Green Acres (1965–1971)

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

Creator:

Jay Sommers

Stars:

Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Tom Lester

4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Eddie Albert	...	Oliver Wendell Douglas (170 episodes, 1965-1971)
Eva Gabor	...	Lisa Douglas (170 episodes, 1965-1971)
Tom Lester	...	Eb Dawson (149 episodes, 1965-1971)
Frank Cady	...	Sam Drucker (142 episodes, 1965-1971)
Pat Buttram	...	Mr. Haney (141 episodes, 1965-1971)
Alvy Moore	...	Hank Kimball (135 episodes, 1965-1971)
Hank Patterson	...	Fred Ziffel (80 episodes, 1965-1971)

Storyline

Manhattan lawyer Douglas drags his protesting socialite wife and her finery to the rural backwash of a rundown farm outside Hooterville. They attempt to get the farm fixed up. Farmer Fred Ziffel's pig Arnold watches TV and is in many ways smarter than the Hootervillians.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | famous opening theme | pig actor | 1960s | multiple actors for one character | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Country Cousins

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (170 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the towns in the vicinity of Hooterville were Pixley, Crabwell Corners and Stankwell Falls.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Eustace Charleton Haney: [trying to hawk some worthless ceramic figurines off and claiming they're valuable] These are gen-yew-wine Siamese Catfish.
Oliver Wendell Douglass: SIAMESE CATFISH?
Eustace Charleton Haney: Well, they're still in the pussy stage.

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Crazy Credits

In some episodes, the opening credits appear in unusual locations (e.g.: chicken eggs, towels, writing on walls, newspaper headlines). In other episodes, the characters - particularly Lisa - react to the appearance of the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Petticoat Junction: The All-Night Party (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Green Acres"
Sang by Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor

User Reviews

absolutely brilliant

I'll admit it. I must be pretty low-brow because I am a huge sucker for this series. The chemistry and silliness are really hard to beat. When you do watch the series, you'll notice that at the beginning Lisa wasn't stupid at all and the show was a lot more conventional. However, as the show continued, the episodes got sillier and sillier--introducing Arnold the pig, a neighbor kid who went to the moon, the town of Hooterville trying to host the Olympics, etc. The show got a lot of criticism for its dopey humor, but if you watch it you can't help but laugh--and that is what makes a great TV series.

By the way, if you have watched Petticoat Junction, do not assume this spin-off is similar at all. I never particularly liked Petticoat Junction, as it lacked the humor and silliness of Green Acres. Comparing the two is almost like comparing The Andy Griffith Show (great show) with Mayberry RFD (duller than watching paint dry).