The Waltons (DVD) Review

Nominated for 15 Golden Globes and 25 Emmys, including two for Outstanding Drama Series, The Waltons enjoyed nine seasons of high audience ratings and notable critical acclaim. Premiering on CBS in the Fall of 1972, the hour-long drama series chronicled the lives of a tightly-knit mountain family living during the Depression era. Creator Earl Hamner Jr. based The Waltons on his true-to-life story of growing up in the Hamner family. Noted for its family-oriented subject matter (and absence of torrid sex and violence), The Waltons paved the way for the success of the popular TV series Little House On The Prairie (1974). And, in the aftermath of the cancellation of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) and Green Acres (1965), proved wrong the assertion of some CBS executives that shows with rural settings were becoming unpopular. Celebrated for its raw depiction of the human experience, The Waltons towers above modern day television dramas by laying claim to the added weight today's critics give to realism in a series while simultaneously avoiding the bad language, adult content, and gratuitous violence that often accompany those shows which earn such a designation

The Waltons follows the daily lives of the various members of the Walton family as they make a living working their humble saw mill on Walton's Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Set in the 1930's, the series unfolds through the eyes of John Boy (Richard Thomas). An aspiring writer, John Boy chronicles life on Walton Mountain where his parents, John Sr. (Ralph Waite) and Olivia (Michael Learned), raise their seven children (John Boy, Jason, Mary Ellen, Erin, Ben, Jim-Bob, and Elizabeth) with the aid of live-in grandparents Esther (Ellen Corby) and Zeb (Will Greer) Walton. A wide array of supporting characters live near the Waltons, including Reverend Fordwick (portrayed by Three's Company star John Ritter), the Godseys, the Baldwins, and various others. As the trials of the Great Depression fade into the tribulations of World War II, the Waltons connect with every facet of the human experience - love, marriage, birth, death, aging, social ills, and the numerous travails of life, making The Waltons one of the most popular shows in television history

The Waltons (Season 1) DVD features a number of memorable episodes including the series premiere The Foundling in which a young girl named Holly is left on the doorstep of the Walton family. Following a checkup with the family pediatrician, they learn that Holly is deaf. John Boy takes the initiative and teaches Holly a form of sign language so the two can communicate, a skill which proves to be quite important when Holly warns the family that its youngest member is in urgent danger Other notable episodes from Season 1 include The Literary Man in which John Boy meets noted author A.J. Covington when the truck breaks down, and The Courtship in which Olivia's Uncle Cody falls in love with a f our-time divorcee when he comes to visit the family

Below is a list of episodes included on The Waltons (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (The Foundling) Air Date: 09-14-1972
Episode 2 (The Carnival) Air Date: 09-21-1972
Episode 3 (The Calf) Air Date: 09-28-1972
Episode 4 (The Hunt) Air Date: 10-05-1972
Episode 5 (The Typewriter) Air Date: 10-12-1972
Episode 6 (The Star) Air Date: 10-19-1972
Episode 7 (The Sinner) Air Date: 10-26-1972
Episode 8 (The Boy from the C.C.C.) Air Date: 11-02-1972
Episode 9 (The Ceremony) Air Date: 11-09-1972
Episode 10 (The Legend) Air Date: 11-16-1972
Episode 11 (The Literary Man) Air Date: 11-30-1972
Episode 12 (The Dust Bowl Cousins) Air Date: 12-07-1972
Episode 13 (The Reunion) Air Date: 12-14-1972
Episode 14 (The Minstrel) Air Date: 12-21-1972
Episode 15 (The Actress) Air Date: 01-04-1973
Episode 16 (The Fire) Air Date: 01-11-1973
Episode 17 (The Love Story) Air Date: 01-18-1 973
Episode 18 (The Courtship) Air Date: 01-25-1973
Episode 19 (The Gypsies) Air Date: 02-01-1973
Episode 20 (The Deed) Air Date: 02-08-1973
Episode 21 (The Scholar) Air Date: 02-22-1973
Episode 22 (The Bicycle) Air Date: 03-01-1973
Episode 23 (The Townie) Air Date: 03-08-1973
Episode 24 (An Easter Story: Part 1) Air Date: 04-19-1973
Episode 25 (An Easter Story: Part 2) Air Date: 04-19-1973

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of The Waltons (DVD).

Author:: Britt Gillette
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