Information AboutGreen Acres |
There is also the US town of Green Acres, Washington . ''Green Acres'' was an American Television series that was produced by Filmways, Inc. and originally broadcast on CBS from 1965 to 1971 . Today Sony Pictures Television owns the rights to the series (unlike its progenitor, ''Petticoat Junction'', which is syndicated by Paramount). After the tremendous success of '' The Beverly Hillbillies '' and '' Petticoat Junction '', CBS offered producer Paul Henning another half-hour on the schedule with no pilot required. Lacking the time to commit to another project himself, 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 television series. The 13-episode radio series had starred Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as a big-city family who move to the country, where their hired hand (a man in his late 40s) is named Eb, and the general store is run by a Mr. Kimball. {Link without Title} ''Green Acres'' featured Eddie Albert as Oliver Wendell Douglas , a rich and successful New York attorney who was acting on his lifelong dream to be a Farmer , and Eva Gabor as Lisa Douglas , his glamorously bejeweled Hungarian wife, dragged unwillingly from the privileged city life she adored to a bucolic life on a ramshackle Farm . Ostensibly a reverse '' Beverly Hillbillies '', after the first few episodes the series shifted from a run-of-the-mill rural comedy and developed an Absurdist world of its own. Though there were still many episodes that were standard 1960s sitcom fare, the show became notable for its surreal aspects that frequently included satire. They also had an appeal to children due to the slapstick, silliness and Schtick , though adults are able to appreciate it on a different level. Its premise is sometimes compared to that of 1982 – 90 '' Newhart '', though ''Newhart'' had no slapstick and was more cerebral. It was set in the same fictional universe as Henning's other Rural television comedies '' Petticoat Junction '' and '' The Beverly Hillbillies '', featuring such picturesque towns as Hooterville , Pixley , Crabwell Corners and Stankwell Falls. The shows even shared characters on occasion. Much of the humor of the series derived from easily-frustrated, obsessive and short-fused Oliver's attempts to make sense of the largely Insane world around him. Some of the more noteworthy surreal aspects included:
Other recurring characters included incredibly lazy and gullible farmhand Eb Dawson, acquired by Oliver along with the farm; dishonest and oily Salesman Mr. Haney , who originally sold Oliver the farm and who still always got the best of him; scatterbrained County Agent Hank Kimball , who always got lost in his explanations; and grocer Sam Drucker , the only person who seemed mostly normal, but who also saw nothing unusual in some of the more bizarre people around him, including Arnold. Although still reasonably popular, the show was canceled in 1971 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. '' were also dropped at the same time. Popular Western Film actor Smiley Burnette (also a regular on ''Petticoat Junction'') guested several times in the role of railway engineer Charley Pratt during the 1965 and 1966 seasons but Burnette's ill health ended the role. An Urban Legend says that the pig who played Arnold was cooked and eaten by the cast after the show ended. In reality, several different pigs were used during the show's run, none of which was ever eaten by the cast. Often the pig actors looked rather dissimilar to one another--for example, one Arnold had tufts of Grey Hair behind his ears, giving him an aged look. Another was female and had rather prominent Teat s--quite a sight to see on a pig who was intended to be a boy. Yet another Arnold has spots that others lack. This may have been an intentional goof by producers for Comedy effect. Arnold, it is revealed in the 1991 reunion TV movie ''Return to Green Acres'', survived his "parents", and was then raised by his "sister", the Ziffel's comely daughter. The film was made and set at least twenty years after the series (as Haney's latest product is a Russia n miracle fertilizer called " Gorby Grow")...but in reality a Pig life span is on average 12-15 years, similar to a Dog , so Arnold almost certainly would have predeceased the Ziffels. In the US and Canada , the first, second and third seasons of the show are available on DVD . A book containing detailed information on the creation and history of the show has been written, titled ''The Hooterville Handbook : A Viewer's Guide To Green Acres'' (ISBN 0312088116). At the 2005 Emmy Awards , the theme song to Green Acres was performed by Donald Trump of the reality show '' The Apprentice '', and Megan Mullally of '' Will & Grace '', who dressed up for the rendition in appropriate costumes. CAST
In addition, there were crossovers from ''Petticoat Junction'' cast members, most frequently:
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