May 16, 2006

DVD Review: The Waltons - Season Three Box Set

"Goodnight, John Boy"

For a new generation of kids not familiar with the wholesome '70s drama, that's about as familiar as some may be with The Waltons. Set on a family named location - Walton Mountain - the series tells the tale of The Walton clan and their misadventures in life. Neither intense or Disney-Channel sappy, the show is a nice happy medium of reality with a touch of good cheer.

The family consists of John Walton Sr. (Ralph Waite) and his wife Olivia (Michael Learned) whose children are John Boy (Richard Thomas), Mary Ellen (Judy-Norton Taylor), Jason (Jon Walmsley), Erin (Mary Beth McDonough), Ben (Eric Scott), Jim Bob (David W. Harper) and Elizabeth (Kami Colter). Serving as the elders of wisdom are Grandma "Esther" Walton (Ellen Colby) and Grandpa "Zebulon" Walton (Will Greer) who live with the Walton clan in their house on the mountain.

Most of the episodes mainly focused on either John-Boy, his parents and/or his grandparents. The children sometimes got screen-time with the rest of the cast, but they were seemingly underused. But, this was told from the perspective of John-Boy himself, and so a lot of the focus was on him.

The season three box set (which has all the episodes in double-sided discs) sets the stage for change in the family - John-Boy in going to college finds the Walton children then relying on the next oldest, Jason, to keep them in line. John-Boy also found himself interacting with various women throughout the season. There were also a few family fights and one runaway incident (Jim-Bob).

Although it would seem completely boring to viewers of hyperactive 24 and Prison Break, sometimes it's okay to tone it down and relax. If anything would have been a draw to watch this series, it clearly has to do with everything being so quiet - the sound, the theme music and even the actor's performances are all seemingly soft and gentle. For the next Father's Day or Mother's Day event, it could be a good idea to take a trip to a mountain - the mountain of the Waltons that is.

Posted by Matthew at May 16, 2006 05:41 PM | TrackBack
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Erica Hunton as Holly collier waltons from Julie Lorraine Jackson

Posted by: julie lorraine jackson at June 7, 2006 11:40 PM
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