with the intention of being stored for winter, not to be consumed right then. 

[jason88cubs]

I love "The Best Christmas" episode

I also view this as one of my favorites because it's really one of the last episodes centered around the whole family coming together because 3 episodes later was the last appearance for Ellen Corby after her stroke until"Grandma Comes Home" and of course Richard Thomas left after this season

[Cattoy]

On 9/5/2022 at 4:20 PM, Zella said:

My grandparents grew up in similar circumstances, and they still remember older relatives being salty about how much certain guests ate, specifically teenaged boys with bottomless stomachs. Having the extra resources from still only goes so far and a lot of it is cultivated with the intention of being stored for winter, not to be consumed right then. 

It all depends on the individual family I suppose, but my mother grew up about 40 miles from the real-life Walton's home during the Depression. Parents, 7 kids and various relatives staying with them on a rotating basis. No visitor ever left hungry.* Now, if the person did some work in return for the meal, they got better grub. It was a point of pride that you could still help someone else, no matter how bad things were.

*Until the TVA confiscated their land and flooded it with a dam, that is.

[Zella]

20 minutes ago, Cattoy said:

It all depends on the individual family I suppose, but my mother grew up about 40 miles from the real-life Walton's home during the Depression. Parents, 7 kids and various relatives staying with them on a rotating basis. No visitor ever left hungry.* Now, if the person did some work in return for the meal, they got better grub. It was a point of pride that you could still help someone else, no matter how bad things were.

*Until the TVA confiscated their land and flooded it with a dam, that is.

Well these visitors didn't leave hungry, either, but in at least one case, there was essentially a demand that their exit be expedited because their teenage sons were eating so much that it was a strain on the resources for everyone. The fact they were not contributing at all and the whole family just lounged around expected to be waited on and fed probably is what sent them over the edge of openly complaining, though. I think there's still an unstated expectation that the recipient of Southern hospitality is supposed to be a gracious guest that was not being followed in what happened with my family. 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Zella

[Cattoy]

I can easily imagine Ellen Corby's Grandma muttering under her breath while dishing out their grub!

One of the food things I found odd was the amount of white bread they ate. Corn meal was much cheaper, and cornbread was popular during the Depression for that reason. If there was still a mill working in the area, the family could have been grown their own. I'm guessing that was a props issue - no questions about what it was on the plate, easier to acquire, held up better under the lights or something ...

[Zella]

Just now, Cattoy said:

I can easily imagine Ellen Corby's Grandma muttering under her breath while dishing out their grub!

One of the food things I found odd was the amount of white bread they ate. Corn meal was much cheaper, and cornbread was popular during the Depression for that reason. If there was still a mill working in the area, the family could have been grown their own. I'm guessing that was a props issue - no questions about what it was on the plate, easier to acquire, held up better under the lights or something ...

Yes! I think also the show was inevitably a product of the 70s. My grandparents really like the show but have commented that the Walton house was much nicer than any house they ever saw growing up in rural Appalachia in the 40s and 50s, and they both came from families about the same sizes as the Waltons. I think to a 70s sensibility, the house and their lifestyle seems much more modest than it would have during the Great Depression. And I could see the bread issue being the same way. 

[Cattoy]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

Yes! I think also the show was inevitably a product of the 70s. My grandparents really like the show but have commented that the Walton house was much nicer than any house they ever saw growing up in rural Appalachia in the 40s and 50s, and they both came from families about the same sizes as the Waltons. I think to a 70s sensibility, the house and their lifestyle seems much more modest than it would have during the Great Depression. And I could see the bread issue being the same way. 

It's also a filming issue. They need room to move the cameras, put the lighting, have the sound equipment ... it's why every college student on TV had a massive dorm room and Monica lived in a multi-million dollar apartment on Friends.

As for the house itself, yeah, that was pretty nice digs for a house of the era. Not only was it large, it had electricity and running water, which were still a bit of a luxury until the TVA built all the dams to provide cheap power. He did have a good job prior and his own source of lumber, but still. No way a kid had their own bedroom in a family that size. Even all the kids having their own bed was a stretch.

[Egg McMuffin]

The original Waltons movie, “The Homecoming,” had a grittier feel, and the house wasn’t as nice (exposed wood in the house, and visible electrical conduits showing that the house had been wired for electricity after the structure had been completed). I think the producers and CBS wanted more of a “candy-coated TV feel” for the weekly series.

[jason88cubs]

On 9/12/2022 at 1:00 PM, Egg McMuffin said:

The original Waltons movie, “The Homecoming,” had a grittier feel, and the house wasn’t as nice (exposed wood in the house, and visible electrical conduits showing that the house had been wired for electricity after the structure had been completed). I think the producers and CBS wanted more of a “candy-coated TV feel” for the weekly series.

even the earlier seasons were more gritty

Kids always barefoot unless going to church, John and Grandpa coming in from the mill all dirty and sweaty, and Olivia had more of a edge to her.

[sATL]

https://deadline.com/2022/09/cw-a-waltons-thanksgiving-premiere-date-1235118887/

Is it cw's plan to air one show a year? 

[jason88cubs]

On 9/14/2022 at 6:12 PM, sATL said:

https://deadline.com/2022/09/cw-a-waltons-thanksgiving-premiere-date-1235118887/

Is it cw's plan to air one show a year? 

didn't know they had this planned

Caught The Pony Cart today

Terrific episode, I forgot how good it is

Also, a very good article about Merie Earle who played Maude Gormley https://www.metv.com/stories/fans-of-the-waltons-have-complicated-feelings-about-maude-gormley

(Not sure about title of article though?

Edited September 16, 2022 by jason88cubs

[LadyIrony]

On 6/20/2022 at 11:09 AM, Zella said:

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. 

It was a shame with Livvy as she was younger and good looking. Watching her walk around in perpetual judgement and wearing those ugly (yet practical) shoes. You could tell she really wanted the finer things in life but didn't want to upset God. 

[Egg McMuffin]

The Olivia of season 1 was very different from the mellower Olivia of the later seasons.

[Blergh]

IMO, I kind of think Esther's crotchetiness came from spending her entire married life encouraging her children and grandchildren to make their family as respectable as possible in their community despite the challenges of having to depend solely on the land's bounty  AND the fact that Zeb stayed a wild rogue the whole time! Yep, the fussiness on her part largely came from the fact that she DID understand him far better than he ever wanted to admit!

[jason88cubs]

On 9/17/2022 at 4:37 AM, Egg McMuffin said:

The Olivia of season 1 was very different from the mellower Olivia of the later seasons.

agree, when she changed her hairstyle in season 7 it really threw me off and still does.

She looks totally different

[Egg McMuffin]

I didn’t like the season 7 ponytail look - very unlike Olivia. When she came back post-tuberculosis for the first half of season 8 it was clear Michael Learned had cut her hair, even though she was wearing it up.

[Tim McD]

On 9/16/2022 at 4:00 PM, jason88cubs said:

Also, a very good article about Merie Earle who played Maude Gormley https://www.metv.com/stories/fans-of-the-waltons-have-complicated-feelings-about-maude-gormley

(Not sure about title of article though?

Nothing against Merie Earle, but I find Maude Gormley to be pretty irritating. It never made sense to me why Grandma, who does not put up with annoying behavior, would be so friendly to Maude; she can barely stand Corabeth and Corabeth isn't nearly as grating as Maude. Just walking around, squawking at everyone, making poor Abel the ice guy haul her ass all over, UGH.

[Blergh]

9 hours ago, Tim McD said:

Nothing against Merie Earle, but I find Maude Gormley to be pretty irritating. It never made sense to me why Grandma, who does not put up with annoying behavior, would be so friendly to Maude; she can barely stand Corabeth and Corabeth isn't nearly as grating as Maude. Just walking around, squawking at everyone, making poor Abel the ice guy haul her ass all over, UGH.

Well,Maude wasn't pretentious -unlike Corabeth. Perhaps,too, Esther was more tolerant of Maude because Maude was quite a bit older than she(or,at least Miss Earle was over 20 years older than Miss Corby).

[MissT]

I have a comment.  On the episode "The Burnout" when the house burns down, I never understood why they didn't sleep in the shed.    It was used for various visitors and from what I recall had a bed.    They could have put the kids in their on the floor so no one would be separated.  John boy could have stayed in there, the grandparents.   It's never made sense to me.   Just my thoughts.  It was on last week and I thought of it again.  

[barshi50]

I always wondered what happened to the printing press that was in the shed. They showed Ben cleaning it a few times after John-Boy left, but then poof it was gone when they needed use of the shed for company/ Ben and Cindy. And what happened to the Blue Ridge Chronicle? And John-Boy graduated from Boatwright, didn't he? It was never shown. I am sure it had something to do with Richard Thomas leaving the show

[Egg McMuffin]

John Boy started college in 1934. And the last six episodes of season 5 (Richard Thomas’s final episodes as a series regular) jump from the spring of 1937 to the fall of 1938. So we never got to see John Boy’s college graduation, which should have happened in the spring of 1938. And the following season started in the fall of 1939.

Odd for the show to jump over such a big milestone as John Boy’s graduation, but they were clearly in a hurry to move the timeline up and get to World War II.

[Blergh]

8 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

John Boy started college in 1934. And the last six episodes of season 5 (Richard Thomas’s final episodes as a series regular) jump from the spring of 1937 to the fall of 1938. So we never got to see John Boy’s college graduation, which should have happened in the spring of 1938. And the following season started in the fall of 1939.

Odd for the show to jump over such a big milestone as John Boy’s graduation, but they were clearly in a hurry to move the timeline up and get to World War II.

I'm not even sure that John Boy actually graduated but it seemed to have been implied rather than spelled out.

It's also odd that Mary Ellen was seen attending nursing school, but her graduation also got implied rather than spelled out- with her somehow able to work in the Charlotteville hospital when Grandma had her stroke.

[sATL]

10 hours ago, Blergh said:

I'm not even sure that John Boy actually graduated but it seemed to have been implied rather than spelled out.

It's also odd that Mary Ellen was seen attending nursing school, but her graduation also got implied rather than spelled out- with her somehow able to work in the Charlotteville hospital when Grandma had her stroke.

 I thought her official graduation was when curt came to announce he  was going to pearl harbor and placed her cap on . she and the other graduates were wearing a pin, which  is common for nursing graduates to receive.  Which I thought was also the episode she passed her her RN license board exam. Charlottesville with grandma I  associated it with her clinicals.

What we didn't see is Mary Ellen go to college. She managed to learn algebra and chemistry from the county nurse to get into nursing school, but I don't recall a seeing her open/carry a book after that until the she was studying for the boards. John Boy and a little of Jason, we got the play by play of college

Edited October 10, 2022 by sATL

[Blergh]

Of course, one interesting layer to Grandma early  in the show (that barely got referenced much less examined in any depth) was that she was a midwife. Alas, this facet quickly got dropped. However, considering that Mary Ellen DID become a nurse then later a bona fide MD AND John Boy even delivered the baby of Sarah Jane Simmons (played by Sissy Spacek, of all folks), perhaps this vocation proved more inspirational to the latter generations than one would think.

P.S. FWIW, I always thought if they ever did a prequel with John and Olivia meeting as teens, they could have had the middle-aged Esther and Zeb played by Sissy Spacek. ..and John Goodman!  Now, they both seem as though they'd be too old to be believable as parents of teens but maybe they could still cast Miss Spacek as a late middle aged Martha Corinne.

[andromeda331]

19 hours ago, Blergh said:

Of course, one interesting layer to Grandma early  in the show (that barely got referenced much less examined in any depth) was that she was a midwife. Alas, this facet quickly got dropped. However, considering that Mary Ellen DID become a nurse then later a bona fide MD AND John Boy even delivered the baby of Sarah Jane Simmons (played by Sissy Spacek, of all folks), perhaps this vocation proved more inspirational to the latter generations than one would think.

P.S. FWIW, I always thought if they ever did a prequel with John and Olivia meeting as teens, they could have had the middle-aged Esther and Zeb played by Sissy Spacek. ..and John Goodman!  Now, they both seem as though they'd be too old to be believable as parents of teens but maybe they could still cast Miss Spacek as a late middle aged Martha Corinne.

It's too bad since it would have easily tied into other stories and made them better. But it also very common since most small towns or even counties wouldn't have doctors that far back. So women often became midwives.

[Tim McD]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:48 PM, MissT said:

I have a comment.  On the episode "The Burnout" when the house burns down, I never understood why they didn't sleep in the shed.    It was used for various visitors and from what I recall had a bed.    They could have put the kids in their on the floor so no one would be separated.  John boy could have stayed in there, the grandparents.   It's never made sense to me.   Just my thoughts.  It was on last week and I thought of it again.  

I wonder that all the time! Of course the inside of the shed magically got bigger as time went on. When John-Boy hides the Baldwins' typewriter in there, it's the size of a...shed. When he gets the printing press, it's sprouted into a roomy guest house.

[Egg McMuffin]

On 10/9/2022 at 11:09 PM, Blergh said:

Of course, one interesting layer to Grandma early  in the show (that barely got referenced much less examined in any depth) was that she was a midwife. Alas, this facet quickly got dropped.

Early Grandma was sort of like Granny on “The Beverly Hillbillies”; she could deliver a baby, whip up a poultice, apply a mustard plaster, and do other kinds of doctorin’.

But kidding aside, it made sense that a capable woman of her generation knew how to deliver a baby and about folk medicine. She tended to the feverish baby of the gypsy family in season 1. She helped treat Livvie’s polio with hot compresses. There was another episode where she returned from taking care of a sick relative and the kids mentioned something about the relative getting one of Grandma’s foul-smelling remedies and Grandma replied that the remedy did the trick.

6 hours ago, Tim McD said:

I wonder that all the time! Of course the inside of the shed magically got bigger as time went on. When John-Boy hides the Baldwins' typewriter in there, it's the size of a...shed. When he gets the printing press, it's sprouted into a roomy guest house.

If the show had run a few more seasons, the shed would have rivaled the Baldwins’ house.

[sATL]

9 hours ago, Tim McD said:

I wonder that all the time! Of course the inside of the shed magically got bigger as time went on. When John-Boy hides the Baldwins' typewriter in there, it's the size of a...shed. When he gets the printing press, it's sprouted into a roomy guest house.

and it grew a bathroom (which I would have thought required all kinds of running of pipes) and looks like a sitting area when ben got married.

Edited October 11, 2022 by sATL

[Blergh]

10 hours ago, sATL said:

and it grew a bathroom (which I would have thought required all kinds of running of pipes) and looks like a sitting area when ben got married.

It almost grew as fast as Godsey Hall which went from being at best, a tiny off shed attached to Godsey's Store to being a full-scale meeting hall and party place by the time Corabeth got finished renovating it

Maybe they should have told her to just wait a few years for John-Boy's shed to become the size of the Mormon Tabernacle!

[sATL]

duplicate post

Edited October 13, 2022 by sATL

[sATL]

18 minutes ago, sATL said:

INSP channel replaced The Waltons with Gunsmoke  at 4 pm EST m-thur?? 

should have known they were up to something when fridays dissappered earlier this year for some western-genre movie.

Given what all is going on in the US - I'm a little surprised that there is a demand for daily gunshooting westerns on TV. From what I remember of Gunsmoke (which stayed on long enough the 1st run of the show) someone emptying their pistol(s) happened 2-3 times an episode. How   can that be better than someone milking cows, sewing hand-me-downs, home cooking fried chicken with freshly baked loaves of bread and wood chopping ?

has anyone found the waltons on platforms like Pluto ?

Edited October 13, 2022 by sATL

[Tim McD]

3 hours ago, sATL said:

has anyone found the waltons on platforms like Pluto ?

It's on Amazon Prime, free with ads. Amazon has done a good job improving the video quality. Many episodes on the DVDs look terrible, like they were run through some awful Instagram filter.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Tim McD

[Blergh]

7 hours ago, sATL said:

Well, if it's any consolation, Miss Learned guests in a rather memorable episode called 'Matt's Love Story' playing a pants-wearing tough but tender widowed farmer called. .. Mike who nurses Matt back to health while he deals with a concussion with no memory of his Dodge City life. Although, he regains his memory and decides that he can't leave the Dodge City citizens in the lurch, they part on good terms. BTW, the hood who knocked Matt out and threatened Mike's farm was played by none other than Victor French of LHTOP Mr. Edwards fame!

As it turns out via the post-series TV movies that while Mike's late husband gave her the farm, Matt gave Mike a daughter who'd wind up caring for Matt in his declining years!

[Zella]

FWIW, I know a lot of people when they think of Gunsmoke think of the later episodes, which are pretty standard as far as TV Westerns go and the show definitely ran way beyond its creative capacity. But those early seasons were surprisingly introspective, gritty, and character-driven, especially for the time. It's certainly a different show from The Waltons, but I wouldn't just write it off as all violent action and no substance. It's definitely not as cozy and feel-good as The Waltons, but I'd argue just as The Waltons really excelled at down-to-earth family drama when it was at its best, Gunsmoke also excelled at more thoughtful Western drama when it was at its best.  

After years of remembering Gunsmoke from reruns I watched as a kid and thinking the show was really just the Festus hour, I was really shocked to revisit episodes a year or so ago and realize how well-done (and surprisingly dark) they could be. 

Edited October 14, 2022 by Zella

[JayDub1987]

I've had Prime Video for months and had no idea this show was on there. Great news! I know what I'll be watching while I work starting next week.

[Egg McMuffin]

Gunsmoke has its own channel on Pluto! 😉

I agree with Zella about the early episodes. Our local channel only ran the color episodes when I was growing up. But those B&W episodes are a real treat and very well done. MeTV got the whole package a few years back after years of only running the color syndication package.

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Egg McMuffin said:

Gunsmoke has its own channel on Pluto! 😉

I agree with Zella about the early episodes. Our local channel only ran the color episodes when I was growing up. But those B&W episodes are a real treat and very well done. MeTV got the whole package a few years back after years of only running the color syndication package.

Of course, since both Mr. Arness and Miss Blake were fresh-faced relative unknowns when the show started, it was more believable that they could maintain an unspoken flirtatious bond in the early years while it somewhat stretched credulity in the later years that still  they both were perfectly content to have an evidently unrequited bond (though Miss Learned's one episode playing an unexpectedly merry widow called Mike would later prove Matt hadn't been entirely a monk).

[ctlady]

Was watching The Roots yesterday and was aghast at how often John-Boy (and some of the other children) go barefoot outside - especially the scene where JB is dipping lumber in a metal trash can filled with tar.  Even if it's not hot tar, still - yikes!

[merylinkid]

That's the way it was.  Shoes were for school and church.  They were expensive and you had to make them last.

[Egg McMuffin]

No comments on the new Thanksgiving movie last night?

I watched about 15 min and turned it off. It’s just not our Waltons.

[sATL]

1 hour ago, Egg McMuffin said:

No comments on the new Thanksgiving movie last night?

I watched about 15 min and turned it off. It’s just not our Waltons.

oh man I missed it. what channel ? maybe I can find it on streaming channel.

my sunday nights are full with football and RHOP. 😁

[mustbeme]

I watched the new movie last night.   The New Olivia was on something, and the rest of them were just like so sugar sweet my teeth hurt watching it.  And all the pies were wrapped in Reynolds Wrap tin foil for the fair!!!!!!   REALLY!!!

[Egg McMuffin]

The ratings were down 40% from last year’s remake of The Homecoming, so I wouldn’t count on seeing another movie, let alone a new series.