{"id":1654191,"date":"2022-09-23T03:02:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T07:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1654191"},"modified":"2022-09-23T03:04:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T07:04:18","slug":"as-the-waltons-turns-50-here-are-10-must-see-episodes-to-watch-with-your-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-the-waltons-turns-50-here-are-10-must-see-episodes-to-watch-with-your-family\/","title":{"rendered":"As \u2018The Waltons\u2019 Turns 50, Here Are 10 Must-See Episodes To Watch With Your Family"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fas-the-waltons-turns-50-here-are-10-must-see-episodes-to-watch-with-your-family%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1654191&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>Today, ensemble family dramas are often the biggest TV events that still find a wide audience. But before \u201cThis Is Us\u201d or \u201cDownton Abbey\u201d \u2014 years prior even to \u201cDallas\u201d or \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d \u2014 trailblazing drama \u201cThe Waltons\u201d presented one multi-generational Appalachian family\u2019s trials and triumphs. All nine seasons are currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/video\/detail\/B00E5M99OM\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">streaming<\/a> online.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Recently marking 50 years since its September 1972 premiere, \u201cThe Waltons\u201d lovingly depicted the Depression-era backwoods of Virginia through the eyes of sawmill owner John Walton Sr. (Ralph Waite), his wife Olivia (Michael Learned), and their seven children. Their eldest son, called John-Boy (Richard Thomas) \u2014 an avatar of series creator Earl Hamner Jr., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2016\/apr\/04\/earl-hamner-jr-obituary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">who died<\/a> in 2016 \u2014 dreamed of life beyond Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains even as he chronicled the challenges, romances, debates, and happenings of a rural Virginia community.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Actress Kami Cotler played the youngest child, Elizabeth, only age 6 when she began the role. Today, she regularly interacts with fans of the series on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100044073624038\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, where she has 146,000 followers. \u201cThe show frequently told really simple human stories that resonate with people because that\u2019s what life is like,\u201d said Cotler, now a teacher in Southern California, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/entertainment-religion-3716c314606535f5ffcdfb61f3fc3685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent interview<\/a>. \u201cPeople will joke that it was very saccharine sweet, but I don\u2019t think that it actually was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Right from season one, each Walton child differed in personality and had episode-long stories as part of the ensemble. It also ventured beyond typical TV fare of the time to tell \u201csome very important stories,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/marcberman1\/2022\/09\/14\/iconic-family-drama-the-waltons-celebrates-50-years\/?sh=633037d27749\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to Thomas. \u201cPoverty, racism, religion, book burning, aging, illness, death, illiteracy, and so much more. And the stories, and the situations, felt very relatable. We put a spotlight on them.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"6blPdGNn2HB8UOZxQ5oakjMJpA4DwgvyrVWus3LXKqcSCtzR0EfmTe719hI\"><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Despite being scheduled against NBC\u2019s hit \u201cThe Mod Squad,\u201d this throwback sentimental drama found an audience, and it got critics talking, too. \u201cThe Waltons\u201d won five Emmys in its first season, and Hamner remained as showrunner for its entire 221-episode run. With a word of thanks to my own siblings, who helped determine this ranking, here are 10 must-see episodes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>1. \u2018The Burn Out\u2019 (S4, episode 18)<\/h2>\n<p>After a fire burns down their home\u2019s second story, this two-part episode introduces a half-dozen plotlines that converge. The Walton men undertake repairs, even as two of them covertly feel they caused it: John-Boy covers up his lit pipe, while Grandpa Zeb is sure he forgot about a space-heater. When the family parcels out children to neighbors, it opens up small-town Waltons Mountain in intriguing ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Quirky locals, always central to \u201cThe Waltons,\u201d entertain as temporary caretakers: ever-cheerful general store owner Ike Godsey learns how to help a child process trauma, a teenager finds no-rules living with local scamp Yancy Tucker has major drawbacks, and another person lodges with the high-class Baldwin sisters who make their own moonshine. Nearly 100 episodes into its run, viewers can sense the writers and castmates have hit their stride in this story\u2019s thematic depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>2. \u2018The Baptism\u2019 (S5, episode 4)<\/h2>\n<p>Then, as now, prime-time TV usually avoided thorny issues of religion. Just look at NBC\u2019s beloved drama \u201cParenthood,\u201d in which baseball seems to be the only thing resembling faith among the Braverton clan. But on \u201cThe Waltons,\u201d their small-town church was central. \u201cIn a small community in the mountains of Virginia in the Depression, if you don\u2019t deal with the church aspect of things, then you don\u2019t deal with things as they were,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/entertainment-religion-3716c314606535f5ffcdfb61f3fc3685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Surprisingly, comedy legend John Ritter portrayed preacher Matthew Fordwick for five seasons, including in this standout story. Fordwick is enthralled to welcome a famous revival preacher to town. But his fiery sermons repel Waltons patriarch John Sr., who isn\u2019t a churchgoer, farther from faith.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>3. \u2018The Deed\u2019 (S1, episode 20)<\/h2>\n<p>For all its personal stories, \u201cThe Waltons\u201d sometimes delves into larger societal and legal issues. And, akin to top-rated \u201cBonanza\u201d \u2014 which was more of a Western than an ensemble family drama \u2014 sometimes good ol\u2019 fashioned fisticuffs help solve the central conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An underhanded rival lumber company threatens to force the family off Walton\u2019s Mountain, and the Waltons discover they never obtained the legal deed to their property. All family members chip in, with John-Boy taking a leave from college to work in nearby Wheeling. After a couple of miscreants steal the family\u2019s hard-earned money, he takes matters into his own hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>4. \u2018The Thoroughbred\u2019 (S3, episode 4)<\/h2>\n<p>On Walton\u2019s Mountain, joyful celebrations \u2014 like friendly competitions with neighbors \u2014 come just as often as weighty crises. When John-Boy enters his mule in a race, he has to race against a college classmate\u2019s thoroughbred while they both vie for the affections of Selina, one of a dozen love interests that John-Boy has over multiple seasons. It\u2019s a comic story of rivalry, heritage, attraction, and sportsmanship.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>5. \u2018The Best Christmas\u2019 (S5, episode 12)<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"xczGIJzb1pX9PePKI0hlB7CroD1ht3VOQWR4i0iXy5vSMmeZ4DLAOaHL8MQYlEACuZ6basntFfwNKH2g85g7R6S2YyGmrw3kp\"><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Last Christmas, a new fresh-faced cast on The CW attempted to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/05\/13-movies-to-watch-in-theaters-or-at-home-this-holiday-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reboot<\/a> \u201cThe Waltons,\u201d and another holiday-themed, made-for-TV movie sequel <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2022\/09\/cw-a-waltons-thanksgiving-premiere-date-1235118887\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">will arrive<\/a> this November. Despite some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/reelfaith\/2021\/11\/logan-shroyer-reveals-surprising-connection-with-original-waltons-john-boy-richard-thomas.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nice interviews<\/a>, the reboot comes off as poorly produced with contemporary, out-of-place dialogue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At least the show\u2019s original holiday episodes can still be enjoyed \u2014 and, appropriately, this is perhaps the best. Olivia desires to make Christmas special before her oldest children leave the mountain for new adventures. But from a tree falling on the town church to a car wreck that leaves several stranded, multiple emergencies make that \u201cperfect\u201d holiday look very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>6. \u2018The Fire Storm\u2019 (S5, episode 5)<\/h2>\n<p>As World War II begins to consume even a rural community, John-Boy seeks to help the townsfolk understand the conflict by reprinting excerpts from Hitler\u2019s \u201cMein Kampf\u201d in his local paper. With anti-German sentiment rising, including a local German woman hesitating to even utter her native language, his gesture doesn\u2019t go well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Caught up in their zeal, locals organize a burning of German books, which is cut short by a poignant scene illustrating the value of free speech and forbearance. The episode originates from writer Rod Peterson, whose social studies teacher came under fire for reading portions of Hitler\u2019s work to inform high school students about the ideologies at work during the conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>7. \u2018An Easter Story\u2019 (S1, episode 24)<\/h2>\n<p>During the business of spring and the lead-up to Easter, Olivia suffers a fall and is diagnosed with polio. The family has faith she\u2019ll walk again, but with the gift of a wheelchair, her fate seems inevitable \u2014 until new hope arrives. Michael Learned, the Waltons\u2019 matriarch who is still acting, called her brood \u201cthe family you simply wanted to be part of.\u201d She <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/marcberman1\/2022\/09\/14\/iconic-family-drama-the-waltons-celebrates-50-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">added<\/a> of the cast\u2019s rapport: \u201cYou can\u2019t fake the chemistry; we were like an extended family.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>8. \u2018The Hero\u2019 (S5, episode 19)<\/h2>\n<p>Sheriff Ep Bridges, a by-the-book lawman who wore his heart on his sleeve, was a fan-favorite character. When John-Boy prepares to honor those lost during World War I for Honour Day, he\u2019s surprised to learn Sheriff Ep is a decorated veteran. Yet battle scars are still painful years later, as the sheriff keeps his medals and memories locked away. When he reconnects with a woman who served as an ambulance driver, the memorial carries all the more meaning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>9. \u2018The Wedding\u2019 (S5, episode 7)<\/h2>\n<p>When calling \u201cThe Waltons\u201d the first ensemble family drama, one has to overlook sitcoms \u2014 even though, like \u201cThe Brady Bunch\u201d or \u201cOzzie and Harriet,\u201d this series can be really funny. In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Goodnight-John-Boy-Earl-Hamner\/dp\/1581822987\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book about the show,<\/a> creator Hamner said of his family: \u201c[We] were living through a Depression, but rarely knew what it was to be depressed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Humor abounds in the verbal sparring of nurse Mary-Ellen Walton, the second eldest of the siblings, with a young doctor who takes over the medical practice where she works, despite his lack of bedside manner. Long engaged to a hospital intern, Mary-Ellen has second thoughts even after announcing a wedding date. If good comedy arises from surprises, viewers will get plenty of laughs out of this episode.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>10. \u2018The Return\u2019 (S6, episode 23)<\/h2>\n<p>In the season five finale, Richard Thomas exited the series as his character, John-Boy, moved to New York to become a reporter. Though \u201cThe Waltons\u201d soldiered on for multiple seasons, even re-casting John-Boy, it lost something essential to its early success.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thomas returned for three reunion films decades later and also made two more appearances on the show, including this two-part story where the economic plight of his family brings him back. Though assigned to report on jobs drying up, John-Boy seeks to solve the problem by purchasing a long-dormant mine. Then a cave-in traps several friends and family members.<\/p>\n<h2>Honorable mentions<\/h2>\n<p>Honorable mentions include \u201cThe Intruders,\u201d \u201cThe Sinner,\u201d \u201cThe Graduation,\u201d and Emmy-winner \u201cThe Pony Cart,\u201d which is featured at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.walton-mountain.org\/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=79\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Walton\u2019s Mountain Museum<\/a> in Schuyler, Virginia, where the real-life Hamner family once lived.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Josh Shepherd covers culture, faith, and public policy for several media outlets including The Stream. His articles have appeared in Christianity Today, Religion &#038; Politics, Faithfully Magazine, Religion News Service, and Providence Magazine. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he previously worked on staff at The Heritage Foundation and Focus on the Family. Josh and his wife live in the Washington, D.C. area with their two children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, ensemble family dramas are often the biggest TV events that still find a wide audience. But before \u201cThis Is Us\u201d or \u201cDownton Abbey\u201d \u2014 years prior even to \u201cDallas\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":626,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1654191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1654191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/626"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1654191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1654191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1654191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1654191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1654191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}