Green Acres Information

Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a rural country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965 to April 27, 1971.

Receiving solid ratings during its six-year run, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971 as part of the "rural purge" by CBS. The sitcom has been rebroadcast for decades in syndication and is available in DVD and VHS releases. In 1997, the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold is Born" was ranked #59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

Background

Following the success of The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, CBS offered producer Paul Henning another half-hour on the schedule "? with no pilot required (which was very unusual). Henning encouraged colleague Jay Sommers to create a series for the time-slot. Sommers created the show based on his 1950 radio series, Granby's Green Acres. The radio series, which lasted 13 episodes, had starred Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as a big-city family who move to the country.

In pre-production, proposed titles were Country Cousins and The Eddie Albert Show.

Premise

Green Acres was about Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), an erudite New York City attorney, acting on his dream to be a farmer, and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), his glamorous Hungarian wife, dragged unwillingly from the city life she adored to a ramshackle farm. The theme tune, as with those of the show's rural cousins, explains the basic premise of the show. At the end of the opening sequence, Albert and Gabor strike a pose in parody of Grant Wood's painting American Gothic. The debut episode was a mockumentary about the decision to move to a rural area, anchored by former ABC newscaster (and then-current host of the CBS game show What's My Line) John Charles Daly. A few weeks after the show's debut, Albert and Gabor returned the favor by appearing on What's My Line as that episode's Mystery Guests, and publicly thanked Daly for helping to launch their series.

After the first episodes the series developed an absurdist world. Though there were still many episodes that were standard 1960s sitcom fare, the show became notable for its surrealism and satire. The show appealed to children through its slapstick, silliness, and shtick, but adults were able to appreciate it on a different level.

Supporting characters

The show was set in the same universe as Henning's other rural television comedy, Petticoat Junction, featuring such picturesque towns as Hooterville, Pixley, Crabwell Corners, and Stankwell Falls. As a spin-off, it at times shared some of the other show's characters, with Petticoat Junction characters, including Joe Carson, Newt Kiley, and Floyd Smoot seen in "cross-over" episodes, and vice versa.

Much of the humor of the series derived from the ever-optimistic yet short-fused Oliver attempting to battle against and make sense of the largely insane world around him. There seemed to be a dual perspective of reality: Oliver versus everyone else. The latter encompasses the Hootervillians, his wife Lisa's bizarre opinions and behaviour (e.g. brewing coffee without water in the pot) and his affluent mother (Eleanor Audley), who lampoons Oliver for his agricultural pipe-dreams. Other ongoing challenges for Oliver include his makeshift domestic power system, his battles to get the phone company and the Monroe brothers to complete their work, and his constant struggle with his ancient Hoyt Clagwell tractor. But, conversely, Oliver himself is also a figure of fun for the townspeople - his naivete allows Mr Haney to continually exploit him (c.f. the repeated expressions of amazement that Oliver has bought "the Haney place", Haney renting him a rooster to awaken him), he carries out his farming chores while dressed in an expensive three-piece suit, and he generates bemused reactions from the townsfolk when he launches into his regular pompous monologues about "the American farmer".

The dishonest, oily salesman Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram), who sold Oliver the Green Acres farm (the Old Haney Place became the New Douglas Place), continues to con his easy "mark" in most episodes. Haney, along with young, glib farmhand Eb Dawson (Tom Lester), scatterbrained county agent Hank Kimball (Alvy Moore), and general store owner Sam Drucker (Frank Cady) make up the main supporting cast. Eb habitually addresses the Douglases as "Dad" and "Mom", much to Oliver's irritation.

Recurring characters included the Douglases' childless elderly neighbors, Fred and Doris Ziffel, who "adopted" a pig named Arnold Ziffel as their "son." Arnold understands English, lives indoors, and is pampered. He is an avid TV watcher and a Western fan, who attends the local grade school (carrying his book pack in his mouth). Only Oliver seems cognizant that Arnold is just livestock, although he frequently slips and begins treating him as a boy. Arnold makes regular appearances throughout the series, often visiting the Douglas home to watch their TV.

Another pair of recurring characters are two quarrelsome carpenters called the Monroe Brothers, Alf (Sid Melton) and his "brother" Ralph (Mary Grace Canfield). In the episode that introduced them, Alf confessed that Ralph was actually his sister, and explained that they could get no jobs if people knew she was a woman. The Monroes rarely finish projects (such as the Douglases' bedroom, securing the door knob to the front door, etc.), and those they do complete are disasters. Melton left in 1970 (season four) to do Make Room For Granddaddy, so the writers developed an occasional subplot that involved sister Ralph's attempts to win the affections of "Hanky" Kimball or some other hapless Hooterville bachelor. Alf would later return for Ralph's failed wedding ceremony to Kimball.

Drucker was a regular on both series. The first bar of the Petticoat Junction theme song is usually played during the establishing shot of his store. While Drucker is a provincial everyman in Petticoat Junction, his character is bent a bit here (keeping plastic pickles in a barrel to appease "city folk"). Drucker also serves as a newspaper editor and printer, volunteer fireman, constable, justice of the peace, and postmaster. As editor of the Hooterville World Guardian, his headlines were often decades-old. He was slow as postmaster, having belatedly delivered a lost 1917 "draft" notice to Fred Ziffel after 51 years, which surpassed the 26-year delivery record of a lost 1942 WPA letter to Haney for stealing a shovel. As justice of the peace, Drucker once let his license lapse, unwittingly sending Ralph Monroe and Kimball to their premature honeymoon. Drucker often is the only character to be inspired by Oliver's rural patriotism, filtering Oliver's idealism to the townsfolk and the plebeian, backwoods notions of the community back to Douglas. In one episode, the menfolk thought they could get a tax refund without ever having paid taxes. To Oliver's surprise, they did.

In a slap to government bureaucrats and civil service employees, Alvy Moore plays spacey agricultural agent Kimball, who would draw folks into inane conversations, digress and lose his train of thought, and then exit the scene. The series was reportedly one of the first to use cue cards extensively during filming, and Moore later recounted that he found this invaluable when performing Kimball's rambling, rapid-fire dialogue.

Lisa's skewed worldview and domestic ignorance provides fertile ground for recurring gags. Her waterless "coffee" oozes from the pot in a thick, tar-like sludge; her "hotscakes" are inedible, and so tough that Oliver is able to make head gaskets for his truck and tractor using the recipe. In one episode, hotcake batter is used for fireplace mortar; in another, hotcakes are used to reshingle a roof. Her sandwiches include such epicurean delights as liverwurst and jelly. Instead of washing dishes, Lisa sometimes tosses them out the kitchen window. In the episode "Alf and Ralph Break Up", Lisa admits that she has no cooking abilities and says her only talent is her Zsa Zsa Gabor imitation (the real life sisters were often mistaken for one another).

Though Oliver and Lisa are both depicted as fish-out-of-water, the concept provides an ironic twist. While Oliver instigated the move from Manhattan to Hooterville, over Lisa's objections, it is Lisa who quickly assimilates to her new quirky, offbeat surroundings. Oliver, while eager to fit in, is often at a loss to grasp the surreal Hootervillians.

Many of the Shady Rest Hotel folks from Petticoat Junction appear, including the four Bradleys, and Joe Carson. Uncle Joe is sometimes playing checkers, loafing, or mooching fruit at the General Store with Newt Kiley or Floyd Smoot. Betty-Jo Bradley appears in one episode as Eb Dawson's date. Bobbi-Jo appears in the same episode. Kate Bradley appeared in a few of the early episodes trying to help Lisa adapt to country living, most notably giving her the recipe for her infamous "hotscakes". Western film actor Smiley Burnette guested several times as railway engineer Charley Pratt during the 1965 and 1966 seasons, but Burnette's ill health ended the role.

"Rural purge" cancellation

Although still popular, Green Acres was canceled after six seasons as part of CBS' "rural purge", the network's attempt to draw the younger audiences advertisers desired by updating its schedule with more urban, contemporary-themed shows. The Beverly Hillbillies and other shows with rural settings, including Hee Haw and Mayberry R.F.D., were also dropped at that time. Said Pat Buttram (Mr. Haney on Green Acres) of the purge: "CBS canceled everything with a tree – including Lassie".

Though Green Acres had been out of the top 30 programs for its last two seasons, the sitcom was still more than holding its own in its time slot. CBS however wanted a completely new line-up and therefore, along with its related-show The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971. The sitcom's sister show, Petticoat Junction, came to an end in 1970.

Since its cancellation Green Acres has been shown in syndication, on TBS, Nick at Nite, and TV Land. The show aired on MeTV from June 20 to September 1, 2012 and as of November 1, 2012, reruns started airing on This TV. As of January 2013, the first several episodes of the show were available for viewing on Hulu.

Reunion film

In the 1990 reunion TV movie Return to Green Acres, a twenty-something Arnold survived his "parents", and subsequently bunks with his "cousin", the Ziffels' comely niece. The film was made and set two decades after the series. The Monroe Brothers still have not finished the Douglases' bedroom. In the movie, Oliver and Lisa have moved back to New York, but are miserable there. They are implored by the Hootervillians to return and save the town from a scheme to destroy it, cooked up between Mr. Haney and a wealthy, underhanded developer (Henry Gibson). With a nod to the times, Haney's latest product is a Russian miracle fertilizer called "Gorby Grow".

Cast

• Oliver Wendell Douglas: Eddie Albert (170 episodes)
• Lisa Douglas: Eva Gabor (170 episodes)
• Eb Dawson: Tom Lester (148 episodes)
• Sam Drucker: Frank Cady (142 episodes)
• Mr. Eustace Haney: Pat Buttram (84 episodes)
• Hank Kimball: Alvy Moore (79 episodes)
• Fred Ziffel: Hank Patterson (50 episodes)
• Doris Ziffel: Barbara Pepper (1965"1968) (30 episodes)/Fran Ryan (1969"71) (7 episodes)
• Arnold Ziffel: (Original pig came from the town of Union Star, Missouri)
• Alf Monroe: Sid Melton (1965"1969) (26 episodes)
• Ralph Monroe: Mary Grace Canfield (26 episodes)
• Newt Kiley: Kay E. Kuter (1965"1970) (24 episodes)
• Mother Eunice Douglas: Eleanor Audley (1965"1969) (15 episodes)
• Roy Trendell: Robert Foulk (1966"1968) (15 episodes)
• Ben Miller: Tom Fadden (1965)

In addition, there were crossovers from Petticoat Junction cast members, most frequently:

• Uncle Joe Carson: Edgar Buchanan (1965"1969) (17 episodes)
• Floyd Smoot: Rufe Davis (1965"1967) (10 episodes)
• Charley Pratt: Smiley Burnette (1965"1967) (7 episodes)
• Kate Bradley: Bea Benaderet (1965"1966) (6 episodes)

Of the above cast, Mary Grace Canfield and Tom Lester are the only surviving members .

Guest stars

During its six season run, many familiar actors guest-starred on the show, along with other lesser-known performers who later achieved stardom, among them: John Charles Daly, Elaine Joyce, Gary Dubin, Herbert Anderson, June Foray, Robert Cummings, Sam Edwards, Jerry Van Dyke, J. Pat O'Malley, Johnny Whitaker, Jesse White, Al Lewis, Gordon Jump, Bernie Kopell, Len Lesser, Bob Hastings, Don Keefer, Don Porter, Alan Hale Jr., Melody Patterson, Rusty Hamer, Regis Toomey, Heather North, Allan Melvin, Parley Baer, Jack Bannon, Rick Lenz, Karen Valentine among many others.

Future Happy Days stars Al Molinaro and Pat Morita guest-starred on separate episodes, while young comedian Rich Little made a cameo appearance as himself.

Episode list

The series premiered on CBS, consisting of six seasons and 170 episodes.

• Wednesday at 9:00-9:30 PM
  • 1965"66 United States network television schedule
  • 1966"67 United States network television schedule
  • 1967"68 United States network television schedule
• Wednesday at 9:30-10:00 PM
  • 1968"69 United States network television schedule
• Saturday at 9:00-9:30 PM on CBS: September 26, 1969"?April 11, 1970
  • 1969"70 United States network television schedule
• Tuesday at 8:00-8:30 PM
  • 1970"71 United States network television schedule

Crossovers with Petticoat Junction

The following is a list of Green Acres episodes featuring characters from Petticoat Junction. Only those that debuted on Junction before Acres are counted.

Season One

• Episode 1: "Oliver Buys a Farm" - Uncle Joe Carson, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 2: "Lisa's First Day on the Farm" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 3: "The Decorator" - Kate Bradley, Bobbie Jo Bradley, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 5: "My Husband, the Rooster Renter" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 6: "Furniture, Furniture, Who's Got the Furniture?" - Uncle Joe Carson, Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 7: "Neighborliness" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 8: "Lisa the Helpmate" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 9: "You Can't Plug in a 2 with a 6" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 10: "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" - Uncle Joe Carson, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 11: "Parity Begins at Home" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 12: "Lisa Has a Calf" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 13: "The Wedding Anniversary" - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson
• Episode 14: "What Happened in Scranton?" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 15: "How to Enlarge a Bedroom" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 17: "I Didn't Raise My Husband to Be a Fireman - Kate Bradley, Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 18: "Lisa Bakes a Cake" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 19: "Sprained Ankle, Country Style" - Bobbie Jo Bradley
• Episode 20: "The Price of Apples" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 21: "What's in a Name?" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 22: "The Day of Decision" - Uncle Joe Carson, Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 23: "A Pig in a Poke" - Newt Kiley (NOTE: Kay E. Kuter was uncredited for his appearance in this episode.)
• Episode 24: "The Deputy" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 25: "Double Drick" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 26: "The Ballad of Molly Turgiss" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 28: "Send a Boy to College" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 29: "Horse? What Horse?" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 31: "Culture" - Sam Drucker, Selma Plout

Season Two

• Episode 1: "Wings Over Hooterville" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 2: "Water, Water Everywhere" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 4: "How to See South America by Bus" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 6: "One of Our Assemblymen is Missing" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 8: "Eb Discovers the Birds and the Bees" - Bobbie Jo Bradley, Betty Jo Bradley, Sam Drucker
• Episode 9: "The Hooterville Image" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 10: "You Ought to Be in Pictures" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 11: "A Home Isn't Built in a Day" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 12: "A Square is Not Round" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 13: "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 14: "Never Trust a Little Old Lady" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 16: "His Honor" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 17: "It's So Peaceful in the Country" - Charley Pratt, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker (NOTE: Smiley Burnette and Rufe Davis were uncredited for their appearances in this episode.)
• Episode 18: "Exodus to Bleedswell" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 19: "It's Human to Be Humane" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 20: "Never Take Your Wife to a Convention" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 21: "The Computer Age" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 22: "Never Start Talking Unless Your Voice Comes Out" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 23: "The Beverly Hillbillies" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 24: "Lisa's Vegetable Garden" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 25: "The Saucer Season" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 26: "Getting Even with Haney" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 27: "Kimball Gets Fired" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 28: "The Vulgar Ring Story" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 29: "Who's Lisa?" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 30: "Music to Milk By" - Sam Drucker

Season Three

• Episode 1: "The Man for the Job" - Uncle Joe Carson, Floyd Smoot, Sam Drucker
• Episode 2: "Lisa's Jam Session" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 3: "Love Comes to Arnold Ziffel" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 4: "Oliver vs. the Phone Company" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 5: "Oliver Takes Over the Phone Company" - Newt Kiley
• Episode 6: "A Kind Word for the President" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 7: "Don't Count Your Tomatoes Before They're Picked" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 8: "Eb Elopes" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 9: "The Thing" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 10: "Das Lumpen" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 11: "Won't You Come Home, Arnold Ziffel?" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 12: "Jealousy, English Style" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 13: "Haney's New Image" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 14: "Alf and Ralph Break Up" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 15: "No Trespassing" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 16: "Eb Returns" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 17: "Not Guilty" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 18: "Home is Where You Run Away From" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 19: "How to Succeed in Television Without Really Trying" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 21: "Flight to Nowhere - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 22: "My Mother, the Countess" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 23: "The Spring Festival" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 24: "Our Son, the Barber" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 26: "The Hungarian Curse" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 27: "The Rutabaga Story" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 28: "Instant Family" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 29: "A Star Named Arnold is Born (Part 1)" - Sam Drucker

Season Four

• Episode 1: "Guess Who's Not Going to the Luau?" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 5: "The Candidate" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 7: "A Husband for Eleanor" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 8: "Old Mail Day" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 9: "The Agricultural Student" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 10: "How Hooterville Was Floundered" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 11: "The Blue Feather" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 12: "How to Get from Hooterville to Pixley Without Moving" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 13: "The Birthday Gift" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 14: "Everywhere a Chick Chick" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 15: "The Marital Vacation" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 16: "A Prize in Every Package" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 17: "Law Partners" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 18: "A Day in the Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 19: "Economy Flight to Washington" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 20: "Retreat from Washington" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 21: "A Hunting We Won't Go" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 22: "Oh, Promise Me" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 23: "Eb Uses His Ingenuity" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 24: "The Old Trunk" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 25: "The Milk Maker" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 26: "The Reincarnation of Eb" - Sam Drucker

Season Five

• Episode 1: "Lisa's Mudder Comes for a Visit - Sam Drucker
• Episode 2: "Everybody Tries to Love a Countess" - Uncle Joe Carson, Sam Drucker
• Episode 3: "Where There's a Will" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 4: "A Tale of a Tail" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 5: "You and Your Big Shrunken Head" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 6: "The Road" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 7: "Four of Spades" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 8: "The Youth Center" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 9: "The Special Delivery Letter" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 11: "Ralph's Nuptials" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 12: "Oliver and the Cornstalk - Sam Drucker
• Episode 13: "Beauty is Skin Deep" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 16: "Trapped" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 17: "Bundle of Joy" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 20: "The Confrontation" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 21: "The Case of the Hooterville Refund Fraud" - Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley
• Episode 22: "The Picnic" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 24: "Uncle Fedor" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 25: "The Wealthy Landowner" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 26: "Happy Birthday" - Sam Drucker

Season Six

• Episode 1: "The City Kids" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 2: "The Coming-Out Party" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 3: "Jealousy" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 4: "A Royal Love Story" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 5: "Oliver Goes Broke" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 6: "The Great Mayoralty Campaign" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 7: "Eb's Double Trouble" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 8: "Apple-Picking Time" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 9: "Enterprising Eb" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 10: "Oliver's Double" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 11: "The High Cost of Loving" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 12: "The Liberation Movement" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 13: "Charlie, Homer and Natasha" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 14: "The Engagement Ring" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 15: "The Free Paint Job" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 16: "Son of Drobny" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 17: "The Wedding Deal" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 18: "Star Witness" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 19: "The Spot Remover" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 20: "King Oliver I" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 21: "A Girl for Drobny" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 22: "The Carpenter's Ball" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 23: "The Hole in the Porch" - Sam Drucker
• Episode 24: "Lisa the Psychologist" - Sam Drucker

Revivals

The surviving members of the cast were reunited for a TV movie titled Return to Green Acres. It aired on CBS on May 18, 1990.

On November 19, 2007, original series director Richard L. Bare announced that he is working on a revival of Green Acres.

Variety announced on July 22, 2012 that a Broadway-aimed musical was in development, with an initial draft of the book written by Richard L. Bare. There is no composer, lyricist or director attached.

DVD releases

MGM Home Entertainment released the first three seasons of Green Acres on Region 1 DVD. No release of the remaining three seasons is announced.

DVD name	Episodes	Release date
Season 1	32	January 13, 2004
Season 2	30	March 8, 2005
Season 3	30	December 6, 2005

Granby's Green Acres

The Granby's Green Acres radio show aired from July 3 to August 21, 1950. The show was produced, directed and written by Jay Sommers, who wrote and produced a third of the Green Acres episodes. In both, a businessman knowing little about farming moves to an impoverished farm. The characters are more conventionally odd, the wife stereotypically talkative and dim, the "Sam Drucker" character senile, the hired hand stoic about incompetent management.

Nielsen ratings

Season	Rank	Rating
1) 1965–1966	#11	24.6
2) 1966–1967	#6
3) 1967–1968	#15	22.8 (tie)
4) 1968–1969	#19	21.6
5) 1969–1970	Not in the Top 30
6) 1970–1971

See also

• Guestward, Ho!

Slot machine

A popular slot machine, based on the Green Acres television show, was introduced in 2006. The gambling game features two progressive jackpots that are won if enough "haystacks" are shown among the 25 individual reels (in a 5x5 configuration.) The bonus rounds include the "Hotcake Bonus" and "Arnold's Wild Bonus". (Some banks of Green Acres machines are linked with The Harlem Globetrotters and The Dukes of Hazzard slots.)