Better Late Then Never

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This was one of the most successful family prime time dramas that came ever out of the 1970's that was a powerhouse within itself dominating the ratings for the entire nine seasons it was on the air becoming one of CBS' great Thursday night lineup of shows during its run. Interesting point about this show...it premiered one year after CBS' infamous purge of all its rural comedies and other shows that were canceled in favor of a more progressive urban audience. The next year The Waltons exploded out of nowhere becoming one of the most popular shows in television history. Created by Earl Hamner,Jr. who also served as the narrator of the series as well as the executive producer along with Philip Caprice and Lee Rich under there production company Lorimar Productions. The series was based on the 1963 theatrical feature "Spencer's Mountain" that was written by Earl Hamner, Jr.Originally aired as a pilot made for television movie titled "The Homecoming: A Waltons Christmas Story" that aired as a CBS Special Movie Presentation on December 19,1971 that starred Patricia O'Neal and Andrew Duggan that became a surprise hit winning both the Golden Globe and the Emmy for Best Original Program and Best Actress Category. On the strength and the commercial success of that television pilot, CBS gave the green light for a weekly series that premiered on September 14, 1972 and ran for nine seasons and 221 episodes until the final episode of the series on June 4, 1981. When it premiered in 1972, The Waltons exploded out of the gate dethroning the widely popular "The Flip Wilson Show" which was the top rated show on television. The result was a series within its nine season run won numerous Golden Globes for Best Television Series and the Prime Time Emmy twice for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Outstanding writing and Outstanding Drama Series.The Waltons was a family oriented show that started during the Great Depression and throughout the series ended with the family facing World War II. This series was on the same level as another family oriented show that contained "no violence", "no swearing", and "no adult content".Several veteran directors ranging from Harry Harris, Phillip Leacock, Lawrence Dobkin, Ralph Senensky, Lee Phillips, Bob Sweeney, Vincent Sherman, Robert Butler, Bernard McEveety, Ivan Dixon, Stan Lathan, and Earl Bellamy along with fantastic writers from Kathleen Hite, Paul Savage, John McGreevey, and William Welch, Dan Ullman, D.C. Fontana, and Earl Hamner, Jr. contribute to some of the great episodes this series produced not to mention here big name guest stars that came on board each week. After CBS canceled this critically acclaimed series in the spring of 1981 six made for TV-movies based on "The Waltons" were produced for NBC and CBS between February 22, 1982 until April 27, 1997. Produced by Lorimar Productions which was the same company that brought you "Dallas", "Knots Landing", "Eight Is Enough", and "Family Matters".

Sweet and pretty with nice scenes but not any real substance. I don't believe that men treated their wives as well as Sr. did 'Lib' in the south during the depression. I also don't believe that they loved each other that much. Television is about fantasy and the Walton's is a fantasy 'all American' family. Olivia and JW Sr. should have practiced birth control as two children would have lived a better life.Most of the kids were as dumb as a box of bricks and there were too many scenes of money being spent on saving injured animals, trips to Godsey's for gifts that I would not think possible during the depression in the mountains of VA. They were Baptist but the father never got 'saved' and rarely attended church. The one Christmas show had the reverend played by the three's company guy giving Jim Bob a lesson on pagan and pagan customs concerning the Christmas tree which really shocked me considering the family style show of Christians it is supposed to be.Also in the one scene where Mary Ellen is a nurse and is going out in the field to care for the sick riding a horse she actually has a pair of Jordache jeans on !!!!! the designer label can clearly be seen while she is getting on the horse. Never knew that they had designer jeans during the depression and that the poor in VA could afford them.Predictable and boring but also sweet and pretty scenes.

Great to see how many positive comments there are about this series. I was raised in a ranch family and remember the closeness that we had growing up and beyond. I actually stayed in cattle all my life because although we don't have much money, we have maintained a higher level of integrity in our business and personal relationships. I also understand the negative comments people make when the run down the show as being unrealistic. The problem is, in order to live a clean life you have to stay away from the societal mainstream, so people don't believe what they see. I can't blame anyone for that, since most of what you see on t.v. these days you don't WANT to believe.

This is a delightful series with wholesome values that my own family often watched together during my son's earlier growing up years. It chronicles the ongoing story of a Depression Era family living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia...often seen though the eyes of the oldest son John Boy, a budding author, who relates his family's experiences in a journal. The series follows the Walton family through both the Depression and World War II. It also portrays the career paths, courtships, & marriages of many of the children, the births of new grandchildren, and the illnesses, aging, & deaths of some of the characters.The mother, Olivia, is a devout Baptist who must deal with an extended stay in hospital as she suffers from tuberculosis. The father, John, though perhaps a little lapsed in his own faith, runs a saw mill and is a hard working man of integrity. The couple have seven children. John Boy eventually goes off to Richmond for college, Boatwright University, and later embarks upon a journalistic career in New York. Mary Ellen, a feisty tomboy, grows up to become a nurse and marries a doctor, Curtis Willard, sent to Pearl Harbour just prior to the Japanese attack. Jason is the family's budding musician, sometimes providing lively entertainment at the local Dew Drop Inn. Ben marries at a young age the pretty Cindy, and the two are set up with charming little accommodations adjacent to the main Walton house. Erin, the pretty one with her various beaux, is employed at the local telephone switchboard and later by G.W. Haines. Jim Bob is a mechanical tinkerer, and Elizabeth the rather spoiled and generally irritating baby of the family. Also living under the same roof are John's parents, the devilish but wise old Grandpa Zebulun and the strict & proper but feisty Grandma Esther. Years ago, it became a family chuckle that if Grandma Walton wouldn't have approved of the language, then it just wasn't acceptable! The banter between these grandparents is absolutely precious. I liked the multi generational aspects of the program with eventually four generations of Waltons. An ongoing storyline involved the stroke suffered by Grandma (and actress Ellen Corby), which restricted her movement and left her with a severe speech impediment. Also, actor Will Greer passed away, so the family was forced to grieve the loss of Grandpa.The likable country store keeper, Ike Godsey, and his prim & snooty wife, Corabeth, appear regularly on the show. Other local characters are featured, including Yancy Tucker and a succession of various parsons (one was portrayed by actor John Ritter). Of course my favourites are the charming, elderly Baldwin sisters with their legendary Recipe inherited from their dearly departed father! Olivia and Grandma were strongly opposed to alcohol, but Grandpa would sometimes stop by at the Baldwins for a wee nip of the Recipe, actually moonshine whiskey. Some episodes also featured interactions with 'outsiders', including circus acrobats and gypsies.Most of the individual episodes are quite engaging, and the family's interactions even during conflict show an underlying warmth. Their famous extended calls of Good Night are of course legendary! Many plot lines revolve around their various financial struggles to live a decent life during the Great Depression. The marital relationship between John & Olivia is well captured, as well as the siblings' interactions and their relationship with their parents & grandparents.Sadly, I am not surprised that this heartwarming series is receiving a few disparaging reviews these days. Perhaps life wasn't all rosy and moral back in the 1930's with issues of poverty, racism and so forth. However, its values were generally preferable to the decaying ones of today, where materialism reigns supreme, parents & offspring alike feel entitled to their self absorbed attitude, rudeness is the norm in human interactions, the nuclear family and moral absolutes are becoming obsolete, and faith is mocked everywhere. This series represents the very antithesis of all such modern views, but thankfully, the vast majority of reviewers here still seem to appreciate it. Yes, better the Waltons than the Simpsons. My son is now a college sophomore, but admits to looking back fondly upon the series. Indeed, these Walton characters are almost like family members in many homes, including my own. My compliments to actors Ralph Waite (John), Michael Learned (Olivia), Richard Thomas (John Boy), and all the others who brought them so vividly to life. Yes, the series can be sappy at times and may not always be realistic, but it is really not overly sentimental as some claim. Rather it is a depiction of the way we should ALL treat each other and the love, closeness, concern, warmth, and often unselfish giving that should be found in ALL our homes. Pity there aren't more TV programs nowadays that give us something worthy to aspire to.