The Radio Roots of "Green Acres"

[Riddick]

Here's something that may surprise even the biggest 'Green Acres' fans: Many folks know about Oliver and Lisa Douglas, but what of their antecedents John and Martha Granby?

Long before the hit TV show about a big city couple who move to the country for life on the farm, the 1950 radio show Granby's Green Acres was conceived as a spinoff of sorts from Lucille Ball's series, 'My Favorite Husband' (which was the basis for 'I Love Lucy').



With Ball's co-stars Gale Gordon (her later TV foil on both 'The Lucy Show' and 'Here's Lucy') and Bea Benaderet (best known as Kate Bradley on 'Petticoat Junction') in the leading roles, the 13 episode summer replacement series was created by Jay Sommers, who later revived and refurbished the sitcom concept for television.

More info along with 6 episodes of the original radio show can be found here:

http://maggiore.net/greenacres/garadio.asp

[Fan]

Never heard of Green Acres Is it worth my tracking down an episode?

[Diogenes]

I really enjoyed Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet.

Great sidekicks.

[Doka]

I liked "Green Acres", it was fun. Did you ever see the movie, The Egg and I? It was Fred McMurry and Claudet Colbert' I think, I know I just murdered the spelling of their names. I believe "Pa Kettle"(Percy Kilbride?) was in it too. Same deal, "city meets country".

[Doka]

I don't remember listening to "Granbys Green Acres". "The Shadow", "Inner Sanctom", "Amos and Andy", "Fibber McGee's Closet", I will never forget the sound effects for the closest opening. We didn't have a TV like forever, but we sure listened to the radio. Seems like Gail Gordon was on with Eve Arden, on the radio, doing "Our Miss Brooks"?

[fos]

It was one of my favorites in the 60s.

I'm still looking for my Green Acres, maybe with a log cabin.

[Riddick]

Never heard of Green Acres Is it worth my tracking down an episode?

I'd say it's more than worth your time! IMHO anyone who's not seen Green Acres has missed out on one of the all time classics. Even with a rural backdrop not uncommon at the time, the series was in a class by itself, perhaps best described as being "The Twilight Zone of Cornpone Comedies" -

Check out the show's entry at tvtropes.org for an overview of the premise along with some samples of the absurdly and insanely funny goings-on - after reading that over and getting a feel for what to expect, to start out watching here's a half-dozen eps I personally recommend:

Season 1, Episode 26
The Ballad of Molly Turgiss
Oliver wants to write a folk song about a local legend, a woman so ugly she was run out of Hooterville, but finds it difficult to do since strange things seem to happen whenever her name is mentioned.

Season 2, Episode 6
One of Our Assemblymen is Missing
After receiving a $12.03 bill for the 'State Farm Unattached Duty Tax' and finding no one in Hooterville knows what it's for, Oliver discovers there's been no election for local assemblyman since 1922.

Season 2, Episode 25
The Saucer Season
When handyman Eb's story of seeing a flying saucer and meeting space aliens hits the press, the Douglas farm becomes an object of interest for curiosity seeking tourists and the United States Air Force.

Season 2, Episode 30
Music to Milk By - Best Episode Evar IMHO!
After Oliver buys Eb a radio for his birthday, the handyman becomes obsessed with a music contest on a Pixley station, but an unfortunate move by Eleanor the cow threatens his chance of winning.

Season 3, Episode 3
Love Comes to Arnold Ziffel
An unlikely but hilarious inter-species romance between farmer Fred Ziffel's adopted 'son' Arnold the pig and shifty salesman Mr. Haney's basset hound Cynthia captivates the residents of Hooterville.

Season 3, Episode 4
Oliver vs the Phone Company
In the first part of a four-episode arc, finally fed up with the Hooterville phone company's lousy service Oliver takes them to court while Lisa tries to figure out whether it is Wednesday or Thursday.