ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 28, 1997 TAG: 9703280034
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JENNIFER BOWLES ASSOCIATED PRESS
All is not perfect on Waltons
Mountain in 1969 as the family of television icons of the 1970s reunites for a new Easter movie, which airs Sunday.
The mere mention of the phrase ``TV reunion movie'' is enough to frighten some viewers. They shrink, for example, at the prospect of watching the gang from ``Happy Days'' cope with middle age.
But there's something about a reunion on Waltons Mountain that just tugs at the heart, whips up a frenzy of nostalgia and makes you feel like you're home again - even if you've never lived anywhere near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
``I think maybe that's one of the reasons `The Waltons' was popular, it touched on everyone's life in a way,'' says author Earl Hamner Jr., whose life was the basis for the old TV series.
``I once had dinner and a lady was sitting next to me and she said `I'm so glad to meet you. Your stories remind me of my childhood.'''
The woman, in fact, had grown up in a Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
The cast of the original series, ``The Waltons,'' which aired from 1972 to 1981, got back together to film ``A Walton Easter,'' which airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBS. (Rating is TV-G).
As with the series, Hamner narrates the opening and closing sequences. He also serves as executive producer.
Bringing the family together is the 40th wedding anniversary of John and Olivia Walton (played by Ralph Waite and Michael Learned, respectively).
All is not perfect on Waltons Mountain in 1969. A globe-trotting Elizabeth Walton (Kami Cotler) returns to find her true love Drew didn't wait for her. Olivia has become a schoolteacher as the family's lumber business has fallen on hard times.
``Times are changing,'' Olivia tells her husband as they eat a store-bought pie.
And John-Boy, a writer and television commentator in New York, returns with his wife Janet (Kate McNeil), who is eight months pregnant.
Home again and surrounded by the peacefulness of the countryside, John-Boy begins to have second thoughts about living and raising a family in New York. His turmoil causes conflict with his wife, who is anxious to return to the city.
Adding to the excitement is a fast-talking, New York reporter who accompanies John-Boy home to write an article to promote his upcoming book.
``It's sort of the culture clash of Waltons Mountain meets New York City and they both have their values and it comes out very clearly in John-Boy's feelings,'' Hamner said.
It isn't the first Waltons reunion movie; in fact, it's the third. The cast reassembled in 1993 for ``A Walton Thanksgiving,' and again in 1995 for ``A Walton Wedding.''
This one, though, was the ``most fun of all,'' said the ever-youthful Richard Thomas, who plays John-Boy.
``It's more like a party than anything else,'' Thomas said. ``It is like a real family reunion. We've maintained real close contact and there's a lot of good feelings.''
This seems to be the season for reunion movies. It started out in November with ``Dallas,'' and will continue next month with ``The Dukes of Hazard'' and in May with ``Knots Landing.''
Some actors hesitate to participate in reunion movies and return to the roles that made them famous, usually out of fear of typecasting.
``Only in the last couple of years has it lightened up and I've finally been able to do characters that weren't the responsible father,'' said Waite, who in the last two years played mean-spirited characters on TV's ``Murder One'' and ``Orleans.''
But no regrets on Waite's part: ``That was an important part of my life and if I had to fight that I'd be a miserable human being.''
So does that mean we'll be seeing another Waltons' reunion?
``As long as some of us are still standing, we'll keep doing them,'' said Thomas.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Ralph Waite, Michael Learned and Richard Thomas - John,by CNBOlivia and John-Boy - return to Waltons Mountain for Easter. color.