The Waltons: building the best possible collection (1 Viewer)

[Brent Reid]

Since starting a similarly-titled thread on Little House on the Prairie a couple of years ago, most of my queries and concerns were answered decisively by the appearance of the complete restored series on Blu-ray. Now it's the turn of my (close) second favourite TV drama series. Once again, I'd appreciate some in-depth advice on the state of the series on disc.

The run consists of the retrospective pilot, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), nine seasons (1972–81) and six post-series reunion films (1982–97).

I know of complete seasons DVD sets in the US, Germany and Australia. The UK and Holland have also had seasons sets, but these appear to be incomplete.

• Like LHotP, The Waltons was shot on 35mm film. What chance of a complete restoration and BD release?
• Were episodes cut for syndication; are the episodes on DVD complete and of equal A/V quality in all territories?
• What are the extras, if any, on different countries' sets?

I have a region free set-up so am happy to pick up discs from anywhere – as long as they're the best overall!

 

[bmasters9]

• What are the extras, if any, on different countries' sets?

Here in America, the Region 1 seasonal releases of The Waltons (my mother has all of them, but she does not have the movies) do not have any bonuses, except for one on the eighth-season (1979-80) release called A Waltons Retrospective Special.

Here's a scan of the back of the eighth-season release indicating the same.

 

[Mark-P]

The entire series (minus the reunion movies) is already available in HD on iTunes. Unfortunately it is cropped to 16X9 widescreen. These also air in HD on the Hallmark Channel.

 

[jcroy]

If you're looking to buy the american dvd releases, you should avoid the original first dvd releases of seasons 1 to 7. They were all originally released as annoying double-sided flipper discs.

But fortunately a few years ago, seasons 1 to 7 were re-released as single-sided discs.

(Unfortunately seasons 8 and 9 are still double-sided flipper discs).

 

[bmasters9]

If you're looking to buy the american dvd releases, you should avoid the original first dvd releases of seasons 1 to 7. They were all originally released as annoying double-sided flipper discs.

I should also say that not all of the discs in those double releases are actually doubles-- some of them (like on the last disc of the first release) are actually singles masquerading as doubles.

IMO, they should have been labeled more clearly as singles to avoid confusion, because what if someone puts in the other side of that single-masquerading-as-a-double and finds out that there's nothing on that other side?

 

[Mr. Handley]

I bought the original flippers for Seasons 1-9, so was very happy when they decided to re-release 1-7 on single-sided discs. Still waiting for seasons 8-9, although it's doubtful that those will ever happen. I'm currently about halfway thru Season 3 of the single-sided discs. The video quality isn't the greatest, but it isn't the terrible quality that the original LHOTP releases were saddled with.

If they were to do quality BD releases (like Little House), I'd be all-in for a triple dip!

 

[LeoA]

Judging by the bits and pieces on Hallmark that I've seen, I have to say that the new transfers aren't nearly the leap that they are for Little House.

If a miracle ever happened and we got Blu-Ray's with these new transfers presented in their proper 4:3 aspect ratio, I'd be upgrading more so to replace my early double sided discs than for a jump in picture quality.

Was the movie set flippers? I've yet to crack it open after all of these years.

 

[bmasters9]

Was the movie set flippers? I've yet to crack it open after all of these years.

Per EBay research, no-- 3 singles, 2 films on each (6 in total).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Waltons...701807?hash=item25ba331caf:g:hG8AAOSw3ydVkb7e

 

[dana martin]

The run consists of the retrospective pilot, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), nine seasons (1972–81) and six post-series reunion films (1982–97).

I know of complete seasons DVD sets in the US, Germany and Australia. The UK and Holland have also had seasons sets, but these appear to be incomplete.

• Like LHotP, The Waltons was shot on 35mm film. What chance of a complete restoration and BD release?
• Were episodes cut for syndication; are the episodes on DVD complete and of equal A/V quality in all territories?
• What are the extras, if any, on different countries' sets?

I have a region free set-up so am happy to pick up discs from anywhere – as long as they're the best overall![/QUOTE]


sign me up! for a blu ray set that matches original airing

 

[Mr. Handley]

I have the reunion movies and they are single-sided.

 

[Brent Reid]

Some very useful replies – thank you!

Interesting that HD masters are already available but possibly not looking as good as LHotP in HD. They ought to look pristine too; perhaps they were done more cheaply, without going back to original elements? It's also worrying that they're cropped to 16:9; I hope this doesn't mean any future BD release would be a hack job like The World at War (1973–74). That series, originally 4:3 AR, was beautifully restored in HD then released on cropped 16:9 BDs. I and many others have reluctantly passed on buying them as a result.

Does anyone know anything about the completeness of the DVD episodes; was The Waltons edited for syndication?

Anyone here own either the German or Oz DVD box sets?

 

[Tony Bensley]

Some very useful replies – thank you!

Interesting that HD masters are already available but possibly not looking as good as LHotP in HD. They ought to look pristine too; perhaps they were done more cheaply, without going back to original elements? It's also worrying that they're cropped to 16:9; I hope this doesn't mean any future BD release would be a hack job like The World at War (1973–74). That series, originally 4:3 AR, was beautifully restored in HD then released on cropped 16:9 BDs. I and many others have reluctantly passed on buying them as a result.

Does anyone know anything about the completeness of the DVD episodes; was The Waltons edited for syndication?

Anyone here own either the German or Oz DVD box sets?

Unless it's a case of revisiting original elements that somehow have a wider AR than what was originally presented, then I agree that the cropping is an abomination!

CHEERS!

 

[Bob_S.]

Has anyone catched this on INSP channel? Is there any time compression? I watch an episode from time to time and it seems like at least the beginning credits/ music plays faster than normal.

 

[LeoA]

Interesting that HD masters are already available but possibly not looking as good as LHotP in HD. They ought to look pristine too; perhaps they were done more cheaply, without going back to original elements?

One big reason is that the older transfers for The Waltons were much better looking (and complete) than Little House was saddled with in syndication.

So even if these transfers were of equal quality (And they don't look it to me, even ignoring the widescreen hack job done to them), the leap wasn't going to be nearly as impressive since the older DVD's were of much more acceptable quality.

I don't think that the cropping they received did their picture quality any favors, either. Beyond upsetting purists like almost everyone here except for one notable exception since it's not accurate and you're losing large portions of what you were meant to see, there simply wasn't much room to open up the picture any.

So it's largely accomplished by zooming in to fill a 16:9 display and that only magnifies the flaws.

 

[Brent Reid]

Unlike many of the programmes being discussed here, The Waltons TV episodes are unequivocally 1.33:1 AR. Perhaps not so with the pilot and films; they're possibly open matte and/or zoomed in on DVD.

It looks like I'll be picking up DVDs – I just haven't decided which ones yet. There's no way I'd shell out on cropped BDs, if/when they appear.

I have an intense dislike of the term "purist" when referring to anyone who wants to see something in its OAR. Would the "non-purists" be happy buying panned and scanned DVDs/BDs? Because that's exactly what the so-called "restored"World at War set is, as well as the current Waltons HD screenings.
Again, would "non-purists" be happy going to an art gallery and finding all the paintings had half their image area cropped from the sides? If not, would that make them "art purists"?

 

[Bryan^H]

I hope The Waltons comes to Warner Archive On Blu Ray at some point. I have been tempted time after time to purchase the seasons digitally(they do look great in HD) but the improper aspect ratio is a deal killer. I do hope WB gives the fans of this show the chance to own it on Blu Ray with the correct AR.

 

[dana martin]

This would be an excellent choice for WAC, don't know if any extra features would be added then, but somewhere in a vault i suspect that there is a wealth of outtakes, cast interviews. maybe they could gather the remaining cast members for commentary.Such fond memories of this show. would like to see it presented correctly in it's OAR.

 

[benbess]

I used to own the first two season of the Waltons on DVD, but let go of them ago after watching them. I had some fond memories of experiencing the show as a child during it's first run, and for the most part I think the shows stands up well today. As probably all of you know, the creator of The Waltons, Earl Hamner, Jr. was adapting things from his own experiences for parts of the show. Anyway, as mentioned, the DVDs are a mixed bag, because they are double-sided and have only so-so PQ.

I was shocked to hear that the Waltons is now in HD and cropped to 16 x 9. I hopped over to Amazon, and it turns out the the first episode is available to watch for "free"—but with some ads. But it's both amazing and disturbing to see it in HD/widescreen. From watching just a couple of minutes of the first episode, I'd say there is a significant upgrade in PQ, although there's also a fair amount of film grain. Episodes are available for $3 each, which seems somewhat pricey to me. Whole seasons are $30, which is a better, but I still feel rather queasy about the change in the OAR.

 

[sjbradford]

So, Amazon is now streaming all seasons of The Waltons included with Prime. It is 16x9. The colors are brighter than on the DVDs, but there’s a lot of noise and grain in the picture, as noted above. They didn’t completely remaster it when they struck the HD prints, but the picture looks better than on DVD if you can get past the fake widescreen.

The two parters also appear unedited, unlike the DVDs. For example, on the DVD, “The Burn Out” is shown in two parts, and the final scene in Part I is trimmed, ending with John comforting a despondent Olivia and promising he’ll rebuild the house for her. On Amazon, the scene continues for another minute or so, with John joking to Olivia that’s her should have married a rich former classmate because then she’d be living in luxury, and she finally laughs and they cuddle as the scene ends. Much more upbeat. And it seamlessly moves into the second hour, with no separate credits.

 

[Carabimero]

When my wife and I got married, we both gave up jobs and had to move someplace new. We had hard times. We were so broke when we moved that all I had was a little 13-inch color TV with a built-in VCR. We didn't have a couch so we'd sit on our Igloo ice cooler. We bought the first season of Little House on DVD and I got a 25-inch TV. Every night our hour of sanity was watching Little House. As time went on, things got easier. It took us several years to get through Little House. By the time we did, we had moved and bought our own house. I was working in the entertainment industry and she had a good job as a university professor.

When we finished Little House, we started on The Waltons straight away. That was seven years ago. We didn't watch it every night because we had newer shows we'd watch on networks and on cable. But when there's nothing on, or we've watched up our current shows, The Waltons has been our go-to show. And still is.

Tonight we started season seven with the two-hour premiere. We've been skipping those useless teasers, which to us do nothing but spoil the plot of the episode. So tonight when this image came up to start the show, we both gasped loudly.

We couldn't believe Grandpa was gone. For me he was the spark on the show. And it seemed sadly ironic that after Grandma was gone so long and just came back to end last season, that now Grandpa was gone.

It affected my wife and I more than we thought. And so did the double episode. The children growing up and moving out. We were both sad and nostalgic afterwards. Me missing the house I grew up in. Her missing her father who recently died.

Isn't it wonderful how great classic TV can do that? Connect us back to our younger lives, to simpler times, sometimes even bittersweet ones. I'm not sure what our go-to show will be after we finish The Waltons. It took us fifteen years to get through Little House and seven seasons of The Waltons (our new go-to show will have to be a no violence no blood show). We figure to take a few more years to finish off the final seasons. It's been first run since we saw the show so we don't remember what will happen, and are looking forward to finding out like it was a first run show all over again.

My wife and I just renewed our vows on our fifteenth wedding anniversary . Little House and The Waltons have been a part of our marriage all the way.