Green Acres

[franksolich]

I've been reading about television during the last half of the 1960s--it's a world I never knew, for two reasons (being deaf, and growing up in the only house in town without a television set).

Does anyone remember the Green Acres half-hour situation comedy?

Apparently it was paired with two other shows, The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, but those shows look as if they were junk, while Green Acres appears to have been a real gem.

I looked to see what the internet had to say about it.

This, from wikipedia:

Gags used through the series:

    * Lisa mangles English words because of a Hungarian accent (or as her sly joke – it is not always clear which).
    * A fife and drum of the traditional patriotic American song "Yankee Doodle" plays while Oliver makes a long-winded speech; everyone but Oliver hears it. Sometimes they try to find the source of the music.
    * Oliver and Lisa wear metropolitan clothes unsuited for farm life: Oliver a three-piece suit, even going so far as to have a specific suit for a specific task, leading to comments by townspeople such as "He's wearing his plowing suit". Lisa wears jewelry, heels, and expensive dresses, although she did dress down for tasks outside of the house.
    * Using expensive furniture and a Lincoln Continental four-door convertible, despite the house never being fixed up.
    * Oliver's and Lisa's stories about each other — where fact cannot be distinguished from joke.
    * Mr. Haney showing up at inopportune moments, attempting to sell Oliver just what he needs at that moment (according to Haney, of course). Despite Oliver's protests and the obvious worthlessness of the items, Haney often succeeds.
    * Characters breaking the fourth wall by seeing and reacting to words in the opening credits.
    * Never having a working phone in the house, but having to climb a pole outside to use one.
    * A Hoyt-Clagwell farm tractor that rarely works and whose wheels regularly fall off.
    * A "sliding door" to the Douglas backless bedroom closet which always falls down.
    * Arnold being able to do things (off camera) like knock on doors, sign his name, and turn on/turn off television sets, leaving an amazed Oliver to say "How did he....?"
    * Green Acres treated Beverly Hillbillies as a fictional TV show – one episode had the Hooterville Community Theater recreate an episode of the series as a play. References were made to star Buddy Ebsen and producer and creator Henning. In the Beverly Hillbillies episode "The Thanksgiving Spirit", members of the three programs share a Thanksgiving meal with the Clampetts as they visit Hooterville. In an in-joke crossover Mr. Haney tries to sell Douglas a colored picture of the Clampetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Acres

And this, from somewhere else:

http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/gacast.asp

Wow.

Eddie Albert lived to be 99 years old.

[IassaFTots]

I remember it, but as reruns.  I also noticed your theme in avatars today.  Prayers up for Zsa Zsa, that she goes peacefully. 

[Ptarmigan]

I remember that show. It was reruns for me. It was really popular until CBS canned it along side with Beverly Hillbillies in favor of less rural themed shows.

[NHSparky]

Talking pig.  'Nuff said.

[debk]

I saw, and remember, the originals.   

Of the three, I liked Green Acres the best, and I liked Beverly Hillbillies too, but Petticoat Junction was stupid. Seems like I watched them more as reruns in the summer or later, than first run during the season. I don't remember watching them, as a family, at all, and I didn't have a tv in my room.

Just looked at the dates for all three. I didn't watch tv much from early 69 until late 73, I worked almost every evening, and in college didn't have a tv until my senior year.

[LC EFA]

We actually get reruns of that show on one station here today.

They also play Hogans Hero's , Alf , and a buncha other stuff that was canned from normal airtime more than a decade ago.

[catsmtrods]

Its a classic! The pig only talks to his owner Fred Ziffel but het can sign his nane!
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaB2cDm9-nY[/youtube]

[TJ]

Ah yes, I remember Green Acres well.  I had quite the crush on Lisa and thought it was hilarious how they had to climb a pole to use the phone.  GA, Beverly Hillbillys, and Petticoat Junction had some intermingling of characters from time to time which I thought was neat.  They were simple sit-coms that provided nothing more than a chuckle with some folks you got to know.  BH was probably my favorite, I liked Granny and how she'd get her dander up about something Jethroe did and then sip on her 'rumatize medicine, and I had a crush on Ellie May too.  I alway thought Jed was a good father figure.  He was always kind, even tempered, and would give you the shirt off his back. 

These shows were good for their times, but I have to say I liked Bewitched the best...and yes, I had a crush on Sam.  I will also admit to watching Gilligan's Island...do I need to say that I had a crush on Ginger?

[djones520]

Beverly Hillbillies was the only one of the three that I'd watch.  My mom was a kid when those shows were new, so she'd enjoy watching them on Nick at Night, and I'd watch them with her.  I don't remember much of Green Acres, but I BH wasn't that bad Frank.  TJ summed it up pretty well.

I do gotta say, while shows back then may have been a bit "cornier", you could definitely say they did a lot more for family values then today's crap does.

[Splashdown]

Reruns for me...reading this thread, it occurs to me that I can sing the show's theme song from memory.

That's either a commentary on how good the song was, or how pathetic I am.

meh. It can go either way.

I remember an episode where chickens laid square eggs.

[longview]

I always enjoyed Green Acres.  More than it's sister shows.  Still know all the words to the theme song and will sing them at work if we start going off beam during the day.

Worked on one ranch after college where I had to take the phone cord out to the pole and plug it directly in (until I figured out how to install a connection in the laundry room).  Always made me grin in memory of the show.

[franksolich]

I always enjoyed Green Acres.  More than it's sister shows.  Still know all the words to the theme song and will sing them at work if we start going off beam during the day.

Worked on one ranch after college where I had to take the phone cord out to the pole and plug it directly in (until I figured out how to install a connection in the laundry room).  Always made me grin in memory of the show.

Well, I'm trying to figure out if I could incorporate a figure much like Mr. Haney from Green Acres into my upcoming novel about the life and loves of Mrs. Alfred Packer.

Mr. Haney (given name apparently either Eustace or Charleton) was a local farmer turned salesman and con man in the rural Hooterville community who was a supporting antagonist character on the 1960s CBS television series Green Acres.

Haney, portrayed by veteran character actor and longtime Western film sidekick Pat Buttram with the odd, yodeling voice, sold his family's ancient, dilapidated farm to Oliver when he and Lisa Douglas left New York City for rural Hooterville and their new life as farmers. In the process of the sale, Haney stripped the farm of everything of value down to the plumbing.

Haney had cheated the Douglases by charging them several times what the property was worth and saddling them with a dysfunctional farm. He continued to cheat them by initially selling the movable property associated with the farm to them one piece at a time. Douglas bought Haney's cow, tractor and plow, all of which were as useless as the farm.

He continued to come back with his farm truck converted into a peddler's truck stocked with worthless versions of items that Oliver had need of. He almost invariably succeeded in unloading the items on Oliver at inflated prices despite his past shady dealings with them. He often took a piece of junk and called it by some outlandish name, suggesting that it has some use that it clearly does not and that it's in some way valuable.

Haney would often turn up in his truck at the Douglas farm, minutes after they've realized they needed something, selling exactly that (even if it were very odd), complete with a pull-down sign on his truck advertising it. If turned down by Douglas, Haney would offer a variety of equally useless alternatives. Oliver once said "How come you always show up with exactly what I need?" And Haney turned it on him by saying "Well let me put it to you another way...how come you always need what I show up with?"

In one episode, Haney's "Grabwell" washer, basically a barrel with an outboard motor in it, wrecks the Ziffel's house. Oliver successfully sues Haney. But Haney, of course, profits because the sale he holds to raise money to pay the settlement brings him in more than if he had peddled the stuff in his normal fashion. Further, Lisa buys some of it. In another episode, Haney examines what he believes is a dead cow (actually a plastic promotional item that fell off a meat truck), hoping to parlay the find into a profit, and refers to it as the “corpus delicious”.

Another time, Haney had what seemed to be an entire company in the back of his truck. One person comes out to speak to him. He then yells into the door for everyone to take lunch, and it sounds as if several dozen employees are contained in the small area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Haney_%28Green_Acres%29

[DumbAss Tanker]

I enjoyed both Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, Petticoat Junction was just stupid.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I enjoyed both Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, Petticoat Junction was just stupid.

Ditto, from what I recall watching reruns in my youth.

[Eupher]

I enjoyed both Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, Petticoat Junction was just stupid.

Agreed. Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) was particularly tiresome.

[thundley4]

I enjoyed both Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, Petticoat Junction was just stupid.

One scene from Petticoat Junction remains embedded in my brain, the girls bathing in the water tower, even though they weren't really shown.

[vesta111]

We actually get reruns of that show on one station here today.

They also play Hogans Hero's , Alf , and a buncha other stuff that was canned from normal airtime more than a decade ago.

Hogans Hero's Himmm the only time my Dad ever yelled at me big time.

I was sitting on the couch watching that Comedy?? as a teen aged when Dad came into the room and shut off the TV.


I thought he was going to have a stroke, his face turned bright red and the language that came out of his mouth--dreadfull.


He was bellowing like a grown bull,    " Listen up, that program will never be watched in MY HOUSE.  There is NOTHING funny about a POW Camp at any time in history."!!!!!!!

He must have felt bad after that as he later got me 2 books on the history of POW Camps from Andersonvill up to Korea.

I followed his lead and once I had my own place and to this day, never allowed reruns  of that show in MY house around MY kids.

Later when VM was in full swing I wondered how our men who had been raised on Hogans Hero's felt about that show after a few years in the Hanoi Hilton.

[The Hollywood NeoCon]

One scene from Petticoat Junction remains embedded in my brain, the girls bathing in the water tower, even though they weren't really shown.

Oh SNAP!!! Me too!!!!! I used to imagine those three little darlins in th'altogether.. 

I wasn't a huge fan of any of those, mainly because I was subjected to this insidious little form of torture each week...



:::shudder:::

[Eupher]

Mr. French was cool.

[The Hollywood NeoCon]

Mr. French was cool.

Well, that's true. Sebastian Cabot had total style.

[njpines]

Oh dear Lord, Buffy and Jody . . .

late 60s and early 70s, I never missed the Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Star Trek (originals and re-runs), Mission Impossible, Wonderful World of Disney and Laugh-In (which my dad would suffer through because I was cute  )

[IassaFTots]

I never missed Emergency.  I wanted to be Johnny Gage so bad.  So bad, I cracked my head open pretending to be a paramedic.  And then, I had to GO to Emergency.   

[Ralph Wiggum]

I never missed Emergency.  I wanted to be Johnny Gage so bad.  So bad, I cracked my head open pretending to be a paramedic.  And then, I had to GO to Emergency.   

I hope this guy wasn't your doctor:



Or this guy:

[Wineslob]

Ahhh yes, beeping moon rocks....

[The Hollywood NeoCon]

I never missed Emergency.  I wanted to be Johnny Gage so bad.  So bad, I cracked my head open pretending to be a paramedic.  And then, I had to GO to Emergency.   

Little Fun Fact: Universal City (which includes the Universal Studios lot) is so big, it has it's own L.A. Fire Department squad which is, of course, officially designated as "Squad 51."