Movie: The Waltons: Season 2 picked up where the first season left off. The basic structure of the series was that the family was seen through the eyes of John-Boy Walton (a young man about to graduate high school in his rural community). The episodes were written as if they were fond memories of John-Boy (played by Richard Thomas), and the narrative form was used many times afterwards both in movies and in other television series, like Wonder Years for example. The family was mostly self sufficient, living off the land and trading labor or lumber from their sawmill provided for most of their outside needs. Each week, a crisis involving money woes or an outsider visiting the community took center stage with the light humor of family life tempering the harsh economic times. Unlike the mean spirited jokes bandied about in contemporary shows of the time, the show relied on a gentle look at how people survived hard times, making it as much on faith and hope as on hard work.

Set as something of a semi-ensemble cast, with John-Boy as the lead and a host of others playing off his character, the show employed such notables as Ralph Waite (John Walton), Michael Learned (Olivia Walton), Will Geer (Grandpa Walton), Ellen Corby (Grandma Walton), and many other regulars that added just enough spice to the mix. Season 2 started the recurring role/guest appearances by John Ritter (as Reverend Matthew Fordwick) and had such diversified guest stars as Sissy Spacek, Jody Foster, Paul Michael Glaser, Noah Berry Jr, Ron Howard, Wilford Brimley, and many others from stage, movies and television. The cast hit its stride in this season, after a decent first year, and eventually knocked out the strong competition in ratings.

In case you've lived under a rock for the last 30+ years and have never seen an episode, here's a bit more detail for you. John-Boy is an aspiring writer, desperately seeking to leave his home and set out in the great big world of possibilities before him. His pleasant nature, writing talent, and skill at observing those around him win him a scholarship at a University not too far away, a good thing since times are tough and otherwise he'd be working in his father's mill. His younger siblings aren't as actively involved in the plots (for the most part) as the older folk are and you get the feeling that Mr. Hamner is remembering the times with the same rose colored glasses most of us refer to when thinking of our past (typically calling those years: "The Good Old Days", no matter how tough they really were).

The second season was notable for the episodes such as The Graduation, where John-Boy finally makes it out of the one room school house in preparation for college; The Five Foot Shelf, where the tough times prove too much for a traveling salesman; the award winning The Thanksgiving Story, where the family finds itself in dire straights when our protagonist is hurt and in the hospital; and The Roots, an episode that drives home the value of a place to live and flourish. Yeah, a few of the season's weaker efforts were notable more for their thematic failings than anything else but it's easy to see why fans still love the show after over three decades.

I suppose having watched this show in my youth gives me the advantage of knowing its appeal in relation to the times it was made in but I can understand why my friend Holly didn't care much for Season 1, even if I disagree with her conclusions. It was a product of a simpler time that was undergoing tremendous social upheaval, much like the setting of the show itself, and you'll have to forgive me if I found this one a bit more realistic (if too optimistic) than other family driven shows out at the time (Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie, and the others mentioned above). Fans will easily see this one as Recommended or better and those looking for something more family oriented than almost anything else on modern television will probably enjoy this one a whole lot. If you need to see skimpy swimsuits, hear goofy laugh tracks, or watch endless car chases and gunfights, this is one you should pass up but otherwise, give it a look; you won't be sorry.

Season Two Episodes:

Episode 1: The Journey: (September 13, 1973):
Episode 2: The Odyssey: (September 20, 1973):
Episode 3: The Separation: (September 27, 1973):
Episode 4: The Theft: (October 4, 1973):
Episode 5: The Roots: (October 11, 1973):
Episode 6: The Chicken Thief: (October 18, 1973):
Episode 7: The Prize: (October 25, 1973):
Episode 8: The Braggart: (November 1, 1973):
Episode 9: The Fawn: (November 8, 1973):
Episode 10: The Thanksgiving Story: (November 15, 1973):
Episode 11: The Substitute: (November 22, 1973):
Episode 12: The Bequest: (November 29, 1973):
Episode 13: The Air Mail Man: (December 13, 1973):
Episode 14: The Triangle: (December 20, 1973):
Episode 15: The Awakening: (January 3, 1974):
Episode 16: The Honeymoon: (January 10, 1974):
Episode 17: The Heritage: (January 17, 1974):
Episode 18: The Gift: (January 24, 1974):
Episode 19: The Cradle: (January 31, 1974):
Episode 20: The Fulfillment: (February 7, 1974):
Episode 21: The Ghost Story: (February 14, 1974):
Episode 22: The Graduation: (February 21, 1974):
Episode 23: The Five Foot Shelf: (March 7, 1974):
Episode 24: The Car: (March 14, 1974):

Picture: The Waltons: Season 2 was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame it was filmed in so long ago (on 35mm). There were a lot of print scratches, minor blemishes caused by years of neglect, and grain to contend with but it probably never looked much better than this either. Keeping in mind that modern television is far more accurate in terms of showing everything that's on the screen than televisions on the market 30 years ago, you have to understand that the rose colored glasses I had for the way it looked were probably due to the limited resolution of the broadcast as much as anything. That said, there didn't appear to be much of an effort to clean this one up digitally and the episodes looked only slightly better than the syndicated run you'll find on cable. The colors looked slightly muted at times, the composition of the shots pretty solid, and other than a few cases where background shots looked terrible (The Journey and The Air Mail Man come to mind), it was okay looking.

Sound: The audio was presented in the same monaural it was shot in, slightly cleaned up by the Dolby Digital used on it. The music and vocals were mixed well but they were suitable to the material and I detected no alterations from the original release. There was a set of French subtitles (probably to sell it in Canada) and it was closed captioned for the hearing impaired (in English of course).

Extras: There were no extras outside the folding DVD case that had some minor information about the episodes on the folds. I would have liked better extras but the cost was low and the amount of episodes high, so I can't complain too loudly.

Final Thoughts: The Waltons: Season 2 was another season slice of the kind of show that they just don't make any more. Much like the Andy Griffith Show , from the prior decade, The Waltons was a gentle show, focusing on drama more than comedy. Even today, a lot of people yearn for the days when you could trust strangers and fend for yourself most of the time but it's important to remember that the Great Depression wasn't the best of times, no matter how much the creator of the show would have us believe. This five disc set was a nice way to spend some quality time and it certainly had a lot of replay value for fans of the genre. In short, The Waltons: Season 2 was one of the best seasons of the show as the lead character, John-Boy Walton, essentially grew up and began spreading his wings. Unlike contemporary show Little House on the Prairie, that had a similar appeal to it (though set back further in time), The Waltons had direct input from the guy that walked the walk instead of just basing it very loosely on some books. It wasn't the most technically perfect television season set I've come across but fans will delight in finally getting to see the unedited versions of the episodes after all these years and I can only hope that later seasons get even more care put into them.