A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993) (TV)

Director:

Harry Harris

Writers (WGA):

Earl Hamner Jr. (characters)
Claire Whitaker (written by) ...

Release Date:

21 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Fourth Waltons reunion TV movie is now set in the 1960s which has John-Boy still living in New York...

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Southern U.S. | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Richard Thomas	...	John-Boy Walton
Ralph Waite	...	John Walton
Michael Learned	...	Olivia Walton
Ellen Corby	...	Grandma Walton
Jon Walmsley	...	Jason Walton
Judy Norton-Taylor	...	Mary Ellen
Eric Scott	...	Ben Walton
David W. Harper	...	Jim-Bob Walton
Kami Cotler	...	Elizabeth Walton
Joe Conley	...	Ike
Ronnie Claire Edwards	...	Corabeth
Tony Becker	...	Drew
Steven Culp	...	Jeff Dulaney
Lisa Harrison	...	Toni Walton
Kate McNeil	...	Janet Gilchrist

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Dijon Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Amanda Productions

Movie Connections:

Follows Spencer's Mountain (1963)

Decent TV-movie reunion

This is one of the better TV-movie reunions, and better than most of the 80s "Walton" reunions that were done the year following the original series' cancellation. Unlike the earlier sequels, virtually the entire cast is present here, with a very well-preserved Richard Thomas returning as John-Boy, and Michael Learned back as family matriarch Olivia, who has recovered from the tuberculosis that kept her sidelined during the series' later years. Even a very frail-looking Grandma is present, even though her portrayer, Ellen Corby, suffered a massive stroke in the middle of the series' run.

The storyline, which deals with the Walton family's reaction to JFK's assasination, tends to be a little maudlin, and it's set about eight years too far in the future to jibe with the series' timeline. And a few minor characters are either missing, like Mary Ellen's husband, Jonesy, or altogether unmentioned, like Mary Ellen's son John Curtis. But what makes this fun is the presence of the original cast, plus cameos from all sorts of recurring characters from the series (something most reunions never bother to do). Keep your eyes peeled for appearances by storekeepers Ike and Corabeth, their daughter Aimee, neighbor Verdie Foster, town idiot Yancy Tucker, Aunt Rose, Elizabeth's boyfriend Drew, and, best of all, unwitting moonshiners Emily and Mamie Baldwin.