On this date in 1972 The Waltons TV series was first released. 10 Waltons facts:
The Waltons aired from 14 September 1972 to June 4, 1981. In the show the time period covered was from 1933 to 1946, during the Great Depression and World War II, during the presidencies of Franklin D Roosevelt and Harry S Truman.
It was created by screenwriter and author Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book Spencer's Mountain. Hamner himself came from a large family; he had 7 siblings, and based Walton's Mountain on childhood home in Schuyler in Nelson County, Virginia.
Many people who remember the show will recall the family bidding each other goodnight at the end of the show. Kids, if you hear an older person say, “Goodnight, John-Boy” or “Goodnight Mary Ellen”, this is where it comes from. Hamner’s real life family actually did this, until his father would tell them to shut up.
Jon Walmsley (Jason) and Eric Scott (Ben) are the only actors to appear in every episode. Some actors left the show. Richard Thomas, who played John Boy, left to pursue a movie career and was replaced by Robert Wightman. Michael Learned (Olivia) left the show soon after as the re-casting was the final straw. She was already unhappy with long hours of filming and having to pause emotional scenes and pick them up again later. A new John Boy confirmed her decision to leave. She was written out by contracting TB and going to live in a sanatorium. Ellen Corby, who played Grandma, was missing for a while as she had a stroke. In the show, she was in hospital with an undisclosed illness, but eventually returned. Will Geer, who played Grandpa, died in 1978 and so did his character.
The Waltons had a number of pets: Blue the Mule, Chance the Cow, Wreckless the Dog, Rover the peacock, Lance the Deer, Myrtle the Goat and Calico the Cat.
The series is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Walton’s Mountain and Jefferson County are completely fictitious, as is John Boy's college Boatwright University and the town it’s in, Westham. Most of the filming took place in a studio backlot.
In the scenes where the family are eating dinner, watch carefully and you may notice that they seem to spend more time cutting their food, moving it around the plate and wiping their mouths that actually eating it. This is because the scenes took several hours to film and after a while, the food would become inedible.
There is a French version called La Famille des Collines, which loosely translates to "The Family of the Hills."
In 1976, the idea of a crossover episode with M*A*S*H was suggested. Mary Ellen, serving as a doctor in the US army, would be temporarily assigned to the 4077th. The creators and stars of both shows hated the idea and the plan was shelved.
In 1992, then President George H. W. Bush declared, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." There’s an episode of The Simpsons where the family watch that speech, and Bart remarks, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're prayin' for an end to the Depression, too."
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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