Around 1974, when I was 21 years old and in my second year of medical school, my old girlfriend and I got hooked on The Waltons, a new TV series about a large family living in rural Virginia during the Depression and then World War II.  Earl Hamner’s book The Homecoming served as the basis of the story.  Every Thursday night at 8 PM it became almost gospel to watch The Waltons.

My wife Carol and I have rediscovered this show, being rebroadcast on Hallmark TV.  The only catch is that the rebroadcasts are of episodes from seasons 7 through 9, which do not include the incomparable Richard Thomas as John-boy, and thus lose much of the emotional “oomph” provided by this fine actor.  He was truly the “glue,” as well as the star, of the show.

Therefore we have sought other venues to watch as well.  The pilot, The Homecoming, is available on Youtube, and is quite satisfying.  The season one opener, The Foundling, is available for free on Amazon, and is about the family taking in an abandoned deaf mute girl.  We also watched the second episode of the second season for $2.99, in which John-boy seeks privacy to write but ends up delivering a baby!  As implausible as the plot sounds, it was executed very well and made for a coherent story.

The show started in the 1972-73 season and won multiple Emmy awards starting in 1973, including many for its excellent cast, including Richard Thomas, Michael Learned, Ralph Waite, Ellen Corby, and Will Geer.  These actors helped to create a feeling of authenticity which was remarkable.  In its second season the show ranked #2 in viewership.  It ran for five and a half seasons with Richard Thomas, and three and a half more seasons without him.  After nine seasons, the show came to an end after having established a loyal following.

The show is about “old fashioned values”: home, family, respect for others, unselfishness.  As the old saying goes, “They don’t make shows like this anymore.”  The closest approximation that comes to mind is Parenthood, an ensemble show with more modern issues, but themes including loyalty, self-realization, and family.

John-boy is the character who embodies Hamner as a youth.  He is drawn to writing, and stays up late at night writing a journal which will evolve into his novel.  Thomas portrays John-boy as a sensitive, intelligent, and empathetic young man who becomes a third parent to his six siblings and learns much about life from shouldering this responsibility, and by his openness to the inhabitants of Walton’s Mountain.  His sensitivity molds these experiences into life lessons which are compelling, and told in nuanced ways.  Despite its wholesome values, the show avoids being maudlin by its excellent writing.

Hamner narrates the beginning and end of each episode.  Interestingly, he does not sound like the persona of John-boy (John-boy sounds more perceptive), but much of the writing of the show arose from Hamner’s experiences.

The show is available in its entirety on Amazon.com, both on DVD and on Instant Video.  I have ordered the DVD of season one.  In the meantime,  I would recommend it to anyone who resonates with these descriptions.  Let me know if you like it.

Thanks for reading…