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Green Acres
GreenAcres3rdSeasonCover

Oliver, Lisa and Arnold on DVD cover
Genre Sitcom
Camera setup Single-camera
Audio format Monaural
Running time 25 minutes
Creator(s) Jay Sommers
Producer(s) Jay Sommers
Executive producer(s) Paul Henning
Starring Eddie Albert
Eva Gabor
Pat Buttram
Tom Lester
Frank Cady
Hank Patterson
Barbara Pepper
Alvy Moore
Arnold the Pig
Theme music composer Vic Mizzy
Country of origin United States
Original channel CBS
Original run September 15, 1965 (1965-09-15) – April 27, 1971 (1971-04-27)
No. of episodes 170 (List of episodes)
Related shows The Beverly Hillbillies
Petticoat Junction

Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a rural country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was broadcast on CBS September 15, 1965 – April 27, 1971.

Receiving solid ratings during its six-year-run, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971, due to the famous "rural purge" decision by CBS. The sitcom has grown in popularity during decades of syndication and DVD and VHS releases. In 1997, the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold is Born" was ranked #59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[1]

Background[]

With the success of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, CBS offered producer Paul Henning another half-hour on the schedule — with no pilot required (which was very unusual). Lacking the time, he encouraged colleague Jay Sommers to create the series. Sommers used his 1950 radio series, Granby's Green Acres, as the basis for the new series. The 13-episode radio series had starred Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet (who also sometimes appeared in the TV version) as a big-city family who move to the country.

In pre-production, proposed titles were Country Cousins and The Eddie Albert Show.[2]

Eddie Albert Eva Gabor Green Acres 1965

Publicity photo for the premiere of the show.

Green Acres was about Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), an accomplished and erudite New York City attorney, acting on his dream to be a farmer, and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), his glamorous, bejeweled Hungarian wife, dragged unwillingly from the privileged city life she adored to a ramshackle farm. The theme tune, as with those of the show's rural cousins, explains the basic premise of the show. Eddie Albert sings all of his lyrics. Eva Gabor recites most of her part. At the end of the opening sequence, Albert and Gabor strike a pose which is a parody of Grant Wood's painting American Gothic. The debut episode was a mockumentary about this big-city attorney's decision to move to a rural area, anchored by former ABC newscaster (and then-current host of the CBS game show What's My Line) John Charles Daly. A few weeks after the show's debut, Albert and Gabor returned the favor by appearing on What's My Line as that episode's Mystery Guests, and publicly thanked Daly for helping to launch their series.

After the first episodes the series shifted from a run-of-the-mill rural comedy, developing an absurdist world. Though there were still many episodes that were standard 1960s sitcom fare, the show became notable for its surreal aspects that frequently included satire. The show appealed to children through its slapstick, silliness, and shtick, but adults were able to appreciate it on a different level.

Supporting characters[]

The show was set in the same universe as Henning's other rural television comedy, Petticoat Junction, featuring such picturesque towns as Hooterville (mispronounced "Hootersville" by Lisa), Pixley, Crabwell Corners, and Stankwell Falls. As a spin-off, it at times shared some of the other show's characters, with Petticoat Junction folks such as Joe Carson, Newt Kiley, and Floyd Smoot seen in "cross-over" episodes, and vice versa. Petticoat Junction, itself, frequently shared crossover storylines with Beverly Hillbillies during 1969-70.

Much of the humor of the series derived from the pragmatic yet short-fused Oliver attempting to make sense of the largely insane world around him. There seemed to be a dual perspective of reality: Oliver versus everyone else. The latter encompassed the Hootervillians, as well as wife Lisa and Oliver's affluent mother (Eleanor Audley), who lampoons Oliver for his agricultural pipe-dreams. At times Oliver himself leaves reality, for example, renting a rooster to awaken him, and farming and doing home and tractor repairs while in a three-piece suit.

The dishonest, oily salesman Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram), who sold Oliver the Green Acres farm (the Old Haney Place became the New Douglas Place), continues to con his easy "mark" in most episodes. Haney, along with young, glib farmhand Eb Dawson (Tom Lester), scatterbrained county agent Hank Kimball (Alvy Moore), and general store owner Sam Drucker (Frank Cady) make up the main supporting cast. Eb habitually addresses the Douglases as "Dad" and "Mom", much to Oliver's irritation.

Recurring characters included The Douglases' childless elderly neighbors, Fred and Doris Ziffel, who "adopted" a pig named Arnold Ziffel as their "son." Arnold understands English, lives indoors, and is pampered. He is an avid TV watcher and a Western fan, who attends the local grade school (carrying his book pack in his mouth). Only Oliver seems cognizant that Arnold is just livestock, although he frequently slips and begins treating him as a boy. Arnold makes regular appearances throughout the series, often visiting the Douglas home to watch their TV.

Another pair of recurring characters are two quarrelsome carpenters called the Monroe Brothers, Alf (Sid Melton) and his "brother" Ralph (Mary Grace Canfield). Seemingly, only Oliver questions the bizarre contradiction. The Monroes rarely finish projects (such as the Douglases' bedroom, securing the door knob to front door, etc.), and those they do complete are disasters. Melton left in 1970 (season four) to do Make Room For Granddaddy, so the writers developed an occasional subplot that involved sister Ralph's attempts to win the affections of "Hanky" Kimball or some other hapless Hooterville bachelor. Alf would later return for Ralph's failed wedding ceremony to Kimball.

Drucker was a regular on both series. The first bar of the Petticoat Junction theme song is usually played during the establishing shot of his store. While Drucker is a provincial everyman in Petticoat Junction, his character is bent a bit here (keeping plastic pickles in a barrel to appease "city folk"). Drucker also serves as a newspaper editor and printer, volunteer fireman, constable, justice of the peace, and postmaster. As editor of the Hooterville World Guardian, his headlines were often decades-old. He was slow as postmaster, having belatedly delivered a lost 1917 "draft" notice to Fred Ziffel after 51 years, which surpassed the 26-year delivery record of a lost 1942 WPA letter to Haney for stealing a shovel. As justice of the peace, Drucker once let his license lapse, unwittingly sending Ralph Monroe and Kimball to their premature honeymoon. Drucker often is the only character to be inspired by Oliver's rural patriotism, filtering Oliver's idealism to the townsfolk and the plebeian, backwoods notions of the community back to Douglas. In one episode the menfolk thought they could get a tax refund without ever having paid taxes. To Oliver's surprise, they did.

In a slap to government bureaucrats and civil service employees, Alvy Moore plays spacey agricultural agent Kimball, who would draw folks into inane conversations, digress and lose his train of thought, and then exit the scene.

Lisa's domestic ignorance provides fertile ground for recurring gags. Her "coffee" oozes from the pot in a thick, tar-like sludge; her "hotscakes" are inedible, and so tough that Oliver makes head gaskets for his truck and tractor using the recipe. In one episode, hotcake batter is used for fireplace mortar; in another, hotcakes are used to reshingle a roof. Her sandwiches include such epicurean delights as liverwurst and jelly. Instead of washing dishes, Lisa sometimes tosses them out the kitchen window. In the episode "Alf and Ralph Break Up", Lisa admits that she has no cooking abilities and says her only talent is her Zsa Zsa Gabor imitation (the real life sisters were often mistaken for one another).

Though Oliver and Lisa are both depicted as fish-out-of-water, the concept provides an ironic twist. While Oliver instigated the move from Manhattan to Hooterville, over Lisa's objections, it is Lisa who quickly assimilates to her new quirky, offbeat surroundings. Oliver, while eager to fit in, is often at a loss to grasp the surreal Hootervillians.

Many of the Shady Rest Hotel folks from Petticoat Junction appear, including the four Bradleys, and Joe Carson. Uncle Joe is sometimes playing checkers, loafing, or mooching fruit at the General Store with Newt Kiley or Floyd Smoot. Betty-Jo Bradley appears in one episode as Eb Dawson's date. Bobbi-Jo appears in the same episode. Kate Bradley appeared in a few of the early episodes trying to help Lisa adapt to country living, most notably giving her the recipe for her infamous "hotscakes". Western film actor Smiley Burnette guested several times as railway engineer Charley Pratt during the 1965 and 1966 seasons, but Burnette's ill health ended the role.[3]

Recurrent gags[]

Gags used through the series:

  • Lisa and Oliver must always climb the telephone pole to make calls, because the telephone company ran out of line before they could bring the handset into the kitchen.
  • Lisa mangles English words because of a Hungarian accent (or as her sly joke – it is not always clear which).
  • Eb occasionally calling Lisa and Oliver "Mom and Dad" and (in one episode) Lisa's mother "Grandma," and Oliver becoming exasperated when he does so.
  • "Mother" (Eunice Douglas, played by Eleanor Audley), completely adores Lisa and seems indifferent or antagonistic to Oliver, despite the fact that she is his mother, and not hers. She goes as far as advising Lisa to leave Oliver and move in with her in New York.
  • A fife and drum rendition of the traditional patriotic American song "Yankee Doodle" plays while Oliver makes a long-winded speech; everyone but Oliver hears it. Sometimes they look around, trying to find the source of the music.
  • Lisa's incredibly bad cooking, due mostly to her having had maids, cooks and other domestic help for most of her life. She can only cook one item "competently": hotcakes, and she thus prepares hotcakes for nearly every meal.
  • 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.
  • The Douglas' house being dilapidated and falling apart when they purchased it, and despite attempts to renovate their home -- which lasted nearly the duration of the entire series -- it never really saw much improvement. In addition to its sorry structural state, the house offered a number of quirks, including Oliver and Lisa's master bedroom closet, which featured a faulty sliding door that always seemed to slide off of its tracks, and no back, exterior wall (the closet opened directly to the outside). Oliver and Lisa's expensive, high-end furniture from their former Manhattan apartment is placed in the house for comic effect, making the structure appear even more shabby by contrast.
  • The Douglas' automobile, a glamorous Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible, always with the top down.
  • 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.
  • A Hoyt-Clagwell farm tractor that rarely works and whose wheels regularly fall off.
  • 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 characters treat Beverly Hillbillies as a fictional TV show, and one episode had the Hooterville Community Theater re-create 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 color picture of the Clampetts.

"Rural purge" cancellation[]

Main article: Rural purge

Although still popular, but out of the top thirty programs, Green Acres was canceled after six seasons as part of the "rural purge" when CBS decided to shift its schedule to more urban, contemporary-themed shows, which drew the younger audiences desired by advertisers. Nearly the entire Green Acres cast was middle-aged or older. The Beverly Hillbillies and other shows with rural settings, including Hee Haw and Mayberry R.F.D. etc., were also dropped. Said Pat Buttram (Mr. Haney on Green Acres) of the purge: "CBS canceled everything with a tree – including Lassie".[4][5]

Though Green Acres had been out of the top thirty programs for its last two seasons, the sitcom was still more than holding its own its timeslot. However, CBS wanted a completely new line-up and therefore, along with its related-show The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971. The sitcom's sister show, Petticoat Junction, came to a end in 1970. Since its cancellation, Green Acres has been shown in reruns, in syndication, on TBS, Nick at Nite, and on TV Land and MeTV.

Return to Green Acres reunion movie[]

In the 1990 reunion TV movie Return to Green Acres, a twenty-something Arnold survived his "parents", and subsequently bunks with his "cousin", the Ziffels' comely niece. (In reality a pig life span averages 12–15 years, similar to a dog). The film was made and set two decades after the series. The Monroe Brothers still have not finished the Douglas' bedroom. In the movie, Oliver and Lisa have moved back to New York, but are miserable there. They are implored by the Hootervillians to return and save the town from a scheme to destroy it, cooked up between Mr. Haney and a wealthy, underhanded developer (Henry Gibson). With a nod to the times, Haney's latest product is a Russian miracle fertilizer called "Gorby Grow".

Cast[]

In addition, there were crossovers from Petticoat Junction cast members, most frequently:


Of the above cast, Cady (oldest), Canfield, and Lester (youngest) are the only surviving members as of April 2012.

Guest stars[]

During its six season run, many familiar actors guest-starred on the show, along with other lesser-known performers who later achieved stardom, among them: John Charles Daly, Elaine Joyce, Gary Dubin, Herbert Anderson, June Foray, Robert Cummings, Sam Edwards, Jerry Van Dyke, J. Pat O'Malley, Johnny Whitaker, Jesse White, Al Lewis (actor), Gordon Jump, Bernie Kopell, Len Lesser, Bob Hastings, Don Keefer, Don Porter, Alan Hale Jr., Melody Patterson, Rusty Hamer, Regis Toomey, Heather North, Allan Melvin, Parley Baer, Jack Bannon, Rick Lenz, Karen Valentine among many others.

Future Happy Days stars Al Molinaro and Pat Morita guest-starred on separate episodes, while young comedian Rich Little made a cameo appearance as himself.

Broadcast history[]

NOTE: The most frequent time-slot for the series is in bold text.

  • Wednesday at 9:00-9:30 PM on CBS: September 15, 1965—April 10, 1968
  • Wednesday at 9:30-10:00 PM on CBS: September 25, 1968—April 2, 1969
  • Saturday at 9:00-9:30 PM on CBS: September 26, 1969—April 11, 1970
  • Tuesday at 8:00-8:30 PM on CBS: September 15, 1970—April 27, 1971

Episode list[]

Main article: List of Green Acres episodes

Crossovers with Petticoat Junction[]

The following is a list of Green Acres episodes featuring characters from Petticoat Junction. Only those that debuted on Junction before Acres are counted.

Season One
  • Episode 1: "Oliver Buys a Farm" - Uncle Joe Carson, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 2: "Lisa's First Day on the Farm" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 3: "The Decorator" - Kate Bradley, Bobbie Jo Bradley, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 5: "My Husband, the Rooster Renter" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 6: "Furniture, Furniture, Who's Got the Furniture?" - Uncle Joe Carson, Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 7: "Neighborliness" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 8: "Lisa the Helpmate" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 9: "You Can't Plug in a 2 with a 6" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 10: "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" - Uncle Joe Carson, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 11: "Parity Begins at Home" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 12: "Lisa Has a Calf" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 13: "The Wedding Anniversary" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson
  • Episode 14: "What Happened in Scranton?" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 15: "How to Enlarge a Bedroom" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 17: "I Didn't Raise My Husband to Be a Fireman - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 18: "Lisa Bakes a Cake" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 19: "Sprained Ankle, Country Style" - Bobbie Jo Bradley
  • Episode 20: "The Price of Apples" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 21: "What's in a Name?" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 22: "The Day of Decision" - Uncle Joe Carson, Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 23: "A Pig in a Poke" - Newt Kiley (NOTE: Kay E. Kuter was uncredited for his appearance in this episode.)
  • Episode 24: "The Deputy" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 25: "Double Drick" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 26: "The Ballad of Molly Turgiss" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 28: "Send a Boy to College" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 29: "Horse? What Horse?" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 31: "Culture" - Sam Drucker, Selma Plout
Season Two
  • Episode 1: "Wings Over Hooterville" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 2: "Water, Water Everywhere" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 4: "How to See South America by Bus" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 6: "One of Our Assemblymen is Missing" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 8: "Eb Discovers the Birds and the Bees" - Bobbie Jo Bradley, Betty Jo Bradley, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 9: "The Hooterville Image" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 10: "You Ought to Be in Pictures" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 11: "A Home Isn't Built in a Day" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 12: "A Square is Not Round" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 13: "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 14: "Never Trust a Little Old Lady" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 16: "His Honor" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 17: "It's So Peaceful in the Country" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker (NOTE: Smiley Burnette and Rufe Davis were uncredited for their appearances in this episode.)
  • Episode 18: "Exodus to Bleedswell" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 19: "It's Human to Be Humane" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 20: "Never Take Your Wife to a Convention" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 21: "The Computer Age" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 22: "Never Start Talking Unless Your Voice Comes Out" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 23: "The Beverly Hillbillies" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 24: "Lisa's Vegetable Garden" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 25: "The Saucer Season" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 26: "Getting Even with Haney" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 27: "Kimball Gets Fired" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 28: "The Vulgar Ring Story" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 29: "Who's Lisa?" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 30: "Music to Milk By" - Sam Drucker
Season Three
  • Episode 1: "The Man for the Job" - Uncle Joe Carson, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 2: "Lisa's Jam Session" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 3: "Love Comes to Arnold Ziffel" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 4: "Oliver vs. the Phone Company" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 5: "Oliver Takes Over the Phone Company" - Newt Kiley
  • Episode 6: "A Kind Word for the President" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 7: "Don't Count Your Tomatoes Before They're Picked" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 8: "Eb Elopes" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 9: "The Thing" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 10: "Das Lumpen" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 11: "Won't You Come Home, Arnold Ziffel?" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 12: "Jealousy, English Style" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 13: "Haney's New Image" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 14: "Alf and Ralph Break Up" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 15: "No Trespassing" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 16: "Eb Returns" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 17: "Not Guilty" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 18: "Home is Where You Run Away From" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 19: "How to Succeed in Television Without Really Trying" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 21: "Flight to Nowhere - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 22: "My Mother, the Countess" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 23: "The Spring Festival" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 24: "Our Son, the Barber" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 26: "The Hungarian Curse" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 27: "The Rutabaga Story" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 28: "Instant Family" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 29: "A Star Named Arnold is Born (Part 1)" - Sam Drucker
Season Four
  • Episode 1: "Guess Who's Not Going to the Luau?" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 5: "The Candidate" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 7: "A Husband for Eleanor" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 8: "Old Mail Day" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 9: "The Agricultural Student" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 10: "How Hooterville Was Floundered" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 11: "The Blue Feather" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 12: "How to Get from Hooterville to Pixley Without Moving" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 13: "The Birthday Gift" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 14: "Everywhere a Chick Chick" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 15: "The Marital Vacation" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 16: "A Prize in Every Package" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 17: "Law Partners" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 18: "A Day in the Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 19: "Economy Flight to Washington" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 20: "Retreat from Washington" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 21: "A Hunting We Won't Go" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 22: "Oh, Promise Me" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 23: "Eb Uses His Ingenuity" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 24: "The Old Trunk" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 25: "The Milk Maker" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 26: "The Reincarnation of Eb" - Sam Drucker
Season Five
  • Episode 1: "Lisa's Mudder Comes for a Visit - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 2: "Everybody Tries to Love a Countess" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
  • Episode 3: "Where There's a Will" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 4: "A Tale of a Tail" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 5: "You and Your Big Shrunken Head" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 6: "The Road" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 7: "Four of Spades" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 8: "The Youth Center" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 9: "The Special Delivery Letter" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 11: "Ralph's Nuptials" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 12: "Oliver and the Cornstalk - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 13: "Beauty is Skin Deep" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 16: "Trapped" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 17: "Bundle of Joy" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 20: "The Confrontation" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 21: "The Case of the Hooterville Refund Fraud" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
  • Episode 22: "The Picnic" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 24: "Uncle Fedor" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 25: "The Wealthy Landowner" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 26: "Happy Birthday" - Sam Drucker
Season Six
  • Episode 1: "The City Kids" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 2: "The Coming-Out Party" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 3: "Jealousy" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 4: "A Royal Love Story" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 5: "Oliver Goes Broke" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 6: "The Great Mayoralty Campaign" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 7: "Eb's Double Trouble" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 8: "Apple-Picking Time" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 9: "Enterprising Eb" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 10: "Oliver's Double" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 11: "The High Cost of Loving" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 12: "The Liberation Movement" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 13: "Charlie, Homer and Natasha" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 14: "The Engagement Ring" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 15: "The Free Paint Job" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 16: "Son of Drobny" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 17: "The Wedding Deal" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 18: "Star Witness" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 19: "The Spot Remover" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 20: "King Oliver I" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 21: "A Girl for Drobny" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 22: "The Carpenter's Ball" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 23: "The Hole in the Porch" - Sam Drucker
  • Episode 24: "Lisa the Psychologist" - Sam Drucker

Revivals[]

The surviving members of the cast were reunited for a TV movie titled Return to Green Acres. It aired on CBS on May 18, 1990.

On November 19, 2007, original series director Richard L. Bare announced that he is working on a revival of Green Acres.[6]

DVD releases[]

MGM Home Entertainment released the first three seasons of Green Acres on Region 1 DVD. No release of the remaining three seasons is announced.

DVD Name Episodes Release Date
Season 1 32 January 13, 2004
Season 2 30 March 8, 2005
Season 3 30 December 6, 2005

Granby's Green Acres[]

The Granby's Green Acres radio show aired from July 3 to August 21, 1950. The show was produced, directed and written by Jay Sommers, who wrote and produced a third of the Green Acres episodes. In both, a businessman knowing little about farming moves to an impoverished farm. The characters are more conventionally odd, the wife stereotypically talkative and dim, the "Sam Drucker" character senile, the hired hand stoic about the incompetent management.[3]

Nielsen ratings[]

Season Rank Rating
1) 1965–1966 #11 24.6
2) 1966–1967 #6
3) 1967–1968 #15 22.8 (tie)
4) 1968–1969 #19 21.6
5) 1969–1970 Not in the Top 30
6) 1970–1971

See also[]

References[]

  • Cox, Stephen (1993). The Hooterville Handbook : A Viewer's Guide To Green Acres. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-08811-6. 

Notes[]

  1. The 100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time
  2. Weiner, Ed; Editors of TV Guide (1992). The TV Guide TV Book: 40 Years of the All-Time Greatest Television Facts, Fads, Hits, and History. New York: Harper Collins. p. 174. ISBN 0-06-096914-8. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/garadio.asp
  4. Ken Berry—Enjoys Taking Astaire Way to Mayberry and Beyond!, attributing quote to Pat Buttram], at KenBerry.com. Accessed March 23, 2009.
  5. Quotation taken from amazon.com preview of book accessed March 23, 2009. Harkins, Anthony (2005). Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon. Oxford University Press US. p. 203. ISBN 0-19-518950-7. , attributing quote to Pat Buttram
  6. Green Acres: Original Series Director Wants to Continue Classic Sitcom, TV Series Finale, November 19, 2007

External links[]


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