Green Acres

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CBS (ended 1971)
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Show Summary

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Successful New York lawyer Oliver Wendell Douglas gives up the rat race to fulfill his dream: living the life of the traditional American farmer. Fighting the move to rural life is his glamorous, boa-wearing, city-loving wife, Lisa. This quaint premise, however, doesn't begin to capture the screwball absurdity of Green Acres. After a few episodes that were somewhat rooted in reality, the series' true oddness started to bloom. The characters see the opening credits as they appear on screen (or on chicken eggs); they talk with baseball-playing pigs who become movie stars; fife music accompanies Oliver's patriotic speeches and is heard by everyone but him; a full-sized Eiffel tower is built on the Douglases' lawn. Hooterville is clearly operating in its own bizarre universe where Oliver is the only normal, reasonable person--and that's questionable at times. The tiny town revolves around Sam Drucker's General Store, where Sam acts as shopkeeper, postmaster, justice of the peace and publisher of the "Hooterville World Guardian". He's one of the more level-headed residents of the valley, but that's relative. The other locals are considerable more bizarre and are a constant frustration to Oliver. Hank Kimball, the county agricultural agent, is a prime example. His short-term memory is so poor he regularly forgets what he's talking about mid-sentence. Fellow farmer Fred Ziffel is an elderly overalls-wearing man who, with his wife Doris, treats their pig Arnold like an actual child. Arnold attends school, reads, writes, skates, and speaks several languages (though they all sound like oinking). Con man Eustace Haney, who sold Oliver his dump of a farm, is always trying to fleece someone out of their cash. Apparently possessing ESP, he shows up outside of Oliver's door with whatever he and Lisa have just been discussing. The Douglases' farmhand, Eb, lives in their barn and considers Oliver and Lisa to be his parents. Lisa, a stylish Hungarian woman who Oliver met during the war, is hardly cut out for domestic life. Wearing ostrich feathers and diamonds around the farm, she can only cook "hotscakes" (badly) and her mangling of the English language is impressive. Matt Groening once accurately described Green Acres as "Oliver Douglas in hell". All he wants to do is farm, but the constant interruptions from the loony locals, the endless double-talk, the ambitious pig all conspire to make it impossible. Oliver earns his reputation as a "hothead" as his face turns red and he bellows about the latest aggravation.
Green Acres
began when CBS handed Paul Henning, the very successful producer of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junctionmoreless
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Episode Guide

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S 6 :  Ep 26 Aired 4/27/71
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S 6 :  Ep 25 Aired 3/16/71
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S 6 :  Ep 24 Aired 3/9/71
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S 6 :  Ep 23 Aired 3/2/71
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S 6 :  Ep 22 Aired 2/23/71
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Fan Reviews (26)

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  • Welcome to Hottervile...

    10
    "Perfect"
    By frosty_ice, Feb 28, 2010
    One of the funniest shows in the 60's, this series is a landmark when it comes to all sorts of gags. The show's story is about Oliver Wendell Douglas and his wife Lisa who move from New York City to Hootervile, in order to accomplish his dream of owning a farm. But this turns out to be a little more complicated than he thought it would be. Along the way, many characters try to help them do the right thing, but sometimes, things do not go according to planned. The characters are incrdibly funny, especially Lisa, who wa sprobably the funniest of all characters, and then, Mr. Haney who ended up selling all kinds of products to Oliver, even if this one did not want to buy them. With its incredible humour, this is definitely one of the greatest shows ever, since the Beverly Hillbilies. A definite 10!moreless

  • Rich character development make this a great show

    8.0
    "Great"
    By revbucky, Jul 14, 2008
    Green Acres has an appeal for everyone. Those who have lived in the city all their lives will enjoy the thought of moving to the country to live simpler, more down to earth life. Those who live in small-town America will get a kick out of the shenanigans that go on in Hooterville (the imaginary town where Oliver and Lisa Douglas live).

    Adjusting to country life is not as easy as it first appears to the Douglas family. Oliver is used to schedules and predictability. He finds neither in Hooterville. Surprisingly Lisa adjusts to farm life much better than her husband. She has a real knack for relating to the various characters that visit the "homestead" of the Douglas family.

    Ultimately, the success of the show rests on its great characters. Each one plays a vital role in keeping Mr. Douglas on his toes and Mrs. Douglas from missing the city life of New York City. Need a break from the rat race? Visit Hooterville!moreless

  • Everything about this series was great. I for one and very glad that I can have a opportunity to see farm living portrayed in such a humorous and at the same time satirize its primitiveness.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By timrbo86, Jul 31, 2007
    This show relates to me in a very big way. I did exactly what the Douglas' did. I was raised in the city and moved to the country later in life. Though Lisa eventually got used to farm living, she learned the hard way.
    I absolutely enjoy this series. The humor is just great and is something no one should miss.

  • Funniest. Show. Ever.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By borisbalinkoff, Jun 15, 2007
    This is certainly a positively hilarious show. It should be much more popular than it is. It might seem mediocre to a person who just started watching it. Some people might also think, "Oh, it's an old show, so it's not worth watching." But it was way ahead of its time, and consistent watching will reveal its true nature--laugh-out-loud funny.

    A hilariously funny event--quote, action, subtitle, whatever--happens every few seconds on this show. It has all kinds of humor, from the basic humor used on all shows, to the surreal, to breaking the fourth wall. Lisa's speaking flubs. Oliver's speeches. The unseen fife player. Ralph's man-craziness. Mr. Kimball's utter stupidity. Arnold's talent. The Ziffels' bickering. The seen subtitles. And more. All extremely funny.

    If this were promoted more and more people saw it, it could be an immensely popular show. Matt Groening is a fan, and indeed, The Simpsons has many things in common with this. The Simpsons is very popular, and Green Acres could be as well, because it is twice as funny as The Simpsons. HILARIOUS!moreless

  • It may have been before my time, but it was a great show. Lol.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By onceinabluemoon, May 31, 2007
    Green Acres is a classic sitcom from the 60s. The setting is a change from all the town and city scenes of many sitcoms of that time. I think because of the farm setting the show was even funnier. All the country folk in the show were so funny and loveable. But Lisa was probably my favorite. I love her character. She's so ditsy, oblivious, and hilarious. She has no clue about farm life and it's so entertaining to see her try to adjust to it. I also like Green Acres' jokes. They're so funny. Green Acres is definately a classic.moreless
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  • Pig Farmer
    I understand Mr Ziffle was a pig farmer . Arnold the pig was his pet.... that talked and everyone on the show understood him.... b...
    By vidking, Sep 09, 2011
    09/09/11
    4
    Reply
  • Hooterville
    Is it me are were the people in this town dumb.
    By wheelrchair, Dec 18, 2005
    11/20/10
    18
    Reply
  • Will Seasons 4, 5 and 6 be released?
    I have Season 3 of Green Acres on DVD and I loved watching the series again - I hadn't seen it for 17 years! I live in the UK and...
    By MattM1979, Aug 26, 2009
    08/26/09
    1
    Reply
  • Fixing the house
    I re-saw the first couple of episodes yesterday on TV Land. In it, Oliver promises Lisa that he'll fix up the place and it'll be n...
    By 318north, Jan 13, 2009
    01/13/09
    1
    Reply
  • Which episode is this from?
    Lisa and Eb are dancing in Lisa's bedroom to hippies 60s music and Oliver walks into the room and says can I cut in? Eb said find ...
    By falcios, Jul 07, 2008
    07/07/08
    2
    Reply

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Themes

crazy neighborhood, fish out of water, laugh track, small town life, 60s

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