I know it's a comedy show, a lot is unrealistic, but I thought the culture clash in the later episodes was VERY unrealistic.

By season 9, the Clampetts had been in Beverly Hills for 9 years but they still seemed as unaware and clueless as they did in season 1 when they first moved there. I can understand them sticking with their old ways, but to just be so unaware of things about the city is ridiculous. I mean if you watched the last episode, you'd never guessed they'd lived in B. Hills for 9 years, you'd think they'd just moved there a few days ago

Well, at least the last season was not very good.

Correct. I think that is what made it so funny!

IMO, “fish out of water” sitcoms shouldn’t be meant to run as long as TBH did. The OP is correct.

Yes, I do understand that as long as the show is “money in the bank” for CBS, the staff would wring as much profit as possible.

There *are* some classic funny color episodes (Admiral Jed, and that one where Mrs Drysdale bought some monstrosity “artwork”) but I say generally the black and white episodes clobber the color ones by far—just a case of running outta ideas, IMO.

EDIT: I MUST also throw in the Robin Hood arc; “smokin’ crawdads” never fails to get a chuckle outta me!

^ To follow up,

Green Acres is a rare exception to the fish-out-of-water genre. It’s one of the extremely few shows to be funnier as it got older. And I’m glad of it. I also include Dick Van Dyke Show and the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons in this category; the earliest shows are okay but I wouldn’t be sad if I missed them.

cd

Yes, just a sitcom, but way into the series, still referring to the pool as the ceement pond?

And Granny believing that frogman thing in the 9th season?

Anyway, by 1971, most of the actors were probably just wanting it to end.

+1 on the frogman…. (Rolling eyes)

Also it was sad to see Raymond Bailey slip into some megalomaniac. At least he cared early on, despite his greed.

Loved this exchange during the Epps arc….

Jed: Oh I can think of a whole lotta things more important than money.
Drysdale: **gulp** Me too.
Jane (tilting her head toward Drysdale, in a low voice): I bet THAT hurt!

cd

In.a pure situation comedy, it's the situation that changes from week to week. The characters remain relatively static. Something disturbs them early in an episode, they react according to their funny natures, and then by the end of the episode everything resets, so the characters are back where they started and ready to be disturbed again the next week. So the characters don't have to learn or develop, ever.

Yes, just a sitcom, but way into the series, still referring to the pool as the ceement pond?

And Granny believing that frogman thing in the 9th season?

Anyway, by 1971, most of the actors were probably just wanting it to end.

I know Max Baer Jr was ready for it to end. On the E! True Hollywood Story, he had the same problems with the characters not becoming more self aware.

+1 on the frogman…. (Rolling eyes)

Also it was sad to see Raymond Bailey slip into some megalomaniac. At least he cared early on, despite his greed.

Loved this exchange during the Epps arc….

Jed: Oh I can think of a whole lotta things more important than money.
Drysdale: **gulp** Me too.
Jane (tilting her head toward Drysdale): I bet THAT hurt!

cd

Isn't there such a thing as contempt for the adoptive culture? An inherent belief by the inductee that assimilation = surrender?

I think the flaw in the basic premise of this thread is the assumption that our culture is mandatorily WORTHY of adoption, and therefore MUST be seen as an end goal. Perhaps the Clampetts witnessed enough of our progressivism to conclude it was something to be shunned?

Certainly real world examples in the current day we all live in. Not to get political, but we witness it everytime certain people open their mouths

If Jethro could find a source for a battle tank, and go on maneuvers in Griffith park, that is evidence of learning.

+1 on the frogman…. (Rolling eyes)

Also it was sad to see Raymond Bailey slip into some megalomaniac. At least he cared early on, despite his greed.

Loved this exchange during the Epps arc….

Jed: Oh I can think of a whole lotta things more important than money.
Drysdale: **gulp** Me too.
Jane (tilting her head toward Drysdale, in a low voice): I bet THAT hurt!

cd

He de-evolved into a greedy cartoon villain in the later seasons.

Jethro evolved from being naive, gentle, and compliant, to brash, angry, and sometimes defiant. Early on, when he did something dumb, like removing the truck's brakes, it was only because he thought it was in compliance with his mom's wishes. He later took on all sorts of outlandish projects of his own creation. And he became disrespectful of others of the same rural background, dismissing them as "hay-shakers."

It's fun to see the Clampetts take their first plane ride in the b/w seasons; later that becomes routine as they travel to England. I guess that's an example of how the newness humor can only be deployed on the 1st trip, for the Clampetts themselves -- but when other characters from back home pop up, the unsophisticated aspects again come into scripts for them.

In.a pure situation comedy, it's the situation that changes from week to week. The characters remain relatively static. Something disturbs them early in an episode, they react according to their funny natures, and then by the end of the episode everything resets, so the characters are back where they started and ready to be disturbed again the next week. So the characters don't have to learn or develop, ever.
Good point. For a modern example of this, look at The Goldbergs (the current series, not the '50s show). The characters learn the same lesson over and over again, but revert to their normal behavior for every episode.

Yes, just a sitcom, but way into the series, still referring to the pool as the ceement pond?

And Granny believing that frogman thing in the 9th season?

Anyway, by 1971, most of the actors were probably just wanting it to end.

It's funny, I watched an episode the other night, a color episode, in which ALL the characters were referring to the "cement pond" as the "swimming pool"!!! Not once did any of the characters say "cement pond", they call called it "swimming pool" every time. I dunno what was up with that lol

Different writer? Or I need to reconsider my comment!

It's funny, I watched an episode the other night, a color episode, in which ALL the characters were referring to the "cement pond" as the "swimming pool"!!! Not once did any of the characters say "cement pond", they call called it "swimming pool" every time. I dunno what was up with that lol

By 1966, Jed already had learned from con-artist Mr. Farquhar how to actually use that thar bill-e-yard table to actually play bill-e-yards! The joke was on Farquhar though—Jed’s experience at shooting and ricocheting won out, as usual.

cd

By 1966, Jed already had learned from con-artist Mr. Farquhar how to actually use that thar bill-e-yard table to actually play bill-e-yards! The joke was on Farquhar though—Jed’s experience at shooting and ricocheting won out, as usual.

cd

Evidently, then, they stopped using it as a dining room table.

It's funny, I watched an episode the other night, a color episode, in which ALL the characters were referring to the "cement pond" as the "swimming pool"!!! Not once did any of the characters say "cement pond", they call called it "swimming pool" every time. I dunno what was up with that lol

Again, something to keep an eye out for during countless rewatching of TBH.

I'm old enough to have watched The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Gomer Pyle from the start of the original airing of the first seasons (just slightly too young to have caught the Andy Griffith' Show from the start) so I've watched many episodes dozens of times over the years, and at this point sometimes concentrate more on the locations, sets, and script trivia such as the one you mentioned than the basic stories.

Something to look forward to.

🙂