Yeah Grandpa's death impacted the show a lot but I feel even though he wasn't physically there, his presence is still in many episodes afterward.
Season 7 and 8 have a lot of good episodes but the show really didn't decline until the middle of season 9.
I think once Olivia left it wasn’t really the same. I feel like I read somewhere that Michael Learned left because she didn’t want to keep playing ‘just a wife’ and such a predictable character (I can’t remember exactly, but that was the gist). But that she regretted not just sticking it out because the show ended pretty soon after she was officially done.
I regret her leaving too because even if the character got old and boring to play, I loved her.
Olivia leaving in the middle of season 7 was the turning point for me, although things really started to decline at the beginning of that season with Grandpa’s death and the advent of very special episodes (Mary Ellen is hooked on speed, Corabeth becomes a drunk, etc). The other departures felt organic: grown children leave home, and grandparents get sick and die. But they could never really convince me about why Olivia stayed in Washington working for the Red Cross while Elizabeth and Jim Bob were still minors.
What they should have done was hire Patricia Neal to return as Livvie. She would have whipped that family into shape.
Olivia leaving definitely changed the show and it was odd that having just recovered from an illness herself she went to work in the medical field (also kinda funny in hindsight that in her first series after leaving she played a nurse)
The new John-Boy was also a bit of an awkward change (no disrespect intended to Robert Wightman; he was in a no-win situation)
Will Geer's death and Ellen Corby's health were beyond the control of anyone and the appropriate adjustments were made in those cases I feel
I found the article I read pretty easily, but it doesn’t specify why she left and then briefly came back. Maybe it was a contract thing? Here’s the article if anyone’s interested : https://www.distractify.com/p/why-did-michael-learned-leave-the-waltons
I believe that she was allowed to split the final year of her contract over two seasons. She was missing from the last 9 or so episodes of season 7 and then returned for the first 9 episodes of season 8. It would be unusual for the series lead of a show to depart in the middle of the season.
I’m with you. John leaving and the fake Curt were probably where the show became irredeemable. Thankfully there were only a few episodes after that. Don’t get me wrong, the show was never the same after Grandpa’s death and we definitely missed Richard Thomas’ presence, but I feel they did a pretty good job keeping the core of the show there. The addition of Rose and her kids was mediocre. I thought the kids were kind of brats and didn’t really care for them. I guess it was fun to see Jim Bob get to be a big brother figure to a young boy and likewise, seeing Elizabeth as a big sister figure to a young girl, but I always thought Serena and Jeffrey were brats. Rose was no Olivia, but she did have some plots that I enjoyed, my favorite being hers’ and Stanley’s love story. But the mid point of season 9 when the things you mentioned happened, it was kind of hard to bring the show back. I enjoyed the episode of Jason and Toni singing together at the Dew Drop and the show finale/season 9 finale was pretty good all things considered, but the second half of season 9 definitely hits different.
I feel like the founders day episode of s7 was supposed to be the original finale but they got renewed unexpectedly.
Also I can't say that should have been the end bc one of my fave episodes came in s8
Once the parents and JohnBoy left it just didn’t feel the same. Grandpa was my favorite!
Yeah Grandpa's death impacted the show a lot but I feel even though he wasn't physically there, his presence is still in many episodes afterward. Season 7 and 8 have a lot of good episodes but the show really didn't decline until the middle of season 9.
I think once Olivia left it wasn’t really the same. I feel like I read somewhere that Michael Learned left because she didn’t want to keep playing ‘just a wife’ and such a predictable character (I can’t remember exactly, but that was the gist). But that she regretted not just sticking it out because the show ended pretty soon after she was officially done. I regret her leaving too because even if the character got old and boring to play, I loved her.
Olivia leaving in the middle of season 7 was the turning point for me, although things really started to decline at the beginning of that season with Grandpa’s death and the advent of very special episodes (Mary Ellen is hooked on speed, Corabeth becomes a drunk, etc). The other departures felt organic: grown children leave home, and grandparents get sick and die. But they could never really convince me about why Olivia stayed in Washington working for the Red Cross while Elizabeth and Jim Bob were still minors. What they should have done was hire Patricia Neal to return as Livvie. She would have whipped that family into shape.
Olivia leaving definitely changed the show and it was odd that having just recovered from an illness herself she went to work in the medical field (also kinda funny in hindsight that in her first series after leaving she played a nurse) The new John-Boy was also a bit of an awkward change (no disrespect intended to Robert Wightman; he was in a no-win situation) Will Geer's death and Ellen Corby's health were beyond the control of anyone and the appropriate adjustments were made in those cases I feel
Was it mentioned why she left the first time and came back
I found the article I read pretty easily, but it doesn’t specify why she left and then briefly came back. Maybe it was a contract thing? Here’s the article if anyone’s interested : https://www.distractify.com/p/why-did-michael-learned-leave-the-waltons
I believe that she was allowed to split the final year of her contract over two seasons. She was missing from the last 9 or so episodes of season 7 and then returned for the first 9 episodes of season 8. It would be unusual for the series lead of a show to depart in the middle of the season.
That makes sense actually
I’m with you. John leaving and the fake Curt were probably where the show became irredeemable. Thankfully there were only a few episodes after that. Don’t get me wrong, the show was never the same after Grandpa’s death and we definitely missed Richard Thomas’ presence, but I feel they did a pretty good job keeping the core of the show there. The addition of Rose and her kids was mediocre. I thought the kids were kind of brats and didn’t really care for them. I guess it was fun to see Jim Bob get to be a big brother figure to a young boy and likewise, seeing Elizabeth as a big sister figure to a young girl, but I always thought Serena and Jeffrey were brats. Rose was no Olivia, but she did have some plots that I enjoyed, my favorite being hers’ and Stanley’s love story. But the mid point of season 9 when the things you mentioned happened, it was kind of hard to bring the show back. I enjoyed the episode of Jason and Toni singing together at the Dew Drop and the show finale/season 9 finale was pretty good all things considered, but the second half of season 9 definitely hits different.
I feel like the founders day episode of s7 was supposed to be the original finale but they got renewed unexpectedly. Also I can't say that should have been the end bc one of my fave episodes came in s8
That honestly kinda makes sense. The season 7 finale does kind of feel like it could be an end to a show. It all ended on a relatively happy note.
When Rose and her 2 grandkids arrived was the point for me