Going to bed with “The Waltons”

The original cast of "The Waltons".

Source: https://clickamericana.com/eras/1930s/waltons-1970s-nostalgic-family-tv-series

(May be subject to copyright)

“Good night John Boy.”
“Good night Mary Ellen.”
“Good night grandma.”
“Good night Elizabeth.”

It was a Sunday night staple that ended every episode the same way. It was bedtime on Walton’s Mountain, and there was a picture of the Walton home, which had several bedroom windows. Every week we could hear the voices of various characters wishing each other good night, along with a little banter at times. Each one would turn out their light. When all the lights were out and the house was dark, the episode was over.

A few days before Christmas I watched “The Waltons: Homecoming” on the PVR. It was a 2021 remake of the original 1971 movie that spawned the long-running series.

It got me thinking back to my own memories of “The Waltons”.

The show
Much was made of “The Homecoming”, the original pilot that seemed to air every so often after its premiere in 1971. I am sure I likely saw it, but I cannot be 100 per cent sure, because I would have been pretty young.

The premise is pretty straightforward. It is a show set during the 1930s, Great Depression and Second World War about a family living and operating a sawmill on Walton’s Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

John and Olivia Walton, played by Ralph Waite and Michael Learned, are the parents of seven children.

The show is narrated by John-Boy Walton, played by Richard Thomas, the eldest child of the family, who wants to be a writer. The voice is provided by Earl Hamner, the show’s creator, who based the show on his own experiences growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The rest of the Walton children are Jason, played by Jon Walmsley, who aspired to be a musician and performed often in the Dew Drop Inn in nearby Rockfish Mary Ellen is the eldest daughter, played by Judy Norton-Taylor, who was independent-minded and became a nurse; Erin, played by Mary McDonough, was a telephone operator and supervisor at a factory; Ben, played by Eric Scott, had red hair and was a bit of an entrepreneur; James Robert, or Jim-Bob, played by David W. Harper, aspired to be a pilot; and Elizabeth, the youngest, was played by Kami Cotler.

John’s parents, played by Will Geer and Ellen Corby, also lived with the family.

There were all sorts of friends and acquaintances as well. The Waltons shopped at the general store operated by Ike Godsey and his wife Corabeth; they hung out with the Baldwin sisters, who were seniors, and made moonshine they called “Papa’s Recipe”; their church pastor was played by a very young John Ritter; and there were so many more.

Sunday night viewing
“The Waltons” aired Sunday nights on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial. Often, we would go visiting family on Sundays. My earliest memories are of trips to Calgary to visit my Dad’s two sisters and their families, as well as his parents, brother and sister on a farm north and east of Brooks. Later, the trips were just to Brooks. We generally left after supper for home, usually around 7 p.m., and we’d be back in time for at least the last part of “The Waltons”.

Soon, “The Waltons” would move all around the dial, changing times more than once, including Sunday afternoons at like 4 p.m. That made it hard to keep up with, and I eventually lost track of the show.

What I do recall, more than anything, was the way each week began. There would an attention grabbing scene followed by dramatic music and a dissolve to the show’s opening credits. It consisted of drawings of the people, places and things of Walton’s mountain set to a really good theme song.

I do have some memories of the show. Actor Will Geer died and we wondered how the show would handle that. They did in probably they only way they could – Grandpa Walton died too.

Not too much after that, actress Ellen Corby had a stroke, and we watched with anticipation how the show would handle that. Very tastefully, as Grandma Walton got sick too, but she was still in the show. Understandably, she said very little, but it was still such a triumph of the spirit. I remember, even at a young age, rooting for her and being glad to see her back on the show.

John-Boy was an aspiring writer and I recall an episode where he sent in his novel to a publisher. He eventually followed up, fearing it would get lost among all the other manuscripts writers submitted. I remember the scene with a table fuil of manuscripts that all looked the same, wrapped in brown paper.

Later, he would join the war effort and be lost. When he returned, he looked different, because he was no longer played by Richard Thomas. Robert Wightman had taken over the role.

There was another episode, somewhat vague, where a man was to be married and his friends kidnapped him. They drove him miles from town the night before the wedding, and dumped him out, as some form of bachelor party.

Beyond that, I just have a lot of general memories, mostly characters, names and general plot themes.

Life goes on
The show would run nine seasons from 1972 to 1981 for 221 episodes. There were also six reunion movies, starting with three in 1982 – “A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain”; “Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain”; and “A Day for Thanks on Walton’s Mountain”. “A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion” followed in 1993; then “A Walton Wedding” in 1995; and “A Walton Easter” in 1997.

Parting thoughts
My Mom and I used to talk about TV shows a lot. She used to say a lot of shows were good, until they just ran out of ideas.

By the dawn of the 1980s, “The Waltons” was on the path my Mom described.

It had been an excellent show, and must-see TV on Sunday nights. The characters were engaging and the stories connected with viewers.

However, another thing my Mom used to talk about also happened to “The Waltons”. Any time you have children on a show, and it goes on any length of time, the children grow up and – the writers run out of ideas.

By the time “The Waltons” entered the 1980s, most of the Walton children were married and some had children. They had gone through a number of jobs and life situations. It was time the show ended, because it had run its course. If there was more story to be told, they could do so through a TV movie. That’s what they did, several times.

Yet, “The Waltons” was also a part of the pop culture fabric of my childhood in the ‘80s.

On more than one occasion I was on a sleep over with my cousins Fred, Vince, Chris and Henry, either in Brooks or at our place. We turned the lights off. Then it started.

“Good night Fred.”
“Good night Vince.”
“Good night Henry.”
“Good night Chris.”
“Good night Rob.”
“Good night John Boy.”

What else can you say?