History Series / TheWaltons

** John Walton may be the iconic loving father, but ''do not'' think you can take advantage of him. One drifter makes this mistake when bunking with the family and tries to steal some money before making his escape; the next thing he knows, he's staring down a shotgun wielded by John, who is quite adamant that the thief put back the money and explain himself.

* BrutalHonesty: Grandma Esther is a kind and compassionate soul underneath her stern demeanor, but she also never minces her words when stating her disapproval of people and their foolish ways. For example, in "The Gypsies", Esther mocks a Romani family for their stubborn refusal to accept help when it is kindly offered, rightfully pointing out that their pride and reliance on "mystical solutions" are nothing but empty hogwash in the face of starvation, sickness, and impending death.

* BrutalHonesty: Grandma Esther is a kind and compassionate soul underneath her stern demeanor, but she also never minces her words when stating her disapproval of people and their foolish ways. For example, in "The Gypsies", Esther mocks a Romani family for their stubborn refusal to accept help when it is kindly offered, rightfully pointing out that their pride is nothing but empty hogwash in the face of starvation, sickness, and impending death.

* RoguishRomani: Defied in the episode where a family of Romani have to camp out on the Waltons' land. They're so used to being accused of thievery and thrown out that they won't accept ''anything'' from the Waltons, even if it means going hungry. It's not until their baby is near dead that they allow Esther to tend to him, and they only accept food after [[DebtDetester saving the Waltons' chickens from a fox]]. Ultimately more of a downplayed case, however, because while they're not straight-up malicious, these Romani are shown to be [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrites]] who do resort to underhanded means of survival, namely by invading people's homes while the residents aren't around and stealing from their food supplies.

* RoguishRomani: Defied in the episode where a family of Romani have to camp out on the Waltons' land. They're so used to being accused of thievery and thrown out that they won't accept ''anything'' from the Waltons, even if it means going hungry. It's not until their baby is near dead that they allow Esther to tend to him, and they only accept food after [[DebtDetester saving the Waltons' chickens from a fox]]. Ultimately more of a downplayed case, however, because while they're not straight-up malicious, these Romani are shown to be [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrites]] who aren't above resorting to underhanded means to survive, namely by invading people's homes while the residents are not around and stealing from their food supplies.

* RoguishRomani: Defied in the episode where a family of Romani have to camp out on the Waltons' land. They're so used to being accused of thievery and thrown out that they won't accept ''anything'' from the Waltons, even if it means going hungry. It's not until their baby is near dead that they allow Esther to tend to him, and they only accept food after [[DebtDetester saving the Waltons' chickens from a fox]]. Ultimately PlayedWith, however, because despite their motto, these Romani are clearly shown to be [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrites]] who aren't above breaking into people's homes while the residents are not around and stealing from their food supplies.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Episode 19, "The Gypsies", centers on a Romani family who claim to live by an "ask for nothing and take nothing" philosophy, demonstrating this by rudely refusing the Waltons' generosity whenever it's offered. And yet, the story opens with them literally breaking into the Baldwins' house while the sisters are away, taking advantage of the situation by stealing from their food and wine supplies.

** Sheriff Ep Bridges, the local head lawman of Walton's Mountain, is a lifelong family friend of the Waltons, known for his just treatment of all within his jurisdiction. He remains incorruptible throughout the seasons, and proves time and time again that he can always be counted on help the helpless, settle disputes with fair and even-handed judgment, and arrest those who are truly deserving of punishment.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Episode 19, "The Gypsies", centers on a Romani family who claim to live by an "ask for nothing and take nothing" philosophy, demonstrating this by rudely refusing the Waltons' generosity whenever it's offered. And yet, the story opens with them literally breaking into the Baldwins' house while the sisters are away and taking advantage of the situation by stealing from their food and wine supplies.

** Sheriff Ep Bridges, the local head lawman of Walton's Mountain, is a lifelong family friend of the Waltons, known for his just treatment of all within his jurisdiction. He remains incorruptible throughout the seasons, and proves time and time again that can always be counted on help the helpless, settle disputes with fair and even-handed judgment, and arrest those who are truly deserving of punishment.

** Sheriff Ep Bridges, the local head lawman of Walton's Mountain, is a lifelong family friend of the Waltons, known for his just treatment of all within his jurisdiction. He can always be relied on to settle disputes with fair and even-handed judgment, and remains incorruptible throughout the seasons.

** Sheriff Epp Bridges, the local head lawman of Walton's Mountain, is a lifelong family friend of the Waltons, known for his just treatment of all within his jurisdiction. He can always be relied on to settle disputes with fair and even-handed judgment, and remains incorruptible throughout the seasons.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: John Walton may be the undisputed head of the household, but it's hard to find a father more understanding under such difficult circumstances. He is even shown to change his mind on unpopular decisions, and will admit when he's made an error, especially to Olivia and John-Boy. He's also wise enough to recognize when to let his wife or children handle their own problems, such as when Olivia's art teacher is attracted to her, and serves as a sounding board instead of rushing to act for them. As mentioned above, he doesn't pretend to understand his children's dreams, but he expects them to apply themselves to make them come true.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Episode 19, "The Gypsies", centers on a Romani family who live by an "ask for nothing and take nothing" philosophy, demonstrating this by rudely refusing the Waltons' generosity whenever it's offered. And yet, the story opens with them literally breaking into the Baldwins' house while the sisters are away and taking advantage of the situation by stealing from their food and wine supplies.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Episode 19, "The Gypsies", centers on a {{Romani}} family who live by an "ask for nothing and take nothing" philosophy, demonstrating this by rudely refusing the Waltons' generosity whenever it's offered. And yet, the story opens with them literally breaking into the Baldwins' house while the sisters are away and taking advantage of the situation by stealing from their food and wine supplies.

* Hypocrite: In centers on a {{Romani}} family

* RoguishRomani: Defied in the episode where a family of Romani have to camp out on the Waltons' land. They're so used to being accused of thievery and thrown out that they won't accept ''anything'' from the Waltons, even if it means going hungry. It's not until their baby is near dead that they allow Esther to tend to him, and they only accept food after [[DebtDetester saving the Waltons' chickens from a fox]]. Ultimately PlayedWith, however, because despite their motto, these Romani are clearly shown to be {{hypocrites}} who aren't above breaking into people's homes while the residents are not around and stealing from their food supplies.

* RoguishRomani: Defied almost to the point of inversion in the episode where a family of Romani have to camp out on the Waltons' land. They're so used to being accused of thievery and thrown out that they won't accept ''anything'' from the Waltons, even if it means going hungry. It's not until their baby is near dead that they allow Esther to tend him, and they only accept food after [[DebtDetester saving the Waltons' chickens from a fox]].
--> '''Leader''': [[SurvivalMantra We ask for nothing. We take nothing.]]

Series creator Earl Hamner Jr. based the premise on his own childhood experiences, which he had previously mined for the 1961 novel ''Spencer's Mountain'' (itself adapted as a 1963 film starring Creator/HenryFonda and Creator/MaureenOHara). Prior to the actual series, CBS aired a 1971 MadeForTVMovie called ''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'', which featured Creator/PatriciaNeal as Olivia Walton, Andrew Duggan as John Walton Sr., and Creator/EdgarBergen as Grandpa; these roles would be re-cast for the series (and the movie hadn't been intended as a pilot; a series was only proposed after the favorable critical and audience reaction to the movie). A few more TV-movie reunions brought the cast back together after the series ended and followed the characters into the postwar years, such as the 1993 Thanksgiving movie which centers around the assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. In 2021, Creator/TheCW aired [[Film/TheWaltonsHomecoming a remake]] of ''The Homecoming'' to coincide with the original's fiftieth anniversary, narrated by original John-Boy actor Creator/RichardThomas and starring Creator/BellamyYoung as Olivia. After the success of that movie, the CW produced a sequel, ''Film/AWaltonsThanksgiving'', in 2022.

[[folder:#-F]]

[[folder:G-L]]

[[folder:M-S]]

[[folder:T-Z]]

''Good night, John-Boy, wherever you are.''

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b9174fd4_f284_4121_ba96_9e99d41e501f.jpeg]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* BarefootPoverty: A few of the hill folk went around barefoot in the later seasons, including a recurring patient of Mary Ellen's who lost some of her children to sickness. The Walton children ''seem'' like this in the earlier seasons, but it's actually a case of PrefesrGoingBarefoot

* BarefootPoverty: A few of the hill folk went around barefoot in the later seasons, including a recurring patient of Mary Ellen's who lost some of her children to sickness. The Walton children ''seem'' like this in the earlier seasons, but it's actually a case of DoesNotLikeShoes.

* [[DoorstopBaby Doorstop Kid]]: The first episode has a young deaf girl who was unable to communicate left on the Waltons' doorstep by her mother to prevent the father (who mistook her for mentally disabled) from sending her to an orphanage. One of the earliest examples of a clip show.
* DoesNotLikeShoes:
** Absolutely all of the Walton children preferred to go barefoot around the mountain when they were young and the weather allowed, and also go barefoot to school, as did some of their friends, like Marcia Woolery. When Olivia jokes in "The Boy From the C.C.C." about using a $50 bill to buy them all shoes for the winter so they wouldn't be running around barefooted, the kids whine and moan at the thought of wearing shoes. This was especially true of Mary Ellen, who at that point was a full-blown tomboy who loved being barefoot (and who rather thoughtlessly propped her dirty feet on the table while her mother was churning butter in "The Star," only to have Olivia push them off again), and Jim-Bob, who groaned, "Shoes?! ...''SHOES...!''" Their father replied, "It's mighty cold." Season 4's "The Burn-Out" seemed to be the last episode where they did this, because the house caught fire and some of the children reentered the damaged house barefooted due to fleeing at night and came to realize this was unsuitable for them anymore. Jim-Bob even has mismatched shoes with him due to throwing out some clothes at random in the dark. After remarking "I could go barefoot," Olivia tells him it's much too cold for that, and basically vetoes the idea. Come season 5, the show underwent CerebusSyndrome, which only worsened when Esther was hospitalized, and the kids could no longer afford to enjoy barefoot and carefree lives. All of them had to pitch in with work, and all of them dropped the habit completely because their society was creeping into World War II and it marked their loss of innocence. A few of them already had dropped this habit by then, because they had taken on jobs and educational responsibilities. Each time a Walton child permanently shoes their feet, you can take it as a mark of their maturity and their shift from child to young adult.
** Exaggerated in "The Stray" with the introduction of Josh. He preferred to be totally barefoot at all times, and for that reason, had no shoes ''at all''. His presence in the story was revealed when because of this choice, he [[AgonyOfTheFeet got his foot mangled from stepping on a fishhook and left a nasty blood trail]], exposing him as a stowaway on the Walton's property. Even when Olivia donated some old shoes to him, Josh kept going barefoot, defending his reason for keeping them off as "My feet aren't free." It wasn't until he went to meet Verdie Foster (who then adopted him as Josh Foster) that he was convinced to start using his new shoes.
** John-Boy suggests to Bob in "The Shivaree", a CityMouse who keeps obsessively shining his shoes, that he should try going barefoot because it's fun. Bob scoffs at this. True to form, he gets shivareed just before his marriage and ends up stumbling through the woods in his pajamas with bare feet.
** Humorously in Season 7's "The Outsider", Cindy (Ben's brand new wife) turns out to be an aversion to this trope, as she notes she wants a throw rug for the floor by the bed so she doesn't have to feel the cold wood floor under her bare feet when she gets out of bed. This only serves to differentiate her from the other Waltons further.

Series creator Earl Hamner Jr. based the premise on his own childhood experiences, which he had previously mined for the 1961 novel ''Spencer's Mountain'' (itself adapted as a 1963 film starring Creator/HenryFonda and Creator/MaureenOHara). Prior to the actual series, CBS aired a 1971 MadeForTVMovie called ''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'', which featured Creator/PatriciaNeal as Olivia Walton, Andrew Duggan as John Walton Sr., and Creator/EdgarBergen as Grandpa; these roles would be re-cast for the series (and the movie hadn't been intended as a pilot; a series was only proposed after the favorable critical and audience reaction to the movie). A few more TV-movie reunions brought the cast back together after the series ended and followed the characters into the postwar years, such as the 1993 Thanksgiving movie which centers around the assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. In 2021, Creator/TheCW aired a remake of ''The Homecoming'' to coincide with the original's fiftieth anniversary, narrated by original John-Boy actor Creator/RichardThomas and starring Creator/BellamyYoung as Olivia. After the success of that movie, the CW produced a sequel, ''Film/AWaltonsThanksgiving'', in 2022.

* Rewrite:
** The made-for-TV movies of the 1980s-1990s are notorious for these, contradicting details given in the series, and sometimes contradicting each other. To give one example: In the last movie, A Walton Easter, John and Olivia celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary during the same year as the moon landing (1969). That would put them as being married in 1929. However, the TV series was set from approximately 1933 to 1945. When the series begins, John-Boy is in his last few years of high school, making him around 16 at the very least. That would mean he was born around 1916-1917 in the series timeline, with John & Olivia getting married some time before that.

* BarefootPoverty: A few of the hill folk went around barefoot in the later seasons, including a recurring patient of Mary Ellen's who lost some her children to sickness. The Walton children ''seem'' like this in the earlier seasons, but it's actually a case of DoesNotLikeShoes.

* BeachEpisode: In "The Seashore," the Waltons have to look after the Baldwins' beach house for a while. It even resurrects their old tendency to go barefoot for a while, given that the setting is appropriate for such.