I have grandparents who both say they remember when the show first premiered, that there was an episode that showed Jed strike the oil and run in to tell Granny about it... ~Like he does in the COLOR opening, in the b&w opening is when he runs in to tell her about Jethro smashing into the cabin with the truck ~

But of course that scene is not in the pilot.... I'm wondering if there was a lost episode that even predates what is now called the pilot.

Well, I'd say the opening of him shooting his rifle and the oil 'muddying' the stream counts as us seeing him strike oil.

Of course, not only did it seem a rather sluggish 'eruption' but if an oil reserve actually was close enough to the ground's surface that it could have been sprung by a single rifle shot, then logically, there should have been oily pools around it (somewhat like what the Texas City, Texas area looked like before they capped everything). Seriously, that 'eruption' didn't look as though it was going to fill more than a single gas can rather than make Jed a millionaire but the show never was supposed to be a logical one!

I guess that is true, I'm just wondering if that scene is actually in an episode... I have actually talked to more than a few ppl who remember it as part of an episode

Well, I'd say the opening of him shooting his rifle and the oil 'muddying' the stream counts as us seeing him strike oil.

Of course, not only did it seem a rather sluggish 'eruption' but if an oil reserve actually was close enough to the ground's surface that it could have been sprung by a single rifle shot, then logically, there should have been oily pools around it (somewhat like what the Texas City, Texas area looked like before they capped everything). Seriously, that 'eruption' didn't look as though it was going to fill more than a single gas can rather than make Jed a millionaire but the show never was supposed to be a logical one!

I remember back when the series was on someone said once that it's impossible to shoot into the ground and strike oil; even if you held the gun right above the ground and fired it.

Perhaps there was an episode where they did a "flashbacK" to Jed striking oil with more detail than just what was shown in the opening.

Perhaps there was an episode where they did a "flashbacK" to Jed striking oil with more detail than just what was shown in the opening.



If you notice in the color episodes in the opening when Jed runs in to tell Granny, its different from the b&w episodes opening... in the b&w episodes, Jed is running in to tell Granny that Jethro is about to hit the cabin with the truck.
He runs in, goes to the wrong spot, can't seem to find her and she gets his attention from the other side of the counter, he goes over there and they run over to the window, BUT in the color episodes he runs in, to the spot where he did before, but this time Granny is there and they both run out the door.

So I feel like that scene exists in some episode, unless it was made just for the color opening