We've seen and heard about shows that have a very distinct hook that the entire show is based on but then that particular plot gets resolved and the show continues on (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ArtifactTitle/LiveActionTV) to be nowhere near as good as it once was

Happy Days and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Cheers, I think. The Sam and Diane off-and-on romance was the premise that had held the show together for the first half of the series. The Rebecca years were still very funny, but the premise had changed.

Happy Days and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Happy Days, maybe, it was a period piece anchored in the world of the 50's and moved as far away from that as was possible as the seasons passed, so I get that, but the Beverly Hillbillies!! You're going to have to explain that pick.

Cheers, I think. The Sam and Diane off-and-on romance was the premise that had held the show together for the first half of the series. The Rebecca years were still very funny, but the premise had changed.

I don't agree with the Cheers pick. The premise of the series is introduced in opening theme song. The show was about the bar focusing on the patrons, owner and staff, that never changed.

I'll take a shot at this, "The Lucy Show". Season 4 saw the exit of 4 of the six regulars from the first 3 seasons. The location of series moved from the east coast to the west coast, Lucy was working fulltime and the domestic premise of the series disappeared. The show also became more of a skitcom than a sitcom.

I don't agree with the Cheers pick. The premise of the series is introduced in opening theme song. The show was about the bar focusing on the patrons, owner and staff, that never changed.

Fair enough. :)

Green Acres and Newhart. Originally both shows were about a city couple simply adapting to life in the country but they soon transcended into absurdist explorations of the human condition wherein the male leads essentially played the straight man to ensemble casts of perpetually stoned locals. And it worked :thumbsup:

DEFINETALY Happy Days. It started out as a nice, gentle sitcom about a "nuclear family" in the 59s, but as it went on it changed and the setting changed to the 70s with a small amount of the 50s sprinkled on top.

Green Acres and Newhart. Originally both shows were about a city couple simply adapting to life in the country but they soon transcended into absurdist explorations of the human condition wherein the male leads essentially played the straight man to ensemble casts of perpetually stoned locals. And it worked :thumbsup:

I never looked at it this way myself, but now that I think about it, you make some valid points I never realized before.

I never looked at it this way myself, but now that I think about it, you make some valid points I never realized before.


I didn't agree with it myself. Except for Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, who tend to remind me of the Three Stooges, the rest of the Newhart cast seems fairly normal (and dull) compared to "the poople of Heeterville" (as Oliver once called them). Give me Green Acres every time!


The series that I have picked --- which ran even longer than Happy Days --- is The Big Bang Theory. Originally, it was about a couple of brainy nerds named Sheldon and Leonard who end up living next to a new sexy neighbor, Penny. Both guys fall for her and the three friends try to co-exist despite the fact that the boys and their other weird genius friends Raj and Howard are very shy and awkward around girls and Penny knows very little about science --- or anything else! Eventually everything works out and Leonard ends up marrying Penny. That's where the series should have ended. Instead, it continued as the other guys got girls of their own and the show turned into a weekly battle of the sexes over science vs reality. It did get better in the end but I still felt that it went on for far too long.

I didn't agree with it myself. Except for Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, who tend to remind me of the Three Stooges, the rest of the Newhart cast seems fairly normal (and dull) compared to "the poople of Heeterville" (as Oliver once called them). Give me Green Acres every time!


I like Green Acres better too but I enjoy both shows.

On Newhart I think once Michael joined the cast it started to go in a more surreal direction. They gave him a lot of intentionally ridiculous lines that you wouldn't expect on a traditional realistic sitcom like it was in season 1. The eccentricities of existing characters like George and Stephanie became more pronounced and increasing prominence of side characters like Jim and Chester gave it a very Green Acres vibe. One of the best examples of this is the Halloween episode when the entire town is convinced Dick is actually an alien from outer space.

good topic!!!

Happy Days, maybe, it was a period piece anchored in the world of the 50's and moved as far away from that as was possible as the seasons passed, so I get that, but the Beverly Hillbillies!! You're going to have to explain that pick.

It started out as a simple backwoods family slowly adjusting to city life but as the show progressed the premise of naive hill folks befuddled by modern society to a bunch of gullible buffoons who fall for any scheme they encounter.

It started out as a simple backwoods family slowly adjusting to city life but as the show progressed the premise of naive hill folks befuddled by modern society to a bunch of gullible buffoons who fall for any scheme they encounter.

I don't see it, I just took at the summaries of the 274 episodes of the series, you can't keep repeating the same bits (slowly adjusting to city life), the family was going to have to evolve just a little, after all the series last 9 years.

More like devolved

More like devolved

If your overall point was the series wasn't as good at the end as it was in the beginning, I'll agree to that. I'd like to state for the record that producing as many episodes as the series did it's hard not to run out of good ideas (Friends was on for 10 years but produced only 236 episodes, Cheers was on for 11 and produced 275 episodes.).

Green Acres and Newhart. Originally both shows were about a city couple simply adapting to life in the country but they soon transcended into absurdist explorations of the human condition wherein the male leads essentially played the straight man to ensemble casts of perpetually stoned locals. And it worked :thumbsup:


Well, let me take them in the order given, Green Acres and then Newhart.

I don't think the premise of Green Acres ever changed. The audience may have come to the series with the notion that it was going to be a predictable collection of episodes about a well-heeled city couple adjusting to life on a farm, but the very first episode made it clear we were headed into a twilight zone-like sitcom. We're introduced to John Charles Daly doing an Edward R Murrow type parody, Arnold Ziffel sitting in Drucker's Store squealing when Douglas announces he's purchased the Haney Place. Early episodes take us slowly but surely into a world that seems increasingly out of focus, including empty kitchen cabinets except for bags of Hal's Hotcake Flour, a three piece suit wearing farmer, and of course the Monroe Brothers and the perpetually confused Hank Kimball.


Newhart was clearly influenced by Green Acres and the show was definitely retooled after the second season. The rating dropped in year 2, although some of that may have had to do with a weaker lead-in (AfterMash). I think the show was much better after the second season and it meets the criteria of a change in premise.

Hee Haw it started out as a pure country show with good music and country humor but as the years progressed especially the late urban cowboy circa of the late 70's and 80's it became a shell of its former self and was just another variety show.

I didn't agree with it myself. Except for Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, who tend to remind me of the Three Stooges, the rest of the Newhart cast seems fairly normal (and dull) compared to "the poople of Heeterville" (as Oliver once called them). Give me Green Acres every time!

The cast on Newhart weren't normal at all; they were flakes. Maybe not as flaky as the people on Green Acres, but either in their own little worlds (like Stephanie and her husband) or on a different wavelength. That was where so much of the humor came from, Newhart's deadpan expression whenever they did or said something stupid.

I don't think the premise of Green Acres ever changed. The audience may have come to the series with the notion that it was going to be a predictable collection of episodes about a well-heeled city couple adjusting to life on a farm, but the very first episode made it clear we were headed into a twilight zone-like sitcom. We're introduced to John Charles Daly doing an Edward R Murrow type parody, Arnold Ziffel sitting in Drucker's Store squealing when Douglas announces he's purchased the Haney Place. Early episodes take us slowly but surely into a world that seems increasingly out of focus, including empty kitchen cabinets except for bags of Hal's Hotcake Flour, a three piece suit wearing farmer, and of course the Monroe Brothers and the perpetually confused Hank Kimball.


Those are some good points and I agree with the Twilight Zone-ness of the series. I think the eventual formula was present (albeit not as pronounced or refined) as early as season 1 for the reasons you mentioned.

But there are a few reasons I see Green Acres as a show that did transition to some extent.

In the earliest episodes there's a heavy emphasis on city versus country life (the theme song being the most prominent example) and how Oliver and Lisa separately adapt to their new home. This premise is all but abandoned by season 2 as both the Douglases are accustomed to life on the farm. In a season 3 episode there's a scene where Lisa reveals she actually prefers Hooterville over New York, having done a complete 180 from episode 1.

In those early episodes, Lisa fits most distinctly into the straight man role. She is logical, well-spoken, and completely disapproving of Oliver's quixotic ramblings about getting his hands dirty and living off the land. Oliver comes across as the crazy one, and actually gets the funny lines which Lisa reacts to. Obviously, these roles would be completely flipped by series end (though Oliver never lost his love for the land).

In the earliest episodes there's a heavy emphasis on city versus country life (the theme song being the most prominent example) Didn't the Green Acres theme song remain the same the entire series? While the rest of the show might have changed some, this is one show that didn't make changes to its theme song at all like several others have.

Didn't the Green Acres theme song remain the same the entire series? While the rest of the show might have changed some, this is one show that didn't make changes to its theme song at all like several others have.

You are correct. The theme song for Green Acres never changed.

Green Acres and Newhart. Originally both shows were about a city couple simply adapting to life in the country but they soon transcended into absurdist explorations of the human condition wherein the male leads essentially played the straight man to ensemble casts of perpetually stoned locals. And it worked :thumbsup:


Completely disagree about Green Acres. To me the point of Green Acres was that the star was sane and the rest of the world was crazy which mirrors real life. Everybody thinks they are sane and the rest of the world is crazy. .

7th heaven!! i didn't liked it when the kids gotten older! then it became about dating!! & i liked the beanging of it cause they helped people!! then i also liked beginning of touch by an Angle then they took away people & added new ones! then they couldn't mention god or lord in the show!! same goes for sabrina the teeange witch ! it was good in at first then it kind of gotten stupid later on!! i also liked the beginning of hercules legendary journey but i didn't liked the toward ending of it!!