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65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful first episode, but it's on the Season One DVD, July 14, 2004
The Foundling is the first episode of the first season of The Waltons, and it really is quite remarkable. You would be hard pressed to tell this was the first episode of the series, for one thing, as all of the qualities that made The Waltons such a wonderful, uniquely warm-hearted show, are all there on display. There is no effort made to somehow identify each of the characters for the audience, as this was from the very beginning a family rather than a grouping of characters. Granted, this was not the first time America had met this family. On December 19, 1971, The Homecoming aired on CBS, introducing America to the Walton family (originally, the Spencer family as described in Earl Hamner's novels and even a feature film from 1963 starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara). The success of that TV movie inspired the series, which debuted on September 14, 1972. Many of the actors and actresses from The Homecoming assumed the same roles on the series, with three very important exceptions: Ralph Waite now played the role of John Walton, Miss Michael Learned assumed the role of Olivia Walton, and Will Geer became not only Grandpa Walton but in many ways the entire nation's Grandpa (and, for my money, the most beloved character in television history).As this first episode begins, a little girl is left on the proverbial doorstep of the Walton home. Livie's maternal instincts come to the fore immediately, and the whole family really takes the poor girl Holly immediately into its collective heart, even convincing the pragmatic John to keep her rather than turn her over to "a home." They soon learn that the silent little girl is deaf, at which point the family members take it upon themselves to learn the rudiments of sign language and teach the girl to communicate. The girl's mother secretly watches everything, and we learn that she abandoned her daughter in a last-ditch effort to keep her husband from putting the girl away somewhere as a worthless "throwback." John-boy is somewhat distracted early on, as he is busy pitching woo to the always incredibly wishy-washy Marsha Woolery, but he - as you might expect - makes the first real breakthrough in terms of drawing young Holly out of her shell. Elizabeth, of course, gets jealous when she sees Holly getting all of the family's attention, and this leads to a real crisis. It's a wonderful episode, showcasing the warmth of TV's ultimate family-oriented series, but I must tell you there is really no reason at all to buy this DVD. The entire first season of The Waltons has now been released on DVD, and The Foundling is only one of the 24 heart-warming episodes included in that must-buy collection.
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DVD ~ Patricia Neal
DVD ~ Ralph Waite
DVD ~ Richard Thomas
DVD ~ Jon Walmsley
DVD ~ Michael Learned
