A Waltons Thanksgiving

I gave this a fair shot. Even though I watched the Christmas episode and wasn't that impressed. I absolutely love the original The Waltons series and still watch it today. So I was excited to have more of the Walton family and company. Until I watched it and it didn't really even feel like The Waltons. There is none of the original charm and authenticity that made me love the original so much.

The costumes are wrong- they feel entirely too modern. Like someone playing dress up rather than a costume department.

The acting feels stiff and forced. It's like the actors know nothing about the characters or the time period. Again, there's something decidedly modern in the way they interact and behave. I'm also not sure why they're all putting on accents when no one really had much of one in the original. I might be able to overlook that, but they're bad accents, too.

The dialogue is average at best- and that's being generous. Admittedly, some of the dialogue from the original show was a bit on the nose and cheesy at times, but it never felt overwhelmingly so. Because I believed the actors and their characters. They felt authentic. Not only is this dialogue corny, but it has a very modern flair to it. Certain turns of phrase and the way in which the lines are delivered feel off. The biggest offender I can remember here is when John-Boy is listing off everyone entering in competitions at the fair. If I only heard the dialogue, I wouldn't guess this was meant to be taking place in 1934.

I think the casting is off, too. I've seen a number of these actors in other things and they're not bad actors. They just don't really fit here. Again, they don't feel authentic. Olivia, John, Grandma, and Grandpa all especially feel wrong. Olivia especially has none of the maternal, soft but stern qualities that she had in the series. John, Grandma, and Grandpa also feel like entirely different characters. No matter who played these characters or how they played them, I don't think I'd ever find them comparable to the original. But I can say that they could certainly be played better and do a little more justice to who came before.

And the supporting characters are all wrong, too. I won't go too far into that but all I needed to hear was the Baldwin sisters actually referring to 'the recipe' as moonshine to know that someone hadn't really done their homework as far as characterization goes.

Obviously a remake isn't going to be exactly like the original, nor should it be. But there are some that are worse than others. I would have to say this is one of the worse ones. Even the Christmas special was better and I didn't particularly care for that.

Bottom line- nothing feels authentic and there is not even a hint of the original charm. All the same, it is a feel good, wholesome movie and I do appreciate that. It's almost better to just pretend this is unrelated to The Waltons many know and love. It's not a bad movie on its own, but it's a poor representation of the original characters and series.

Why couldn't they make up their own movie and family instead of hijacking a great series like the Waltons? The acting was terrible, and it was too far removed from the excellent acting done by the original cast and the writing/lines were so juvenile. It was like a kindergarten version of a once college level show. I would have enjoyed it slightly if it was an original family so I couldn't compare it. Also they changed Ben's history. The characters didn't even try to have the same color hair or mannerisms. We watch the original series all the time, but we won't watch this movie again. The movie is harmless, just not believable.

This is the second TV-movie on The CW to feature the Walton family played by new actors, with Richard Thomas as the narrator.

Once again the family is supposedly going through a hard time, but in the middle of The Depression, they live in a nice house which probably needs painting, and John-Boy has his own room. The clothes don't look quite as good but that's just because the family members are shown working.

Everyone is polite (or at least they can be) and brothers and sisters bicker, as they do, but there is love here. There are family values and the need to be responsible is shown.

Ryan Newman does a great job as the abused kid who works for the fair. He shows a positive attitude and intelligence and he is quite a salesman.

Rebecca Koon also stands out as the somewhat less than perfect Grandma. Alpha Trivette is somewhat less colorful and more moral than Will Geer but still a fine man.

The first movie was G-rated. This one could have been although it has a couple of bad words and just enough suggested violence to get the point across. The boy is kicked a couple of times but never hit on screen.

And, of course, there are references to drinking. Usually it is the perfectly harmless Baldwins' "recipe".

Marcelle LeBlanc is a very good singer. Christian Finlayson is a good banjo player.

The movie doesn't quite live up to the ideal of the TV series but it is good family entertainment everyone can enjoy. It's almost as good as the Christmas movie from last year.

This was an excellent show that has all the quality and character of the original series that touches the heartstrings of what is upright and overflowing with an often rare goodness seldom seen in the morals we experience in this world almost 50 years after the original series.

How wonderful to be suspended in a world free from technology, hype and the distraction we experience in todays world often devoid of meaningful interaction with those we come in contact on a daily bases. What a joy to see that those that we touch can be effected in one positive life changing event

The special topped off a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you Magnolia Hill!

Everything about this special wrong based on the original series. The period piece was all wrong for the children, the parents and the area were so far off from the original premise of the Earl Hamner's masterpiece.

I see that many people see this as a good old fashion wholesome television, but if you'd seen the original cast and understood the messages they were conveying, you'd understand that this version of the series is way off.

The real Walton's were dirt poor struggling with almost every aspect of life. This one shows a family with far more wealth than they really had and far more levity than shown.

The casting of the characters was poor and the acting portrayed a view of perfect people rather than country folk.

We watched the entire episode but wouldn't put this in any category with the original series and I'm shocked that Richard Thomas would associate the Waltons name with this rendition.