- Welcome back to "Behind the Scenes of The Waltons."
I have been asked whether "The Waltons"
ever did a Halloween episode?
Which we didn't really.
So seeing as how we are right here at Halloween,
I thought I would pick the episode that to me
most exemplifies what could be considered
the Halloween spirit,
a little bit spooky, a little bit creepy,
a little bit unusual.
That episode is The Changeling.
Now I have since been asked about
why "The Waltons" did this particular episode,
and people feeling like it was a little odd
and out of character for our show.
At the time that we filmed it,
I don't know that any of us particularly thought about that.
I certainly don't think I did.
It was just another script that I got that I read and went,
"Oh, well, okay, that's interesting. and let's film it."
So it really wasn't until various different viewers
later started saying, "that seems sort of odd,
a poltergeist what's up with that?"
So I guess it is a little unusual for "The Waltons,"
but I think they did a good job
of explaining why they went down this route
as far as the characters were concerned -
with Olivia going and finding out at Ike Godsey's store,
that there even is such a thing
that people have talked about as a Poltergeist.
- You use it on the poultry ghost? (laughing)
- Mr. Godsey, the word is poltergeist.
- And then doing her research and taking it back home
and talking with John and saying,
she really didn't know that she believed any of this,
but there it was.
So I felt that that stayed true to "The Waltons"
in that they questioned it,
and yet raised the question.
And I think it is an interesting question.
There are a lot of things that perhaps exist
that we can't prove.
Does that automatically mean they're not true
or they don't exist?
I've certainly had some creepy things happen in my life
that I didn't have good explanations for.
So I leave that question to you.
In this episode, Elizabeth doesn't quite know
what's going on with her and doesn't really want
to look at it or address it or face it.
So she finds herself confronted
with all this really unusual phenomenon
that is very scary to her.
And I have to say,
there were some pretty creepy moments there.
I don't typically think of "The Waltons"
as having scary moments,
and yet I found myself jump once or twice
when I was rewatching the episode.
When Elizabeth puts her foot on that stone
and it slides under the bed, I jumped.
And then that creepy Raggedy Ann doll.
That was just plain scary.
I don't know that I ever had a Raggedy Ann doll,
and I don't know that I would want one after that.
It was unusual for "The Waltons"
to have any sort of special effects in the episodes.
That was a pretty rare occurrence.
So here with the piano playing itself,
the chair jumping up and down,
the vase falling off of the mantle.
Those were kind of different elements for us to deal with.
I don't really remember how they shot them,
if - how much of it was live and how much of it
was just done in editing and post-production.
But looking at the episode, I'm like, wow,
I don't remember how they made the chair dance.
So kind of cool for "The Waltons."
The episode also touched on the relationship
between Elizabeth and her best friend, Amiee Godsey,
played by Rachel Longaker.
Rachel is still a part of our lives,
and we sometimes see her at Walton gatherings and reunions,
and she's grown up to be a very lovely young woman.
And we're always glad to see her.
In this case, of course,
Elizabeth is struggling with turning 13.
And it was interesting for me to watch this episode again,
because when I first started playing Mary Ellen, she was 13,
and was going through growing pains
and very angst-ridden about turning 13,
about being 13, and all the changes she was experiencing.
In Mary Ellen's case, she tended to be fight back,
as was typical for her character.
And be on the attack about things in The Homecoming
when she was pacing around and shouting at the planets.
Whereas Elizabeth treats it a little bit differently.
She has a much more internalized response
to what she is experiencing.
The producers, writers, dealt with Elizabeth turning 13
differently than they had dealt with Mary Ellen,
which I think was very smart,
because each of us was very different characters.
Neither one of us particularly confided
in our parents at that point.
And I appreciated the parents struggling
with how to help her.
As a parent It can be very difficult
when a child is struggling
to feel that you are being of assistance to them.
So I felt that the relationship
that Elizabeth had with her father,
who got her to smile and laugh,
and her mom, Olivia,
who didn't have anywhere near as much luck (chuckling)
with getting through to Elizabeth,
Elizabeth just didn't want to talk about it.
So a lot of aspects of the teenage experience.
This episode had a very sweet subplot
with Jason getting hired at a radio station
to ultimately do a show where he gives advice
on love and marriage and relationships,
and feels completely ill-equipped to do that
as such a young person
who doesn't have any real personal experiences.
And then he asks Mary Ellen for her advice
because she's married and has a baby.
And when he asks her what he should say to a woman
who says that her husband is jealous of their baby,
Mary Ellen tells Jason to tell him to go jump in a lake,
which I thought was absolutely perfect advice.
And probably something that I might say to somebody
who was being so absolutely ridiculous.
I do find it interesting that they made a point
of both Elizabeth and Mary Ellen being 13,
and experiencing all kinds of anxiety about it.
Personally, I don't remember 13
being any particular big deal.
I don't recall going through anything like growing pains,
but then I started working full time when I was 13.
So maybe that made a difference in my environment
because I had something on a broader scope to be focused on.
I had adult responsibilities, having to learn my character,
do my homework, learn my lines, be on time, work long hours.
Perhaps that is a good solution for some young people.
I'm sure it's not right for everybody,
seemed to work for me.
As far as birthdays went,
we did celebrate birthdays on the set.
I remember specifically because Jon Walmsley and I
have birthdays only a few days apart.
We would frequently share a birthday celebration.
They would have a cake and sing "Happy Birthday"
to both of us at the same time.
I remember one time when I was a little miffed about that.
I felt like I wanted my own birthday celebration.
I didn't want to have to share it with Jon,
much as I loved Jon.
It's like, why can't I have my own birthday?
And I could relate to my own brother
whose birthday is December 29th.
And he always felt that he wanted a separate celebration
from Christmas and his birthday.
And he hated when people gave him
a combined birthday and Christmas present.
So I've always made a point of celebrating those two events
separately for my brother.
So that's what I have for you today
on the episode The Changeling.
And this is my little tribute to Halloween segment here.
So I hope you have a wonderful Halloween.
It's a little bit different here this year.
I don't know if where you are, people are able to,
the kids are able to go out and go trick or treating,
Where I am they're kind of shutting that down.
If you celebrate Halloween,
let's help each other celebrate
these various different holidays in unique and special ways.
And I'll see you next time
on more "Behind the Scenes of The Waltons."
If you're enjoying, please like and subscribe,
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and I look forward to seeing you next time.
Thanks for watching.