SYNOPSIS

One of the most successful of CBS' rural situation comedies of the 1960's, Green Acres was closely intertwined with Petticoat Junction, another show produced by the same people. Oliver Wendell Douglas was a highly successful Manhattan lawyer who, despite his good life in New York City, longed to get closer to nature. Ignoring the objections of his socialite wife, Lisa, Oliver bought a 160-acre farm, sight unseen, from Mr. Haney. The farm was located outside the town of Hooterville (the setting for Petticoat Junction). It was in terrible shape. It had not been worked in years, and the house was run-down, unfurnished, and in desperate need of major repairs.

Lisa wanted to turn right around and go back to their Park Avenue penthouse, but Oliver persisted in his determination to give it a chance. They found a shy, gawky handyman named Eb Dawson to help them get the place back into shape, and utilized the services of the Monroes, a sister-and-brother carpenter team, to rebuild the house and barn. Lisa never quite adjusted to the rural life. She kept applying the standards of sophisticated socialites to the ingenuous populace of Hooterville. Even her wardrobe, long flowing gowns and lots of jewelry, seemed out of place on Oliver's Green Acres. She did, however, grow quite fond of the animals they owned, giving names to all the chickens, cows, etc... on the farm. During the second season, a pig, though not theirs, became a featured member of the cast. One of the Douglases' neighbors, pig farmer Fred Ziffel, had a pet pig named Arnold who watched television, could do various tricks on cue, and was so intelligent that Fred treated him like a son.

Until Petticoat Junction left the air in the fall of 1970, there was always a certain amount of interplay between it and Green Acres, with characters from one series making guest appearances on the other. Green Acres itself, though still successful, was canceled in 1971 as part of CBS' general purging of rural comedies from its schedule.