The Waltons

The real-life 'John-Boy Walton' (Earl Hamner, Jr.), whose voice-overs narrated "The Waltons" televison series for nearly a decade makes a special appearance as himself and the On-Screen Narrator in this 2-hour special. This drama and quasi-documentary is built around a new story informally titled "Grandma's Birthday" and features many flashback scenes and highlights from the TV series. The family plans a surprise birthday party for Grandma Esther Walton and puts together a photo album of precious photographs as a gift for her to unwrap at the party. The narrator walks in and out of scenes as if he were invisible or perhaps as the ghost of an absent John-Boy. Historical black-and-white footage from the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era is inserted within the special as a very brief documentary. Actress Ellen Corby's triumph over a stroke in real life is celebrated using flashbacks of her TV role as Grandma overcoming a similar stroke. By having the actors say good-night to one another around the supper table while using their real-life first names, a touching tribute is paid to the late Will Geer (a.k.a. Grandpa) who began the tradition of saying Grace at the same table. Other special treats include Mr. Hamner introducing the Walton-children cast members to their real-life counterparts (the Hamner siblings) via a cross-country split screen. We also get to travel on-location to the narrator's real-life hometown of Schuyler, Virginia, to enjoy the beauty of nature in the snow-covered foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Rockfish River. Mr. Hamner pays respects at his daddy's grave site, and he even treats the viewers to a trip to his boyhood home on Tree Top Loop where he interviews the woman who inspired the character of Olivia Walton, his very own mother -- Doris Hamner.