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List Price: $49.98Price: $32.99You Save: $16.99 (34%)
ER - The Complete Ninth Season
Actor: Maura Tierney
ASIN : B0015XHR5C
Sales Rank : 892
Director : Brett Fallis
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0085391182641
UPC : 085391182641
Release Date : December 17, 2008
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 986
Product DescriptionStudio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/17/2008 Run time: 986 minutes Amazon.com Following the tumultuous cast changes of the eighth season, ER's ninth season was still an engaging drama, and began in rousing fashion with what could be called Helicopter Incident #1, which forces one doctor to make big adjustments. Corday (Alex Kingston) returns from England but has difficulties on the job, especially when dealing with a new medical student who suffers from Parkinson's disease (Don Cheadle). Kovac (Goran Visnjic) engages in increasingly risky behavior, especially involving another new med student, Erin Harkins (Leslie Bibb). Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) strikes up a relationship with Chen (Ming-Na), has difficulties with his brother Leon (Marcello Thedford), and along with Gallant (Sharif Atkins) runs into trouble when a violent crime strikes Doc Magoo's diner. Romano (Paul McCrane) proves a nightmare when he takes over the ER, and Weaver (Laura Innes) awaits parenthood and makes a strategic decision when she does a favor for a powerful local politician, Alderman John Bright (Bruce Weitz). Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) befriends a terminal cancer patient (Patrick Fugit) and reveals a surprising relationship with a stranger (Donal Logue). Carter (Noah Wyle) and Abby (Maura Tierney) finally launch into a relationship but have their own difficulties, like her mother (Sally Field) and manic-depressive brother (Tom Everett Scott), before Carter joins Kovac in the season finale for what would become the first of many "ER in Africa" episodes. Other guest stars include Ed Asner as the doctor of a neighborhood clinic, Nina Sablich as Kovacs' Croatian medical colleague, and Katee Sackhoff and Josh Hutcherson as patients. --David Horiuchi
Reviews for the ER - The Complete Ninth Season
List Price: $59.98Price: $36.99You Save: $22.99 (38%)
The O.C. - The Complete Fourth Season
Actors: Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Ben Mckenzie, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson
ASIN : B000NJXG6I
Sales Rank : 793
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Fox Network
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0085391153801
UPC : 085391153801
Release Date : December 22, 2007
Publisher : Fox Network
Manufacturer : Fox Network
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Fox Network
Running Time : 672
DescriptionHigh school is over. Time to move on. But events conspire to reunite Ryan, Seth and Summer in posh, seaside Newport. And there may even be a new Core Four. Because after Taylor Townsend says a quick if not passionate au revoir to her education in France, she just might pursue Ryan until he catches her. Time, too, for the series to move on with these 16 Final Episodes. Seth marries Summer? (Maybe.) Ryan goes through life like it's a steel-cage brawl? (Sometimes.) Kaitlin tries to hook up her mom Julie with a billionaire? (Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.) But things happen, sometimes quite unexpectedly. Time to hit the beach for all the surprising events of a cool, compelling and revealing conclusion of The O.C. DVD Features: Audio Commentary Deleted Scenes Featurette:The Magic That Is Chrismukkah: Cast, Crew and Religious Experts Weigh in on The O.C.s Distinctive Holiday Celebration Summer Roberts - Beauty Meets Brown: The Creation and Evolution of One of the Shows Most Lovable Characters
Reviews for the The O.C. - The Complete Fourth Season
Price: $23.99
Scrubs - The Complete Second Season
Actors: Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Neil Flynn, Ken Jenkins
ASIN : B000AJJNI6
Sales Rank : 861
Director : Adam Bernstein, Bill Lawrence, Chris Koch, Craig Zisk, Gail Mancuso
Studio : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780788859151
ISBN : 0788859153
UPC : 786936281583
Number Of Discs : 3
Release Date : December 15, 2005
Publisher : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Running Time : 479
DescriptionMake an appointment with SCRUBS. Nominated for two Emmy(R) Awards in its second year, the hilarious sitcom is "irreverent and wildly inventive," raves TV Guide. Will J.D. get together with Elliot, and will Carla finally accept Turk's wedding proposal? The wacky staff of Sacred Heart Hospital is back and they've brought along some guest stars (Heather Locklear, Tom Cavanagh, and John Ritter) for a booster shot of laughs. Enjoy all 22 episodes of SCRUBS sensational second season -- with the original, unedited music. Overflowing with great bonus features, including a one-on-one with John C. McGinley, and outtakes and deleted scenes, this spectacular DVD box set offers the best kind of contagious comedy. Amazon.comThe interns of Sacred Heart hospital move up to residents in the second season of Scrubs, the dorky little brother to ER with more than a passing resemblance to Ally McBeal. But in this season the sitcom actually matures-- in a good way--in its ability to balance just the right amount of heart and humor. While JD (Zach Braff) wrestles with his feelings for Elliot (Sarah Chalke), Elliot bends over backwards to be included with her colleagues and friends alike (after a character rags on JD and Turk, she squeals, "Do me!"), Turk (Donald Faison) proposes to Carla (Judy Reyes), and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) reunites with his ex-wife Jordan (Christa Miller), who's carrying his child. The cast melds together nicely, but it's Braff, executing most of the fantasy sequences, who's the real comic find, although he's nearly upstaged (in a welcome bit of stunt casting) by Tom Cavanaugh as JD's irresponsible older brother, a complete departure from his role on Ed. Season Two's bonus features include some very revealing episode commentary by creator Bill Lawrence and various cast members, who all describe guest star Rick Schroder as "an odd dude" and make fun of his imploring the cast not to call him Ricky. They also spend a curious part of time studying the female anatomy, from Chalke's bra colors to guest star Heather Locklear's derriere to Miller's bust (this observation comes from Lawrence, who is Miller's husband). Braff's fame after Garden State also comes as an easy target in the commentaries, as well as the network's inability to understand the show, such as asking to remove an episode's reference to the Wonder Twins because they didn't know who they were. Thank goodness the producers didn't listen. -- Ellen A. Kim
Reviews for the Scrubs - The Complete Second Season
List Price: $29.98Price: $24.99You Save: $4.99 (17%)
The Thorn Birds
Actors: Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck, Christopher Plummer, Jean Simmons
ASIN : B0000Y40OS
Sales Rank : 561
Director : Daryl Duke
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Dolby, Miniseries, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780790787510
ISBN : 0790787512
UPC : 085393162429
Release Date : December 03, 2004
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 477
DescriptionBased on the bestselling novel, the film follows a priest and his struggle between his calling and his carnal lusts. Amazon.com essential videoThe second most-watched miniseries (after Roots) of all time, The Thorn Birds was originally broadcast in 1983 and captivated viewers with its story of a lifelong conflict between the spirit and the flesh. Adapted from the bestselling novel by Colleen McCullough, the production stars Richard Chamberlain as a Catholic priest named Ralph de Bricassart, whose life in Australia between 1920 and 1962 is one long torment as he pines for his lover, Meggie Cleary (Rachel Ward), while seeking advancement in his clergyman career. The passion and the guilt make for compelling drama, but a stellar cast of supporting players adds muscle to the proceedings: Barbara Stanwyck (who won an Emmy for her work as Meggie's tough aunt), Jean Simmons, Richard Kiley, Christopher Plummer, Bryan Brown, and Mare Winningham. Chamberlain, who was something of the king of the miniseries form at the time, is very good in the lead, as is the often-underrated Ward. Their affair is indeed irresistible to watch, which proves to be true, too, of the story's thick weave of church politics, forbidden desire, social change over decades, and family secrets. --Tom Keogh
Reviews for the The Thorn Birds
Price: $39.98
Six Feet Under - The Complete Fifth Season
Actors: Frances Conroy, Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Ambrose, Mathew St. Patrick
ASIN : B000E6EK42
Sales Rank : 1537
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : HBO Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0026359314421
UPC : 026359314421
Release Date : December 28, 2006
Publisher : HBO Home Video
Manufacturer : HBO Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : HBO Home Video
Running Time : 735
DescriptionOne of TV's most acclaimed drama series, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Six Feet Under, concludes its groundbreaking, five season run. Each of the main characters will come to embrace the cycle of life - birth, death, and re-birth - in ways that are both unique and interconnected. Everything. Everyone. Everywhere. Ends. DVD Features: Audio Commentary Episodic Previews Episodic Recaps Featurette Audio Commentary:Six audio commentaries with the cast, crew, and creator Featurette:Six Feet Under: 2001-2005, two 30-minute retrospectives Life and Loss: The Impact of Six Feet Under, a featurette
Amazon.com So much anticipation pools up around the concluding episode of this concluding season that you might be tempted to head straight for said finale, titled "Everyone's Waiting" (and it's so rich you'll find yourself drawn to repeated viewings). But if you can avoid that impulse, it's worth following the full build-up of one crisis after another to get the real payoff. On an episode-by-episode basis, Six Feet Under's fifth season has a decidedly uneven quality, shifting in tone far more drastically, say, than the intensely dark season 4. Character traits that have already been developed at length begin to seem annoyingly repetitious--Nate's (Peter Krause) self-centered frustration and furious lashings out, Billy's (Jeremy Sisto) resurgent psychosis--like leitmotifs run amuck. But this season also benefits from the knowledge we've developed, over the years, of the Fisher family and their loved ones, so that what they end up facing has a real emotional wallop, sometimes jump-starting the drama just where it seems to be in danger of churning itself into circles. It's hardly a spoiler to mention that 6fu's final season, though bookended by the promise of new beginnings (a wedding in episode 1 to a departure for new prospects in the 12th episode), centers around loss and a pivotal death. The scripts contain more than an occasional sense of inconsequential filler, while some of the recurring thematics seem forced (we see David continue to cope with the scars from his abduction in the previous episode via over-obvious imagery of facing his "inner demons"). Other issues receive especially compelling treatment, above all Brenda's (Rachel Griffiths) desire to have a child and David and Keith's (Mathew St. Patrick) choice to adopt. But the real strength of this season lies in several gripping performances. Ruth (Frances Conroy) touches off a complex series of reactions, simultaneously sympathetic and judgmental, transcending the tendency to appear as a neurotic caricature. The super-talented Lauren Ambrose brings off Claire's emerging self-awareness and maturity with moving touches (she's also got some of the funniest moments as she takes on a stint as a temp in scenes that call to mind the hysterics of The Office). Griffiths' Brenda for her part undergoes a parallel maturing process. And as George's daughter Maggie, Tina Holmes adds a welcome tone of contrast. 6fu, of course, has always been about the paradoxes of finality. But anyone who has developed an attachment to the show's unique tone and creative sensibility will have a tough time saying goodbye. Alan Ball outdoes himself with his script (and direction) for the finale, "Everyone's Waiting," seeding it with echoes from the pilot episode that will enchant aficionados. And the famous fast-forward visions coursing through Claire's imagination as she heads down the highway give the perfect seal to this set of characters. Extras include especially insightful commentaries, including Ball on the finale, retrospectives, and a mini-feature on 6fu's cultural impact. It's safe to say that the show leaves some pretty unforgettable impressions in its wake. --Thomas May
Reviews for the Six Feet Under - The Complete Fifth Season
List Price: $29.99Price: $19.99You Save: $10 (33%)
Grey's Anatomy - The Complete First Season
Actors: Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh
ASIN : B00005JO9J
Sales Rank : 1312
Brand : Buena Vista Home Video
Studio : Buena Vista
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780788861949
ISBN : 0788861948
UPC : 786936300451
Release Date : December 14, 2006
Publisher : Buena Vista
Manufacturer : Buena Vista
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Buena Vista
Running Time : 387
DescriptionGREY'S ANAMTOMY is "a winner," raves the New York Daily News. Both a critical hit and fan favorite, season one burst onto the television landscape with gripping plot lines, a sensational soundtrack, and hot stars, including Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, and Sandra Oh. Now you can experience all the drama, romance, and excitement of GREY'S ANATOMY from the very beginning. Meet Meredith Grey, a brilliant first-year surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital. Together with her fellow residents in training, Meredith navigates her way through the daily traumas and social landmines of life inside the hospital and out in the real world. GREY'S ANATOMY is a smart and witty look at young people struggling to be doctors and doctors struggling to stay human. Amazon.comJust when you wanted to say "Oh no, not another hospital drama," Grey's Anatomy turns into one of the most addicting series on television. With no big stars and no hype, the ABC series debuted last spring as a mid-season replacement and became a bonafide smash in its nine-episode season. Watch our red-carpet interviews with the cast of Grey's Anatomy. High |Medium | Low | The series, a hybrid of House's medical detectives and Dawson's Creek's hormones and catchy pop-rock soundtrack, follows five competitive surgical interns at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. There's optimistic ex-model Izzie (Katherine Heigl), bumbling do-gooder George (T.R. Knight), competitive glacier Cristina (Sandra Oh), cocky womanizer Alex (Justin Chambers), and the show's namesake, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), whose medical career is complicated by her famous surgeon mother who now lives with Alzheimer's, and her frowned-upon relationship with another surgeon, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey, enjoying the best career revival since Rob Lowe). The doctors juggle romance and foster friendships while trying not to stab each other in the back over surgeries. Grey's Anatomy's first season, while entertaining, went a little far trying to find its groove, overdosing on Meredith's overly simplistic voice-overs ("At the end of the day… faith is a funny thing"), and musical montages. It has the usual trappings of a hospital drama (unusual cases, such as the patient with the 70-pound tumor, and trysts in the on-call room), but with more warm fuzzies and light touches. (Sometimes, a little too light--the opening credits sequence features an eyelash curler next to medical instruments and red-painted toes savorting with a male patient under a sheet) Pompeo, who can sound just like Renee Zellweger if you close your eyes, is likeable but not strong enough of a presence compared to her co-stars. Luckily the quirky dialogue and stellar acting by the ethnically diverse cast, particularly by Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey, aka "the Nazi") and Oh, who won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress, more than make up for it. The DVD covers the first season's nine episodes, plus commentary on the pilot and a behind-the-scenes feature. --Ellen A. Kim  They Came From the '80s: Greatest Teen Actor Comebacks |  Why We Love Ellen Pompeo |  Check Yourself Into Other Hospital Shows |
Reviews for the Grey's Anatomy - The Complete First Season
Price: $23.99
Scrubs - The Complete Third Season
Actor: Zach Braff
ASIN : B000EBGFPY
Sales Rank : 723
Brand : Buena Vista Home Video
Studio : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936293456
UPC : 786936293456
Number Of Discs : 3
Release Date : December 09, 2006
Publisher : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Running Time : 477
DescriptionGet ready for one wacky house call with the hilarious third season of SCRUBS. It's a whole new year for the staff of Sacred Heart as Elliot undergoes a complete makeover in an attempt to change her luck, and the residents discover the incredible healing powers of an epiphany toilet. Joining J.D. and the gang are a host of hysterical guest stars, including Tom Cavanagh (ED), Tara Reid (AMERICAN PIE), and the legendary Michael J. Fox -- "One of our all-time favorite comedy actors returns to the small screen ... on one of our all-time favorite shows," raves Entertainment Weekly. Bursting with highly contagious bonus features and featuring the show's original unedited music in 5.1 Surround Sound, SCRUBS' complete third season is just what the doctor ordered. Amazon.comNot content to rest on the solid pratfalls that made it famous, Scrubs stretched its legs in season three to give deeper insight into its characters. With Turk and Carla (Donald Faison and Judy Reyes) planning their season-finale wedding, J.D. (Zach Braff) once again wrestles with his feelings for fellow resident Elliot (Sarah Chalke), but her reciprocity leads to a startling revelation. Scrubs also lent numerous guest stars to its cause, including former Spin City castmates Richard Kind as a hypochondriac, Barry Bostwick as a cancer patient, and Michael J. Fox in a hilarious return to television as an obsessive-compulsive visiting surgeon. Scott Foley (Felicity) plays Elliot's devoted suitor, and Tara Reid's turn as Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley)'s sister-in-law starts out daffy and decomposes into parody. (Producers admit in episode commentary that they tried to cast Reid against type, then gave up a few episodes later and told her to just be her wild, party-going self.) But it's two returning guest stars that pack the most emotional wallop: Mad TV's Nicole Sullivan as a chirpy patient whose barely masked troubles are ignored by her doctors; and Brendan Fraser as Dr. Cox's cancer-stricken brother-in-law, Ben. Fraser's episode, entitled "My Screw Up," does a masterful job turning from comedy to tearjerker on a dime in one half-hour. It's one of the best episodes of the show's entire run, and a crime that McGinley wasn't recognized for his brilliant work. Two episode commentaries, featuring producers, writers, and Faison, aren't as fun as in past seasons (though referring to Braff as "Chicken Little," the character he voiced in Disney's much-maligned animated film, is a notable jab). But the DVD set stuffs in way too many featurettes, including one just devoted to the stars' dogs. One complaint: The animated navigation menu takes way too long getting to the special features, it's tempting to skip them altogether. Better to just hit "play" and re-watch the episodes again. --Ellen A. Kim
Reviews for the Scrubs - The Complete Third Season
List Price: $39.98Price: $27.99You Save: $11.99 (30%)
Emergency!: Season Five
Actors: Randolph Mantooth, Kevin Tighe, Julie London, Bobby Troup, Robert Fuller
ASIN : B001J2XROY
Sales Rank : 497
Director : Alan Crosland Jr., Bruce Bilson, Christian I. Nyby II, Dennis Donnelly, Georg Fenady
Studio : Universal Studios
Format : Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025195050098
UPC : 025195050098
Release Date : December 20, 2009
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Not yet released
Label : Universal Studios
Reviews for the Emergency!: Season Five
List Price: $29.98Price: $24.99You Save: $4.99 (17%)
North & South
Actors: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack, Brendan Coyle
ASIN : B000AYEL6U
Sales Rank : 662
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : BBC Warner
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781419821004
ISBN : 1419821008
UPC : 794051245328
Release Date : December 15, 2005
Publisher : BBC Warner
Manufacturer : BBC Warner
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : BBC Warner
Running Time : 233
DescriptionDVD Features: Audio Commentary:Commentary on Episodes 1 and 4 by producer Kate Bartlett, director Brian Percival and writer Sandy Welch Biographies:Cast bios Deleted Scenes Interviews:Specially recorded interview with Richard Armitage Production Notes
Amazon.com North & South is a splendid, four-hour adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 19th century novel about an unlikely, and somewhat star-crossed, love between a middle-class young woman from England's cultivated south and an intemperate if misunderstood industrialist in a hardscrabble, northern city. Daniela Denby-Ashe plays Margaret Hale, forthright and strong-willed daughter of a former vicar (Tim Pigott-Smith) who relocates his family from a pastoral village outside London to unforgiving, largely illiterate Milton, a factory town where John Thornton (Richard Armitage) and his mother (Sinead Cusack), survivors of poverty, rule their cotton mill with an iron hand. Thornton befriends Margaret's father but incurs her wrath for his severity with his workers. What she doesn't notice is Thornton's core sense of responsibility for his employees' welfare. On the other hand, he misinterprets some of Margaret's own actions and intentions. Equally stubborn, the two drag out their obvious attraction over many painful months and events. North & South's two leads are both very good, though Armitage's brooding, penetrating performance may very well be considered a classic one day. There are other wonders in the cast: Cusack and Pigott-Smith are superb, and Brendan Coyle is memorable as a firebrand union organizer who ultimately becomes an ally to a softening Thornton. The miniseries script by Sandy Welch is a persuasive mix of historical context and character study. Brian Percival's direction is full of moments that linger in the imagination, such as the winter-dream look of a busy cotton mill, with thousands of snowy fibers floating in the air. --Tom Keogh
Reviews for the North & South
List Price: $27.98Price: $19.49You Save: $8.49 (30%)
The Waltons - The Complete First Season
Actors: Jon Walmsley, Mary Beth McDonough, Eric Scott, Earl Hamner Jr., Judy Norton-Taylor
ASIN : B0001DMXEC
Sales Rank : 1285
Director : Alf Kjellin, Fielder Cook, Harry Harris, Jack Shea, Lee Philips
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780790789613
ISBN : 0790789612
UPC : 085393226220
Release Date : December 11, 2004
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 1249
DescriptionThey built their home on the timeless mountain that bears their name. They built their lives on even stronger stuff: the bedrock of family. This 5-disc set features all 24 Year-One episodes of the beloved series that ran 9 years and won 5 Emmy Awards its inaugural year, including Outstanding Drama Series. Richard Thomas plays the key role of John-Boy Walton, a youth on the verge of manhood during the Great Depression and a fledgling writer whose observations are filled with the growing-up lessons and love he receives from father John, mother Olivia, Grandma, Grandpa and all the rest of The Waltons. Amazon.comThe Waltons' nearly 10-year run on network television grew out of the popular, 1971 made-for-TV movie The Homecoming, which was derived from a Depression-era, rustic setting ("Walton's Mountain"), and characters based on Earl Hamner Jr.'s autobiographical novel Spencer's Mountain--itself the source for a very nice 1963 feature film starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. That's a lot of entertainment sprouting from Hamner's prose. But something about his seminal story of family values, rugged independence, and big dreams amidst a hardscrabble existence captured the hearts of American audiences, many of whom personally recalled severe economic adversity in the 1930s. The Waltons: The Complete First Season collects those initial episodes from the series building on the strengths of the Homecoming pilot, which introduced the extended Walton clan led by a strong-willed mill owner, John (Andrew Duggan), and his equally resolute wife, Olivia (Patricia Neal). The Waltons recast those key roles (as well as a few others) with Ralph Waite and Michael Learned (yup, a female), but Richard Thomas carried over as oldest child John-Boy Walton, an aspiring writer whose cusp-of-manhood view informs the series. Will Geer (Seconds) replaced Edgar Bergen as Grandpa Walton, Ellen Corby remained as Grandma, and John and Olivia's large brood (seven kids in all) were filled out by largely unknown, young actors. The episodes, still delightful and touching, strong on production values and unusually tight and polished for primetime drama, tended to focus on creator Hamner's pet themes of self-sacrifice and heroic effort when the going got tough. Year 1 highlights include "The Carnival," in which the impoverished Waltons, who can't pay for tickets to see a circus performance, end up sheltering stranded carney folk. "The Typewriter" is a classic about John-Boy "borrowing" a museum's antique typewriter, only to have his sister Mary Ellen (Judy Norton) sell it as junk. "The Sinner" concerns the arrival of a fundamentalist minister on Walton's Mountain, finding comfort in the words of religious iconoclast John Walton after the clergyman makes a fool of himself with moonshine. That's Hamner himself providing touches of narration. During the long run of the multiple-award-winning The Waltons, there were many changes in casting and storylines. But this boxed set reveals a fine series in its pristine state. --Tom Keogh
Reviews for the The Waltons - The Complete First Season
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