DVD Review: Petticoat Junction (The Official Third Season)

DVD Reviews, Reviews

Middle children easily find themselves ignored between the first born and the baby of the family. This was true for Paul Henning’s TV empire. The Beverly Hillbillies is considered a legend of TV sitcoms. Green Acres has a massive cult following. Petticoat Junction is the show that casual fans of classic TV barely remember. Mostly the show gets mentioned at bar trivia night as the answer to what TV show featured Benji. Or they want you to name the three daughters of the woman who owned the Shady Rest hotel. The series about the hotel located on the trainstop between Hooterville and Pixley had plenty of chances to be remembered since it lasted seven seasons. Petticoat Junction: The Official Third Season is worth remembering since half the episodes feature visits from the newest residents of Hooterville.

“The Baffling Raffle” has Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) wants to get out of jury duty, but nobody wants to help him out. At least nobody who will give him free advice. That all changes when Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert) and his wife Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor) arrive at the Shady Rest while waiting to move into the Haney Farm. That’s right, this is part of the Green Acres launch. Mr. Douglas gives Uncle Joe the secret to ducking from his duty, but he isn’t able to enjoy his day off. “The Dog Turns Playboy” has the future Benji getting a taste of showbiz fame. But will the dog have his day or his day have him? “The Good Luck Ring” gets Mr. Douglas appointed as the judge in a spelling bee because Sam Drucker (Frank Cady) might be bias toward Bobby Jo (Lori Saunders). Cady had double duty since he was playing Sam Drucker on both Petticoat Junction and Green Acres). The character also popped up on a few episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies.

“Joe Carson, General Contractor” lets Uncle Joe try to snooker Mr. Douglas into thinking he can set up repairs on their farm house. He does his best, but is quickly overwhelmed by doing too much at once. Although this is pretty much what every contractor claims when you hire them for a house job and things go out of control. “A Doctor in the House” brings a medical staffer into the hotel when Uncle Joe swaps him space for free medical attention. This is a good healthcare plan for anyone with a guest room. “Hooterville a Go Go” lets Mrs. Douglas join the local ladies club. The younger members want to liven up dance with rock star King Ring-a-Ding. The older women want ballad singing Herbie Willets. This might be a win-win for all the ladies. “Betty Jo Goes to New York” lets Betty Jo (Linda Henning) get invited to accompany Mrs. Douglas up to Manhattan. She’s excited, but mom (Bea Benaderet). Will the big city change the country gal? “Uncle Joe Plays Post Office” has Sam fed up with Uncle Joe whining about how he delivers the mail. Sam sticks the guy with the postmaster gig. This might have been the start of the USPS’ money problems. “Billie Jo’s Independence Day” dares to let the third daughter (Gunilla Hutton) move to an apartment in Pixley. Can she handle the wild times in the city? “The County Fair” brings a guest spot from Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram). He’s going to scheme. “Hooterville Valley Project” makes the locals excited that they’re going to dam the river so a new lake will be formed. Uncle Joe thinks this will turn the hotel into a resort. Sadly, he’s misread the map. The Shady Rest will be a fish hotel if the project goes through.

Petticoat Junction: The Official Third Season is like getting to watch a lost season of Green Acres with all the cameos from Oliver and Lisa Douglas. Henning and his crew were eager to link these two shows since they do take place in the same neck of the woods. Even if you weren’t a major fan of Petticoat Junction, this is prime viewing for getting to see more of the story about how the Douglas family were received by their new neighbors when they made the move. Were they insane for wanting to get back to the simple way of American life as farmers instead of being a city slicker lawyer? The crossover action did help since Green Acres lasted for six seasons.

The Episodes
“Dear Minerva,” “The Baffling Raffle,” “The Dog Turns Playboy,” “The Good Luck Ring,” “Joe Carson, General Contractor,” “Bobbie Jo’s Sorority,” “A Doctor in the House,” “Hooterville A-Go-Go,” “Hooterville Hurricane,” “Betty Jo Goes to New York,” “Bedloe’s Successor,” “The Crowded Wedding Ring,” “Uncle Joe Plays Post Office,” “What’s a Trajectory?,” “The Butler Did It,” “Better Never Than Late,” “Betty Jo Catches the Bouquet,” “Billie Jo’s Independence Day,” “Yogurt, Anyone?,” “Only Boy in the Class,” “The County Fair,” “Jury at the Shady Rest,” “The Invisible Mr. Dobble,” “It’s Not the Principle, It’s the Money,” “War of the Hotels,” “The Windfall,” “Second Honeymoon,” “Kate Sells the Hotel,” “Kate Bradley, Peacemaker,” “Whatever Happened to Betty Jo?,” “Every Bachelor Should Have a Family,” “The Young Matchmakers,” “Hooterville Valley Project” and “Betty Jo’s Bike.”

The video is 1.33:1. The transfers look fine for this being the first season the series was shot in color. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. You get a clean track for the harmonica driven music. The episodes are subtitled.

No bonus features.

Petticoat Junction: The Official Third Season is the best of the shows run simply because of all the visits from the Green Acres‘ cast. Oliver and Lisa bring the sleepy railroad stop to life with their big city ways. If you only watch one season, this is the one.

CBS DVD presents Petticoat Junction: The Official Third Season. Starring: Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Linda Henning, Lori Saunders, Gunilla Hutton and Frank Cady. Boxset Contents: 34 episodes on 5 DVDs. Released: October 1, 2013.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.