Green Acres is the place to be: A tribute to one of tv’s funniest and truly absurd sitcoms.
Have you ever heard of or seen the show Community? Or Parks and Rec? Or Scrubs? Or Newsradio? What about the classic 80’s sitcom Night Court? I’m sure you’ve seen or are die hard fans of at least one of them if not all of them. But have you ever heard of the show that for all intents and purposes paved the way for all of them and most “quirky” comedies made today? It was a little show called Green Acres and it was about…. well, shoot, let me just let Oliver and Lisa Douglas tell their own story of how they ended up at the place that was the place to be:
Green Acres was based off the popular radio program of the same name. It was developed for television by creators Jay Sommers(who loosely based the series on some of his own life) Dick Chevillat and Paul Henning of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction fame. In 1965 Henning, Sommers and Chevillat decided to take the little radio show and turn it into a sitcom for CBS as a companion show for Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies.
The art of absurd humor:
Green Acres was and is a very beloved and hilarious sitcom that is still watched all the time in reruns or DVD but it wasn’t always appreciated for its brilliance. Certain critics dismissed the show as “stupid” or “low brow”, but anyone who actually knows comedy, including the stars themselves know how wrong that assumption is:
The show’s absurdist humor is actually very astute and well written and acted. This was a show that didn’t take itself so seriously and refused to be pretentious, unlike many other so called “sitcoms”. They knew what they were and had fun with flipping and playing with the sitcom format:
The real stroke of genius, though was how the show truly broke ground by quite famously breaking the fourth wall. In fact, they didn’t simply break the fourth wall, they demolished it bit by bit until the wall was turned into pure dust:
While many shows have done this type of humor since Green Acres wasn’t only the first sitcom to do it to this extent but they went farther with it than any tv series even today. I can’t even think of another series that would even use the credits of cast and crew into the actual dialouge and jokes. Talk about innovative.
All the characters of Green Acres are hilarious and lovable, though there are five in particular I want to put a spotlight on that really make the show sing:
Oliver Wendall Douglas:
What would a show be without its straight man? Eddie Albert, known primarily for his dramatic work was so hilarious and essential as Oliver Wendall Douglas. The joke of Oliver being the only rational, intelligent person in Hooterville never gets old! The show just wouldn’t be the same without one of Oliver’s tantrums over the absurdity and stupidity of his wife and other Hooterville residents:
Lisa Douglas:
Oliver’s beautiful, supportive, kind, air headed, not so handy in the housework department wife was the heart of Green Acres and was the perfect foil for her straight laced husband. Lisa was a wonderful wife, but not exactly one you want to stay at home and take care of the house:
Arnold Ziffel:
That rascally Pig was the Lassie of the show, and the smartest “person” in Hooterville besides Oliver. There was nothing Arnold couldn’t do:
Mr. Haney:
Think of every oil slick salesman you’ve ever met and you got Mr. Haney. Played to perfection by Pat Butram, Mr. Haney always brought the laughs with his scams:
And last, but certainly not least there’s Hank Kimble. The world’s most scatter brained and off kilter human being. Without Hank, Green Acres wouldn’t be the same. Well, not, not the same, more like different. No, not different, actually bad, well, not bad but... :
In closing, Green Acres had everything going for it with a fantastic cast, super talented writers, lovable and hilariously funny characters and wonderfully absurd humor that has planted a flag in television comedy history. Green Acres certainly was and still is the place to be.
“This has been a Filmways presentation, dahling.”