“The Gift,” a recently repeated episode from the second season of “The Waltons” (seen in four-hour blocks Monday-Friday on Hallmark Channel) got me to thinking about the depiction of death in scripted television, which more often than not is a function of extreme violence and rarely explores the emotional and psychological aftermath of loss in a responsible way. There are notable exceptions – Alicia Florrick’s emotional retreat from reality following the murder of her sometime lover Will Gardner last season on CBS’ “The Good Wife” is one sterling example. Young Ephram Brown’s inability to find happiness following the death of his mother during the first season of “Everwood” is another.
Unlike Most TV Dramas, “The Waltons” Put Death in Perspective
