"Green Acres" (1965) TV series 1965-1971

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Creator:

Jay Sommers

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

15 September 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

A New York attorney and his wife try to live as genteel farmers in the bizarre community of Hooterville.

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Pig Actor | Famous Opening Theme | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Fish Out Of Water

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Eddie Albert	...	Oliver Wendell Douglas / ... (170 episodes, 1965-1971)
Eva Gabor	...	Lisa Douglas / ... (170 episodes, 1965-1971)
Tom Lester	...	Eb Dawson / ... (148 episodes, 1965-1971)
Frank Cady	...	Sam Drucker (141 episodes, 1965-1971)
Pat Buttram	...	Eustace Charleton Haney / ... (71 episodes, 1965-1971)

Also Known As:

"Country Cousins" (USA) (working title)
"The Eddie Albert Show" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (170 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 6625 Romaine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Though Eleanor Audley played Eunice Douglas, Oliver's mother, she was actually only one year older then Eddie Albert.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening song when Oliver sings "You are my wife," he reaches for Lisa with his left hand. As Lisa sings "Goodbye city life," Oliver reaches in and grabs her with his right hand.

Quotes:

Oliver Douglas: But he couldn't be dead.
Fred Ziffel: Oh, yes he could, I personally attended his funeral.
Oliver Douglas: Are you sure?
Fred Ziffel: I don't know what you do in New York, but around here we don't give a man a funeral unless we're pretty sure he needs one.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Monkees: Monkees Get Out More Dirt (#1.29)" (1967)

Soundtrack:

Green Acres

Worthy of a reappraisal

This programme was traditionally thought of as just another of the cornpone country comedies that CBS used to be noted for, like "Petticoat Junction" or "The Beverly Hillbillies". But with its button-down straight man, Eddie Albert, surrounded by a wild assortment of extraordinary oddballs, "Green Acres" looks both backwards to the screwball comedies of the '30s and ahead to the Bob Newhart series of shows which followed a similar premise.

I am a fan of the British absurdist tradition, as exemplified both by university humour, like "Monty Python" and "Fawlty Towers", with its basis in the antics of the Goons (and Alfred Jarry), and by John Lennon's disassociated imagery, with its basis, probably, in Edward Lear (and Hilaire Belloc), but I personally happen to believe that this particular show belongs to a distinct comedy continuum, one that's entirely American. But I do agree completely that where these two styles are concerned, fans of one are bound to appreciate the other.