The Narrator |
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The "Goodnight" Tradition |
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This pattern was maintained in nearly every episode with a few noteable exceptions. At the end of season 8 in 'A Decade of the Waltons' (s8-ep24) Earl Hamner and the cast say goonight to each other and the viewing audience. In the episode 'The Outrage ' (s9-ep1) John says goodnight to President Roosevelt as he watches the train carrying his remains heads back towards Washington D.C. and in the episode 'The Indiscretion' (s9-ep17 ) when the Godseys say goodnight to each other after their relationship nearly fell apart. |
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Listen to Earl explain the tradition himself. |
Listen to the family as they say goodnight to each other as Jason plays "Lullaby' on the piano in 'The Choice' (s3-ep20) |
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A great ability of the show was how it was able to maintain a sense of on-going character activity over a period of time even though that depiction was only performed once on the show. The writers could establish a motivation or action for a character and keep a sense of that activity alive throughout on-going episodes even though the characters were never depicted in that situation again. This was achieved with filler dialogue spoken by various members of the cast and other forms of 'exhibition'. This technique became useful when the two principal actors, Richard Thomas and Michael Learned left the production. Excuses were created to keep their characters 'alive' on the show.
Another technique that the show excelled at was depicting a passage of time within a signal episode. The show could easily establish a period of time from a few days, 'The Celebration', (s6-ep13); to a number of weeks, 'The Love Story', (s1-ep17); or even many months when Ike has a heart attack and the children run his store while he recuperates, 'The Attack', (s7-ep18); in a single episode.
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The Lighting
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Listen to the Walton's screen door.
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The pricing of products and services are also given a fair bit of attention. This is most common during the depression years when money mattered more and was heard often when characters visited Ike Godsey's General Merchantile or when John quoted jobs for his lumber mill.
Another detail that the show occupied itself with was the relationship to relatives both living and dead. A sense of history and legacy played an important role in the Walton family. |
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What's in a Name?
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