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The Waltons: Season 03
Part of Series:
The Waltons [TV Series]
The surprise hit of the 1972-1973 TV season, The Waltons is one of a handful of weekly, hour-long dramatic series that can truly qualify as "wholesome family entertainment" -- and one of the very few that succeeded spectacularly on those terms. The Waltons was created by Earl Hamner Jr., who based the series on his own experiences while growing up in the South during the 1920s and 1930s. Hamner had previously written an autobiographical novel with a similar theme, Spencer's Mountain, which was filmed in 1963 with Henry Fonda in the lead. Eight years later, Hamner wrote the screenplay for the TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, again adapted from his own novel, in which he introduced the Walton family of Jefferson County, VA, who lived and worked on a "mountain" bearing the family's name in the Depression Years. Patricia Neal and Andrew Duggan starred as Olivia and John Walton, with Edgar Bergen and Ellen Corby as Grandpa and Grandma Walton, Richard Thomas as oldest son John-Boy Walton (Earl Hamner's "alter ego"), and Judy Norton-Taylor, Mary Beth McDonough, Kami Cotler, Eric Scott, David W. Harper and Jon Walmsley, respectively, as the other Walton children, Mary Ellen, Erin , Elizabeth, Ben, Jim-Bob, and Jason. A huge ratings success, The Homecoming was spun off into the weekly CBS series The Waltons, beginning September 14, 1972. All of the actors who'd played the Walton children in the movie repeated their roles, as did Ellen Corby as Grandma Walton; however, appearing as John Walton in the series was Ralph Waite while Michael Learned was cast as Olivia Walton, and Will Geer played Grandpa. During its nine-season network run, The Waltons covered the years 1934 through 1945. Although the series started in the depths of the Depression, the Walton family remained relatively solvent thanks to the lumber mill run by John and Grandpa. As in the movie, the character of John-Boy Walton remained the "eyes" of series creator Earl Hamner Jr., who narrated each episode. Richard Thomas remained in the role of John-Boy until the series' sixth season, maturing from high-school student to college scholar, ever in pursuit of a professional writing career (at one point, John-Boy set up his own local newspaper, "The Blue Ridge Chronicle"). When Thomas left the series, it was explained that he had become a war correspondent in Paris, had been reported missing from action, and had returned seriously injured and in coma. Upon "awakening", John-Boy was more or less reborn in the form of actor Robert Wightman, who stayed with the series until its cancellation. There were several other personnel changes in the course of the series' run. In 1977, Ellen Corby suffered a stroke which rendered her inactive; accordingly, Grandma Walton was also felled by a stroke, and remained off-camera until her dramatic return at the end of the sixth season, in which she turned to Grandpa and said her first words since her illness: "You old fool." Sadly, Will Geer died shortly after this episode was filmed, thus Grandma became a widow at the beginning of season six. In another development that year, Olivia Walton was diagnosed with tuberculosis and bundled off to a sanitarium; this plot device was created to accommodate actress Michael Learned, who had decided not to return to the series as a regular once her contract had expired. Olivia would make occasional return visits thereafter, but only in a "guest star" capacity. During Olivia's absence, her cousin Rose Burton (Peggy Rea) took over her duties in the Walton household. As the series rolled along, the Walton kids matured and tried to find their purpose and place in the outside world. Mary Ellen became a nurse and married doctor Curtis Willard (Tom Bower), who was reported killed in the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor (it turned out that the report was erroneous, and Mary Ellen and Curtis were reunited in the final season); just before the war, however, Mary Ellen gave birth to a son named John Curtis. Elsewhere, Ben Walton eloped with a girl named Cindy Brunson (Leslie Winston) and later became the father of a daughter named Virginia. And Jason, who, like the rest of the Walton boys, had enlisted to serve in WW2, became engaged to a WAC named Toni Hazelton (played by Lisa Harrison, the real-life wife of the actor playing Jason, Jon Walmsley). Though The Waltons ended its CBS run on August 20, 1981, the property was revived with a trio of made-for-TV movies in 1982 and 1983, in which several loose plot strands were neatly knotted up; there was also a brace of specials in 1993 (A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion) and 1995 (A Walton Wedding). As big a hit in syndication as it had been on the network, The Waltons has in recent years been rebroadcast on the family-oriented PAX television network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Includes Seasons:
The Waltons: Season 03
Set in Jefferson County, VA, in the year 1935 or thereabouts, season three of The Waltons opens with the two-parter "The Conflict," in which oldest Walton son, John-Boy (Richard Thomas), is shot while trying to protect a relative. Fortunately he survives the ordeal and is packed off to his freshman year at Boatwright College right on schedule. Meanwhile, John-Boy's mother, Olivia (Michael Learned), considers enrolling in art school, and his 15-year-old sister Mary Ellen (Judy Norton Taylor) makes the decision to become a nurse. Of the many individual story strands, there are a few standouts, notably the episode in which Grandpa and Grandma Walton (Will Geer and Ellen Corby) move off the family mountain after an argument with son John (Ralph Waite); and at season's end, John is working himself into pneumonia while trying to keep his lumber mill active and prosperous in the depths of the depression. Also, the Waltons draw even closer together than unusual when Grandpa suffers a heart attack; and Ronnie Claire Edwards becomes a regular in the role of Corabeth Godsey, the alcoholic wife of storekeeper Ike Godsey (Joe Conley). ~ All Movie Guide

Includes Episodes:
The Waltons: The Conflict, Part 1
Season Three of The Waltons begins with the first half of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single, two-hour episode). The great Beulah Bondi (she was James Stewart's mom in It's a Wonderful Life) guest stars as Aunt Martha, the elderly sister of Grandpa Walton (Will Geer). The US Government has evicted Martha and her family from their home, which is slated for demolition to make way for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Although she has been compensated with a new house and patch of land, Martha refuses to budge--and Grandpa and John-Boy (Richard Thomas) are pressed into service to halt the Government construction crew in its tracks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The First Day
Everything that can go wrong does go wrong as John-Boy (Richard Thomas) begins his freshman year at Boatwright College in the fall of 1934. Our hero unwittingly breaks long-standing rules, upsets protocol, misplaces important documents, and finds himself the victim of innumerable practical jokes perpetrated by the snobbish (and monumentally immature!) upper classmen. And back on Walton's Mountain, the younger Walton kids are none too pleased as Jason (Jon Walmsley) presumptively takes over the "big brother" role in John-Boy's absence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Thoroughbred
John-Boy (Richard Thomas) enters the family mule Blue in the annual cross-country race, in which his chief competition is the thoroughbred horse owned by his friend Carl (Brendan Burns). As the last member of the Walton family who actually won this race (way back in 1915!), Grandpa (Will Geer) hopes that John-Boy will benefit from his expertise--but Grandpa would have been better off advising the boy not to lose his sense of perspective (which he does rather quickly!) As it turns out, the real "prize" in this competition is the beautiful Selena Linville (Kathleen Quinlan), who happens to be riding on behalf of John-Boy's rival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Runaway
When it seems as if nobody understands his grief over the death of the schoolroom guinea pig that had been left in his care, Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) runs away from home. Although he may be forced to miss a long-awaited public appearance by a prominent author, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) agrees to conduct a search for his missing brother. Ultimately, John-Boy catches up with Jim-Bob--and, much to his surprise, with the author! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Romance
Impressed by Olivia's painting skills, John (Ralph Waite) encourages her to sign up for a night-school art class. But he may have reason to regret this move when art teacher Joshua Williams (David Selby) falls in love with Olivia (Michael Learned)--and begins aggressively courting her. Meanwhile, Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) goes on a date with a young man (Biff Warren) who wants to become a doctor, inspiring her to likewise consider a career in medicine...a notion that meets with considerable resistance from practically everyone! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Ring
Rummaging through a second-hand purse which she has purchased in anticipation of going to a dance with John-Boy's friend Mike (Ted Eccles), Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) finds a valuable ring. Allowing vanity to get the better of her, Mary Ellen decides to wear the ring to the dance, even as its previous owner Mrs. Breckenride (Adrienne Marden) announces that the ring is missing. A crisis ensues when our heroine loses the ring somewhere in the school gym--necessitating a nocturnal "burglary" involving two of the Walton kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The System
While tutoring fellow student Tom Povich (Richard Masur), who is attending Boatwright on a football scholarship, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) catches Tom cheating on a history exam. Though he'd sooner keep quiet, John-Boy is bound by the students' "honor code", which dictates that he himself will be given a failing grade unless he informs on Tom. This leads to an emotional denoument during a student council meeting, in which John-Boy tries to rationalize Tom's actions and prevent the boy from being expelled. And in a similar development, Jason (Jon Walmsley) wonders if he should "rat out" his brother Ben (Eric Scott), whom he has caught smoking a cigarette! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Spoilers
The Walton youngsters are impressed by the big-city sophistication of their new neighbors, the Hanovers. Having left his job as a New York stockbroker, Ted Hanover (Mark Miller) has moved to Walton's Mountain in order to impress upon his children the pleasures of living the simple life. Alas, the spoiled-rotten Hanover kids don't see things Ted's way at all, and before long they have persuaded the Walton kids that they're wasting their time living in "the sticks." The situation reaches the crisis stage when Ted's callow son Charles (David Gruner) tries to take advantage of innocent Erin Walton (Mary Elizabeth McDonough). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Marathon
Over the protests of his mother Olivia (Michael Learned), John-Boy insists upon entering a seven-day dance marathon with a flightly young lass named Daisy (Deidre Lenihan in her first Waltons appearance). At first, John-Boy is dazzled by the glamour and spectacle of the event, but after a few footsore days on the dance floor he wishes that he'd listened to his mother! In depicting the desperation and broken dreams of the other dance contestants, this episode is a worthy companion to the similarly-themed theatrical feature They Shoot Horses, Don't They? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Waltons: The Book
John-Boy (Richard Thomas) is elated when a big-city publisher offers to assemble his short stories into a book. But elation turns to despair when John-Boy learns that he has been bamboozled by a "vanity" press and is expected to pay his own publication costs--and this after a public celebration has been arranged in his honor. Meanwhile, budding musician Jason (Jon Walmsley) prepares to make his professional debut with bandleader Bobby Bigelow (Mayf Nutter in his first series appearance). Featured in the guest cast is Kathy Cronkite, the daughter of CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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WALTONS-COMPLETE 3RD SEASON (DVD/P&S-1.33/5 DISC/FR SUB) DVD

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