The Good

As this show grew, the characters grew, and while it was set in the not too distant past, it very much commented on the present.

The Bad

No Special Features to speak of.

Change is probably the biggest theme in The Waltons: The Complete Fourth Season. We see John-Boy employed to write a screenplay, Mary-Ellen tries to get into nursing school, Jim-Bob finds out more about his true identity, and the Waltons' home catches fire. The backdrop to all this are key events in world history in which Hitler and Mussolini have joined forces and King Edward abdicates the English throne. All of this comes together quite nicely in this 24 episode set, chronicling a family during the Depression who show that love and family are all you really need to get by.

Some of my favorite episodes in this set where "The Sermon" in which Reverend Fordwick calls on his John-Boy to take his place for a Sunday service. "The Fledgling" is a great episode that sees John-Boy hoping to publish his own newspaper. Lastly, "The Emergence" is a really special episode in which John-Boy has to confront the man who won the heart of the girl he loved. Every episode on here is filled with such richness and warmth, and I really think fans and newcomers will enjoy The Waltons: The Complete Fourth Season

Features

No Extras came with this 5 disc set.

Video

Standard Version presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of it's original television exhibition. I was actually somewhat bothered by the transfer of these DVDs. They don't seem like they have been cleaned up at all. From beginning to end, I noticed a lot of dirt and other things on the picture. Thankfully, there weren't any hits on the images that I noticed. The DVDs never skipped but there was enough dirt for it to be noticeable. In fact, at times these episodes looked like some of the public domain titles I have viewed.

Audio

Dolby Digital - English Mono. The audio on these discs was top notch. This show is very measured in terms of how the characters talk and relate with each other. There isn't a lot of quick banter or moments where people are talking over one another. Still, the characters aren't speaking in whispers. The performances on this show from the 1970s feel very full and rich. The audio is mainly just an accompaniment to what is happening on the screen, but it really is well put together and has been well kept up for these discs.

Package

The front cover cover looks like how I imagine John-Boy's desk would look. There is a picture of the 11 person Walton clan, and it sits in a book with a pen, ink, and some letters around it. The back cover offers up a shot of the older Walton family members, it gives us a description of this 4th Season, a cast list and system specs. All 5 discs are economically stored in this three case digipack set. Inside are more pictures from the show as well is listings and descriptions all over the cases. Warner Bros. has done a fine job in putting this set together.

Final Word

I remember the morning I got into The Waltons like it was yesterday. It was 2004 and I was up early because I was taking a flight to Omaha, Nebraska. My job at the time was about to uproot my life and send me to New Jersey, and as I struggled with issues of not wanting to leave California, I happened to watch a random show. John-Boy was having some personal problems with his writing, and I remember really keying into what his character was feeling. He was away from his family and in that one hour of watching this show on TV Land, I was hooked. I watched the show until The Waltons left TV Land's schedule.

I know this might sound corny but The Waltons is a really special show. As a society we seem to have gotten very far away from the life lessons being taught here, and I think it's great to have a show like this to remind us just how good we can be toward one another.

The Waltons was released .