The destruction of Milburn Drysdale

[A.C.]

I really liked the Mr. Drysdale of the earlier seasons...especially season one.

He seemed like he genuinlly liked the Clampetts and though he was a flawed human being...he was still a written as a real person and not a cartoon.

By the later seasons he was a competly immoral buffoon who didn't seem to really care about the Clampetts only their money...and when things went completly surreal with the picture of Drysdale father that could change its positions...the show lost me.

Granny and Jethro to a lesser extent suffered the same fate going the way of cartoons.

[RGR1973]

Yeah, you're completely right. I realize the series had to grow and change as time went on, but the last few years things started getting outlandish. Really, the show started goin downhill in the '68-'69 season when Jethro rented the office floor in the bank, etc. I like the visits to Petticoat Junction, but that was a clue that things were starting to go south IMHO. It seemed to get worse from there w/ the episode where that Mrs. Drysdale had a guru and Fairchild the bear was drinking consistently, etc. Sure, lots of laughs still, but not as good as those first 5 or so years.

[Mikado]

thats the trouble with characters on any show that is basically a parody....eventually the main characters become parodies of themselves
( Think "Married with Children" )

[A.C.]

Originally Posted by RGR1973

Yeah, you're completely right. I realize the series had to grow and change as time went on, but the last few years things started getting outlandish. Really, the show started goin downhill in the '68-'69 season when Jethro rented the office floor in the bank, etc. I like the visits to Petticoat Junction, but that was a clue that things were starting to go south IMHO. It seemed to get worse from there w/ the episode where that Mrs. Drysdale had a guru and Fairchild the bear was drinking consistently, etc. Sure, lots of laughs still, but not as good as those first 5 or so years.

You're right about those renting offices at the bank episodes. They are some of the worst...especially with the meek little Cratchit I think his name was character.

[RGR1973]

Originally Posted by A.C.

You're right about those renting offices at the bank episodes. They are some of the worst...especially with the meek little Cratchit I think his name was character.

I think that was the one where that the picture of Drysdale's father came into play.....yeah, really stupid IMO.

The thing that has always baffled me is in a "Green Acres" episode, they did a parody of the Hillbillies. Not sure what the year was on that episode (not a big fan of "Green Acres") but the thing that was asinine is that it was connected w/ "Petticoat Junction" which would later crossover to "The Beverly Hillbillies" and if I'm thinking right, the Douglas's even made an appearance on one of the crossover episodes.

The recycling of character actors started getting redundant too. William Mims played General Grant in an episode (another stupid plot of the later years) and then came back as Mrs. Drysdale's guru not too long after. King Donovan had played on a couple of the black and white episodes as Jake Clampett but then came back during the same season as the General Grant episodes playing an army "shrink."

I think those episodes started pointing the way to the terrible episodes of the last year or two. During the first 5 or 6 years, there were rarely any big story lines that continued over multiple episodes. Sure, there was the aforementioned Jake Clampett episodes and a few others that spanned over 2 episodes, but there seemed to be a pattern after the "Clampetts Go To England" thing. From England, it was multiple "Petticoat Junction" crossovers, multiple times, then the whole Robin Hood thing, the General Grant stories, Honest John (the most ignorant thing I've seen yet), Shorty Kellems getting married and so on and so forth. If I want a repetitive story line, I'll go watch "Dallas" or something!

Anyway, I'd love to see the whole series on DVD regardless of how bad some of the episodes were. I know that I can let my kids sit down in front of an episode and not worry what they're gonna be exposed to. I can't say the same for a lot of the new shows.

[A.C.]

Originally Posted by RGR1973

I think that was the one where that the picture of Drysdale's father came into play.....yeah, really stupid IMO.

The thing that has always baffled me is in a "Green Acres" episode, they did a parody of the Hillbillies. Not sure what the year was on that episode (not a big fan of "Green Acres") but the thing that was asinine is that it was connected w/ "Petticoat Junction" which would later crossover to "The Beverly Hillbillies" and if I'm thinking right, the Douglas's even made an appearance on one of the crossover episodes.

The recycling of character actors started getting redundant too. William Mims played General Grant in an episode (another stupid plot of the later years) and then came back as Mrs. Drysdale's guru not too long after. King Donovan had played on a couple of the black and white episodes as Jake Clampett but then came back during the same season as the General Grant episodes playing an army "shrink."

I think those episodes started pointing the way to the terrible episodes of the last year or two. During the first 5 or 6 years, there were rarely any big story lines that continued over multiple episodes. Sure, there was the aforementioned Jake Clampett episodes and a few others that spanned over 2 episodes, but there seemed to be a pattern after the "Clampetts Go To England" thing. From England, it was multiple "Petticoat Junction" crossovers, multiple times, then the whole Robin Hood thing, the General Grant stories, Honest John (the most ignorant thing I've seen yet), Shorty Kellems getting married and so on and so forth. If I want a repetitive story line, I'll go watch "Dallas" or something!

Anyway, I'd love to see the whole series on DVD regardless of how bad some of the episodes were. I know that I can let my kids sit down in front of an episode and not worry what they're gonna be exposed to. I can't say the same for a lot of the new shows.

Great analysis! I too hope for complete seasons because I would surely get the first three. The BW being the best though I did notice in the third season the music changed slightly and some of the familiar "cues" weren't being used anymore as well as very few locations shots at the mansion before they were dropped all together in color.

[tdr]

Yes, having Drysdale go from an unscrupulous banker to a cartoon parody of such a character was one of the poorer progressions of the show. And while it's true that the early years were the best, really from start to finish there were gags or themes they just ran into the ground. Sure, setting up 'shop' in the bank building, "Honest John" Shaver, and the frogman were some of the ones in later years; but the first season had the Jethrine deal, the the second and third seasons had sponging or plotting visitors from 'back home,' and too many times the Clampetts beat modern business or technology with folksiness or superstitions.

[Rezny@gmail.com]

I agree with you.In all of the black and white episodes(the best,by the way),he was at least fairly likable.But when the series became color,he became unlikable,and it's true:In those,he seemed to care more about the Clampett's money-became greedy,than the Clampetts themselves.

[treky]

that's true about Mr. Drysdale; he was best in the black and white episodes.

And when it went to color, they did have some stupid ones like when Jethro rented the 5th floor of the bank building (I call those "the 5th floor episodes), Shorty Kelams getting married, Elly and Granny discovering "womans lib" and a few others. Also, like someone else said, too many multiple-episode story lines!

[RGR1973]

Originally Posted by treky

that's true about Mr. Drysdale; he was best in the black and white episodes.

And when it went to color, they did have some stupid ones like when Jethro rented the 5th floor of the bank building (I call those "the 5th floor episodes), Shorty Kelams getting married, Elly and Granny discovering "womans lib" and a few others. Also, like someone else said, too many multiple-episode story lines!

Exactly right, Treky!!! He seemed understanding of the Clampetts and did his best to help them in the first few years, showing genuine concern (the episode where that he and Miss Jane flew to Las Vegas to get Granny) for them. As the show went on, he became more and more greedy.

The hot-rod truck episode is a great example. When Granny wanted the hog for her b-day, he foreclosed on a farm to get it. It was an earlier episode (color one) where that he turned down the A/C unit and faked the snow to keep the Clampett's from going home, but yet in the 1st season, he arranged plane tickets for them to visit back home.

Getting off of the original subject, but replying to something else Treky said, the multi-episode thing got ridiculous. It was at the last almost like a soap opera and you had to see all the episodes just to keep up w/ what was going on. The "Honest John" episodes are possibly the most puzzling of the whole thing. I read somewhere that when Buddy Ebsen agreed to play the part, he asked that his character not be played off as being stupid, but yet those episodes have Jed acting quite dumb. If you'll back to the 1st season, the same theme was played on ONE episode where that Jed was offered the Hollywood Bowl. Jed and kin figured the guy out pretty quick, so what changed?

Another discrepancy was in, I think, the '68 season. Granny and Elly had went to the hills to visit Pearl and came back with a party line telephone. Granny talked about how that before they moved to Beverly Hills she used to talk on the phone all day long. Hmm.....according to the 1st episode, they didn't even know what a telephone was!!!!!

Basic opinion, for what it's worth, is that they were running out of ideas and steam so they kept on running the same theme week after week.

[Rezny@gmail.com]

And remember this color dud,where Granny was pitted against 3 wrestlers and beat the living daylights out of all of them?(the best part of this dud)Anyway,Drysdale acted like he was FOR the wrestlers,and against the Clampetts.

[RGR1973]

Originally Posted by rezny9@hotmail.com

And remember this color dud,where Granny was pitted against 3 wrestlers and beat the living daylights out of all of them?(the best part of this dud)Anyway,Drysdale acted like he was FOR the wrestlers,and against the Clampetts.

Yeah, the Boston Strong Girl episodes. I actually thought those were funny, but I guess the perspective I come from is that it reminds me too much of my own grandmother. You could NOT convince her that "rasslin'" was not real and if she could've, there was one wrestler named Tojo Yamamoto that she would've whipped!!!!

[DirtyHarry]

I didn't care at all for the episodes where they returned to Hooterville or PJ. It seemed whenever the Clampetts left Beverly Hills that things just weren't funny. Fairchild (the bear) and assorted plots in the last few years didn't interest me at all. The Civil War reenactment episodes were pretty funny I thought. When Jethro got the army tank and played in Griffin Park was good. And I liked the ones with the hippies in the park too. It would have been though had they killed the show about two- three years earlier...

[treky]

yea, those ones you mentioned were good, but they were about the only ones in the later seasons. I liked it when Jethro told all those hippies that his Granny smokes crawdads; and they thought he was really "cool" and stuff; because of that (for those who don't know; "crawdads" is slang for marijuana).
I also liked the ones where Phil Silvers played that con man who "sold" Jed the George Whashington bridge, Central Park, etc.

But I agree-those crossover episodes weren't very funny.

[Rezny@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by DirtyHarry

I didn't care at all for the episodes where they returned to Hooterville or PJ. It seemed whenever the Clampetts left Beverly Hills that things just weren't funny. Fairchild (the bear) and assorted plots in the last few years didn't interest me at all. The Civil War reenactment episodes were pretty funny I thought. When Jethro got the army tank and played in Griffin Park was good. And I liked the ones with the hippies in the park too. It would have been though had they killed the show about two- three years earlier...

You're right.Those crossover episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies",and "Petticoat Junction"WEREN'T very good,,and weren't funny,but they would have been a LOT better IF they had been made before Bea Benaderet died.