50 Years Ago....One of the greatest characters ever created in the history of television premiered

rcj5365

50 years ago...one of the greatest characters ever presented in the history of television premiered on CBS-TV on September 26,1962. "The Beverly Hillbillies",upon its debut became one of the biggest hits of the 1960's,spanning a record nine years on the air,producing 274 episodes. Out of the 274 episodes that were produced only 108 episodes from Seasons 1 thru 4 were in classic black and white from September 26,1962 through June 16,1965. 166 episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies" from Seasons 4 through 9 were in color from September 15,1965 through March 23,1971. Throughout the show's entire nine-year run only actors Buddy Ebsen(Jed Clampett), Irene Ryan(Granny),Donna Douglas(Elly Mae), Max Baer, Jr.(Jethro Bodine),and Raymond Bailey(banker Milburn Drysdale)remained throughout the series entire run. Nancy Kulp(who played Mr. Drysdale's assistant Jane Hathaway)appeared in only 246 episodes.

This series under the created brainchild of Paul Henning,who also served as executive producer along with Al Simon,about a poor backwoods family from the hills of either Missouri or Tennessee are transplanted to the wealth of Beverly Hills,California after striking oil on their land. Produced under Filmways productions,creator and writer Paul Henning made it "a fish out of water" of themed television shows that spawned two spin-offs that were also country cousin shows for CBS-TV,among them were "Petticoat Junction" in 1963,and in 1965 he reversed the rags to riches model for "Green Acres". The show paved the way for later culture-conflict programs such as "McCloud", "Carter Country","The Dukes of Hazzard", "Doc", "The Nanny",and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The reason why "The Beverly Hillbillies" are still a favorite among some of the great TV shows is because the episodes in their own right were hilariously funny. Jed Clampett was a wise poor mountain man who used his good old country wisdom in saying anything that came rational. Granny Moses,the world's most Confederate widow was tough but rational too,but when she gets riled up with people who want to tested her,when she has a jug of moonshine in one hand and the shotgun in the other. Jethro had the be one of the dumbest characters in the history of television..was the village idiot who basically got by on a sixth grade education,and then there was Elly Mae,the sexy tomboy who was gorgeous on one side and a fighting wildcat on the other. Add to this the cheap and opportunistic banker Milburn Drysdale and his voice of reason while Jane Hathaway(Mr. Drysdale's assistant)was just as normal as the rest of them,but later on turns out to be as crazy as the rest of them,especially in some of the episodes where she turns her vixen charms to seduce Jethro. Add in a variety of characters including Cousin Pearl(Bea Benaderet), Mrs. Drysdale(Harriet MacGibbon),and other zany characters and you have one hell of a funny sitcom that remains hilarious today as it was when audiences saw it back in 1962.

Its no wonder "The Beverly Hillbillies" was ranked among the top twelve most watched series on television for seven of its nine seasons,twice ranking the number one series of the year(It went straight to Number One three weeks prior to its debut in 1962). Several episodes do stand out as vintage classics,but this was a series that still brings on the laughs! The final episode on March 23,1971 was an end to an era of classic TV shows that were brilliant during the 1960's.

score 10/10

rcj5365 31 October 2012

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