He directed around 167-ish of the 170 episodes of Green Acres. (Along with making the awesome film Wicked, Wicked.) Thank you, sir! Say hi to everyone for us.
Even Arnold watches Richard L. Bare programs on TV.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
R.I.P. Richard L. Bare
Mr. Bare has passed on at the age of 101! Good gravy.
He directed around 167-ish of the 170 episodes of Green Acres. (Along with making the awesome film Wicked, Wicked.) Thank you, sir! Say hi to everyone for us.
Even Arnold watches Richard L. Bare programs on TV.
He directed around 167-ish of the 170 episodes of Green Acres. (Along with making the awesome film Wicked, Wicked.) Thank you, sir! Say hi to everyone for us.
Even Arnold watches Richard L. Bare programs on TV.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Season 2, Episode 1: Wings Over Hooterville
Aired: September 14, 1966
Written by: Jay Sommers and Dick Chevillat
Oliver holds up a tiny piece of corn:
Written by: Jay Sommers and Dick Chevillat
Oliver holds up a tiny piece of corn:
“I’m going enter this in the Corn Festival.”
“That ought to get a big laugh.”
“Eb, this may be funny to you. It is not funny to me. This
is why I left New York.”
“To grow small corn?”
And Season 2 begins. And a show that was pretty assured of itself in its first season (while finding its format) is even more assured now. "Wings Over Hooterville" gives us Lisa making cupcakes (cake in a cup), the flashback to Lisa and Oliver meeting during WWII, a scene with Hungarian being spoken featuring English subtitles (which are referenced by the characters), an English officer telling Oliver to ask for "Hogan" if he goes to Stalag 13 and Hank Kimball delivering the kookiest slide show ever.
Jay and Dick pull out all the comedy stops here.
The Bing Bug is attacking all of the crops in Hooterville. And there is only one man who can fly a plane and stop them. But, first, we get the Meeting of Lisa and Oliver in WWII. "I don't think you're really American... you spend more time talking than smooching." Lisa helps blow up a tank by wearing a lovely gown. Oliver hangs by a parachute from a tree. And a glorious model tank rolls through some model trees.
The excitement and surreal thrill that was building up through much of the second half of Season 1 is officially here to stay. Mr. Kimball's Emergency Town Meeting is one of the highlights of this. The slides include: the Bing Bug itself (unidentified, possibly the mother, maybe the uncle), Hank Kimball in his early stages, the county agent from Dexter County dressed as a lady... OK, maybe there are only the three slides but they're still great. And the closing "Three Cheers For Mr. Douglas!" gag is beautiful.
"How do we get rid of the Bing Bug?"
"Well, there's one simple solution: Everyone go home and burn your crops!"
There's a lovely amount of sexual innuendo in this episode. Lisa constantly talking about smooching, mixed with her wiles used on the German soldiers (which will be even more evident in the semi-sequel to this episode "Das Lumpen"). The stock footage of big guns firing after Lisa and Oliver kiss. The mention of the sounds that the Bing Bugs make, except when they're mating. And, the story that goes with the slide of the woman in the bathing suit who is actually a man. It's the sort of innuendo that Three's Company or The Love Boat would have been proud of but never would have thought of.
The episode is paced like a bullet. With the addition of the flashback scene, there almost isn't enough time for everything happening here. And, that's awesome. Funny joke is followed by weird moment (what about those Right Brothers and their airplanes?) followed by laugh out loud silliness. With all this comes the realization that every character from Petticoat Junction is now fully acclimated to Green Acres.
Oliver ends up in trees a lot. He also ends up getting taken advantage of a lot by the Hooterville people. (And, at the end of the episode, Oliver's corn crop burns down.) Lisa is having a great time, whether she's making bad coffee or telling great stories. Now, the show is on track for the way it would run until the end.
The final image of the episode is a shot of the woods and the appearance of the caption "Prevent Forest Fires." Love it.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Oh, one thing...
Season 2 reviewing is about to commence! I was planning on including screenshots for this next round of reviews but my computer won't read my DVD. Possibly because it's double-sided? For now, no screenshots. I'll try again with Episode 2.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
1.32 Uncle Ollie
Written by Dick Chevillat & Elon Packard
"Well, might as well make yourself at home. Want to hang up your coat and hair?"
Welcome the HYPAS to the show. They are only mentioned here but they will return.
Anyway...
The episode begins with Oliver using some of Hal's Hotcake Flour as mortar for bricks in the bedroom fireplace. That's good stuff. (Lisa makes hotcake sandwiches later, which are genius.) Then, a loud motorcycle pulls up and Oliver's nephew Chuck/ Charles arrives.
The appearance of sleaze film director Don Edmonds (Ilsa, She Wolf of the S.S. & Terror on Tour) as Chuck/ Charles is tricky enough. Seeing him with his long, lush Mop Top haircut pretending to be a beatnik (or something similar) can do something strange to a Green Acres viewer.* It can almost make you turn the episode off. Hippies are bad enough. (We'll see some of those in a few seasons.) But, beatniks? Oh boy. I never quite understood the "beatnik." Bongo drums and bad poetry are all I can think of when that word crosses my mind. So, to end the very entertaining Season 1 with the appearance of a full-on beatnik can make one weary.
But, you should persevere. Trust me.
For the first two acts (around 18 minutes), this is about the beatnik's reactions to the farm mixed with the Douglas's reaction (along with Eb) to the beatnik. And, it's not-so-great as you might imagine. (Although, finding out that Eb likes Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck is cool.) There's some charm in it. I think this is the only episode where Eb whittles. But, Chuck/ Charles feels so out of place. The long hair jokes get tiresome fairly quickly. The laugh track seems to love him but who else did? Apart from, maybe, his mother. Possibly the writing credit should have clued us in: "Dick & Elon Packard." Where'd Jay go? Vacation? Granted, he deserves it. But, beatniks? Dick, did you tell Jay about this? I'd hate to think Mr. Sommers came back from two weeks in Palm Springs and wept quietly when he saw Mr. Edmonds with his long haired wig. But, it might have happened.
Then, the episode does something that I've always appreciated in Green Acres. There are so many shows from the 1960s and the 1970s where a character shows up for one episode and they suddenly become the main focus of everything. They're the ones who learn from their surroundings (or not) and the main characters, the people we come to see, fade into the background. Green Acres will do an episode like that later on with Bob Cummings. But, it will be a "seeing this world through an outsider's eyes" episode. Chuck/ Charles here is a little different because he's a beatnik. No different from a flapper or a stoner. He draws attention to himself and it's, mostly, laughable.
Then, the episode twists.
It turns out that Chuck/ Charles is great at souping up hot rods so he fixes his uncle's tractor. It goes so fast that Oliver gets arrested and dragged before a judge. Then, Oliver takes out his nephew's motorcycle and it happens again. While this doesn't sound like the height of hilarity, it's well done. And, it, basically, shifts the focus in the second half away from Chuck/ Charles and his Beatnik world to Oliver, where it should be. And, things become funny again. And the episode ends charmingly. And the end of the season is saved.
Giving such a large chunk of the episode over to an unlikable/ annoying character can make one a little worried that they might do that again. Luckily, they really don't do it that much. They keep the focus on the main characters, where it should be. So, Season 1 of Green Acres doesn't end with a strong flourish but with a few laughs. Now, things are going to get really wonderful.
By the way, Chuck/ Charles does not return. Hallelujah!
*Chuck/ Charles may not actually be a beatnik. He might just be a "groovy" pre-hippy kind of guy. However, he mentions getting an espresso. Coffee house=beatnik in my mind. Thank you. Good night.
"Well, might as well make yourself at home. Want to hang up your coat and hair?"
Welcome the HYPAS to the show. They are only mentioned here but they will return.
Anyway...
The episode begins with Oliver using some of Hal's Hotcake Flour as mortar for bricks in the bedroom fireplace. That's good stuff. (Lisa makes hotcake sandwiches later, which are genius.) Then, a loud motorcycle pulls up and Oliver's nephew Chuck/ Charles arrives.
The appearance of sleaze film director Don Edmonds (Ilsa, She Wolf of the S.S. & Terror on Tour) as Chuck/ Charles is tricky enough. Seeing him with his long, lush Mop Top haircut pretending to be a beatnik (or something similar) can do something strange to a Green Acres viewer.* It can almost make you turn the episode off. Hippies are bad enough. (We'll see some of those in a few seasons.) But, beatniks? Oh boy. I never quite understood the "beatnik." Bongo drums and bad poetry are all I can think of when that word crosses my mind. So, to end the very entertaining Season 1 with the appearance of a full-on beatnik can make one weary.
But, you should persevere. Trust me.
For the first two acts (around 18 minutes), this is about the beatnik's reactions to the farm mixed with the Douglas's reaction (along with Eb) to the beatnik. And, it's not-so-great as you might imagine. (Although, finding out that Eb likes Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck is cool.) There's some charm in it. I think this is the only episode where Eb whittles. But, Chuck/ Charles feels so out of place. The long hair jokes get tiresome fairly quickly. The laugh track seems to love him but who else did? Apart from, maybe, his mother. Possibly the writing credit should have clued us in: "Dick & Elon Packard." Where'd Jay go? Vacation? Granted, he deserves it. But, beatniks? Dick, did you tell Jay about this? I'd hate to think Mr. Sommers came back from two weeks in Palm Springs and wept quietly when he saw Mr. Edmonds with his long haired wig. But, it might have happened.
Then, the episode does something that I've always appreciated in Green Acres. There are so many shows from the 1960s and the 1970s where a character shows up for one episode and they suddenly become the main focus of everything. They're the ones who learn from their surroundings (or not) and the main characters, the people we come to see, fade into the background. Green Acres will do an episode like that later on with Bob Cummings. But, it will be a "seeing this world through an outsider's eyes" episode. Chuck/ Charles here is a little different because he's a beatnik. No different from a flapper or a stoner. He draws attention to himself and it's, mostly, laughable.
Then, the episode twists.
It turns out that Chuck/ Charles is great at souping up hot rods so he fixes his uncle's tractor. It goes so fast that Oliver gets arrested and dragged before a judge. Then, Oliver takes out his nephew's motorcycle and it happens again. While this doesn't sound like the height of hilarity, it's well done. And, it, basically, shifts the focus in the second half away from Chuck/ Charles and his Beatnik world to Oliver, where it should be. And, things become funny again. And the episode ends charmingly. And the end of the season is saved.
Giving such a large chunk of the episode over to an unlikable/ annoying character can make one a little worried that they might do that again. Luckily, they really don't do it that much. They keep the focus on the main characters, where it should be. So, Season 1 of Green Acres doesn't end with a strong flourish but with a few laughs. Now, things are going to get really wonderful.
By the way, Chuck/ Charles does not return. Hallelujah!
*Chuck/ Charles may not actually be a beatnik. He might just be a "groovy" pre-hippy kind of guy. However, he mentions getting an espresso. Coffee house=beatnik in my mind. Thank you. Good night.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
1.31: The Rains Came
(05/18/66) Teleplay by Jay & Dick
Story by Howard Merrill and Stan Dreben
"To put it in legal terms, he was non compos in his mentis."
"The compos of my mentis is not on trial!"
The 3rd episode with names other than Jay's and Dick's on them. I would guess that Howard and Stan wrote a script. And then, Jay and Dick took it and completely overhauled it. (I'm calling it "Green Acres-ing" it.) And, with almost all the scripts where Jay & Dick don't handle everything, it does feel a bit different from the others. Not tremendously but just enough so it feels a touch odd.
This one starts at the Pixley courthouse. Mr. Haney has sued Oliver for not paying up on a contract. There has been a drought in Hooterville. Haney brings a Native American gentleman over to do a rain dance. Oliver throws them out after the man does a couple steps. When it rains, Mr. Douglas claims the Native American gentleman did nothing. (And, he's pretty much right.)
There is a running joke about Oliver not being a real lawyer because he doesn't hang out at the saloon across the street. It's OK but a little trite. A little too sitcomy. Not so Jay and Dick-like to me. And, Haney's lawyer pretending to be Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind is amusing but doesn't seem quite right either. But, the judge berating the attorney with "I've seen your impersonation of Spencer Tracy" is good stuff. Even, Lisa and her sunflower seems like another writer to me. That's a subplot. She waters a sunflower every day and wishes on it. She wishes for rain. It's a Hungarian thing. I wonder if Howard and Stan just brought in a plotline and a pile of jokes. It was Jay and Dick's job to assemble them together.
Not putting down the funny here, though. The courtroom scenes are amusing but it's when we get back to the farm with the flashbacks that we really take off. I wonder if the original script was all in the courtroom. Maybe Jay and Dick took it and brought it back to the farm. The writing does feel different. Eb's goofy talk about vultures in the field is great. It's in the side stuff that the episode takes off. Mr. Kimball's visit here is very inspired.
I do get slight worries when I see other people's names on the scripts. Because, inevitably it feels like this is a show that had a very specific sensibility. Jay came up with the stories. Dick wrote the jokes. It feels weird when someone else does it. Like reading Sherlock Holmes stories by someone who isn't Arthur Conan Doyle. Haney seems a bit too obviously conniving here. Oliver seems a bit too competent for this point in the series.
A bad episode? No way. I laughed quite a bit. It just felt a bit like it was written by a fan of Green Acres rather than the main guys. Luckily, the show won't do this too often. Or it will find a writer or two who can join in the game.
Story by Howard Merrill and Stan Dreben
"To put it in legal terms, he was non compos in his mentis."
"The compos of my mentis is not on trial!"
The 3rd episode with names other than Jay's and Dick's on them. I would guess that Howard and Stan wrote a script. And then, Jay and Dick took it and completely overhauled it. (I'm calling it "Green Acres-ing" it.) And, with almost all the scripts where Jay & Dick don't handle everything, it does feel a bit different from the others. Not tremendously but just enough so it feels a touch odd.
This one starts at the Pixley courthouse. Mr. Haney has sued Oliver for not paying up on a contract. There has been a drought in Hooterville. Haney brings a Native American gentleman over to do a rain dance. Oliver throws them out after the man does a couple steps. When it rains, Mr. Douglas claims the Native American gentleman did nothing. (And, he's pretty much right.)
There is a running joke about Oliver not being a real lawyer because he doesn't hang out at the saloon across the street. It's OK but a little trite. A little too sitcomy. Not so Jay and Dick-like to me. And, Haney's lawyer pretending to be Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind is amusing but doesn't seem quite right either. But, the judge berating the attorney with "I've seen your impersonation of Spencer Tracy" is good stuff. Even, Lisa and her sunflower seems like another writer to me. That's a subplot. She waters a sunflower every day and wishes on it. She wishes for rain. It's a Hungarian thing. I wonder if Howard and Stan just brought in a plotline and a pile of jokes. It was Jay and Dick's job to assemble them together.
Not putting down the funny here, though. The courtroom scenes are amusing but it's when we get back to the farm with the flashbacks that we really take off. I wonder if the original script was all in the courtroom. Maybe Jay and Dick took it and brought it back to the farm. The writing does feel different. Eb's goofy talk about vultures in the field is great. It's in the side stuff that the episode takes off. Mr. Kimball's visit here is very inspired.
I do get slight worries when I see other people's names on the scripts. Because, inevitably it feels like this is a show that had a very specific sensibility. Jay came up with the stories. Dick wrote the jokes. It feels weird when someone else does it. Like reading Sherlock Holmes stories by someone who isn't Arthur Conan Doyle. Haney seems a bit too obviously conniving here. Oliver seems a bit too competent for this point in the series.
A bad episode? No way. I laughed quite a bit. It just felt a bit like it was written by a fan of Green Acres rather than the main guys. Luckily, the show won't do this too often. Or it will find a writer or two who can join in the game.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
1.30: Culture
5/25/66 Jay & Dick
"Uh oh. Here come my boss."
"Eb, you're supposed to be working."
"Are you going to hit him again?"
"What?"
"He told us when he don't work you beat him with a baseball bat."
"Or an axe handle."
I know. The dialog sounds rough. But, it's delivered by Henry and Horace, two local Hooterville kids. Eb's watching them while their moms are getting together for a cultural meeting. The ladies, led by Lisa, decide that it's time for culture to hit Hooterville. Ralph Monroe may never get the closet door in the bedroom finished. But, she'll take the minutes on the club voting for a Hooterville Symphony Orchestra.
Oliver immediately declares all the women to be "nuts". And, he could be right. Watching the group of women in this puts me very close to feeling that this a "rural" show after all. Ralph is nutty, as always. The rest of the ladies are very countrified. They seem like they could safely meet at the Shady Rest over on Petticoat Junction and not have a problem.
We learn that Hooterville has less than 110 people. We hear the first use of the word "wetback" in the show. Derogatory? Definitely. But, Oliver's follow-up line about smuggling in a "few damp oboe players" is funny. Oliver, in fact, spends most of the episode amused at Lisa's attempts to bring the culture in. In this episode, he seems settled into the world of Hooterville in a way he hasn't so far. He's doing his thing. And, a sign that he's comfortable here comes in the "Fantasy Flashback" sequence. The first of many that this series will have.
"The Concert in the Park" sequence. A band plays 'The Irish Washer Woman". Two people who look a lot like Oliver and Lisa sit and listen and flirt. In fact, it is Oliver and Lisa breaking the fourth wall constantly. Lisa mentions The Beach Boys and calls Oliver "Irving". Oliver insinuates that smooching should be a big part of their afternoon. Lisa keeps pointing out that her "mother is very strict". They smooch behind a parasol. Oliver kisses like a Harry. He's no Irving. I do love the flashbacks. In the later seasons, these would, generally, involve Oliver and Lisa telling about how they met. Here, it's another charming element added to the series bag of tricks.
Sir Jeffrey Wingate, AKA Poopsie, comes to Hooterville to start the orchestra. Guess what? It all goes wrong. One of the joys of the episode, in fact one of the joys of the show, is that the plot is really just a basic framework for a lot of goofing around. We see the New York City skyline. A caption reads "What city is this?" Three seconds later, we read "If you answered New York, you were correct." The season is ending and the guys are pushing the sitcom boundaries even further.
Sir Jeffrey arrives and discovers no culture in Hooterville. But, he's a stuffy clod. The people are very gung ho. Oliver can't stop smiling at all of it. I like to think of Oliver as a character in a sitcom who discovered, upon arriving in Hooterville, that his sitcom makes no sense. This is one of the few episodes where Oliver is in the sitcom he seems to think he should be in. It suits him. His bemusement is charming. When Oliver says that he can play guitar in the orchestra because his wife is in charge and said he could, it is very funny. And, watching the Volunteer Fire Department band playing for Poopsie is a joy.
Watching Poopsie degenerate during the third act rehearsal is funny. The people of Hooterville force a confident man to run out of town in one night. When he asks them to play Brahms' Lullaby, they all play "Hot Time in the Old Tonight". We knew they'd play it. We know they'll play it again. It's funny.
And, the episode ends with a callback to Lisa's mom being "very strict". Nicely done.
"Uh oh. Here come my boss."
"Eb, you're supposed to be working."
"Are you going to hit him again?"
"What?"
"He told us when he don't work you beat him with a baseball bat."
"Or an axe handle."
I know. The dialog sounds rough. But, it's delivered by Henry and Horace, two local Hooterville kids. Eb's watching them while their moms are getting together for a cultural meeting. The ladies, led by Lisa, decide that it's time for culture to hit Hooterville. Ralph Monroe may never get the closet door in the bedroom finished. But, she'll take the minutes on the club voting for a Hooterville Symphony Orchestra.
Oliver immediately declares all the women to be "nuts". And, he could be right. Watching the group of women in this puts me very close to feeling that this a "rural" show after all. Ralph is nutty, as always. The rest of the ladies are very countrified. They seem like they could safely meet at the Shady Rest over on Petticoat Junction and not have a problem.
We learn that Hooterville has less than 110 people. We hear the first use of the word "wetback" in the show. Derogatory? Definitely. But, Oliver's follow-up line about smuggling in a "few damp oboe players" is funny. Oliver, in fact, spends most of the episode amused at Lisa's attempts to bring the culture in. In this episode, he seems settled into the world of Hooterville in a way he hasn't so far. He's doing his thing. And, a sign that he's comfortable here comes in the "Fantasy Flashback" sequence. The first of many that this series will have.
"The Concert in the Park" sequence. A band plays 'The Irish Washer Woman". Two people who look a lot like Oliver and Lisa sit and listen and flirt. In fact, it is Oliver and Lisa breaking the fourth wall constantly. Lisa mentions The Beach Boys and calls Oliver "Irving". Oliver insinuates that smooching should be a big part of their afternoon. Lisa keeps pointing out that her "mother is very strict". They smooch behind a parasol. Oliver kisses like a Harry. He's no Irving. I do love the flashbacks. In the later seasons, these would, generally, involve Oliver and Lisa telling about how they met. Here, it's another charming element added to the series bag of tricks.
Sir Jeffrey Wingate, AKA Poopsie, comes to Hooterville to start the orchestra. Guess what? It all goes wrong. One of the joys of the episode, in fact one of the joys of the show, is that the plot is really just a basic framework for a lot of goofing around. We see the New York City skyline. A caption reads "What city is this?" Three seconds later, we read "If you answered New York, you were correct." The season is ending and the guys are pushing the sitcom boundaries even further.
Sir Jeffrey arrives and discovers no culture in Hooterville. But, he's a stuffy clod. The people are very gung ho. Oliver can't stop smiling at all of it. I like to think of Oliver as a character in a sitcom who discovered, upon arriving in Hooterville, that his sitcom makes no sense. This is one of the few episodes where Oliver is in the sitcom he seems to think he should be in. It suits him. His bemusement is charming. When Oliver says that he can play guitar in the orchestra because his wife is in charge and said he could, it is very funny. And, watching the Volunteer Fire Department band playing for Poopsie is a joy.
Watching Poopsie degenerate during the third act rehearsal is funny. The people of Hooterville force a confident man to run out of town in one night. When he asks them to play Brahms' Lullaby, they all play "Hot Time in the Old Tonight". We knew they'd play it. We know they'll play it again. It's funny.
And, the episode ends with a callback to Lisa's mom being "very strict". Nicely done.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
1.29: Horse? What Horse?
Aired: 5/11/66 (Written by: Jay & Dick)
"Lisa, wake up! There's a zebra in the window."
Here's a surprise: The tractor isn't working. The radiator is screwed up. Oliver goes to the telephone pole, which is next to the electrical pole, to call Mr. Drucker about a new one. He immediately gets involved in a long scene going up and down the telephone pole and the electrical pole. They really made Eddie Albert work out hard in some of these episodes. Mr. Drucker keeps calling. The electrical cord keeps falling out. Mrs. Ziffel wants to make a call on the party line. Lisa is unhelpful. It all ends with Oliver falling off one of the poles. Wonderful comedy.
Oliver is looking peaked and muttering a lot. Eventually, he ends up seeing a white horse with black spots. The horse follows him home from the field. But, no one else sees the animal. As the episode continues, Oliver sees a camel and a zebra... And, everyone thinks he's going crazy. Standard sitcom plotting. But, there's something about straight Oliver being disbelieved by the crazy people of Hooterville that gives it a little twist. We know that they're a little off and that Oliver is our touchstone for "normality". What happens when he begins to slip away? I thought it was an interesting bit of plotting that the horse doesn't show up until the end of Act 1. We set up Oliver's exhaustion in Act 1. The horse is all throughout Act 2. The animals multiply and we learn what's going on in Act 3.
I always found it a little odd that the animals end up having a regular (more or less) explanation. (I won't ruin it here.) I'd always thought that it should be a little stranger. We're still in early days, though. As the show goes along, the general insanity will become truly insane, but in a fun way. (After saying that, I realize that the scene where Lisa shows their Gaugin and their Matisse and their Renoir to the county doctor is a nice touch of insanity. The pricey paintings are hanging out on their shabby walls and the doctor is flabbergasted.)
As far as the funny goes, the opening act is the best here. The aforementioned pole sequence has great verbal and visual laughs in it. The last two-thirds are charming because I love seeing characters I enjoy going through a standard sitcom plot. I like to see where the writers are going to take it. I like to see where the actors are going to go with it. It's a nice conceit to have Oliver, possibly, breaking up. The second half isn't quite as wacky as the first. It is just very entertaining and very charming. We are near the end of the season. Jay and Dick can be forgiven for being a little light on the laughs as long as there is still joy.
Three moments from the last acts grabbed my attention:
1) Oliver's speech to the doctor about scratching in the ground is one of his best. As the doctor looks on, we can all believe that Oliver has gone around the bend.
2) Lisa trying to "slip a mickey" into Oliver's milk, which ends up getting her loaded. We know it's going to happen. But, Eb's calm straight man antics and Lisa's fast-moving, ever-expanding confusion about where the pills are make it great. And, when Oliver says "You know I don't drink milk," that is the capper.
3) Hank Kimball's scene, where he seems to be the sanest man in the scene, is quite funny.
"Lisa, wake up! There's a zebra in the window."
Here's a surprise: The tractor isn't working. The radiator is screwed up. Oliver goes to the telephone pole, which is next to the electrical pole, to call Mr. Drucker about a new one. He immediately gets involved in a long scene going up and down the telephone pole and the electrical pole. They really made Eddie Albert work out hard in some of these episodes. Mr. Drucker keeps calling. The electrical cord keeps falling out. Mrs. Ziffel wants to make a call on the party line. Lisa is unhelpful. It all ends with Oliver falling off one of the poles. Wonderful comedy.
Oliver is looking peaked and muttering a lot. Eventually, he ends up seeing a white horse with black spots. The horse follows him home from the field. But, no one else sees the animal. As the episode continues, Oliver sees a camel and a zebra... And, everyone thinks he's going crazy. Standard sitcom plotting. But, there's something about straight Oliver being disbelieved by the crazy people of Hooterville that gives it a little twist. We know that they're a little off and that Oliver is our touchstone for "normality". What happens when he begins to slip away? I thought it was an interesting bit of plotting that the horse doesn't show up until the end of Act 1. We set up Oliver's exhaustion in Act 1. The horse is all throughout Act 2. The animals multiply and we learn what's going on in Act 3.
I always found it a little odd that the animals end up having a regular (more or less) explanation. (I won't ruin it here.) I'd always thought that it should be a little stranger. We're still in early days, though. As the show goes along, the general insanity will become truly insane, but in a fun way. (After saying that, I realize that the scene where Lisa shows their Gaugin and their Matisse and their Renoir to the county doctor is a nice touch of insanity. The pricey paintings are hanging out on their shabby walls and the doctor is flabbergasted.)
As far as the funny goes, the opening act is the best here. The aforementioned pole sequence has great verbal and visual laughs in it. The last two-thirds are charming because I love seeing characters I enjoy going through a standard sitcom plot. I like to see where the writers are going to take it. I like to see where the actors are going to go with it. It's a nice conceit to have Oliver, possibly, breaking up. The second half isn't quite as wacky as the first. It is just very entertaining and very charming. We are near the end of the season. Jay and Dick can be forgiven for being a little light on the laughs as long as there is still joy.
Three moments from the last acts grabbed my attention:
1) Oliver's speech to the doctor about scratching in the ground is one of his best. As the doctor looks on, we can all believe that Oliver has gone around the bend.
2) Lisa trying to "slip a mickey" into Oliver's milk, which ends up getting her loaded. We know it's going to happen. But, Eb's calm straight man antics and Lisa's fast-moving, ever-expanding confusion about where the pills are make it great. And, when Oliver says "You know I don't drink milk," that is the capper.
3) Hank Kimball's scene, where he seems to be the sanest man in the scene, is quite funny.
Monday, June 11, 2012
1.28: Never Look a Gift Tractor In The Mouth
"Boy, you are a grouch! That's what I get for marrying a man 68 years older than I am!"
Well, it's Oliver's birthday... and the tractor is finally really bothering him. And, Lisa decides to get him a tractor... So, how does Mr. Ziffel end up with it? Through Comedy, my friends. Very funny comedy. Jay & Dick are cooking along here. Lisa at her silliest, visiting with the Tractor Salesman, talking to Oliver about gifts and, then, letting the Ziffels have the tractor.
It's Oliver's birthday but Lisa gets the episode. And the Ziffels share it with her. I love Mrs. Ziffel's general assumption that Lisa and her husband must have something going on. The incredible age range doesn't even factor in. I love how happy Mr. Ziffel is to get the tractor and Oliver gets so excited for him. The reaction Oliver has when he knows that the tractor is his but the Ziffels would be better off with it is priceless. I've had that reaction.
And, Oliver's "What did you say, Mrs. Ziffel?' as Arnold oinks on the radio always makes me laugh.
Turns out the city folks are really nice folks. We always knew they would be, though.
Well, it's Oliver's birthday... and the tractor is finally really bothering him. And, Lisa decides to get him a tractor... So, how does Mr. Ziffel end up with it? Through Comedy, my friends. Very funny comedy. Jay & Dick are cooking along here. Lisa at her silliest, visiting with the Tractor Salesman, talking to Oliver about gifts and, then, letting the Ziffels have the tractor.
It's Oliver's birthday but Lisa gets the episode. And the Ziffels share it with her. I love Mrs. Ziffel's general assumption that Lisa and her husband must have something going on. The incredible age range doesn't even factor in. I love how happy Mr. Ziffel is to get the tractor and Oliver gets so excited for him. The reaction Oliver has when he knows that the tractor is his but the Ziffels would be better off with it is priceless. I've had that reaction.
And, Oliver's "What did you say, Mrs. Ziffel?' as Arnold oinks on the radio always makes me laugh.
Turns out the city folks are really nice folks. We always knew they would be, though.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
1.27: Send a Boy To College
"He been suffering from lassitudinessness?"
"He's been lastiduinising all over the place."
Hooray! We get a Whole Lot Of Eb in this episode and it is very, very cool. Eb turns out to be very good at treating sick animals. So, the Douglases (mainly with pushing from Lisa) send him to the local college to become a vet. Of course, he comes right back in the end without a degree but I don't want to ruin everything. The "Sending" is the important part of this episode.
And, it is one of the funniest. (That's saying something in a show like this.) I always forget how funny it is until I sit down and watch it. But, starting with the "Shneaking" around the house to get away from Lisa's new breakfast recipe to the closing scene in the barn (with Lisa's charming laugh over the closing shot of the barn itself), this episode has a very high Funny Factor to it. In fact, it was tough to pick one quote. New ones kept popping up every couple of minutes. Everyone shows up and does their thing and everyone is funny.
The scene with Mr. Drucker is a great example. ("He should go to college so he can become a vegetarian."). Lisa is on a Super Roll. She's becoming very insistent that Eb must go to college and her varying English is steamrolling across the conversation. One of my favorite things that the show will do is underplay the laughs on the laugh track. She says some very funny things. And, Oliver's reactions are wonderfully dry but they never overdo the laughs. Restraint on a sitcom? Who would have guessed?
As always, the Douglases are good people. And, the people of Hooterville are nice & a little loopy. The show now seems to be right in the spot where it needs to be. It isn't entirely crazy yet but it's getting there. Bits like Mr. Kimball preparing his coffee in a test tube ("It makes it more scientific.") could have seemed like standard silly sitcom behavior but the writing here is sharper and the actors are game. When something is actually funny (as opposed to forcing it), it's funny. The comedy just flows.
That's the Green Acres that I love. An energetic, silly, funny show filled with a lot of heart and characters who make me want to visit their town. This is a great episode. I would say that it's perfect for a first viewing but I always get those things wrong. Make it your third viewing of the show after the first two episodes... enjoy.
"He's been lastiduinising all over the place."
Hooray! We get a Whole Lot Of Eb in this episode and it is very, very cool. Eb turns out to be very good at treating sick animals. So, the Douglases (mainly with pushing from Lisa) send him to the local college to become a vet. Of course, he comes right back in the end without a degree but I don't want to ruin everything. The "Sending" is the important part of this episode.
And, it is one of the funniest. (That's saying something in a show like this.) I always forget how funny it is until I sit down and watch it. But, starting with the "Shneaking" around the house to get away from Lisa's new breakfast recipe to the closing scene in the barn (with Lisa's charming laugh over the closing shot of the barn itself), this episode has a very high Funny Factor to it. In fact, it was tough to pick one quote. New ones kept popping up every couple of minutes. Everyone shows up and does their thing and everyone is funny.
The scene with Mr. Drucker is a great example. ("He should go to college so he can become a vegetarian."). Lisa is on a Super Roll. She's becoming very insistent that Eb must go to college and her varying English is steamrolling across the conversation. One of my favorite things that the show will do is underplay the laughs on the laugh track. She says some very funny things. And, Oliver's reactions are wonderfully dry but they never overdo the laughs. Restraint on a sitcom? Who would have guessed?
As always, the Douglases are good people. And, the people of Hooterville are nice & a little loopy. The show now seems to be right in the spot where it needs to be. It isn't entirely crazy yet but it's getting there. Bits like Mr. Kimball preparing his coffee in a test tube ("It makes it more scientific.") could have seemed like standard silly sitcom behavior but the writing here is sharper and the actors are game. When something is actually funny (as opposed to forcing it), it's funny. The comedy just flows.
That's the Green Acres that I love. An energetic, silly, funny show filled with a lot of heart and characters who make me want to visit their town. This is a great episode. I would say that it's perfect for a first viewing but I always get those things wrong. Make it your third viewing of the show after the first two episodes... enjoy.
Friday, September 23, 2011
1.26: Double Drick
"Number 7? Does anybody have Number 7?...Number 8?"
I think the kids at the County Seat may have been walking of with some numbers.
Sweet, sweet Double Drick. I believe I've mentioned this before but: When I first started watching GA, I began with a run on CBN (5PM EST, M-F) that was at the second half of Season Six. I loved the wit, the charm, the characters, the love between Oliver & Lisa and the weirdness. When the show started over, it was very different. I watched (and loved) the episodes you've read about here. But, it was this episode that well & truly made me sit up and say "Ahhh! Here's the that weird show I've been watching."
And, DD does it in a GA-standard plotline. After 7 months of struggling without electricity and Haney's degenerator (always in 7's), Oliver goes to Drucker's to find out what the hold up might be... and it turns out Sam forgot to mail the application. So, the episode is about Oliver finally getting electricity (more or less) for the house. That's it. It's not a new bedroom or livestock or land... they just want electricity on their farm in early-1966 America. It's a fantastic episode.
Why? We finally say good-bye to the generator. Just at the point when the 7's might be bordering on repetitive, we wish it farewell. We get to go to the Hooterville Power, Water & Gas Company. (That may not be in the right order.) They do have a Pick A Number system. And, the scene of Oliver sitting in the empty waiting room as the man at the counter says "Number 4...Number 4...Sir, do you have number 4?" "I have 22!" is a scene that never fails to make me laugh.
After seeming a little off in The Deputy, Mr. Kimball comes back large. Lisa acts like Hank, briefly, which is awesome. And then, they have a wonderful rambling conversation... Lisa is now matching Hank and these are two very funny characters running in tandem. To hear them both reference hooking up the"electrical" is smile-causing. Haney gets a great scene. Even after all this, he has one more zing up his sleeve. Oliver loses one more time. But, this time, it's not so bad because of the impending power.
Lawlor the Installer is here. But, we never do get to meet Peter Greeder the Meter Reader. Sight gags, wordplay, witty lines and insanity: this episode is filled with all of it. I will admit that I watched this episode last night and laughed out loud more times than I could count. I adore the show up to this point. This is the episode that makes me love it. And, retroactively, makes me love the previous episodes.
And, I didn't mention my two favorite bits as a child: First, there is a Batman parody and it is awesome. (I'll let this gag surprise you.) Second, the gag about the Northeast Blackout of November 1965 gets a freeze frame and narration. (We haven't had a narrator appear since the first episode.) This show is cool.
I think the kids at the County Seat may have been walking of with some numbers.
Sweet, sweet Double Drick. I believe I've mentioned this before but: When I first started watching GA, I began with a run on CBN (5PM EST, M-F) that was at the second half of Season Six. I loved the wit, the charm, the characters, the love between Oliver & Lisa and the weirdness. When the show started over, it was very different. I watched (and loved) the episodes you've read about here. But, it was this episode that well & truly made me sit up and say "Ahhh! Here's the that weird show I've been watching."
And, DD does it in a GA-standard plotline. After 7 months of struggling without electricity and Haney's degenerator (always in 7's), Oliver goes to Drucker's to find out what the hold up might be... and it turns out Sam forgot to mail the application. So, the episode is about Oliver finally getting electricity (more or less) for the house. That's it. It's not a new bedroom or livestock or land... they just want electricity on their farm in early-1966 America. It's a fantastic episode.
Why? We finally say good-bye to the generator. Just at the point when the 7's might be bordering on repetitive, we wish it farewell. We get to go to the Hooterville Power, Water & Gas Company. (That may not be in the right order.) They do have a Pick A Number system. And, the scene of Oliver sitting in the empty waiting room as the man at the counter says "Number 4...Number 4...Sir, do you have number 4?" "I have 22!" is a scene that never fails to make me laugh.
After seeming a little off in The Deputy, Mr. Kimball comes back large. Lisa acts like Hank, briefly, which is awesome. And then, they have a wonderful rambling conversation... Lisa is now matching Hank and these are two very funny characters running in tandem. To hear them both reference hooking up the"electrical" is smile-causing. Haney gets a great scene. Even after all this, he has one more zing up his sleeve. Oliver loses one more time. But, this time, it's not so bad because of the impending power.
Lawlor the Installer is here. But, we never do get to meet Peter Greeder the Meter Reader. Sight gags, wordplay, witty lines and insanity: this episode is filled with all of it. I will admit that I watched this episode last night and laughed out loud more times than I could count. I adore the show up to this point. This is the episode that makes me love it. And, retroactively, makes me love the previous episodes.
And, I didn't mention my two favorite bits as a child: First, there is a Batman parody and it is awesome. (I'll let this gag surprise you.) Second, the gag about the Northeast Blackout of November 1965 gets a freeze frame and narration. (We haven't had a narrator appear since the first episode.) This show is cool.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
1.25: The Deputy
Lisa: Is that how you spell shopping, with one "o" and two "p"'s?
Oliver: Mmm-hmm.
Lisa: I always spell it with two "o"'s and one "p"?
Oliver: That's shooping.
Lisa: You mean all this time I've been "shooping" instead of "shopping".
Oliver: I guess so.
Lisa: Funny nobody noticed it.
Even the title clues you in, with this episode we're heading back to a more normal world of sitcom than Molly Turgis would have implied was our future. Mr. Drucker is going on vacation for two weeks. He tricks Oliver into becoming the deputy. That's the first act. The second act is general faffing around as Oliver gets his Deputy kit (more like a Deputy bag) and tries to give Mr. Charlton (?) Haney a ticket. Then, in time for the third act, he handcuffs himself to Lisa and that takes the wacky to the end.
Eisner & Krinksy's Television Comedy Series has an appendix that lists "Standard Classic Sitcom Plots", including meeting a person who is identical to one of the lead characters, a picnic or family trip of some sort and other great ones. One of them is "characters get handcuffed together". Lisa & Oliver's handcuffing isn't as funny as Kramden & Norton on the train. But, it's still darn good. The fact, however, that this plot line is in the "Standard Classic etc" list meas 1) GA is a Classic Sitcom & 2) there's a good chance that this episode isn't all that crazy.
You're right on both counts.
After the regular episodes of the house & farm being assembled and Lisa's decision day, the show would need to settle into a familiar groove. Something that people would want to tune into week after week. Something a little different each week but not terribly different. That's just the way sitcoms worked back then. So, the last third of this season is the show manoeuvring around as it finds its niche. Molly T. implies that the show is going mad. And, in fact, it will. This is the direction it followed. The Deputy shows the program as a Standard Sitcom. The structure might still be a bit strange but the storytelling is pure Classic Sitcom. Another route the show could have taken.
And, luckily, Jay & Dick are so good at what they do that this is a viable avenue for the show to take. Once the Second Season begins, it will be the rare episode that is as standard as this. There are wonderfully individual moments, pure GA: The shooping list, Wyatt Earp talk, "Let me see your credentials...Oh, you've got a whole bag of them" and talk of The De-Putty. Mr. Kimball is the sign that something isn't quite matching up, however. He seems rather out-of-place in his scene. His weird antics at the train tracks feel off here. But, setting that aside, the show could have run like this for years, (possibly with a toned-down Hank) telling regular stories with touches of strange wit & odd humor.
But, the show didn't go this way. It is still early enough in its run that it can play around with what it's doing and it's great to see. Many shows go down one route and then abandon it for something else. (For example: the first 12-ish episodes of The Munsters are far more macabre than the remainder of the show. And, frankly, I think it loses something.) GA has two types of Green Acres running alongside one another...I wonder if folks originally watching would have noted this? It's pretty cool to see. And, obviously, with each episode we draw closer to the Firm Green Acres Style set in stone.
Oddly enough, the next episode by production order (I've decided that's the way I'm doing it) is about fixing up the house in some way but it is loaded with the oddness to come. Stay tuned.
Oliver: Mmm-hmm.
Lisa: I always spell it with two "o"'s and one "p"?
Oliver: That's shooping.
Lisa: You mean all this time I've been "shooping" instead of "shopping".
Oliver: I guess so.
Lisa: Funny nobody noticed it.
Even the title clues you in, with this episode we're heading back to a more normal world of sitcom than Molly Turgis would have implied was our future. Mr. Drucker is going on vacation for two weeks. He tricks Oliver into becoming the deputy. That's the first act. The second act is general faffing around as Oliver gets his Deputy kit (more like a Deputy bag) and tries to give Mr. Charlton (?) Haney a ticket. Then, in time for the third act, he handcuffs himself to Lisa and that takes the wacky to the end.
Eisner & Krinksy's Television Comedy Series has an appendix that lists "Standard Classic Sitcom Plots", including meeting a person who is identical to one of the lead characters, a picnic or family trip of some sort and other great ones. One of them is "characters get handcuffed together". Lisa & Oliver's handcuffing isn't as funny as Kramden & Norton on the train. But, it's still darn good. The fact, however, that this plot line is in the "Standard Classic etc" list meas 1) GA is a Classic Sitcom & 2) there's a good chance that this episode isn't all that crazy.
You're right on both counts.
After the regular episodes of the house & farm being assembled and Lisa's decision day, the show would need to settle into a familiar groove. Something that people would want to tune into week after week. Something a little different each week but not terribly different. That's just the way sitcoms worked back then. So, the last third of this season is the show manoeuvring around as it finds its niche. Molly T. implies that the show is going mad. And, in fact, it will. This is the direction it followed. The Deputy shows the program as a Standard Sitcom. The structure might still be a bit strange but the storytelling is pure Classic Sitcom. Another route the show could have taken.
And, luckily, Jay & Dick are so good at what they do that this is a viable avenue for the show to take. Once the Second Season begins, it will be the rare episode that is as standard as this. There are wonderfully individual moments, pure GA: The shooping list, Wyatt Earp talk, "Let me see your credentials...Oh, you've got a whole bag of them" and talk of The De-Putty. Mr. Kimball is the sign that something isn't quite matching up, however. He seems rather out-of-place in his scene. His weird antics at the train tracks feel off here. But, setting that aside, the show could have run like this for years, (possibly with a toned-down Hank) telling regular stories with touches of strange wit & odd humor.
But, the show didn't go this way. It is still early enough in its run that it can play around with what it's doing and it's great to see. Many shows go down one route and then abandon it for something else. (For example: the first 12-ish episodes of The Munsters are far more macabre than the remainder of the show. And, frankly, I think it loses something.) GA has two types of Green Acres running alongside one another...I wonder if folks originally watching would have noted this? It's pretty cool to see. And, obviously, with each episode we draw closer to the Firm Green Acres Style set in stone.
Oddly enough, the next episode by production order (I've decided that's the way I'm doing it) is about fixing up the house in some way but it is loaded with the oddness to come. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
1.23: A Pig In A Poke
"Don't worry. My husband will get you son the pig out of trouble in no time at all."
A whole lotta Arnold!
The Ziffels state, unequivocally, that Arnold is their son. Well, they say that if they had had a son...he would have been Arnold. Close enough. The World of Hooterville has now fully absorbed Lisa. Oliver will never quite get in. The fact that Arnold is so smart and that he can turn on the TV will always confuse Mr. Douglas. The love the Ziffels have for the pig and the affection everyone else has for Arnold will always elude him.
But, when Mr. Haney sells a sofa to the Ziffels and it turns out to be junk and Haney attaches Arnold in lieu of payment, Oliver talks to Haney about it. Although, he thinks the Pig Love is madness, he will fight for the people that Haney has bilked.
It all becomes quite goof-filled after a while. Arnold hides out at the Douglas place. Oliver gets trapped under the bedroom floor. He gets his pants pulled off. He gets sprayed with water. All kinds of very funny stuff happens. And, in the end, when Oliver and Lisa go to NYC for a Harvard Alumni Society Meeting, Arnold has stowed away and joins them at the dinner. The whole episode, in fact, is a story told by Oliver to the Alumni Society to demonstrate some points of country law.
Oliver, yeah, he gets flustered. Lisa, however, is perfectly in sync with this world now. All of her malapropisms and confusions work for Hooterville now. Oliver keeps his composure through a lot of eye rolling and some wisecracking. He also tries to stick by the law to keep him sane. Unfortunately, the law gets as goofy as Hooterville.
It's a lovely episode. Possibly a good one to show someone if you can only show them one. Everybody gets a bit. There are some laughs and it actually has a plot. Not that it needs a plot but it can work against you to show an episode where nothing really happens. I love 'em meandering and goofy but some folks like plots.
That place I kept saying that we were working towards...that Mythical Green Acres Super-Cool spot is, pretty much, here. The house is, more or less, as good as it's going to get. Lisa is here to stay. Oliver is farming as good as he will get. The elements of the world are all here now. It's a good world. Immerse me.
A whole lotta Arnold!
The Ziffels state, unequivocally, that Arnold is their son. Well, they say that if they had had a son...he would have been Arnold. Close enough. The World of Hooterville has now fully absorbed Lisa. Oliver will never quite get in. The fact that Arnold is so smart and that he can turn on the TV will always confuse Mr. Douglas. The love the Ziffels have for the pig and the affection everyone else has for Arnold will always elude him.
But, when Mr. Haney sells a sofa to the Ziffels and it turns out to be junk and Haney attaches Arnold in lieu of payment, Oliver talks to Haney about it. Although, he thinks the Pig Love is madness, he will fight for the people that Haney has bilked.
It all becomes quite goof-filled after a while. Arnold hides out at the Douglas place. Oliver gets trapped under the bedroom floor. He gets his pants pulled off. He gets sprayed with water. All kinds of very funny stuff happens. And, in the end, when Oliver and Lisa go to NYC for a Harvard Alumni Society Meeting, Arnold has stowed away and joins them at the dinner. The whole episode, in fact, is a story told by Oliver to the Alumni Society to demonstrate some points of country law.
Oliver, yeah, he gets flustered. Lisa, however, is perfectly in sync with this world now. All of her malapropisms and confusions work for Hooterville now. Oliver keeps his composure through a lot of eye rolling and some wisecracking. He also tries to stick by the law to keep him sane. Unfortunately, the law gets as goofy as Hooterville.
It's a lovely episode. Possibly a good one to show someone if you can only show them one. Everybody gets a bit. There are some laughs and it actually has a plot. Not that it needs a plot but it can work against you to show an episode where nothing really happens. I love 'em meandering and goofy but some folks like plots.
That place I kept saying that we were working towards...that Mythical Green Acres Super-Cool spot is, pretty much, here. The house is, more or less, as good as it's going to get. Lisa is here to stay. Oliver is farming as good as he will get. The elements of the world are all here now. It's a good world. Immerse me.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
01.22: The Day of Decision
"Darlin', I love ya...but give me Park Avenue."
I know...What is a quote from the theme doing in the spot where a quote from the episode goes? Well, it'll make sense in the end. A little harbinger of "Things To Come" for the series involves this quote. But, we'll talk about that at the end. Other things are of importance now...
Today, Lisa decided if she stays in Hooterville or goes back to New York. The 6 months are up. Oliver is nervous. The whole town of Hooterville, including Uncle Joe, are on tenterhooks waiting for her answer. And, for a show that has had such endearingly slim plotlines, this one is the slimmest. The whole episode hinges around one woman making one decision....and it's a good one.
A good episode, I mean. Lisa's choice is her own.
(Although, the slimness of the plotline does seem to get to the writer's slightly. The episode has several flashback scenes, mainly to the first two episodes. Either they were having trouble filling up the episode or they were reminding viewers (and cluing those who hadn't watched in) of what occurred several months before. I believe it is the latter.)
A little viewer's context:
GA - A Day of Decision aired on February 23, 1966. The show itself premiered on September 15, 1965.
That week:
Batman - That same day (2/23/66) the 13th episode aired - The Thirteenth Hat. The first appearance of the Mad Hatter. The one that ends with Batman getting covered in Super Fast Hardening Plaster.
The Beverly Hillbillies - Same Day - The Great Jethro - Episode 23 of Season 4. Jethro wants to be a magician with hilarious consequences.
Petticoat Junction - The day before (the 22nd) - The Invisible Mr. Dobble Episode 23 of Season Three
Get Smart - Later that week, 2/26/66, the 23rd episode aired - I'm Only Human The one where Fang's bark (I believe) will trigger a KAOS bomb.
And, across an ocean...2/26/66, Bell of Doom, the 25th episode of the 3rd Season of Doctor Who. The Doctor and Steven in Paris. The year is 1572...and another adventure is reaching its conclusion.
That's all the stuff I have handy right now but it gives you a feel for Pop Culture on TV at that moment.
It's a beautiful episode, The Day of Decision. From the opening scene, where Eb tells Elinor what day it is through to all the townsfolk and their worrying to the lovely decision scene to the closing moments...that echo the closing moments from Episode 2...it works. The sign of good writing is knowing when to complicate things and when not to. Extra plotlines can be fun but they can also get in the way. When you have a large cast, if you keep the focus on one man (a la The Great Gildersleeve) then you can focus on one plotline. If you have a show like The Simpsons and everyone needs something to do, you split the focus and can lose sight of the main story. Doesn't happen here and it is stellar.
Olive spends his time rambling around. Meanwhile, off camera, Lisa sits and dwells upon her choice. As she says, if they go back to NYC, she's happy but Oliver isn't. If they stay...you know. And, she does think about it and it wracks her mind...The joke about the noises in Lisa's head is a funny one and the follow-up is funnier but the great thing is that the jokes aren't the important element here...even the laugh track seems to know it. There are things that other shows would have tagged as a "Big Gag!" but GA, here, downplays it...especially during the Decision scene. The laugh track lies low and a very good choice that was.
We see how much the townspeople like The Douglases in this episode. Mr. Kimball's scene with them, in particular, is very affecting. And, during the final moments, we see how much Lisa has been changed by the farm, although she wouldn't admit it. And, after Lisa has made her decision, we see how much being on the farm hasn't really changed Oliver. (He's still rather uptight.)
SPOLIER TOWN!
OK, well, obviously, they stay. If they left, the show would have been very different. "A NYC couple leave their Park Avenue penthouse and move to a farm. Halfway through Season One, they move back to the city and never return to the farm." Doesn't quite grab ya in the same way...unless they moved in with Jimmie "J.J." Walker.
But, the wonder of the show is that you don't quite know what the Decision will be until it is made...Once Lisa asks Oliver to sit with her in the bedroom, you know the decision is made and you know they are going back to NYC. Eva Gabor's finest moment? Possibly. She plays the scene so lovely. She even has a malapropism that fits perfectly. I will say that this scene always waters up my eyes a bit. I always believe that Oliver's Dream is over and they're heading back.
Yeah, the Final Act reverses that but it does so in a completely believable manner. Lisa decides to stay another 6 months because Alice and Elinor will get killed and eaten if they go. 6 months before, NYC Lisa wouldn't have changed her life for a chicken and a cow. Now, Hooterville Lisa does and it feels like the dramatic punchline for a bit that has been building for 22 episodes.
Lisa now belongs in Hooterville. That's why, in 6 months, we don't have another episode like this. She belongs. Oliver, well, that's another story.
And, the opening quote? As Eb strolls to the barn with the milk pail, he "do do do" 's the Green Acres theme and, when he reaches the opening quote, he turns to the camera and sings the line...just like Lisa...in fact, it is Lisa. And, it is very odd and it is where the show shall bend shortly...
A beautiful episode. Let the show continue...
I know...What is a quote from the theme doing in the spot where a quote from the episode goes? Well, it'll make sense in the end. A little harbinger of "Things To Come" for the series involves this quote. But, we'll talk about that at the end. Other things are of importance now...
Today, Lisa decided if she stays in Hooterville or goes back to New York. The 6 months are up. Oliver is nervous. The whole town of Hooterville, including Uncle Joe, are on tenterhooks waiting for her answer. And, for a show that has had such endearingly slim plotlines, this one is the slimmest. The whole episode hinges around one woman making one decision....and it's a good one.
A good episode, I mean. Lisa's choice is her own.
(Although, the slimness of the plotline does seem to get to the writer's slightly. The episode has several flashback scenes, mainly to the first two episodes. Either they were having trouble filling up the episode or they were reminding viewers (and cluing those who hadn't watched in) of what occurred several months before. I believe it is the latter.)
A little viewer's context:
GA - A Day of Decision aired on February 23, 1966. The show itself premiered on September 15, 1965.
That week:
Batman - That same day (2/23/66) the 13th episode aired - The Thirteenth Hat. The first appearance of the Mad Hatter. The one that ends with Batman getting covered in Super Fast Hardening Plaster.
The Beverly Hillbillies - Same Day - The Great Jethro - Episode 23 of Season 4. Jethro wants to be a magician with hilarious consequences.
Petticoat Junction - The day before (the 22nd) - The Invisible Mr. Dobble Episode 23 of Season Three
Get Smart - Later that week, 2/26/66, the 23rd episode aired - I'm Only Human The one where Fang's bark (I believe) will trigger a KAOS bomb.
And, across an ocean...2/26/66, Bell of Doom, the 25th episode of the 3rd Season of Doctor Who. The Doctor and Steven in Paris. The year is 1572...and another adventure is reaching its conclusion.
That's all the stuff I have handy right now but it gives you a feel for Pop Culture on TV at that moment.
It's a beautiful episode, The Day of Decision. From the opening scene, where Eb tells Elinor what day it is through to all the townsfolk and their worrying to the lovely decision scene to the closing moments...that echo the closing moments from Episode 2...it works. The sign of good writing is knowing when to complicate things and when not to. Extra plotlines can be fun but they can also get in the way. When you have a large cast, if you keep the focus on one man (a la The Great Gildersleeve) then you can focus on one plotline. If you have a show like The Simpsons and everyone needs something to do, you split the focus and can lose sight of the main story. Doesn't happen here and it is stellar.
Olive spends his time rambling around. Meanwhile, off camera, Lisa sits and dwells upon her choice. As she says, if they go back to NYC, she's happy but Oliver isn't. If they stay...you know. And, she does think about it and it wracks her mind...The joke about the noises in Lisa's head is a funny one and the follow-up is funnier but the great thing is that the jokes aren't the important element here...even the laugh track seems to know it. There are things that other shows would have tagged as a "Big Gag!" but GA, here, downplays it...especially during the Decision scene. The laugh track lies low and a very good choice that was.
We see how much the townspeople like The Douglases in this episode. Mr. Kimball's scene with them, in particular, is very affecting. And, during the final moments, we see how much Lisa has been changed by the farm, although she wouldn't admit it. And, after Lisa has made her decision, we see how much being on the farm hasn't really changed Oliver. (He's still rather uptight.)
SPOLIER TOWN!
OK, well, obviously, they stay. If they left, the show would have been very different. "A NYC couple leave their Park Avenue penthouse and move to a farm. Halfway through Season One, they move back to the city and never return to the farm." Doesn't quite grab ya in the same way...unless they moved in with Jimmie "J.J." Walker.
But, the wonder of the show is that you don't quite know what the Decision will be until it is made...Once Lisa asks Oliver to sit with her in the bedroom, you know the decision is made and you know they are going back to NYC. Eva Gabor's finest moment? Possibly. She plays the scene so lovely. She even has a malapropism that fits perfectly. I will say that this scene always waters up my eyes a bit. I always believe that Oliver's Dream is over and they're heading back.
Yeah, the Final Act reverses that but it does so in a completely believable manner. Lisa decides to stay another 6 months because Alice and Elinor will get killed and eaten if they go. 6 months before, NYC Lisa wouldn't have changed her life for a chicken and a cow. Now, Hooterville Lisa does and it feels like the dramatic punchline for a bit that has been building for 22 episodes.
Lisa now belongs in Hooterville. That's why, in 6 months, we don't have another episode like this. She belongs. Oliver, well, that's another story.
And, the opening quote? As Eb strolls to the barn with the milk pail, he "do do do" 's the Green Acres theme and, when he reaches the opening quote, he turns to the camera and sings the line...just like Lisa...in fact, it is Lisa. And, it is very odd and it is where the show shall bend shortly...
A beautiful episode. Let the show continue...
Monday, September 6, 2010
1.21: What's In A Name?
"You hit me and I'll tell Ma and you'll get it!"
And, we are one episode away from the big day of decision...
Ralph wants to marry Mr. Kimball. He won't go out with a woman named Ralph. Oliver agrees to represent Ralph in court to get her name changed. Oliver, anxious to practice some law again, has to take the Hooterville bar exam. And, it's wonderful.
The opening sequence, with the Monroe Brothers hammering a sign into the bedroom wall, is hilarity incarnate...literally. A very funny mix of Mr. Douglas's exasperation, Lisa saying weird things, the Monroe Brothers being themselves and just joy. I don't know. I was thinking about why I'm not so terribly thrilled on most of today's TV shows. I believe it has something to do with all the "anti-heroes" and people living in awful worlds with little bursts of hope.
I like my heroes. And, if I can't get a hero, I'll take a world filled with whack jobs, like Green Acres. Mr. Douglas just wants to farm. And, in this episode, he wouldn't mind a little lawyering, too. We already know he still has lawyer thoughts (Lisa Bakes A Cake) so he's trying to get the best of both worlds. (Of course, what happens to Lisa's needs but...that's a whole 'nother write-up). There is so much great nonsense. And, there's never evil here. It's all fun.
And, when it's not fun, it's at least very charming. Look at that guy who runs the bar exams. The "Harvard, where's that?" scene is superb. Who knew that there was a Harvard School of Hypnotism? And, watch the (erroneous) info about Oliver being disbarred for hitting a judge spread like wildfire.
The plot is thin. Well, there really isn't one...just sort of a suggestion for a series of incidents and they're great incidents. Once again, the show feels like a 30's or 40's radio show. Doing its own thing and making us laugh.
I don't know. My favorite shows are Doctor Who and Green Acres. My heroes and my non-lethal goofballs. That's what I love.
I am, however, a little worried about or next episode: The Day of Decision. Will the shoe end here or continue on for, say, another 148 episodes? Tune in to find out!
And, we are one episode away from the big day of decision...
Ralph wants to marry Mr. Kimball. He won't go out with a woman named Ralph. Oliver agrees to represent Ralph in court to get her name changed. Oliver, anxious to practice some law again, has to take the Hooterville bar exam. And, it's wonderful.
The opening sequence, with the Monroe Brothers hammering a sign into the bedroom wall, is hilarity incarnate...literally. A very funny mix of Mr. Douglas's exasperation, Lisa saying weird things, the Monroe Brothers being themselves and just joy. I don't know. I was thinking about why I'm not so terribly thrilled on most of today's TV shows. I believe it has something to do with all the "anti-heroes" and people living in awful worlds with little bursts of hope.
I like my heroes. And, if I can't get a hero, I'll take a world filled with whack jobs, like Green Acres. Mr. Douglas just wants to farm. And, in this episode, he wouldn't mind a little lawyering, too. We already know he still has lawyer thoughts (Lisa Bakes A Cake) so he's trying to get the best of both worlds. (Of course, what happens to Lisa's needs but...that's a whole 'nother write-up). There is so much great nonsense. And, there's never evil here. It's all fun.
And, when it's not fun, it's at least very charming. Look at that guy who runs the bar exams. The "Harvard, where's that?" scene is superb. Who knew that there was a Harvard School of Hypnotism? And, watch the (erroneous) info about Oliver being disbarred for hitting a judge spread like wildfire.
The plot is thin. Well, there really isn't one...just sort of a suggestion for a series of incidents and they're great incidents. Once again, the show feels like a 30's or 40's radio show. Doing its own thing and making us laugh.
I don't know. My favorite shows are Doctor Who and Green Acres. My heroes and my non-lethal goofballs. That's what I love.
I am, however, a little worried about or next episode: The Day of Decision. Will the shoe end here or continue on for, say, another 148 episodes? Tune in to find out!
Friday, August 6, 2010
1.20: The Price of Apples
Well, I finished watching this episode and realized that I've been misleading myself and everyone reading and enjoying this blog. I keep saying that by this point in the show it is (pretty much) the crazy, strange show we all know and love.
It isn't. Not yet. But, it's still something very rare in the pantheon of odd 60's sitcoms.
A little plot...
The apples are ready to go to market. Oliver's first crop...although, technically, they were all on the land they purchased a few episodes ago. Oliver has the local kids pick them all. He buys Mr. Ziffel's crop and Newt Kiley's and, possibly, Ben Miller's. He gets on a truck with Lisa and they drive to the State Capital to sell the bushels and bushels of apples. But, of course, it doesn't go quite right.
And, of course, the plot synopsis doesn't go quite right either. The show has the same meander along that the past episodes have had. Oliver walks right into the kitchen with an apple in the first few minutes so that is the sort of "plot theme" of the episode. Lisa is cooking hotcakes in a very odd manner that, satisfyingly, saves the day. Mr. Douglas has a chat with Mr. Kimball, goes to Drucker's store, almost gets flim-flammed by Haney (although that sequence does seem a trifle rote) and drives along with Lisa. Even when the apple prices are dropping, there's no real urgency. And, in the end, Lisa helps fix the truck and they are on their way to the State Capital...and the episode ends. Just a charming series of adventures for our pals.
Charming and funny...There's the thing.
Green Acres is funny. While most shows of this era (stand up Munsters and Bewitched!) were charming and fun to watch, they were rarely, if ever, funny. They relied on their characters strangeness and the weird situations. But, Green Acres is put together by two funny men with a strong director and a funny cast. All this meandering is fine because it is funny. The point of the episode is not the race to get the apples to market...it's the goofball things that happen en route.
The show is in no way "surreal" or crazy...Yes, the characters are beginning to make jokes about each other (Lisa talking like Mr. Kimball, Mr. Ziffel asking if Mr. Douglas is going to make one of his speeches) but it's all in the standard sitcom framework. The true crazy twist hasn't happened yet. What has happened is that it's gone from being a fun sitcom to being a funny sitcom...and that will make all the difference when the change comes.
Knowing how the show goes so strange, these early episodes are a heck of a lot of fun. Like early albums by The Beach Boys or The Rolling Stones before they really got their music under control and made the brilliant stuff...Ah, GA...
It isn't. Not yet. But, it's still something very rare in the pantheon of odd 60's sitcoms.
A little plot...
The apples are ready to go to market. Oliver's first crop...although, technically, they were all on the land they purchased a few episodes ago. Oliver has the local kids pick them all. He buys Mr. Ziffel's crop and Newt Kiley's and, possibly, Ben Miller's. He gets on a truck with Lisa and they drive to the State Capital to sell the bushels and bushels of apples. But, of course, it doesn't go quite right.
And, of course, the plot synopsis doesn't go quite right either. The show has the same meander along that the past episodes have had. Oliver walks right into the kitchen with an apple in the first few minutes so that is the sort of "plot theme" of the episode. Lisa is cooking hotcakes in a very odd manner that, satisfyingly, saves the day. Mr. Douglas has a chat with Mr. Kimball, goes to Drucker's store, almost gets flim-flammed by Haney (although that sequence does seem a trifle rote) and drives along with Lisa. Even when the apple prices are dropping, there's no real urgency. And, in the end, Lisa helps fix the truck and they are on their way to the State Capital...and the episode ends. Just a charming series of adventures for our pals.
Charming and funny...There's the thing.
Green Acres is funny. While most shows of this era (stand up Munsters and Bewitched!) were charming and fun to watch, they were rarely, if ever, funny. They relied on their characters strangeness and the weird situations. But, Green Acres is put together by two funny men with a strong director and a funny cast. All this meandering is fine because it is funny. The point of the episode is not the race to get the apples to market...it's the goofball things that happen en route.
The show is in no way "surreal" or crazy...Yes, the characters are beginning to make jokes about each other (Lisa talking like Mr. Kimball, Mr. Ziffel asking if Mr. Douglas is going to make one of his speeches) but it's all in the standard sitcom framework. The true crazy twist hasn't happened yet. What has happened is that it's gone from being a fun sitcom to being a funny sitcom...and that will make all the difference when the change comes.
Knowing how the show goes so strange, these early episodes are a heck of a lot of fun. Like early albums by The Beach Boys or The Rolling Stones before they really got their music under control and made the brilliant stuff...Ah, GA...
Saturday, July 24, 2010
1.19: Sprained Ankle, Country Style
"You don't like my cooking!"
"No, I love your cooking. It's the eating that..."
This week's movie: Mary Poppins Meets Frankenstein...starring Dame Mae Fishman
From the title of the episode and from any write-ups you may have seen, this episode would seem to promise a wacky series of gags with Oliver in bed, sprained ankle keeping him there, and the townsfolk bothering him. But, that's the last act. First off: The bedroom is finished! Hooray!
The Monroe brothers put a ribbon in front of the door. Ralph blows her bugle. And, the bedroom looks kind of strange and it never, ever looks better...The first of the closet door jokes is here. For some reason, the bedroom being in place moves the show closer to The Spot. I know I keep saying that but GA didn't become masterful all at once...bits fell into place gradually. But, I mean every word I say and the bits are falling closer and closer.
"Oliver, you didn't let Ralph blow her bugle."
"I don't care if she blows her brains out."
Oliver gets really mad because the bedroom, frankly, isn't finished. And, divine retribution hits him as he falls through the roof...He is laid up in bed and tries to watch the movie mentioned above. But, everyone, including Bobbie Jo, join him and eat all his food and hurt his ankle and, in the end, he hides in the barn.
Classic sitcom stuff, which is all a little bit funnier than the regular sitcom's approach. Lisa has really begun to take off on the goofiness. "Hunky Dinky" "A hypocondriac needle" She has become one of the Hooterville folks, although she clearly wants to head back to NYC.
When the townsfolk begin to flood into the bedroom, Oliver may be going through Hell but it's funny. Lisa bring Oliver a tray with a flower and nothing else. No food. Everyone brings food and then they scarf it down themselves as Oliver tried to grab stuff from them...and the banter around all of this is very good. I'm watching it now and it works out like this:
Act 1: Unveiling the Bedroom
Act 2: Spraining the Ankle
Act 3: The Visitors
It almost feels like The Simpsons. The way you can't figure out what the heck is going to happen in the first act. But then it feels like nothing but GA when everyone thinks the test pattern on the TV is Ed Sullivan. Bobbie Jo is very cute and she looks normal when she enters the bedroom but she becomes nutty, too. I wonder what the PJ folks really thought about getting this close to their strange neighbors.
This is a great episode. Full of laughs. The show is in its niche and carving away. It's not particularly Green Acres-strange but it's proving that it's genuinely funny before it veers off the road. And, as a kid, I really wanted to see Mary Poppins Meets Frankenstein.
"No, I love your cooking. It's the eating that..."
This week's movie: Mary Poppins Meets Frankenstein...starring Dame Mae Fishman
From the title of the episode and from any write-ups you may have seen, this episode would seem to promise a wacky series of gags with Oliver in bed, sprained ankle keeping him there, and the townsfolk bothering him. But, that's the last act. First off: The bedroom is finished! Hooray!
The Monroe brothers put a ribbon in front of the door. Ralph blows her bugle. And, the bedroom looks kind of strange and it never, ever looks better...The first of the closet door jokes is here. For some reason, the bedroom being in place moves the show closer to The Spot. I know I keep saying that but GA didn't become masterful all at once...bits fell into place gradually. But, I mean every word I say and the bits are falling closer and closer.
"Oliver, you didn't let Ralph blow her bugle."
"I don't care if she blows her brains out."
Oliver gets really mad because the bedroom, frankly, isn't finished. And, divine retribution hits him as he falls through the roof...He is laid up in bed and tries to watch the movie mentioned above. But, everyone, including Bobbie Jo, join him and eat all his food and hurt his ankle and, in the end, he hides in the barn.
Classic sitcom stuff, which is all a little bit funnier than the regular sitcom's approach. Lisa has really begun to take off on the goofiness. "Hunky Dinky" "A hypocondriac needle" She has become one of the Hooterville folks, although she clearly wants to head back to NYC.
When the townsfolk begin to flood into the bedroom, Oliver may be going through Hell but it's funny. Lisa bring Oliver a tray with a flower and nothing else. No food. Everyone brings food and then they scarf it down themselves as Oliver tried to grab stuff from them...and the banter around all of this is very good. I'm watching it now and it works out like this:
Act 1: Unveiling the Bedroom
Act 2: Spraining the Ankle
Act 3: The Visitors
It almost feels like The Simpsons. The way you can't figure out what the heck is going to happen in the first act. But then it feels like nothing but GA when everyone thinks the test pattern on the TV is Ed Sullivan. Bobbie Jo is very cute and she looks normal when she enters the bedroom but she becomes nutty, too. I wonder what the PJ folks really thought about getting this close to their strange neighbors.
This is a great episode. Full of laughs. The show is in its niche and carving away. It's not particularly Green Acres-strange but it's proving that it's genuinely funny before it veers off the road. And, as a kid, I really wanted to see Mary Poppins Meets Frankenstein.
Monday, July 12, 2010
1.18: Lisa Bakes A Cake
"You want us to build you a lawyer stand?"
"What's that?"
"It's like a fruit stand but you sell law."
The show is inching forward. Lisa is in the Sweet Spot this episode. Oliver is stuck in a bit of Average Sitcom antics. But, even then, Jay & Dick raise it up.
Two plots:
1) Oliver is listed (thanks to Lisa) as Attorney-At-Law in the new Hooterville Phone Book. Now, he believes, everyone will be calling him and he'll never get any farming done.
2) Lisa bakes a cake.
Oliver does a lot of "Is that the phone?" shtick as he waits for people to call. He doesn't want them to call but he does and he goes a little too sitcomy here-and-there for my tastes. But, this is leavened with some very funny Alf & Ralph stuff (lawyer stands) and Mr. Kimball's appearance. He seems almost too rambling in this episode but he gets a funny bit where Newt Kiley calls for him at the Douglas place...and it seems like Hank is doing legal work.
Oh, Hank.
If Oliver gets a standard plot, Lisa gets her first real chance to shine and be nutty. Every time we cut to her, she is in the kitchen making what might be the world's worst cake. How she can get it so consistently and gloriously wrong I don't know? But, the writers thought so much of this subplot that they named the episode after it.
Another slight step back...Floyd Smoot reading the phone book. He doesn't understand Directory Style Listings and it's as eye-rolling as you might expect. So, maybe I was wrong last time: They haven't completely absorbed Petticoat Junction. Maybe they never will.
They take two standard sitcom plots and put just enough of the Green Acres-twist into them to bring joy. I've said it a lot but...with each episode, we are closer and closer to the Pure GA...the Classic stuff. Going one by one, it really is fun to see it shift and change.
And, I do love the way everyone crams themselves through the bedroom door because it's right up against the bed...when three walls are missing and you can just walk in there. Great stuff.
"What's that?"
"It's like a fruit stand but you sell law."
The show is inching forward. Lisa is in the Sweet Spot this episode. Oliver is stuck in a bit of Average Sitcom antics. But, even then, Jay & Dick raise it up.
Two plots:
1) Oliver is listed (thanks to Lisa) as Attorney-At-Law in the new Hooterville Phone Book. Now, he believes, everyone will be calling him and he'll never get any farming done.
2) Lisa bakes a cake.
Oliver does a lot of "Is that the phone?" shtick as he waits for people to call. He doesn't want them to call but he does and he goes a little too sitcomy here-and-there for my tastes. But, this is leavened with some very funny Alf & Ralph stuff (lawyer stands) and Mr. Kimball's appearance. He seems almost too rambling in this episode but he gets a funny bit where Newt Kiley calls for him at the Douglas place...and it seems like Hank is doing legal work.
Oh, Hank.
If Oliver gets a standard plot, Lisa gets her first real chance to shine and be nutty. Every time we cut to her, she is in the kitchen making what might be the world's worst cake. How she can get it so consistently and gloriously wrong I don't know? But, the writers thought so much of this subplot that they named the episode after it.
Another slight step back...Floyd Smoot reading the phone book. He doesn't understand Directory Style Listings and it's as eye-rolling as you might expect. So, maybe I was wrong last time: They haven't completely absorbed Petticoat Junction. Maybe they never will.
They take two standard sitcom plots and put just enough of the Green Acres-twist into them to bring joy. I've said it a lot but...with each episode, we are closer and closer to the Pure GA...the Classic stuff. Going one by one, it really is fun to see it shift and change.
And, I do love the way everyone crams themselves through the bedroom door because it's right up against the bed...when three walls are missing and you can just walk in there. Great stuff.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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."
"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."
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