Product Details

• Actors: Michael Learned, Ralph Waite, Ellen Corby
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009
• Run Time: 1172 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001E549KC
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,806 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Television > The Waltons
  #64 in	Movies & TV > Television > Funny Families

• This is item 8 in The Waltons Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Narratively speaking, The Waltons: The Complete Eighth Season is overwhelmingly defined by World War II and its impact on the Walton family and their friends. Make that the Waltons' extended family: a new character, Rose Burton (Peggy Rea), cousin to matriarch Olivia (Michael Learned), moves into the Virginia clan's home with two troubled grandchildren, Jeffrey (Keith Mitchell) and Serena (Martha Nix). Their numbers swell the household considerably. But with Olivia's sudden departure--halfway through the season--to become a Red Cross volunteer, and with three of the Walton boys in various kinds of active duty and Grandma (Ellen Corby) on an extended visit elsewhere, the Walton population goes up and down almost daily.

Despite all the commotion, season eight tightly focuses on the ripple effect of the war. The two-part season opener "The Home Front" finds John Walton (Ralph Waite) in the unenviable position of running the local draft board and making determinations about the fitness of local boys to go into the U.S. Army. When one young man (Glenn Withrow) has to be talked out of going AWOL and ends up dead while shipping out, the boy's grieving father comes gunning for a Walton offspring in revenge. The story also illustrates the backwoods nature of much of the community in the shadow of Walton's Mountain--people suspicious of the government, of outsiders, of educated folk. (In the episode "The Diploma," Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor), a nurse, rides horseback to go on rounds checking on skeptical hillbillies who want no outside interference.) "The Innocents" finds Olivia advocating for the unsupervised children of women working in a local factory while their men are off at war. "The Journal" finds Olivia and John forced to confront the disappearance of their oldest son, John-Boy, who is missing-in-action. "The Silver Wings" is a Summer of '42-like story involving the Waltons' youngest son, Jim-Bob (David W. Harper), and his attraction to a woman whose husband is off flying bombers in Europe. "The Unthinkable," arguably the best episode in the eighth season, concerns a Jewish army buddy (Todd Susman) of Jason's (Jon Walmsley), who encounters anti-semitism in the service at the same time he receives a letter indicating his beloved grandfather died in a Nazi extermination camp. What makes the show special, in part, is the way patriarch John must deny to himself and others that such camps, in all their inhumanity, can't possibly exist in modern times. There are a few episodes that don't touch on the war theme, the sweetest of which is "The Traveling Man," in which an old beau (William Schallert) of Rose's turns up, ready to marry but torn by career aspirations. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 01/06/2009 Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Waltons, World War, and more Change, October 2, 2008

By	Josef E. Silvia - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Season Eight was a particular interesting year for The Waltons. Michael Learned (Olivia) returned for twelve episodes, Ellen Corby is seen in fewer episodes as Grandma, and Robert Wightman makes his first appearance as John-Boy; replacing Richard Thomas for the rest of the series.

Despite these things, the show still retained its family values, and appeal. The season begins with World War II raging, John-Boy is missing in action, Jason is in charge of recruits, and Olivia struggles to keep up with her changing family. Erin, Elizabeth, and Mary Ellen do their best to help in the war effort, and Ben and Cindy have their first baby.

When Olivia leaves to go back to the Sanitorium, Rose--a close family member--comes to help with the needs of the family. Jason befriends a woman named Toni (his future wife), and Jim-Bob finishes flight school and heads to war as a pilot.

The following is a list of the 24 episodes of this season:

1. The Home Front (1)
2. The Home Front (2)
3. The Kinfolk
4. The Diploma
5. The Innocents
6. The Starlet
7. The Journal
8. The Lost Sheep
9. The Violated (1)
10. The Waiting (2)
11. The Silver Wings
12. The Wager
13. The Spirit
14. The Fastidious Wife
15. The Unthinkable
16. The Idol
17. The Prodigals
18. The Remembrance
19. The Inspiration
20. The Last Straw
21. The Traveling Man
22. The Furlough
23. The Medal
24. The Valediction

While it is true that by this point in the show, some of the quality was degrading. But, for a true fan, this season is a Godsend.

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Next-to-Last Season comes home in Early 2009., September 19, 2008

By	D. DiRienzo "D. DiRienzo" (Bayonne, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Warner Bros. is on the right track for The Waltons, when they release season 8 in Early 2009!

The Waltons will have only one season left to be released, after season 8.

Hopefully, Waltons The Complete 9th Season (1980-1981), which will the last DVD set, gets released in the spring of 2009!

Please release the final 2 seasons in 2009, Warner Bros.!

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True family values, September 1, 2008

By	Cheryl P. Chism (TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I watch the Walton's almost every morning and have seen all the shows numerous times...but still I need to have these DVD series just in case they should ever go off tv. I think they are one of the best family value shows that were ever on tv.