Hi everyone,

Thankfully we're still enjoying The Waltons here, and I have many tapes still left to catch up on. They will make great watching over winter I'm sure. We're into season 4 here now, with The Nurse, being the latest installment. I'm really looking forward to the later seasons though, as I haven't seen them for such a long time. Season 4 and 5 aired here on cable a couple of years ago, so they're ones which I feel as though I've seen fairly recently.

There certainly are some good episodes in these seasons. I caught some of The Big Brother again and really enjoyed the storyline in it. I wonder if someone really did con Earl Hamner in that way?

Speaking of Earl, I noticed a note on the Forum this morning, saying that he is participating in a chat soon. I think it is being organised by TNN. That will be fun! Keep watching the forum for more information.

I have been saying for a while now that we still haven't had "The Promised Land" out here yet and that I keep missing Richard Thomas when he's on it. I've only seen him on the cross overs to "Touched By an Angel". However I noticed today that one network is showing it...at 5.10 in the morning! That's the first run of it too. Ridiculous! As it clashes with my 6 am taping of The Waltons I still don't get to see it.

Finally this week, my congratulations go to Larissa and her husband, on the safe arrival of their first baby early this month. Fantastic news and nice to find that Larissa still has time to write and surf the net! I hope you're all doing well Larissa. You can catch up with Larissa's letter and all of her news, in this digest.

Till next week, goodnight everyone,

Karen.

Hi Karen,

I hope you and all the other digest readers will forgive me for this non-Waltons related entry. Most everyone here found out that my husband were expecting our first back in September when I asked for advice on how to raise him "to be the kind of person who would appreciate the Waltons' values."

Well, I am happy and proud to report that Andrew was born on February 1 at 4:51 pm. He is 19 inches long and weighs 6 pounds, 9 ounces. We are both healthy and doing fine; Dad's feet are still not on the ground yet. Both sets of grandparents have visited and given their approval :-)

Right now he's asleep in my lap and I'm typing one-handed. Thanks again to everyone who wrote with advice!! I promise to keep lurking here and on the forum but if I post less often (until I get the hang of all this), you'll all know why!

And now back to your regularly scheduled digest.....

Larissa and Andrew

KAREN'S COMMENT: You're definitely excused for having a non Waltons entry!

This is in response to one of Kaz in Oz's questions.

Corabeth's father was Zeb Walton's brother. So that makes her John's cousin.

-Beth

KAREN'S COMMENT: Yes Kaz asked where CoraBeth actually fitted into the family tree. When she is first introduced, she is called Cousin Corabeth Walton, from Doe Hill (I think!)

Hi Karen and other digest members:

Just wanted to let you know that I saw Richard Thomas twice in the past week, once he was on the Donny and Marie show, and the other time he was plugging a new show on I believe it is the TLC (The Learning Channel), but I will have to look for him again to be sure of the channel. He has a new program he will be hosting called, "Its a miracle", in which people write in about unusual experiences in their lives that they believe to be miracles. Anyways, he looked great. He had a beard, and just doesn't seem to age. He is one of those boyish types like Dick Clark and Robert Wagner that look much younger than their years. The women in the audience all screamed when they saw him. It was fun seeing him, and realizing that women of all ages appreciate him and his warm personality.

I try to watch the Waltons whenever I can, but since my little girl is 21 months and seems to have her own ideas of what she likes to watch, it can be hard. If I really want to watch an episode, I have to tape it. She prefers Barney, the Teletubbies, and Bear in the Big Blue House. Just wondering if these programs are as big in Australia as they are here.

It is really nice to see Richard Thomas being on a TV program regularly again.

Wendy

KAREN'S COMMENT: Wendy he does seem to have very boyish looks, but he can definitely look evil when the role calls for it too! Actually he is in a movie here tonight, called Big and Hairy, described as a comedy, and made in 1998.

Now about the other shows, I don't have small children any more, but I have heard of Barney and The Teletubbies are very big here...my 3 year old niece loves them. With the other, I've never heard of it, but maybe its just that my children are past it.

I'm sorry this has to be brief, but as I watch this weeks shows on TNN, I can remember why the Walton's may have lost its appeal for me and many others in the last season. "The Tempest" and "The Whirlwind" about Mary Ellen, and her problems with finding Curt and her new "man" (his name escapes me), both are more of a soap opera than a family show. When the kids have to deal with their problems without Mama, or Daddy around as in these two episodes, it's not the same show!

Edwin

KAREN'S COMMENT: Yes, as we've mentioned before on the list, this episode really is disliked by fans. However I did like Jonesy as Mary Ellen's new love, and she surely did deserve some happiness.

I agree that it's not possible to bring back everyone to every reunion, but not to even *mention* John Curtis' name is inexcusable, I think. They could have said something like "It's too bad John Curtis couldn't come home from college to see us," or something like that. And not to mention Charley, Virginia's little brother, was also a major oversight. It's as if Charley never existed, because at least Virginia was mentioned when they talked about her dying. Oh well...

Geri Ann in Phoenix, AZ

KAREN'S COMMENT: I do think you've made an excellent point Geri Ann, and probably sums up just what most of us would have liked...just a mention. I seem to recall that even Aimee has been mentioned when she didn't appear on screen.

I've always heard Sian Barbara Allen's first name pronounced the same as Sean Connery's first name or Shaun Cassidy's first name. I loved Jenny - wish John Boy would have married her!

Geri Ann in Phoenix, AZ

KAREN'S COMMENT: I wonder what Sian would look like now.

Hi Karen and everyone,

You're all so lucky to be able to watch The Waltons on TV in the USA, UK and Australia! Since they stopped broadcasting it in Holland at the end of 1997 after the fifth season there has been no fun for me anymore on TV. Lots of new TV series every new Autumn/Spring season but none with the fine quality of The Waltons. Only a few movies with Waltons actors in it, that's all we have in Holland. Last week I saw a nice movie with Richard Thomas in it; To Save The Children from 1990.

You all probably know this one but I never saw it before. He played a great role of some kind of psycho taking hostage of children in a school. Every now and then Richard appears in a movie or a series and it's great to see him playing all those different characters.

But still I have lots of episodes of the Waltons to watch each week. I had taped about 35 myself before they stopped broadcasting and several friends from the USA sent us episodes they taped from Fam. Channel and TNN for us. Now we have about 120 episodes and all of the specials. And I'm very happy with it.

Last October we also bought the original Homecoming on video in the museum as well as some other original tapes we found in some stores. So our collection is growing!

I also like the fact that more and more people found our Waltons Interactive site and send us their favorite episodes and bloopers, so others can read them too. It seems that some people are very clever and observant in noticing bloopers and production errors! Keep sending them!

All of you probably know how to find it but to mention it again, the URL of this web page is:

http://www.oocities.org/TelevisionCity/3436/

And talking about it, we also added two new quizzes last week. One quiz is a multiple choice one about the Waltons with 12 questions and the other one has got 12 open questions. Some people said recently that the questions of the multiple choice quiz are easy so Alex and I added the open questions, and we think they are a bit harder. But when I read how much knowledge some of you have about the series, especially those of you who have watched the series from the beginning, I think all questions are easy !! So please take a look at the questions, fill them in and let us know what you think about it.

If you send us your answers we will add the best scores to the page too. But we won't mention your email address of course if you send something!

And take a look again at the Web Polls too if you have the time. There are three options you can vote for, favorite Waltons child, favorite supporting character and favorite special.

So, happy Waltoning to everyone from Holland!

Marca

KAREN'S COMMENT: The quiz sounds like fun. I'll have to drop by and try it as soon as I have time. It amazes me too, the amount of Waltons knowledge everyone else seems to have. I haven't seen the episodes for so long that it's almost like I'm seeing them again for the first time. I feel as though I'm learning as I go along.

Has anyone seen the 1995 3-hour film "Nixon", in which Richard Nixon is played by Anthony Hopkins? In the early part of the film, one can find Nixon's father, played by our old friend Tom Bower (Dr Curt Willard), now looking some 20 years older. I often think it is a tribute to the craft of an actor that one can play parts quite different from those in The Waltons.

Here in the UK, Channel Four goes on its merry way, quite disregarding the wishes of its viewers. Last Sunday. to mark the "25th Anniversary" of The Waltons (since The Waltons first aired in 1972, one must conclude that Channel Four's arithmetic is as poor as its manners....) some fans had been invited to the TV studios. After, (for once) allowing the end credits to run without interference, the ever-present dim presenter said that they'd allowed us to see and hear the end (shouts of approval from the guests) but that next week it would be back to the "corporate style" (shouts of dismay from the guests). How autocratic and arrogant can one get?

Arthur D

KAREN'S COMMENT: It sounds as if they have had a lot of comments though. I really enjoy seeing the actors in quite different roles, which is probably why I like Richard Thomas so much. He has played so many.

Dear Karen:

Your forum is very interesting. I joined a couple of months ago and enjoy reading what everybody has to say. I am from Saskatchewan, Canada and watch the Waltons on TNN. They are going to began Season 1 again on March 4th so am looking forward to that as I have not seen all the shows.

I have a few comments to make on the past digests. Nicole wrote in Digest 3 that things suddenly appear in a episode that were never mentioned before such as Mary Ellen's pregnancy and Cindy's pregnancy as well as Grandpa's death. I remember Mary Ellen telling everyone she was expecting on one of the shows but I can not say for sure which one. It could have been "The Achievement". I didn't see many after that until Season 7 started so couldn't say whether or not there were episodes that showed her pregnancy after that or not, or at least up until John Curtis was born. Cindy and the rest of the family found out she was pregnant in the episode "The Home Front, Part 2". Cindy has also been seen in a few others that have shown that she was pregnant and in "The Waiting" Olivia tells her not to have the baby before she and John-Boy come home. Grandpa's death came suddenly, so there were no shows leading up to his death.

Kaz in Oz asks what Corabeth's relationship to the Waltons is. Corabeth is John's cousin from Doe Hill. Rose is Olivia's cousin. I have also noticed that John usually calls Olivia "Livvy" of "Liv"., and that every seems to have there own spot at the table. They do seem to shift around a bit in the later seasons though.

Well, I guess that is about enough for now. I sure wish I was in Australia now enjoying the hot weather. It is really cold here.

Bye for now

Heather

KAREN'S COMMENT: Keep warm. :-)

Hi! Someone mentioned that they had bought a Walton's book for a couple dollars at an auction. I was just recently in an antique store looking at their old books and just happened to find a Walton's book! I would have never noticed it if it hadn't been mentioned on this list! I was wondering if anyone might know the value of these books? Does the value increase with time? What's a good selling price for them? I'd appreciate any information anyone could give me!!

Thanks,

Nicole

KAREN'S COMMENT: I don't know if books are really terribly valuable. I guess it depends on their condition and it is difficult to find really mint ones. I think that they're nice to have though, since I'm such a fan of the show, and I wouldn't think of selling them. If you're looking at making money, I think the toys and lunch boxes etc. are probably a better buy. What do the rest of you think?

There was a discussion going about Jon (Jason) and Lisa (Toni) being married in real life. Were they dating while they were on the series together, or were they just working together at that time? Are they still happily married?

Wondering,

Nicole

KAREN'S COMMENT: I believe they are still happily married Nicole. Isn't Lisa lucky!!