Mary Ellen kicks a pill problem in less than a hour...please! This episode lacks credibility because of Ms Norton's wooden acting. I've always had trouble with the Walton children acting ability. When they were younger you could excuse it because of lack of experience, but as they grew older it's hard to ignore. Here is the painful proof that Judy Norton does not have the acting chops to play a convincing pill popping nurse. Aside from that it is clear that Richard Thomas will be sorely missed.
3 Reviews
The Word is Addiction not Obsession
annykins-2654217 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Only on the Waltons can heavy duty withdrawals from the same drugs that killed Elvis Presley be miraculously cured by a bedtime story from Mama. Mary Ellen portrayed by Judy Norton always seems to talk too fast, and her voice always gets more shrill when she utters key lines. The actor who played her husband was completely mismatched in age, personality and appearance. This social topic was brave for 1978 and was surely done in an attempt to earn the show another Emmy nomination. Would have like to see the parents chastise the doctor who prescribed Mary Ellen's barbituates and amphetamines in the first place before her lame attempt to steal them.
Drug Abuse Episode Falls Flat
mcdonoughnineteensixtysix28 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Many TV shows of the 1970s tackled the issue of drug abuse, and The Waltons was no different, offering up this unfortunate, ham-fisted effort. Hobbled by bad acting and a script seemingly written in an afternoon, it's clear that no one involved made any effort to educate themselves on how addiction actually works. Instead, we're treated to one of the more ridiculous episodes of the once-great drama where we're asked to believe that Mary Ellen goes from sober to hopeless addict and then to detox in the course of ONE WEEK. File this one in the Cringey Drug Abuse Episodes folder, right next to Little House on the Prairie's infamous "Home Again" two-parter.
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