On "Green Acres" why didn't Oliver and Lisa's house ever improve?

[WI_DEM]

for six years the house looked practically the same as the day they moved into it--broken down. Now Oliver and Lisa were supposed to be rich, afterall, they had a Park Avenue apartment and was supposed to have been an attorney. You would think that in six years they could have gotten some builders in and put in a decent house with decent plumbing and electricity? Oh well, I'm probably nit-picking.

[leftofthedial]

1. you missed that part?

they kept fixing it up, but the smart pig kept trashing the joint

[Glenda]

18. Arnold?

I didn't think he came over that often

:)

[leftofthedial]

20. once he figured out what Oliver's main "cash crop" was

Arnold practically lived there

[Midlodemocrat]

2. I am so with you on this.

And what about the fact that the phone was on the roof? Hello? What was that? How could she afford Park Avenue if they had to have their phone on the roof and didn't have four walls?


It doesn't make any sense to me at all.

[shoelace414]

3. they got everything from Mr. Haney

[CatWoman]

4. actually, it was Alf and Ralph

they never finished reparing the house

[Bluebear]

7. Haney get that junk out of here!!!

lol

[Ivan Sputnik]

5. Oliver was into "do it yourself"

His whole philosophy was based on total self-reliance. Goes to show you how far Repub thinking will take you in the modern world.

[Skittles]

8. yes, he insisted on doing everything himself

I think Green Acres is hilarious - NO ONE is filled with as much ANGST as Oliver. :o

[dbt]

6. I believe Green Acres set out to be the most

deliberately stupid show in TV history (up to that point). If there was a stupid plot twist, character or set quirk, they not only left it in, but set about trying to top it for the next epsiode.

I think the producers of that show were trying to see how much stupidity they could pile into a half-hour sitcom--and they succeeded wildly! It was a Gonzo thang.

Faithfully Yours,
Hoyt Clagwell

[sendero]

23. Trust me..

... few if any of the sitcoms of that era were any better.

[DancingBear]

25. Ya gotta love an obscure tractor reference

Sincerely,

Floyd Smoot

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. That was the whole gag. Reliance and the trust of crazy people

I particularly liked the condition of the fireplace.

[drm604]

10. They did get builders in.

Ralph and Alf. They were lazy and incompetent. Of course that just raises more questions, like why did he continue to employ them year after year.

I do have vague memories of an episode where they were told that the house was some sort of historic landmark and all kinds of permits would be required to do any major renovations. Of course when Oliver tried to get the permits the typical incompetence of the locals made it nearly impossible. Does anyone else remember that?

Obviously, the real answer is that the show was deliberately absurd. Many many 60's sitcoms were deliberately absurd but, in my opinion, this was one of the few that really made it work.

[Ivan Sputnik]

12. In a small town like Hooterville

you have to use the local "talent" or risk being shunned as a snob. Oliver was also into the whole salt-of-the-earth thing, being a "gentleman farmer," etc. The show is, on one level, a satire on people who romanticize rural life.

[Debi]

11. I thought she spent all him money

Shopping!

[NYYFan]

13. Because, then it wouldn't be funny.

Mr brother and I have tried to explain that to our mother, but she still thinks this was one of the dumbest shows ever.

[TimeToGo]

15. Remember the paint

They tried -- but the paint kept getting sucked into the wood because they didn't have the pore key.

[jswordy]

14. It did! You didn't see the episode where...

...Lisa kept cooking up hard as rocks pancakes, and Oliver didn;t know what to do with them, but the house needed a roof, so they wound up roofing it with the pancakes? It showed the reroofed house at the end.

What kinda "Green Acres" fan are ya?

;)

[Jokerman]

16. The house couldn't be painted.

The wood either sucked up all the paint, or wheezed loudly when it couldn't get air.

[edbermac]

17. Why did Oliver perform his farm chores wearing a three piece suit?

Why was Arnold the Pig the smartest living creature in Hooterville? Figure that one out...

[Cuban_Liberal]

19. Because they always hired the Monroe Brothers.

:)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

21. It was Ralph's fault

[terrya]

22. And why couldn't they get Eb to do any work around the farm?

And what exactly was Eb's real relationship with the Douglases? :-)

[drm604]

24. Eb was not related to them in any way

although he did have a habit of calling them mom and dad, which infuriated Oliver. He even took this to the point of complaining that his dad wouldn't buy him a car.