The Statue, deals with Grandpa winning a large statue at the church raffle. It was commissioned by Judge Baldwin years ago when traveling with his daughters. It represents Annabel Lee, the last complete poem written by Edgar Allan Poe. The figure—including a large pedestal, stands about six feet tall. Grandpa admits to John-Boy right away that the face of the woman on the statue looks very much like a girl he dated before he met his Grandma, and that he hoped she wouldn't recognize her.
Grandpa wants to put the statue in front of the porch, facing the house, so he can gaze upon her while reclining on the porch in the evenings. Grandma is not the only one who thinks it doesn't belong there. She says early on that it looks like someone she knows, but cannot figure out who.
The older couple have a big argument about where it should go, with Grandpa thinking he has the perfect solution, taking something Grandma said about it, only to learn that she is totally opposed to that idea. He finally agrees to put it someplace where she won't be bothered by it.
The other plot is almost as big as the one about the statue. John-Boy's short story, based on Miss Emily Baldwin and her long-ago suitor, Ashley Longworth, has a chance to be published in an obscure literary magazine. But Ike blabbed to the Baldwin ladies about them being the subject of the story. They, of course, believe that it will be a totally factual account of Miss Emily's long-lost love.
What John-Boy has done is really what Earl Hamner, Jr. did with The Waltons. Although the characters are based on his real life family, virtually all the stories are totally fictional, with the characters not having the same experiences the real life people have. In this episode, John-Boy is furious that Ike let them know, largely because of the vanity press incident (The Book, Season 3, Episode 10) and also because he is much afraid that the way he is writing about his fictional characters will greatly upset his dear friends looking for their actual story. He finally figures out what he must do and it does work out, but not like you would expect.
There is a short scene between Grandma and John-Boy where they discuss the nature of writing that is by far the funniest part of this episode, I think, deserving of a place in a show highlighting the series.
This was an excellent episode for scenes with Ellen Corby and Will Geer, and it has probably the best serious scenes with the Baldwin ladies. It is easy for us younger fans to focus on the Walton children more and not care as much about the senior citizens on the show, but if you care about the older characters you can easily find this to be the 9 that I rate it.
Grandpa wants to put the statue in front of the porch, facing the house, so he can gaze upon her while reclining on the porch in the evenings. Grandma is not the only one who thinks it doesn't belong there. She says early on that it looks like someone she knows, but cannot figure out who.
The older couple have a big argument about where it should go, with Grandpa thinking he has the perfect solution, taking something Grandma said about it, only to learn that she is totally opposed to that idea. He finally agrees to put it someplace where she won't be bothered by it.
The other plot is almost as big as the one about the statue. John-Boy's short story, based on Miss Emily Baldwin and her long-ago suitor, Ashley Longworth, has a chance to be published in an obscure literary magazine. But Ike blabbed to the Baldwin ladies about them being the subject of the story. They, of course, believe that it will be a totally factual account of Miss Emily's long-lost love.
What John-Boy has done is really what Earl Hamner, Jr. did with The Waltons. Although the characters are based on his real life family, virtually all the stories are totally fictional, with the characters not having the same experiences the real life people have. In this episode, John-Boy is furious that Ike let them know, largely because of the vanity press incident (The Book, Season 3, Episode 10) and also because he is much afraid that the way he is writing about his fictional characters will greatly upset his dear friends looking for their actual story. He finally figures out what he must do and it does work out, but not like you would expect.
There is a short scene between Grandma and John-Boy where they discuss the nature of writing that is by far the funniest part of this episode, I think, deserving of a place in a show highlighting the series.
This was an excellent episode for scenes with Ellen Corby and Will Geer, and it has probably the best serious scenes with the Baldwin ladies. It is easy for us younger fans to focus on the Walton children more and not care as much about the senior citizens on the show, but if you care about the older characters you can easily find this to be the 9 that I rate it.
