"You call this a farm!"
"No. You called it a farm when you sold it to me."
The early episodes of Green Acres (specifically up to The Day of Decision, episode 22 of this season) have a very different feel from the rest of the show. They're very serial-like. In fact, I guess you could say they are a serial, a la Lum & Abner or Amos & Andy from the 30's/ early 40's. The basic plotline in each episode follows the Douglas's attempting to make their house a home, whether that involves redoing the bedroom or just trying to get a telephone in. Lisa trying to become a farm wife and consistently failing is another thread. A third deals with Oliver's attempts at being a farmer. Some episodes lean more on one bit than the other. This one has a bit of all three.
The "County Agent" arrives and he's kind of helpful, which is a heck of a surprise because the "County Agent" in question is Mr. Kimball. As the season moves along, Mr. Kimball will become one of the most consistently funny fellows that sitcoms have ever seen. But, in this, his first appearance, he's relatively restrained. He seems as amused as everyone else that Mr. Douglas has bought the Old Haney Place. He can't even give Oliver an honest opinion on the land at the end of their meeting. Very soon, he will become a strange, wandering forgetful man who works for one of the strangest (never seen) people around. The closest we get to the Hank we'll know is when he fumbles over Oliver's land question but that's not forgetfulness, that's trying to be tactful and failing. More about Mr. Kimball as he develops.
Mr. Haney does, indeed, rent Oliver a rooster and hen, Bertram and Alice, respectively. But, of course, Bertram is a rotten crower (he's really a pecker). The ill-timed crowing of the rooster causes wackiness throughout, along with making Lisa say the title at the end as she laughs at Oliver's dazed reactions to the rooster's crowing. And, as always, seeing Lisa laugh like that is pretty odd.
Lisa tries to cook the hotcakes again. One of them sticks to the burner. Oliver tries to spatula it up and gets the whole burner attached. "I think you're doing something wrong with these pancakes." At least, at this point, they still see the problem and are trying to work on it. Very soon, everyone would give up and live with the hotcakes and all their variations.
This is the episode where they get running water (definitely), electricity (sort of) and a telephone (not really). There is a wonderful sequence where the plumber is popping up in closets and on the roof as he traces the pipes. Then, the roofer suddenly appears from under the sink because he thought the plumber would be there. One of three moments where you can see the show shaping into what it will be. The other two are:
2) Mr. Drucker marrying a sack of flour and a sack of potatoes.
3) Lisa calls Hooterville "Hootersville". Oliver corrects her. She then calls it "Hoosterville." Eb immediately walks up and says "Are you going to Hoosterville?"
Oh boy. We're getting there.
The show has got a real nice groove here. The episode moves along at a decent pace. There are always several things going on so it never gets slow. For example, Lisa cooks hotcakes while plumbers and roofers crawl around the house while Mr. Haney tries to get them to rent Alice the chicken. It's edited very swiftly, which is great because a lot of sitcoms from this time can really make you feel the 25 minutes. GA generally has a lovely flow to it. As the show develops, it would focus more on one plot but it would have a large series of supporting characters to move around within. Now, it keeps up the pace by never settling on one thing. It's great.
Oliver is dealing quite well with the fact that no one seems assured of his farming abilities. In fact, once again, he delivers a heartfelt, stirring speech to Eb and Mr. Kimball. Both of them look utterly confused. He is also keeping fairly patient about all the house stuff. Water is hooked up but they need electricity to get the pump going. So, they rent a rotten generator from Haney. The telephone company brings over a phone, puts it on the wall and says it will be three months before they get the wires. Through it all, Oliver keeps relative calm.
Lisa seems to be in a bit of a state of grace here, too. She laughs at a lot of stuff and seems amused by life on the farm. Possibly, without Oliver's Mom there, she's adapting, ever so slowly. Tough to say. She's definitely still a Big City gal at this point. The scene where Sam Drucker is talking to Sarah the Operator and Sarah wants to know what Lisa is wearing is charming. And, the first time I ever heard the word "chartreuse".
Mignon, their dog, is a girl. I always thought she was a boy. I don't know why.
At the end, with a bum rooster, loud generator, no telephone and, possibly, nothing to eat but hotcakes for the rest of their lives, Oliver & Lisa seem very happy. The adventure continues...
Next episode: They can stop paying rental on those cots and that kitchen table.
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I found it interesting that they used some of the same actors in multiple roles. Sid Melton was the plumber in this episode, he will later be known as Alf Monroe. Foster Brooks was in several episodes as different characters. There were several other actors that appeared multiple times as different characters on the show. Maybe that just added to the wackiness.
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