Are there ANY documentaries about this show?

[PhoenixAcres]

I have searched to no avail to find any sort of TV documentaries about Green Acres. I mean the sort of thing you would have seen on the Biography channel or something. It seems every reasonably popular TV series in history has had some sort of spotlight documentary made where they talk about the history of the show, behind the scenes trivia, and interviews with the cast and crew.

The closest I can think of to this would be the 1989 N@N retrospective special with a few of the cast members attending. Unfortunately this isn't available on Youtube and they're not even going to include it on the complete series set. But even so, this wasn't a "documentary" per se.

[Enzobar]

Unfortunately, no. I've never heard of one. Like you I'm interested in seeing the Nick program if it ever surfaces and was hoping for some mini docs as DVD extras. You're right - for awhile back in the 90s/early 2000s, it seemed that A&E's Biography was covering every hit 60s show. They never got to GA, though.

[biffbronson]

You might also want to try researching earlier Paul Henning work like The Bob Cummings Show, with elements from that occasionally being repurposed for Green Acres (notably taking phone calls at the top of a pole).

There used to be a Petticoat Junction forum online called "The Shady Rest" where sometimes the discussion extended to Green Acres. For example, at that site, here is how I adapted the first couple of lines of the GA theme to Drucker's Store:

Sam Drucker's is the place to shop
Buy groceries or a new dust mop

I don't know if that online forum has been archived or if maybe it's still active. We had quite a few Hooterville enthusiasts on there. The moderator was named Linda (not Linda Kaye Henning).

Really one of the few ways GA seems to have been revisited on film substantively was the Return to Green Acres special, which at least afforded us one final look at the characters.

I had just been thinking earlier this morning about how few of the main Hooterville denizens are still with us -- the actors include the only Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning), one Bobbie Jo (Lori Saunders), and two Billie Jo's (Gunilla Hutton and Jeannine Riley). Linda and Lori did make GA appearances, and it's important that their memories be recorded (of course Linda's dad was the man behind it all).

[TV_on_the_Porch]

I lurked at that PJ forum briefly, oh, probably thirteen years ago. A few of the discussions were interesting--even informative. But I never joined in because it did not seem like a crowd I would fit into. Like Phoenix, my interest is primarily in Green Acres, and some regulars at that board were cold, if not downright hostile, toward the sister series.

The Hooterville Handbook, though flawed, was as comprehensive a look as we are likely to get of Green Acres. It all but ignored Petticoat Junction.

[Enzobar]

Originally Posted by TV_on_the_Porch

The Hooterville Handbook, though flawed, was as comprehensive a look as we are likely to get of Green Acres.

Curious - how was it flawed? I haven't read it, but have plans to order it.

[PhoenixAcres]

Originally Posted by Enzobar

Curious - how was it flawed? I haven't read it, but have plans to order it.

Most of the errors were relatively minor, like an incorrect year or something (which seemed to happen a lot though). When you consider it's from 1993, it becomes a bit more understandable since that was pre-internet, and taking the time to double and triple check all the figures may have been impractical or inefficient.

It's far from perfect or ideal, but definitely worth owning. There's a lot of information that would appeal to dedicated fans of the show. The author sat down and talked with almost all the living cast and crew of the show. There's also a plethora of backstage/behind-the-scenes photos, most of which he acquired from their personal collections, so you wouldn't see them anywhere else.

[PhoenixAcres]

The complete series set has a brand new 38 minute semi-documentary with Steve Cox (who wrote the book). In many places it feels like an audio version of the book; however there are several additional behind-the-scenes facts and trivia, and plenty of rare photos. There's a slight amount of unused on-set footage as well. All in all, it was a nice featurette.

The only thing lacking was interviews with people actually associated with the show, which obviously is next to impossible. For that, the search goes on for the 1989 N@N special...

[biffbronson]

Originally Posted by TV_on_the_Porch

I lurked at that PJ forum briefly, oh, probably thirteen years ago. A few of the discussions were interesting--even informative. But I never joined in because it did not seem like a crowd I would fit into. Like Phoenix, my interest is primarily in Green Acres, and some regulars at that board were cold, if not downright hostile, toward the sister series.

While it's true that most if not all contributors to the "Shady Rest" website held a definite preference for Petticoat Junction, I don't recall outright hostility toward GA. In fact, I remember one of the members mentioning "I'll take Hooterville any way I can get it," as a GA viewer. At that time, some were able to watch GA eps but not PJ, so that may have contributed to a little frustration.

The two series did separate more after the first season of GA, while Sam Drucker remained a very strong link, and others like Newt Kiley continued to remind us of Hooterville's PJ beginnngs (and most notably Fred Ziffel). But it seems a little odd to me when GA fans have relatively little interest in PJ, especially considering some of Uncle Joe's wacky antics.