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The Waltons
S3.E20
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IMDbPro

The Choice

  • Episode aired Feb 6, 1975
  • TV-G
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
157
YOUR RATING
Jon Walmsley in The Waltons (1972)
DramaFamilyRomance

John wants to expand the mill and call it Walton and Sons, but Jason wants to study music. He tries to get a scholarship. John-Boy is told he should write a novel.John wants to expand the mill and call it Walton and Sons, but Jason wants to study music. He tries to get a scholarship. John-Boy is told he should write a novel.John wants to expand the mill and call it Walton and Sons, but Jason wants to study music. He tries to get a scholarship. John-Boy is told he should write a novel.

  • Director
    • Alf Kjellin
  • Writers
    • Earl Hamner Jr.
    • Nancy Greenwald
  • Stars
    • Richard Thomas
    • Ralph Waite
    • Michael Learned
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.3/10
    157
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alf Kjellin
    • Writers
      • Earl Hamner Jr.
      • Nancy Greenwald
    • Stars
      • Richard Thomas
      • Ralph Waite
      • Michael Learned
    • 2User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast15

    Edit
    Richard Thomas
    Richard Thomas
    • John-Boy Walton
    Ralph Waite
    Ralph Waite
    • John Walton, Sr.
    Michael Learned
    Michael Learned
    • Olivia Walton
    • (as Miss Michael Learned)
    Ellen Corby
    Ellen Corby
    • Esther Walton
    Will Geer
    Will Geer
    • The Grandfather
    Judy Norton
    Judy Norton
    • Mary Ellen Walton
    Jon Walmsley
    Jon Walmsley
    • Jason Walton
    Mary Beth McDonough
    Mary Beth McDonough
    • Erin Walton
    • (as Mary Elizabeth McDonough)
    Eric Scott
    Eric Scott
    • Ben Walton
    David W. Harper
    David W. Harper
    • Jim-Bob Walton
    Kami Cotler
    Kami Cotler
    • Elizabeth Walton
    Earl Hamner Jr.
    Earl Hamner Jr.
    • The Narrator
    • (voice)
    • (as Earl Hamner)
    Mariclare Costello
    Mariclare Costello
    • Miss Rosemary Hunter
    Mans Kjellin
    • Boy
    Adrienne Marden
    Adrienne Marden
    • Mrs. Mary Breckenridge
    • Director
      • Alf Kjellin
    • Writers
      • Earl Hamner Jr.
      • Nancy Greenwald
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    8.3157
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    Featured reviews

    9hmoika

    Another fine, wonderfully, deceptively simple episode

    Having the seasons on DVD has been a blessing.

    Now on season 3, it seems to me that several of the episodes from this season have given Ralph Waite some wonderful scenes. Not that he didn't have plenty of times to shine in earlier seasons.......but the writers seem to have given him more moments in the sun with season 3.

    For instance, this wonderfully simple story of young mens' dreams and the hopes their father holds for them.

    When the scripts are at their best with this show, the stories can be so very simple; deceptively so. I thought this was another heartwarming episode.

    WAS this the last great drama in American television? This old man would have answer in the affirmative.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The piano piece that Jason practices and plays for Mrs. Breckenridge is "Wilder Reiter," from "Album for the Young, Op. 68" by Robert Schumann. Composed in 1848 for his three daughters, the album consists of a collection of 43 short works, suitable to be played by children or beginners.
    • Goofs
      The background in the driving scenes in most episodes is obviously fake. They don't even try to make it look real. When John Boy and Miss Hunter are driving the background when shown from the front doesn't match the background when shown from the side,
    • Quotes

      Narrator: [narration as John 'John Boy' Walton, Jr. reading from his journal] One of the things that I find distressing about life today is that people don't really seem to enjoy their work anymore. When I was growing up on Waltons Mountain, my father and my grandfather loved their work and they instilled a respect for work in each of us. But I recall one time when my brother Jason had to make a choice, a choice that was difficult for him, but even more difficult for my father.

    • Soundtracks
      The Maiden and the Soldier
      Written and Performed by Jon Walmsley

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 6, 1975 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Hallmark Channel
      • INSP Television Network
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 20, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Lorimar Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h(60 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1
      • 4:3

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