The Walton' nearly 10-year run grew out of the popular, 1971 made-for-TV movie The Homecoming, which was derived from a Depression-era, rustic setting ("Walton's Mountain"), and characters based on Earl Hamner Jr.'s autobiographical novel Spencer's Mountain--itself the source for a very nice 1963 feature film starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. That's a lot of entertainment sprouting from Hamner's prose. But something about his seminal story of family values, rugged independence, and big dreams amidst a hardscrabble existence captured the hearts of American audiences, many of whom personally recalled severe economic adversity in the 1930s.

The Waltons: The Complete First Season collects those initial episodes from the series building on the strengths of the Homecoming pilot, which introduced the extended Walton clan led by a strong-willed mill owner, John (Andrew Duggan), and his equally resolute wife, Olivia (Patricia Neal). The Waltons recast those key roles (as well as a few others) with Ralph Waite and Michael Learned (yup, a female), but Richard Thomas carried over as oldest child John-Boy Walton, an aspiring writer whose cusp-of-manhood view informs the series. Will Geer (Seconds) replaced Edgar Bergen as Grandpa Walton, Ellen Corby remained as Grandma, and John and Olivia's large brood (seven kids in all) were filled out by largely unknown, young actors. The episodes, still delightful and touching, strong on production values and unusually tight and polished for primetime drama, tended to focus on creator Hamner's pet themes of self-sacrifice and heroic effort when the going got tough.

Year 1 highlights include "The Carnival", in which the impoverished Waltons, who can't pay for tickets to see a circus performance, end up sheltering stranded carney folk. "The Typewriter" is a classic about John-Boy "borrowing" a museum's antique typewriter, only to have his sister Mary Ellen (Judy Norton) sell it as junk. "The Sinner" concerns the arrival of a fundamentalist minister on Walton's Mountain, finding comfort in the words of religious iconoclast John Walton after the clergyman makes a fool of himself with moonshine. That's Hamner himself providing touches of narration. During the long run of the multiple-award-winning The Waltons, there were many changes in casting and storylines. But this boxed set reveals a fine series in its pristine state. --Tom Keogh

I purchased this DVD because we used to watch it at my grandparents on a Sunday and always loved it. All of those childhood memories came flooding back. It is such an enjoyable programme with such innocence that you wish you were living in that time.

As soon as the music starts it brings a smile to your face. I would really highly recommend this for a feel good hour worth of viewing to anyone that wants to get away from all the modern day humdrum and enjoy a simpler time.

Forgive the cliche but they just don't make shows like this anymore. It may be, sadly, that the world is too selfish and cynical to produce anything as delightful as The Waltons now. It's a double whammy of nostalgia, taking you back to your childhood when you watched it, and also back to a time just in living memory that you may not remember but, somehow, still feel an ache at its passing. Having been taking anti-depressants for a few months, this dvd is the first thing to truly make me smile from within. It's a gem.

When I was a kid, everybody laughed at the Waltons, and especially the way every episode closes with a long shot of the house and the various characters bidding each other a cosy goodnight.
That's what people remember it for.
But there's a bit more to it than that, which is why, even now, it stands rewatching.
The same holds true for any drama, but get a good cast together and you're onto a winner. The Waltons has a great cast. Richard Thomas holds everything together, since it's his character, John Boy's older self that's the narrator. He's only seventeen in this first series and he's torn between being one of the kids and one of the adults, so it puts him in an ideal position to look at everything in a somewhat dispassionate way. Richard Thomas plays John Boy brilliantly, though his innocent and earnest enthusiasm may make you wince now and again!
The parents are interesting. Olivia, the mother, isn't what I remembered. I forgot she can be puritanical and unbending, excessively religious, overly strict with the children and with her husband. John Walton, played memorably by Ralph Waite, isn't a religious man, and this is an interesting conflict that runs right through things.
Each episode is pretty much a self-contained story, though there are threads that run through the series.
I bought this to watch on my iPod and I really like being able to access the Walton's wholesome yet never dull world while on a busy train or bus. It really takes you out of the modern world.
The DVD set is great value considering how many episodes there are. There aren't any special features, but image quality is decent and the packaging fairly informative.
Soo, to sum up: The Waltons is high quality drama, with great characters and a great cast. It has stood the test of time very well. It may be sentimental at times, but it's usually in a good way that will leave you feeling happier about the world.

This box set has given hours of entertainment, and led me on a journey back to my childhood when I loved watching The Walton's with my Auntie. It might be sentimental trash, but sometimes that hits the spot perfectly. Delicious, delightful, delectable.

It's hard to find anything bad to say about this American series.

This first one, like the subsequent years, is top-notch. The scripts are intelligent and the actors -- adults and children -- are natural in their portrayal of this legendary family. Will Geer as Zebulon, the grandfather, and Michael Learned as the mother, Olivia, deserve special mention. Their portrayals are authentic, down to the small gestures and facial expressions. Having said that, there's not a bad performance in the bunch. The overall effect is so natural that it appears the cast developed as a real family over the years of filming.

There are no extras in the set, but given the overall high quality of the programme it seems churlish to complain about that. The presentation case is handsome and well designed, though the reversible discs should have been more clearly marked as to content. It's a generous offering of 24 episodes, 50 minutes each. The original breaks and fadeouts for commercials are unobtrusive. With rare exceptions the photography is clean and crisp and the quality of direction up to the standard of most feature films. It's remarkable that such high quality was maintained, considering the rigorous shooting routine.

The period chronicled by this series (and those which followed) was already 40 years in the past when it was produced in the early 70s. It's hard to imagine "The Waltons" being made today. The absence of swearing, sexual display and misanthropic heroes makes this a unique and uplifting family offering.

Truly moving -- a keeper for frequent re-visits.