MovieChat Forums > The Waltons (1972) Discussion > Even The Waltons show was not immune to ...

Even The Waltons show was not immune to Add-A-Kid Syndrome!

posted 10 years ago by wrialhuden
25 replies | jump to latest

The Brady Bunch and Diff'rent Strokes are a couple of well-known examples of family shows that later added additional child cast members when even the youngest of the original brood started to hit puberty. When The Waltons added Jeffrey and Serena, I was like, really? You've got so many Waltons running around not to mention a plethora of supporting characters; did the writers run out of story ideas so quickly that the producers felt adding a couple of cute kids would solve the problem? If that was the plan, apparently it didn't work as the kids were shipped off to Baltimore within a year.

The evil in this world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.

- Ayn Rand

[–] alanjobe 10 years ago

I would've preferred they aged John Curtis over bringing in new kids. At least he was a true Walton.

Al - Alicia
An - Andrew
Jo - Joseph
Be - Benjamin

[–] wrialhuden 10 years ago

Really not a fan of the fast-track aging of babies on a show. It became common practice on shows like Family Ties for example; Andrew is an infant in one season, the next he's 5 years old and ready for kindergarten. I never understood that; Bewitched and Full House never did that!

The evil in this world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.

- Ayn Rand

[–] crlnrgbrght5 9 years ago

wrialhuden, "Full House" did the instant aging with Nicky and Alex, Uncle Jesse's kids.

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

On the other hand, there's a British Tv show called Doc Martin where the opposite has happened, it's taken three years for Doc Martin's son to reach his first birthday, Delayed baby Growth Syndrome i suppose.

[–] alanjobe 10 years ago

True.

Also, when the show began, it seemed as if Elizabeth was 6 and Jim Bob was close to her age at either age 7 or 8.

Yet, in the 8th season, Jim Bob is graduating high school and Elizabeth is already driving age.

Al - Alicia
An - Andrew
Jo - Joseph
Be - Benjamin

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] sjbradford 10 years ago

They had a terrific little actress in Rachel Longaker as Aimee Godsey. She was essentially a cousin of the Waltons (though the writers never seemed to acknowledge this) and it would have been realistic for her to hang around at the Walton home more. I wish they had done some more stories with her later on rather than bringing in Rose and her grandkids.

[–] AmyJolamb 10 years ago

I really enjoy the Aimee character. I too wish they show more of her.

[–] crlnrgbrght5 9 years ago

Jim-Bob was 4 years older than Elizabeth, but, it wasn't noticible until, his growth spurt when he was 13.

[–] partsman 10 years ago

did the writers run out of story ideas so quickly that the producers felt adding a couple of cute kids would solve the problem?

That, and whenever the original kids on a family centered show grow out of the cute precocious little kid stage the networks bring in some new, cute little kids. The "cousin Oliver syndrome" ala The Brady Bunch. It's usually the death knell of a show.

As much as I loved The Waltons, it went on far too long after the original premise and original characters were gone. It should never have gotten to the point where they had to fabricate scenarios for new little kids to be brought in.

The major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) put ratings above creativity. As long as enough people are willing to watch they'll keep going back to the well and pumping out episodes no matter how much the integrity of the show suffers.

[–] wrialhuden 10 years ago

whenever the original kids on a family centered show grow out of the cute precocious little kid stage the networks bring in some new, cute little kids. The "cousin Oliver syndrome" ala The Brady Bunch. It's usually the death knell of a show.

In the case of cousin Oliver, I don't blame him for the Bunch's demise but rather poor scripts. Have you seen the last few episodes of the Brady Bunch? Yeah, I know I'm on the Waltons message board, but even The Waltons was suffering from weak scripts by the time Rose and the grandkids arrived. But the Bunch had it the worst of the two. Like the episode "The Snooperstar" - we're supposed to believe a pre-teen Cindy is jazzed about becoming the new Shirley Temple, going so far as to curl her hair and dress like a six-year-old Shirley would for a supposed movie producer stopping by the Brady house? Even the REAL Shirley Temple stopped doing this schtick by this age. Susan Olsen (Cindy) stated later how embarrassed she was by this episode. And let's not forget the finale, "The Hair-Brained Scheme", an episode so bad that Robert Reed refused to appear in it!

I know, I digress!

The evil in this world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. - Ayn Rand

[–] sjbradford 10 years ago

Cousin Oliver was a symptom of the Bunch's decline, not the cause, I agree. That show was only renewed for a half season at a time throughout most of its run. The producers expecteded ABC to cancel the show halfway through the final season, as they did the other shows on the Friday night lineup that year. But ABC picked up the "back half" of the season, so they had to scramble for scripts. It showed.

[–] partsman 10 years ago

I don't blame Cousin Oliver for killing The Brady Bunch; it was already pretty much done by the time he came around. That's the point, when a show tries to bring in these substitute kids it's pretty much on it's last legs.

It was a common practice for shows to do it. One kid who appeared on Growing Pains after the original Seaver kids grew up went on to have a pretty succesful career in show business. You might have heard of him - his name is Leonardo Decaprio😉.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] toddt07 10 years ago

JMO, but the series never should have lasted beyond John Boy leaving for New York at the end of 'The Achievement'.

[–] partsman 10 years ago

That's what I like about the cable shows of today. They have a set story arc which draws to a close and a finale. Some of the finales may be disappointing but at least the show doesn't just go on and on.

The major networks for the most part are about ratings which translate to sponsor dollars. Shows just go on and on long after they've lived out their creative lives.

[–] crlnrgbrght5 9 years ago

To me, the "Waltons" started going downhill when Grandma had the stroke, and when John-Boy left.

[–] lferrigon-1 9 years ago

Yes I thought it was dumb to add Rose and those two annoying kids. I still get a laugh when she says to her granddaughter, "They need us." Really? Its during the Depression and they are dirt poor how is having three extra mouths to feed a help?

[–] vironpride 9 years ago

My thoughts exactly. Why did they make Jeffrey and Serena such rotten little brats? And as for "three extra mouths to feed," Rose was probably the equivalent of "three extra mouths" all by herself, if not four. She was as grotesquely flabby as that guy on "Mountain Monsters," and nowhere near as funny!

[–] crlnrgbrght5 9 years ago

And the worst part of it was, they didn't even try to make that kid, Jeffrey, look like someone from that era. In the 40s, the male haircut was short around the ears, and longer on top, not a bowl cut. It was the same with Jim-Bob, his haircut wasn't from that era, either.

[–] ih8tt 9 years ago

Little House on the Prairie did it, too, with the Ingalls' adopting Cassandra and James, later even adding whole new families, complete with new little ones!

[–] sjbradford 9 years ago

And James had a bowl cut, too. Yeah - Little House on the Prairie was big on replacement children. Remember when the Olsens adopted a little girl they claimed who looked exactly like Nellie (even though she really looked nothing like her)?

But I always considered The Waltons a cut or two above Little House. The replacement children ploy was beneath the Waltons. They should have wrapped when John Boy left for NY - that would have been a great final episode. And I think the show would be even more fondly remembered today had it ended there.

[–] indyjim101 9 years ago

I agree that the perfect ending for the show would have been John Boy leaving for NY (The Achievement). There were some good episodes in Seasons 6 and 7, but overall those seasons are noticeably weaker than what I consider the Golden Age of the show (Seasons 3-5, especially 5). Season 8 is pretty awful and S9 is an unmitigated train wreck. I'm not sure the good episodes in S6-7 were worth another 4 years of mediocrity. But they could have ended it after Season 7's finale (Founder's Day) with dignity--that episode always screamed series finale to me. It would have worked fine if they had called it quits then.

[–] thetaylors604 8 years ago

Many shows did that. "Eight is Enough," "The Cosby Show", "Family", "Little House on the Prairie". I'm sure there are others but those come to mind. I couldn't stand Jeffrey and Serena and thought they were totally unnecessary.

[–] 8 years ago

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