Barnes & Noble

America warmly embraced The Waltons, which entered its second season with Emmys for Best Drama Series, Best Actor (Richard Thomas) and Best Actress (Michael Learned). The sophomore season, collected in this five-disc set, earned two additional Emmys, for Learned and Joanna Lee, the writer of one of the series' benchmark episodes, "The Thanksgiving Story." In this heartfelt two-hour holiday episode, aspiring writer John-Boy (Thomas in his signature role) severely injures himself just as he is scheduled to take a test that could earn him a college scholarship. Each week, the Depression-era family shares "the fun and excitement of growing up together, the boundless love of our mother and father and a daily exploration of the wonders that lie in the human heart." If these words make you wince, try the bickering Barone clan on Everybody Loves Raymond. As John-Boy remarks to his teacher about his writing in "The Substitute," "Some people are going to like it, and some people are going to be uncomfortable and embarrassed by it." Uncomfortable? More than 30 years later, The Waltons remains quintessential comfort television. Grandpa (Will Geer) and Granma (Ellen Corby) may part company in "The Separation," but by episode's end, you know they will be reunited over their "own special waltz" at a barn dance. And do you really think that patriarch John Walton (Ralph Waite, who also directed several episodes) will really sell Walton's Mountain in "The Heritage"? Sissy Spacek (in "The Odyssey") and John Ritter (as recurring character Rev. Fordwick), put in before-they-were-famous appearances. Ron Howard guests in the tear-jerking episode "The Gift," as a young family friend afflicted with leukemia. Each episode begins and ends with declarations of "extraordinary love" that strengthened family ties in the face of some of life's harshest disappointments (Learned's matriarch, Olivia, loses her baby in "The Cradle"). This superlative season demonstrates why The Waltons was the last name in family entertainment. Donald Liebenson

Product Details

• UPC: 012569681392
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
• Time: 20:48:00
• Sales Rank: 2,789

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• The Waltons: The Journey
• The Waltons: The Odyssey
• The Waltons: The Separation
• The Waltons: The Theft
• The Waltons: The Roots
• The Waltons: The Chicken Thief
• The Waltons: The Prize
• The Waltons: The Braggart
• The Waltons: The Fawn
• The Waltons: The Thanksgiving Story, Part 1
• The Waltons: The Substitute
• The Waltons: The Bequest
• The Waltons: The Air Mail Man
• The Waltons: The Triangle
• The Waltons: The Awakening
• The Waltons: The Honeymoon
• The Waltons: The Heritage
• The Waltons: The Gift
• The Waltons: The Cradle
• The Waltons: The Fulfillment
• The Waltons: The Ghost Story
• The Waltons: The Graduation
• The Waltons: The Five Foot Shelf
• The Waltons: The Car

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