People really treat Oliver pretty crappy

[TheLittleFaerie]

I'm on the 6th season now, and I know that is the premise for the show, Oliver is the "normal" one in a crazy world. I think the idea of him slipping into a parallel Twilight Zone type world gets more and more vivid in season 6.

I've notice most everyone takes an instant disliking to Oliver... for NO REASON, it's almost like they can sense he's an "outsider" like from a different reality. I know he can be hot-heated, but many people treat him with utter disrespect even if he's being friendly. Even Lisa has done things to put his lively hood in jeopardy.

Really the only people who treat Oliver with some dignity are Mr. Drucker and Mrs. Ziffel. Fred is always nasty to him.


Again I know it's played for laughs, but I did hate it in the apple-picking episode where Oliver and the rest of the farmers made a deal, they would all help each other pick their apples, Oliver helped all of them, then when it was time for them to come help Oliver, everyone bailed and no one showed up.

I honestly dunno how Oliver can seem so happy most of the time.

[Duster76]

The Little Faerie said:

"I know that is the premise for the show, Oliver is the "normal" one in a crazy world".

In my opinion that's not the premise of the show, your looking at it backwards. I wrote this awhile back:

Saint Teresa of Avila once wrote, "more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones". This happens because what we want is our perception of what things are not what they actually are. The Hooterville community wasn't looking to move into Oliver's world, Oliver was looking to move into their world. And how did he handle that, he social distanced right off the bat by refusing to refer to his neighbors by their first names instead using the more formal surnames. He refused to dress in appropriate attire for a farmer instead choosing to dress in ridiculous three piece suits as if he was going into his law office. Lisa didn't have the problems Oliver had because she accepted the citizenry as they were instead of how she wanted them to be. The biggest problem Oliver had was as Yoda might have advised "you must unlearn what you have learned", this was what Oliver refused to do.

A final point what was more insane, Haney, the Monroe Brothers, Kimball and the rest, or a Harvard educated lawyer who fails to follow the lessons any first year law student knows, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware), and due diligence. He failed to read the purchase agreement, buying a dilapidated farm house and property ill-suited for farming. Did he review Haney's business records, did he inspect the house, did he do any soil analysis, apparently not. Did he at least consult with his wife prior to signing the papers, he might have considered her feelings since this upheaval was going to effect her life, at least allow her the courtesy of having some input into the dwelling. But of course this is all explained away by the fact that Oliver didn't want to miss the opportunity, well how rare was it that a farm would be up for sale in the mid-sixties? As it turns out not rare at all, between 1950 and 1970 the number of farms in the United States dropped from 20 million to 10 million, the greatest sell off in the history of farming. Are you sure Oliver isn't the real crazy one?

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by Duster76

The Little Faerie said:

"I know that is the premise for the show, Oliver is the "normal" one in a crazy world".

In my opinion that's not the premise of the show, your looking at it backwards. I wrote this awhile back:

Saint Teresa of Avila once wrote, "more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones". This happens because what we want is our perception of what things are not what they actually are. The Hooterville community wasn't looking to move into Oliver's world, Oliver was looking to move into their world. And how did he handle that, he social distanced right off the bat by refusing to refer to his neighbors by their first names instead using the more formal surnames. He refused to dress in appropriate attire for a farmer instead choosing to dress in ridiculous three piece suits as if he was going into his law office. Lisa didn't have the problems Oliver had because she accepted the citizenry as they were instead of how she wanted them to be. The biggest problem Oliver had was as Yoda might have advised "you must unlearn what you have learned", this was what Oliver refused to do.

A final point what was more insane, Haney, the Monroe Brothers, Kimball and the rest, or a Harvard educated lawyer who fails to follow the lessons any first year law student knows, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware), and due diligence. He failed to read the purchase agreement, buying a dilapidated farm house and property ill-suited for farming. Did he review Haney's business records, did he inspect the house, did he do any soil analysis, apparently not. Did he at least consult with his wife prior to signing the papers, he might have considered her feelings since this upheaval was going to effect her life, at least allow her the courtesy of having some input into the dwelling. But of course this is all explained away by the fact that Oliver didn't want to miss the opportunity, well how rare was it that a farm would be up for sale in the mid-sixties? As it turns out not rare at all, between 1950 and 1970 the number of farms in the United States dropped from 20 million to 10 million, the greatest sell off in the history of farming. Are you sure Oliver isn't the real crazy one?

That is interesting, but to ME it just seems like the entire world is "off" in relation to Oliver. It's not just Hooterville in which Oliver encounters everyone being against him or at least out-of-step with him.... Even when the Douglases travel to other places like New York, Washington, etc.... Oliver is met with the same disrespect, inability to communicate effectively, and hostility from people.

It's odd because the ppl in New York seem exactly like the ppl in Hooterville from Oliver's perspective.

This is why I like the idea that Oliver, at some point during the end of the first season, slipped into a parallel universe, where people and reality operate under different laws.

Lisa is even different, in the 1st few episodes she is quite normal, can pronounce "electricity", but on into season 2 she's different. Kimball was quiet normal as well.

I wonder if Molly Turgis put some kind of hex on Oliver, it seems like it was about that episode when things started changing.

[Hazel Anyday]

I'm with the littlest Faerie on this one. I've pointed this out before too, but everyone is insane by the end of the 6th season except for Oliver, he's the only one who's reasonable and still tries to help out these loons that surround him, and I include his stab in the back at every opportunity old lady, Lisa. Lisa started out 1/2 way normal in the first season, in fact more normal than Oliver since she saw right away (back then) what a disaster that shack was that Oliver thought would be a great home. But as time went on Lisa seemed to love it in Whacksville and turned on her husband like a rabid dog just like everyone else in that loonybin. People in the first season were kooky but not downright rude and mean the way they were by the time the last season rolled around. They didn't even let Oliver get a word in edgewise before they rudely talked right over him and paid him no mind at all. It was like he was invisible, everyone had their say and just left Oliver forever trying to say more than 2 words.

As I said before, if Oliver had any sense left by that last season he would have gotten in his Lincoln and high tailed it out of Rudesville leaving his rotten wife with the loons and gone back to the polite world of New York, where even the muggers & cab drivers treat you better than the Hooterville residents.

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by Hazel Anyday

I'm with the littlest Faerie on this one. I've pointed this out before too, but everyone is insane by the end of the 6th season except for Oliver, he's the only one who's reasonable and still tries to help out these loons that surround him, and I include his stab in the back at every opportunity old lady, Lisa. Lisa started out 1/2 way normal in the first season, in fact more normal than Oliver since she saw right away (back then) what a disaster that shack was that Oliver thought would be a great home. But as time went on Lisa seemed to love it in Whacksville and turned on her husband like a rabid dog just like everyone else in that loonybin. People in the first season were kooky but not downright rude and mean the way they were by the time the last season rolled around. They didn't even let Oliver get a word in edgewise before they rudely talked right over him and paid him no mind at all. It was like he was invisible, everyone had their say and just left Oliver forever trying to say more than 2 words.

As I said before, if Oliver had any sense left by that last season he would have gotten in his Lincoln and high tailed it out of Rudesville leaving his rotten wife with the loons and gone back to the polite world of New York, where even the muggers & cab drivers treat you better than the Hooterville residents.

I put another comment up, but for some reason it's not showing up in the NUMBER of comments.

But like I was saying in it.... I'm convinced that Oliver, SOMEHOW, slipped into some kooky alternate reality, so I don't think leaving Hooterville would have helped very much. If you notice even when the Douglases leave Hooterville and go to places like New York, Washington, etc.... people are just as rude and bizarre to him in those places as they are in Hooterville, and Oliver has just as difficult of a time communicating even the SIMPLEST things with people in New York, Washington D.C., etc.... as he does in Hooterville. It's like everyone senses that he is an "outsider" to their reality.

But he does seem generally happy despite all that. I think Mr Drucker and Mrs Ziffel treat him fairly decent... And Lisa's mother treated him SURPRISINGLY decent...outside of not remembering his name, I thought she had a pretty touching scene with him at the end