1.17: I Didn't Raise My Husband To Be A Fireman

"Isn't that ridiculous?! Wouldn't let me ride to the fire with them!"
"You don't belong to the fire department."
"They would have let you ride with them."
"I'm sexier than you are."
"...that's not the point!"

And so, the shift begins.

The Monroe brothers go nutty.
The Volunteer Fire Department is made up of crazy people.
Oliver is now in a land of madness, rather than a land of rural people that he doesn't understand.

But, Lisa is not there yet. The quote up top is from her. The Pure "Green Acres" Lisa would never have said that. The early Lisa is not quite there yet.

"You insulted my hotcakes."
"No...no. I didn't mean too."
"You don't like them!"
"Yes, I do."
"How many do you want for breakfast?"
"1"
"3!"
"Why 3?"
"To prove that you like them."
"Couldn't I just eat one and applaud?"

And...the show begins to go from being a well-written, charming 60's sitcom into the glorious surreal insanity that would make the show so joyous. And yes, Lisa tries oatmeal instead of hotcakes. It doesn't work. She makes "fried oatmeal". Eb loves it.

Oh, and everyone keeps asking if Oliver is hungover.

Lisa still seems bemused by everything. That keeps in the way of it. She needs to take that step. She needs to become a true Citizen of Hooterville. Until then, she giggles and has a good time.

So, Oliver joins the Volunteer Fire Department. And, he has a scene where he has to st and watch for the "Fire Rocket" to go off. And, it's such a charming, human scene that it endears one to the show that much more.

This is a show firing on all barrels. unlike shows like The Munsters and F Troop, which never really take off, Green Acres has used its first batch of episodes to warm up...now it's kicking ass. And, Ralph and Alf are sawing pickles in half with saws and rockets are going off and the band is playing...If you've watched the show from the beginning, it's astounding. The show can do no wrong.

Jay & Dick have taken a bit of time to get into place. Now, they're almost there and we will not go wrong for some time.

Petticoat Junction is now fully absorbed. Uncle Joe and Sam's scene reading the article about the latest fire is lovely. It's sharper that Petticoat Junction and is...it's good. "Guess who wants to join the volunteer Fire Department?" Oliver does.

So many shows of this time never developed. Green Acres now has begun its big shift. It will become superb now...."What instrument do you play?" How do you get in the Volunteer fire Department? You play an instrument in the marching band. Oliver plays guitar. He gets in.

But, it is the charm of the scene where Lisa tries to seduce Oliver away from the Sky Watch Duty that makes the show human. (Actually, it's two scenes. But, I always make it into one in my mind.) If it didn't have that element, it wouldn't be worth more than a few laughs. "No, it was a shoosting star."

And, yes, Oliver gives a speech and the fife plays...and no one mentions it yet but it has begun.

"A little more arpeggio, Ralph!"

Oh, watching the Department march around the Shady Rest is very, very funny.

Now, we're cooking with "A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight."

"If a man ever needed nuzzling, he needs it now."