View Full Version : Episode - "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik"


Rezny@gmail.com
05-29-2010, 09:24 PM
This was one of the most unusual episodes of "Petticoat Junction",was a black and white episode from season one,included on the "Petticoat Junction-The Ultimate Collection"DVD,and was unusual for the following reasons:1)It WASN'T really funny,more a drama than a comedy.2)Bobbie Jo became infatuated by a beatnik (the late Dennis Hopper,who died today),and 3)the episode did NOT feature Linda Kaye Henning(on the DVD she said she was sidelined with mononucleosis)as Betty Jo.Does anyone who has the "Petticoat Junction-The Ultimate Collection DVD" viewed this episode,and what did you think of it?I give it a 6/10-fair.And a question:Are there any other episodes that were very unusual?

Marvo301
05-29-2010, 10:17 PM
I have the Official season 1 and 2 DVD's. So yes I have seen this episode. I thought it was a great performance by Dennis Hopper especially considering this was a very rare sitcom appearance for him. I give this episode 7/10.

Jude The Obscure
05-30-2010, 09:10 PM
I have both the Ultimate Collection and the official seasons 1 and 2 (and I'm behind the push to get season 3 out on Facebook). This was the only episode Linda was not in. It did give Pat Woodell a chance to shine as Bobbi Jo and seeing a young Dennis Hopper is a hoot. This was one of the rare Petticoat Junction episodes to acknowledge the outside culture happenings of the era.

OH Nuts!
06-25-2010, 03:09 PM
It did give Pat Woodell a chance to shine as Bobbi Jo and seeing a young Dennis Hopper is a hoot. This was one of the rare Petticoat Junction episodes to acknowledge the outside culture happenings of the era.

Yes it was a very interesting episode for that reason. It was a good ep so I'd give it an 8/10. But Kate and Higgins are my very favorites on the show.

But those eps that strongly focus around Kate are the ones that really are my favs. Bea was such an amazing talent RIP (sorry to go a bit O/T but Bea is what really made the show for me - thought she made Kate Bradley shine!)

biffbronson
06-25-2010, 10:43 PM
One of my favorite episodes because we get to see so much of Pat Woodell.

Some of its themes would be repeated to some extent in later seasons: The bringing home of someone who makes a stir and turns out to be a jerk (Betty Jo in a later season brought home an uppity guy who insulted everyone), and the clash of cultures (Joe Carson had a run-in with a group of wild bikers much later).

Over on The Beverly Hillbillies, Alan Reed Jr. played a beatnik who introduced the Clampetts to the coffee house beat scene in a series of episodes fairly early on. These types of stories were not all that rare in the Henning-produced series. Reed even returned years later to play a hippie who was interested in the fact that Granny "smoked crawdads," implying pot or something with similar effects.

While the beatnik episode was unusual for PJ, it was one of several that exploited culture clashes in the Henning shows, later to be done on Green Acres at times as well. And let's not forget the weird dream sequence at the time of Betty Jo's wedding, with Sam and Joe wearing long wigs and rocking out wildly...!

Finally, when asked about unusual episodes of PJ, one that first comes to mind is that of the Vietnam war orphan who is smuggled in by a Shady Rest guest. And unrelated to current events or cultural differences, I think one of the most unusual ones features the man behind the later "Schoolhouse Rock" series, who plays piano for lovely Bobbie Jo while a guest. There is even an episode in which Betty Jo, Steve, and others are shown in the Clampett truck...!