I remember watching The Waltons in the 90's when I was little. I recently started watching it again and I still like it. Sometimes they remind me of my family.I like how everything doesn't have any easy answer. Everything's not all black and white. The mom and dad are cute together and the grandparents are too even though grandma is always scolding grandpa. I think John Walton is one of the best TV dads because hes not stereotypical or one-dimensional. He's good, kind, hard working guy. Perhaps I'm biased because John-Boy is and always has been my favorite character. But the earlier seasons are infinitely better. I don't really understand how they could get away with continuing the show after Richard Thomas left because I thought John-Boy was the main character. Somethings missing after Richard Thomas left and no one can take his place. I feel like everyone is kind of waiting around for John-Boy to come back. In some episodes it seems like they make an attempt to have Jason take his place but it just doesn't work. Maybe they should have ended the series after Richard Thomas left. They definitely shouldn't have tried to have someone else play John-Boy. Don't get me wrong, it's not that there weren't any good episodes without John-Boy there just weren't as many great ones. As afore mentioned, John-Boy is my favorite character. I love his artistic personality and that he loves reading and poetry too (and not just to attract girls). He's a sweet, intelligent, caring guy (Why don't I ever meet anyone like that?). Pretty awesome character. He sure has a lot of girl friends which isn't that hard to understand. But I don't understand why it never works out because he's a nice guy. I always thought he was cute, and I get made fun of for this, but I still do. Anyways, good show and for the most part, I don't think it's sappy like some reviewers have said.

The year was 1972 when this show hit the air wave on CBS September 14 as a weekly series. The Waltons was based on a large close-knit family living in rural Virginia during the Depression. The Creator Earl Hamner Jr. based the series on his own childhood, which he previously fictionalized in his novel, "Spencer's Mountain". The Waltons debuted on with Richard Thomas playing the role of John Boy Walton. In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, during the Great Depression, the Walton family makes its small income from its saw mill on Walton's Mountain. The story is told through the eyes of John Boy, who wants to be a novelist, goes to college, and eventually fulfills his dream. The saga follows the family through depression and war, and through growing up, school, courtship, marriage, employment, birth, aging, illness and death. This is the true story of the Waltons. The show takes place during the Depression and then during World War II. The other case members were as followed Ralph Waite played the role of John Walton Sr. Michael Learned played the role Oliva Walton, Judy Norton Taylor played the role of Marry Ellen, Jon Walmsley played the role of Jason Walton, Mary Beth McDonough played the role of Erin Walton, Eric Scott played the role of Ben Walton, David Harper played the role of Jim Bob Walton, Kami Cotler played the role of Elizabeth Walton, Will Greer played the role Grandpa and Ellen Corby played the role of Grandma. Other original characters included Joe Conley as general store owner, Ike Godsey, John Crawford as Sheriff Ep Bridges, Mariclare Costello as schoolteacher Miss Rosemary Hunter and Helen Kleeb and Mary Jackson as eccentric sisters-- Mamie and Emily Baldwin, respectively. The Waltons' first season brought critical acclaim and several awards. Both Richard Thomas and Michael Learned took home Best Actor Emmys, Ellen Corby was awarded the Best Supporting Actress honor and the series was given the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. The show also earned Emmys for writing and editing in addition to receiving the prestigious Peabody award. The series entered the top-ten in its second season and finished second that year to All in the Family. The show remained in the top twenty for the next few seasons and received several more Emmys, including two more for both Michael Learned and Ellen Corby and a Best Supporting Actor award for Will Geer. In all, The Waltons received 37 Emmy nominations and took home 13 of the golden statuettes. Three reunion movies have been produced in the 1990s for CBS. "A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion" (1993), "A Walton Wedding" (1995) and "A Walton Easter" (1997) all feature the original cast with the exception of the late Will Geer. The series opened in the fall of September 1972 with the first episode titled The Foundling. A six-year old deaf and dumb girl is abandoned on the Walton's doorstep. With loving care they teach her to "talk" with sign language. But their kindness to the foundling causes a family crisis. Elizabeth, playing hide-and-seek with the deaf and dumb girl Holly, runs into an old abandoned shack and hides inside an empty trunk, but the lid falls shut and locks itself. Holly sees what has happened and runs to get help but is picked up by her father who doesn't understand sign language and takes her away. John and the family pursue and Holly then tells them by sign language what has occurred, and Elizabeth is rescued in time. Holly's parents now realize that their little girl is not retarded and are now able to communicate with her. Based on the feelings of love this show gave I give it 9 weasel stars.

The Walton's series and specials really helped so many people to realize that real families do exist and that one can create the love and caring in their own lives that we saw lived on the screen. My family was a good family, but did not have the love and warmth that the Walton's did. But because of the effect the series had on me, I was able to marry and have children, and raise them to have that bond and that love that I did not know was possible until I saw The Walton's. The acting was wonderful and I watch anything that stars Richard Thomas. He can play an evil man just as realistically as the well-loved John Boy,

This show is about a large rural family during the Great Depression and WW II set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When the show starts out most of the kids in the family don't wear shoes. The episodes with Richard Thomas as John Boy Walton are the strongest. He plays the oldest of the Walton children, who wants to eventually leave the family home so he can become a writer who wears shoes. Eventually Richard Thomas leaves the series presumably because he was tired of people coming up to him on the street and saying, "Aren't you, John Boy?" After Richard Thomas' departure the series loses its focus a bit, but the kids end up wearing shoes more often. Eventually most of the adult figures of the Walton household vanish under somewhat mysterious circumstances and the kids have the whole house and mountain to themselves. At this point they are wearing shoes all the time. The last episode has them throwing a giant party featuring ten kegs of beer and an unlimited supply of the Baldwin sister's recipe. Okay, The Walton kids would never throw a kegger, but it is still a warmly entertaining show to watch, especially during the shoeless years.