RIP Eb

[BTExpress]

They followed the rural sitcoms with The Waltons, a rural drama and a huge hit.

Reluctantly. The backlash from the rural purge was so severe --- including Congressional hearings about the quality of TV programming (not targeting family viewing) --- that CBS commissioned The Waltons. And they deliberately stuck it on Thursday night against two very popular shows --- Flip Wilson and The Mod Squad --- hoping it would fail so CBS could insist there was no interest in such programming.

 

[swingline]

The best part of The Waltons was John Walton never going to church.

 

[BTExpress]

Not even with Jack Tripper as a Reverend.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

We regularly use about a half-dozen Green Acres catchphrases around our house. Every time we drive by some broken-down shack, wife will say, "There's a Haney place." (Oliver and Lisa bought "The Haney Place" --- I think that phrase was only used in 2-3 early episodes.) There was some damn creative writing in that show.

And Doris Ziffel was a pretty strong woman.

The stories were that the writers sat around and got stoned before delving into "Green Acres."

It was a lot more "out there" than the Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Rural purge - Wikipedia

The line from Pat Buttram - CBS killing everything with a tree in it - including Lassie - is funny. I'm still amazed that so many of those types of shows were successful, particularly in the turbulent '60s. I'm guessing you could write a dissertation on the idea that at a time of great social unrest, people turned to these shows for reassurance and comfort - noting the lack of diversity, Vietnam, or strong women (Granny on the Hillbillies excluded). But then again, CBS has shown an ability to get a decent rating out of anything. Their NCIS shows are on auto-pilot and the knockoffs (SWAT, Seal Team, Criminal Minds) seem to stretch out to 7 or 8 seasons without breaking a sweat.

I would argue that Kate Bradley, who owned the Shady Rest Hotel on Petticoat Junction, was a pretty strong woman, running her own business and keeping Uncle Joe in line.

 

[DanOregon]

Man, that show had three people die during the run and six actresses playing the three daughters in just a six-year run.

 

[Starman]

Petticoat Junction was a snooze; it came on before I was very interested in girls, so watching the daughters skinny-dip in the drinking water supply didn't do much for me.

Green Acres was a scream.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Petticoat Junction was a snooze; it came on before I was very interested in girls, so watching the daughters skinny-dip in the drinking water supply didn't do much for me.

Green Acres was a scream.

I saw plenty of reruns. The sight gags were what made the show, like Oliver climbing the telephone pole to make a call or the closet door that always slid off the track.

 

[BTExpress]

Very impressed that Eb's RIP remains on the first page after almost two weeks.