Was Oliver Always Crabby? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

howilu · 06-01-2004, 02:06 AM

Even though I thought Green Acres was really funny, I was wondering was Oliver always crabby and grouchy? He seemed to yell at everybody, from Lisa to Hank Kimball. He's one of the grouchiest sitcom characters before Ed Brown on Chico and the Man and Dr. John Becker.

tdr · 06-01-2004, 08:53 PM

The answer seems to be 'Yes,' he was 'always' crabby. From the pilot episode, he is shown as a man who can never be satisfied. He comes home to his Park Avenue apartment and says, "I hate it!" He mocks the pretentions of the high class parties he is continually invited to and which Lisa loves, and he prefers to work his "farm"-- corn and tomatoes grown in pots on his terrace. So then he makes the choice to leave the sophistocation of the big city, preferring the simple life of a farmer in small farming community and he bemoans the lack of knowledge and sophistocation of his new neighbors, and he assumes his farming problems cannot be his own fault, since he does everything 'by the book,' ignoring that farming is based far more on experience than upon booklearning. So he hates big city sophistocation and he turns off those who love it, and then he hates rural ignorance and he turns off those who live in it. A man who can't win and can't be satisfied is likely to be "crabby."

Chain Gang Member · 06-02-2004, 03:38 PM

No,he wasn't crabby while giving his speeches while Yankee Doodle plays.That was always one of my favorite parts

nanlisa1957 · 06-24-2004, 05:18 PM

Oliver was not only very crabby, he took everything too seriously. He never had a sense of humor. I'm surprised that nobody, even Lisa, had ever told him that he takes everything too seriously.

Mr. Television · 06-24-2004, 05:20 PM

Yes he was crabby and thats what made him so funny. He just could never lighten up.

vze3t9q9 · 06-26-2004, 10:52 PM

I just thought he ranted and raved for he couldn't understand all the nitwits he had to deal with.

Michael [hXc] · 06-27-2004, 07:23 AM

The only times he wasn't grumpy were when things were going his way. Plus my mom once told me I sometimes act like that

catlover79 · 06-22-2007, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

Yes he was crabby and thats what made him so funny. He just could never lighten up.

AB · 06-23-2007, 01:29 PM

Even at his crabbiest, he was still funny. I'd be crabby too after moving into that wreck of a farmhouse.

Mikado · 06-23-2007, 01:51 PM

Yeah he was pretty much crabby at all times.........makes you wonder how he was ever able to be a lawyer, Irene, do you think a man that miserable could kiss up to the judges enough to be successful?

catlover79 · 06-23-2007, 11:04 PM

Did they ever reveal which branch of the law Oliver worked in?

kooky12 · 06-26-2007, 01:23 PM

I'd say that he was crabby 99% of the time. Every once in a while he did get into the weirdness of the situation and seemed to go along with the gag in good spirits. Like when the hotel clerk said of Arnold - "that's a pig !" Oliver just went "What did you expect ?" When the Indians wanted to buy Lisa with an offer of animals, Oliver said "I'd be cheating you - I only paid 2 goats and a sheep for her." Remember when Oliver sent the scarecrow out to get him a hamburger, after Lisa packed no food for their picnic. Though rare, the scenes where he lets his guard down, and becomes a real part of the nutty town, add to the show's surrealism........

Bonsai · 06-26-2007, 02:17 PM

The biggest joke in Green Acres was that Oliver was so inflexible he refused to learn even from repeated experience...

...Lisa, even though her life experience and viewpoint totally made her a fish out of water, just accepted everybody as they were and got along a lot better.

Mikado · 06-26-2007, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Did they ever reveal which branch of the law Oliver worked in?

Cant say that i recall anything specific, but, he was a big-time lawyer in NY, so, if I had to venture a guess, id say, a corporate lawyer, perhaps?

chopperguy · 06-30-2007, 12:40 AM

I hate to admit it, but I watched this show and a few others from the 60's when they were originally on TV. Even as a kid I noticed Oliver always so serious and the butt of all jokes from everyone. There was always someone from each show that HAD to learn something....and in this show, it was him.

Even though he made a lot of sense, and looked at life like many people do...sometimes it's just best to go-with-the-flow. I don't think he ever learned that, even though a few episodes he came close. Like when he took Arnold the Pig to Hollywood. Now, how many people would put up with that? And he did, and actually just let it roll. That's the only episode I can think of that he did that!

Eddie Albert played a great straight-man in this show. Everyone else got the laughs, and he got a few by being the stuffed-shirt, know it all lawyer. He was really fantastic in the role.

By the way, my nine year old daughter caught me watching this show recently and asked "Dad, why does that guy alway wear good clothes and a tie and ride that tractor?

06-01-2004, 02:06 AM	#1
howilu Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: St. Louis Park, MN Posts: 1,961	Was Oliver Always Crabby? Even though I thought Green Acres was really funny, I was wondering was Oliver always crabby and grouchy? He seemed to yell at everybody, from Lisa to Hank Kimball. He's one of the grouchiest sitcom characters before Ed Brown on Chico and the Man and Dr. John Becker.

06-02-2004, 03:38 PM	#3
Chain Gang Member 1st Female Triple Crown Champ Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 28, 2003 Location: Watching Three's Company & Wrestling Posts: 8,926	No,he wasn't crabby while giving his speeches while Yankee Doodle plays.That was always one of my favorite parts
	__________________ Mickie is the best woman to step inside the ring http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOTh3hVT0HU

06-24-2004, 05:20 PM	#5
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,133	Yes he was crabby and thats what made him so funny. He just could never lighten up.
	__________________ Sonny

06-27-2004, 07:23 AM	#7
Michael [hXc] dying. Forum Fanatic Join Date: Feb 29, 2004 Posts: 8,532	The only times he wasn't grumpy were when things were going his way. Plus my mom once told me I sometimes act like that
	__________________ I'm scared now...is this working out? When my voice is on the way, Who's to think about? I'm scared one day I'll say, "I don't love this anymore," Turn my back on all my fans... Who's to think about? The brighter I shine, the darker my shadows. And they pull me behind, as I let off the pedal. Why should I divide what feels so right? Is this where I want to lay?

06-26-2007, 02:17 PM	#13
Bonsai Gilligan Ambassador Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 12, 2005 Posts: 356	The biggest joke in Green Acres was that Oliver was so inflexible he refused to learn even from repeated experience... ...Lisa, even though her life experience and viewpoint totally made her a fish out of water, just accepted everybody as they were and got along a lot better.
	__________________ I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.------Mahatma Gandhi

06-01-2004, 08:53 PM	#2
tdr Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Posts: 1,454	The answer seems to be 'Yes,' he was 'always' crabby. From the pilot episode, he is shown as a man who can never be satisfied. He comes home to his Park Avenue apartment and says, "I hate it!" He mocks the pretentions of the high class parties he is continually invited to and which Lisa loves, and he prefers to work his "farm"-- corn and tomatoes grown in pots on his terrace. So then he makes the choice to leave the sophistocation of the big city, preferring the simple life of a farmer in small farming community and he bemoans the lack of knowledge and sophistocation of his new neighbors, and he assumes his farming problems cannot be his own fault, since he does everything 'by the book,' ignoring that farming is based far more on experience than upon booklearning. So he hates big city sophistocation and he turns off those who love it, and then he hates rural ignorance and he turns off those who live in it. A man who can't win and can't be satisfied is likely to be "crabby."

06-24-2004, 05:18 PM	#4
nanlisa1957 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 24, 2003 Posts: 15	Oliver was not only very crabby, he took everything too seriously. He never had a sense of humor. I'm surprised that nobody, even Lisa, had ever told him that he takes everything too seriously.

06-26-2004, 10:52 PM	#6
vze3t9q9 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 31, 2003 Location: ROCKCOVE Posts: 548	I just thought he ranted and raved for he couldn't understand all the nitwits he had to deal with.

06-23-2007, 01:29 PM	#9
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,429	Even at his crabbiest, he was still funny. I'd be crabby too after moving into that wreck of a farmhouse.

06-23-2007, 01:51 PM	#10
Mikado Main st bridge Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 06, 2005 Posts: 25,880	Yeah he was pretty much crabby at all times.........makes you wonder how he was ever able to be a lawyer, Irene, do you think a man that miserable could kiss up to the judges enough to be successful?

06-23-2007, 11:04 PM	#11
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	Did they ever reveal which branch of the law Oliver worked in?

06-26-2007, 01:23 PM	#12
kooky12 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 06, 2005 Posts: 2,022	I'd say that he was crabby 99% of the time. Every once in a while he did get into the weirdness of the situation and seemed to go along with the gag in good spirits. Like when the hotel clerk said of Arnold - "that's a pig !" Oliver just went "What did you expect ?" When the Indians wanted to buy Lisa with an offer of animals, Oliver said "I'd be cheating you - I only paid 2 goats and a sheep for her." Remember when Oliver sent the scarecrow out to get him a hamburger, after Lisa packed no food for their picnic. Though rare, the scenes where he lets his guard down, and becomes a real part of the nutty town, add to the show's surrealism........

06-30-2007, 12:40 AM	#15
chopperguy Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 06, 2007 Location: Mid-Atlantic Posts: 38	I hate to admit it, but I watched this show and a few others from the 60's when they were originally on TV. Even as a kid I noticed Oliver always so serious and the butt of all jokes from everyone. There was always someone from each show that HAD to learn something....and in this show, it was him. Even though he made a lot of sense, and looked at life like many people do...sometimes it's just best to go-with-the-flow. I don't think he ever learned that, even though a few episodes he came close. Like when he took Arnold the Pig to Hollywood. Now, how many people would put up with that? And he did, and actually just let it roll. That's the only episode I can think of that he did that! Eddie Albert played a great straight-man in this show. Everyone else got the laughs, and he got a few by being the stuffed-shirt, know it all lawyer. He was really fantastic in the role. By the way, my nine year old daughter caught me watching this show recently and asked "Dad, why does that guy alway wear good clothes and a tie and ride that tractor?