Bedloe refers to the old mean guy who wants to shut the railroad down, and he was the villain on the first two episodes. He's back and nice this time. Too nice. Interesting episode with a little suspense. But what really stands out is Bobbie Jo's horrible black wig. At first she looked like a new character. Hopefully this isn't a precedent.
3 Reviews
Wig was alarming
skstoneman-190-2006695 September 2020
What's a-Comin' down the Tracks for a Quite a Spell, Pardner
darryl-tahirali29 March 2022
Think the C & FW Railroad has forgotten about the Hooterville Cannonball? Not on your life. In fact, "Bedloe Strikes Again" (curious how "Bedloe" sounds like "bedlam," isn't it?) when Charles Lane returns as the Hooterville Valley's nemesis Homer Bedloe--and this time he's brought reinforcements to help him shut down the wayward spur line that has been severed from the C & FW Railroad's network.
Furthermore, "Petticoat Junction" creator Paul Henning (who also helped to create Linda Kaye Henning, his daughter, who plays Betty Jo) and his co-writer Mark Tuttle apply a little misdirection: Even after irate Hooterville High football fans pelt the Cannonball with eggs after the Hornets received their own shellacking on the gridiron, which also hit bystander Homer, he flashes a sunny disposition as he prepares to spend the night at Kate Bradley's Shady Rest Hotel. After her initial alarm at Homer's condition, Kate becomes suspicious of his motives although Uncle Joe, serenely the pompous buffoon--even after, as the coach of the Hornets, he was the eggsters' primary target--is convinced that Homer is up to no harm.
Of course, he's wrong and Kate is right, confirmed when Sam Drucker, pumping his heart out on the railroad handcart after local taxi driver Willie Trankis (William Benedict) alerts him, arrives to warn her that two of the railroad's directors, John Fisher (John Hoyt) and Max Thornton (John Hubbard), are due in Hooterville the next day to inspect the Cannonball--and you know that can't be good.
Thus springs the locals' counterstrike to keep Homer occupied while they spruce up the little train that is rolling down the tracks now tricked out with the Shady Rest's best furnishings and with Kate aboard to whip up her famous chicken and dumplings to fool the city slickers, bragging about how they've ridden the finest trains in the world, into thinking the Cannonball offers luxury concierge service including haircuts and manicures as Billie Jo is on hand to dazzle them with her runway-model looks.
As "Petticoat Junction" built up a head of steam to deliver what would be a total of 38 episodes in its first season (try that in today's production environment), "Bedloe Strikes Again" displays the key elements to be reused again and again, inevitable when you combine formula with quantity: local yokels engaging the city slickers, with Homer exemplifying the recurring threat, using the down-home shrewdness of ringleader Kate while Uncle Joe symbolizes the home-grown obstacle to be overcome, yet with all banding together with heart-warming good cheer. Get used to seeing numerous permutations of this because that'll be what's a-comin' down the tracks for quite a spell, pardner.
Furthermore, "Petticoat Junction" creator Paul Henning (who also helped to create Linda Kaye Henning, his daughter, who plays Betty Jo) and his co-writer Mark Tuttle apply a little misdirection: Even after irate Hooterville High football fans pelt the Cannonball with eggs after the Hornets received their own shellacking on the gridiron, which also hit bystander Homer, he flashes a sunny disposition as he prepares to spend the night at Kate Bradley's Shady Rest Hotel. After her initial alarm at Homer's condition, Kate becomes suspicious of his motives although Uncle Joe, serenely the pompous buffoon--even after, as the coach of the Hornets, he was the eggsters' primary target--is convinced that Homer is up to no harm.
Of course, he's wrong and Kate is right, confirmed when Sam Drucker, pumping his heart out on the railroad handcart after local taxi driver Willie Trankis (William Benedict) alerts him, arrives to warn her that two of the railroad's directors, John Fisher (John Hoyt) and Max Thornton (John Hubbard), are due in Hooterville the next day to inspect the Cannonball--and you know that can't be good.
Thus springs the locals' counterstrike to keep Homer occupied while they spruce up the little train that is rolling down the tracks now tricked out with the Shady Rest's best furnishings and with Kate aboard to whip up her famous chicken and dumplings to fool the city slickers, bragging about how they've ridden the finest trains in the world, into thinking the Cannonball offers luxury concierge service including haircuts and manicures as Billie Jo is on hand to dazzle them with her runway-model looks.
As "Petticoat Junction" built up a head of steam to deliver what would be a total of 38 episodes in its first season (try that in today's production environment), "Bedloe Strikes Again" displays the key elements to be reused again and again, inevitable when you combine formula with quantity: local yokels engaging the city slickers, with Homer exemplifying the recurring threat, using the down-home shrewdness of ringleader Kate while Uncle Joe symbolizes the home-grown obstacle to be overcome, yet with all banding together with heart-warming good cheer. Get used to seeing numerous permutations of this because that'll be what's a-comin' down the tracks for quite a spell, pardner.
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