Was it only Hooterville that was in a surreal universe or the whole world? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TheLittleFaerie · 11-09-2019, 02:14 AM

Used to watching the show I thought it was just the town of Hooterville that was a Twilight Zonish, surreal place...BUT watching the show now, when the characters leave Hooterville and make trips to New York, Washington and places like that....people and reality there seem just as "off". The most notable was the Eiffel Tower being in Washington as Oliver looks in disbelief.

PracTz · 11-09-2019, 10:58 AM

I guess the 'oddness' of Hooterville and other locales depended on where the Douglases happened to be- especially considering how UN-odd "Petticoat Junction" was.

The only odd things that happened on "Petticoat Junction" was when some weird guest took the broken elevator from the lobby to the guest rooms. Oh, and on an early episode Dennis Hopper guested as a supposed beatnik Bobby Jo was smitten with but that character looked more like Wally Cleaver than counterculture type (contrast that with Robbie Douglas's beatnik M3S episode that very same year- 1964!). Yeah a working broken elevator and a beatnik as square as Wally Cleaver didn't compare to all of 'Green Acres' antics!

PhoenixAcres · 11-09-2019, 06:42 PM

I always figured the rest of the world operated like a conventional sitcom but only Hooterville operated like a surreal sitcom.

Generally when visitors come to the farm they take the role of the straight man like Oliver, hopelessly pointing out the abnormalities and trying to rationalize the weirdness.

Whenever the Douglases travel somewhere else the people are definitely unusual but never at quite the same level as the Hooterville natives.

Hazel Anyday · 11-09-2019, 11:22 PM

Well, Mr. Ed was pretty out there in a lot of the episodes. When you think about it the Bob Newhart Show and Newhart were both pretty surreal too. But it's hard to think of any show dafter than Green Acres.

TheLittleFaerie · 11-10-2019, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hazel Anyday

Well, Mr. Ed was pretty out there in a lot of the episodes. When you think about it the Bob Newhart Show and Newhart were both pretty surreal too. But it's hard to think of any show dafter than Green Acres.

I think Get Smart was that type of "surreal" also later movies like Naked Gun and Airplane are like that. I think Naked Gun and Airplane could have taken place in the same Green Acres universe lol

CanICallYouDad · 02-15-2020, 11:26 PM

Good question

merlinjones · 02-16-2020, 05:56 AM

Perhaps it was Oliver's thinking/POV that was surreal. Hooterville was perfectly normal to its citizens.

Oliver's mother, his law partner, and Uncle Joe saw Oliver as the crazy one. Maybe they were right?

GentlemanJim · 05-19-2020, 06:14 PM

Well, I tell you what I eventually concluded about a dozen or so years ago.

There definitely is a contrast in cultures, where members from either side are self assured that they and their peers "get it", while their counterparts from the other side are "dreadfully misguided".
What it reminds me most of are areas along the Canada/US border where populations from both sides interact frequently.

That knowing,.. behind-the-back stare of "oh, here's another one", regardless of which side you are on.

11-09-2019, 02:14 AM	#1
TheLittleFaerie Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 15, 2017 Posts: 1,948	Was it only Hooterville that was in a surreal universe or the whole world? Used to watching the show I thought it was just the town of Hooterville that was a Twilight Zonish, surreal place...BUT watching the show now, when the characters leave Hooterville and make trips to New York, Washington and places like that....people and reality there seem just as "off". The most notable was the Eiffel Tower being in Washington as Oliver looks in disbelief.

11-09-2019, 11:22 PM	#4
Hazel Anyday Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 12, 2002 Posts: 2,135	A Couple for Thought Well, Mr. Ed was pretty out there in a lot of the episodes. When you think about it the Bob Newhart Show and Newhart were both pretty surreal too. But it's hard to think of any show dafter than Green Acres.
	__________________ Haaazeelll!!

02-15-2020, 11:26 PM	#6
CanICallYouDad Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 12, 2013 Location: Meeechigan Posts: 233	Good question
	__________________ We got 4 channels. 2, 4, 7 and 9. Loved turning that dial as fast as I could.

05-19-2020, 06:14 PM	#8
GentlemanJim Concerns, Support, & Feedback Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 26, 2019 Location: The back country Posts: 5,443	Well, I tell you what I eventually concluded about a dozen or so years ago. There definitely is a contrast in cultures, where members from either side are self assured that they and their peers "get it", while their counterparts from the other side are "dreadfully misguided". What it reminds me most of are areas along the Canada/US border where populations from both sides interact frequently. That knowing,.. behind-the-back stare of "oh, here's another one", regardless of which side you are on.
	Last edited by GentlemanJim; 05-20-2020 at 09:00 PM.

11-09-2019, 10:58 AM	#2
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	I guess the 'oddness' of Hooterville and other locales depended on where the Douglases happened to be- especially considering how UN-odd "Petticoat Junction" was. The only odd things that happened on "Petticoat Junction" was when some weird guest took the broken elevator from the lobby to the guest rooms. Oh, and on an early episode Dennis Hopper guested as a supposed beatnik Bobby Jo was smitten with but that character looked more like Wally Cleaver than counterculture type (contrast that with Robbie Douglas's beatnik M3S episode that very same year- 1964!). Yeah a working broken elevator and a beatnik as square as Wally Cleaver didn't compare to all of 'Green Acres' antics!

11-09-2019, 06:42 PM	#3
PhoenixAcres Member Moderator Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 26, 2016 Location: United States Posts: 6,824	I always figured the rest of the world operated like a conventional sitcom but only Hooterville operated like a surreal sitcom. Generally when visitors come to the farm they take the role of the straight man like Oliver, hopelessly pointing out the abnormalities and trying to rationalize the weirdness. Whenever the Douglases travel somewhere else the people are definitely unusual but never at quite the same level as the Hooterville natives.

02-16-2020, 05:56 AM	#7
merlinjones Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 30, 2019 Location: los ángeles Posts: 931	Perhaps it was Oliver's thinking/POV that was surreal. Hooterville was perfectly normal to its citizens. Oliver's mother, his law partner, and Uncle Joe saw Oliver as the crazy one. Maybe they were right?