One final reunion please
And maybe set it in 2007 - ten years later. This could be the final one and then Good Night Waltons.
shareNah, don't set it in 2007 -- John-Boy would have to be 90-some years old and all the rest of the kids in their 80s.
They could go "Rocky Balboa" on it -- give the series a final dignified sendoff to wipe away some of the goofy sequels.
Since Ralph Waite is now 80, Michael Learned 71, they could set the movie in the year 1973, when "The Waltons" actually premiered on TV.
Pa was late-30s, maybe 40, in the first season, which would have made his birth year about 1893. Olivia was about 3-4 years younger.
Richard Thomas is now 60; John-Boy's 1973 age could be set at 56, assuming a birth year of 1917, which would have made him 16-17 in the first year of the series. The other kids would be appropriately aged down to Elizabeth in her mid-40s.
The main storyline could be built around Grandma's funeral -- set her birth date in 1876 (so she was 16ish when John was born) and say she died at age 97 (one of my grandmothers lived to 99 so it's not far-fetched).
Basically write off all the "reunion movies" as "alternate universe" stories that never happened. (Well, maybe not NEVER happened, but feel free to discard all the ridiculous plotlines from the reunion movies which totally contradicted everything from the original series.)
Give all the kids logical-aged spouses and offspring. If John-Boy has a wife, make her about 50ish -- if they have kids, they're in their 20s-30s. John-Boy should have grandkids approaching junior high age.
Forget all the stuff about John-Boy being a famous network anchorman (a contrived story device).
Make him an author, whose memoirs of his mountain childhood gets sold as a TV series. Call it "The Spencers."
Maybe the whole family isn't really all that thrilled at their whole lives being turned into TV series fodder.
There would be some chances for film-only appearances by Will Geer and Ellen Corby -- in grainy, weathered-looking B-W footage aged by CGI to look like it was really from the 1930s.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.
The cast will reunite in late September.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Kecks-Exclusives-Waltons-1048248.aspx
Wonder if they could spend a couple weeks shooting the "Waltons 1973" farewell episode suggested above.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.