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The last two episodes of Green Acres aren't really episodes of Green Acres
They were both pilots for spinoff shows that never got picked up.
Although the occasional spinoff TV show still happens today, they are much less common than they were half a century ago. Creating a show that had at least some connections to a series already on the air was seen as a good way to ensure success. And for many programs, especially sitcoms, it was!
The first installment, or "pilot" episode, of a spinoff was typically aired as a regular episode of the existing show. That way, unsuspecting viewers could be introduced to new characters and stories that they might not necessarily have watched on their own. This somewhat sneaky episode is often referred to as a "backdoor pilot."
The beginning of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is actually an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, indeed called "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." In fact, Andy, Opie and Mayberry were first introduced to audiences in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show before Griffith got his own sitcom.
Producer Paul Henning's Petticoat Junction and Green Acres are more examples of spinoffs that became popular shows in their own rights. Both are connected to The Beverly Hillbillies. Because of these prior successes, it's easy to see why Henning would try his luck again in the early 1970s.
Henning tapped Green Acres creator Jay Sommers to come up with two more shows that could potentially be spawned from the Eddie Albert/Eva Gabor sitcom.
The two ideas were produced for the sixth season and aired as the final two episodes. Though the cast and crew didn't know it at the time, the show was about to be canceled, so these two unrelated escapades would actually be the final stories for Lisa and Oliver Douglas.
The two backdoor pilots are very different but both feature young main characters and have relatively urban settings.
The thinking at the time was that Americans were tired of rural shows and wanted something geared more toward a younger audience. This culminated in the "Rural Purge," the cancelation of many country-themed shows, including Green Acres.
The episode "Hawaiian Honeymoon" follows Lisa and Oliver as they travel to Hawaii for a fifth honeymoon. While Albert and Gabor are in some scenes, it's clear that the focus of the episode is the owner of the Hawaiian hotel, Bob Carter, and his daughter, Pamela. A working title for the pilot — had it been picked up — was Pam, after the daughter character played by Pamela Franklin.
Born in Japan and schooled in England, Franklin starred in movies like Flipper's New Adventure and The Nanny as a child and was looking to break into American TV. Her accent in "Hawaiian Honeymoon" was briefly explained by the fact that her character used to live with an aunt in the U.K.
Her father was played by Don Porter, who had previously portrayed Sally Field's father in Gidget. One other notable casting choice for this episode? Pat Morita, years before Happy Days and more than a decade before The Karate Kid, played a waiter at the hotel. His banter with Bob and Pamela during the episode makes it clear he would have been a regular part of the new show had it been picked up.
The second backdoor pilot from the end of Green Acres, and the final episode of the series, was for a show that was using working titles like Carol and The Blonde. It was about secretary Carol Rush, played by Elaine Joyce, and her overbearing boss, Mr. Oglethorpe. Carol used to be Oliver's secretary in New York, which is how the plot gets started. Oliver sends her a letter asking about jeweler in Manhattan he forgot the name of. The letter drops through Carol’s mail slot in Los Angeles and so begins a story completely unrelated to Hooterville.
Lisa and Oliver are in even less of this episode than they were in "Hawaiian Honeymoon," appearing only in the beginning and a short scene in the middle where Oliver calls Carol.
Most of the episode concerns Carol and her job at Oglethorpe Realty. She arrives late, puts her lunch in the filing cabinet and rents the office next door to a young lawyer for far less than the asking price. Richard Deacon plays her flustered boss — a part similar to his role as Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Though these two pilots never amounted to anything, they will forever live on as one-time stories that hint at what could have been thanks to their connection to Green Acres.
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They won't change it now until after The Three Stooges finish in November.
This is a departure from their regular routine.
But our hindsight is so far removed from the mentality of that time, which (reasonably) had no concept of the power of fandom. To them (Executives) Shows that didn't perform in the Top 20 (yes, 20) were just in the way. Remember the horse race was between only 3 Networks. Unless the endless choices we have today, which has created the opportunity for "niche" television viewing (favoring particular genres)! There was no such thing back then. For one thing they didn't have the vast library of television which has accumulated over 50 years. So the Shows we love today (as classic favorites) were run, then re-run, and got stale fast. Especially as new programming was being put out there.
I'm sure those Executives of yesterday would be incredibly surprised at what has come of some of their "dumbest" decisions! But hopefully, would smile about it.
Thank Heavens for MeTV!
A few 'highlights' of my "thesis": The radio comedy "Fibber McGee and Molly" that birthed the first-ever spinoffs had some notable cast members over the years.
Mel Blanc did characters on the show in the 1930s, Bill Thomson - a cast regular who did many characters including "mush mouthed" Wallace Wimple, used that same voice for "Smee" in Peter Pan, "Droopy" in the MGM cartoon shorts and "Touche Turtle" for Hanna-Barbera.
Gale Gordon, best know for his work on "Our Miss Brooks" and on "The Lucy Show" and "Here's Lucy" played the town mayor, and also the local weatherman. (He was also "Flash Gordon on radio in 1935.)
Bea Benadaret played one of the town's 'upper crust'... and Arthur Q. Bryan [whose name may not be that familar to many readers here] played the town doctor. You'll know him for his work in cartoons. Bryan was the original voice of Elmer Fudd until his passing in 1959.
1) I suspect that Paul Henning and Jay Sommers knew that CBS was on the verge of cancelling 'Green Acres.' There was widespread speculation at the time that CBS was thinking about getting rid of its rural-themed shows. Plus, CBS had almost cancelled GA a year earlier, in the spring of 1970. And contrary to the frequent claim that 'Green Acres' and 'The Beverly Hillbillies' were still popular, neither one was in the Top 30 during the 1970-71 season.
2) Strictly speaking, 'Petticoat Junction' was not a spinoff of 'The Beverly Hillbillies.' I've read that Paul Henning considered making Cousin Pearl the central character on PJ. But for some reason, he decided against that, created the 'Kate Bradley' character instead, and made her the show's main character. So there was no direct connection between BH and PJ when PJ went on the air in the fall of 1963. It's true that there were some crossover episodes of the two shows LATER, but that was an after-the-fact decision made after PJ had been on the air a few years.
I don't know what you call 'Green Acres,' in relation to PJ. It's not really a spinoff. It's more of a spin-on. Oliver and Lisa Douglas had never been seen or mentioned on PJ. They were new characters on a new show -- with no prior connection to PJ -- but they were instantly inserted into the PJ universe. That doesn't fit the traditional definition of a "spinoff," so I'm not sure what to call it.
2. Hitch3: you are absolutely right. There are all kinds of TV history myths floating around -- some of them spread by the people involved in those shows (writers, producers, actors, etc.) Those people aren't necessarily being dishonest. Over time, they can forget the details. But no matter how or why it's happening, it is occurring. I like to go back and find old TV ratings information -- because that helps me separate fact from fiction.
I've just come across one of those rare occurrences, when a "tv expert," gives credit, where credit is due. MeTV did not give Paul Henning credit for creating Green Acres. {As a bunch of so-called "TV Experts" have.}They gave the credit as I said, where it was due: to Jay Somers. I applaud them for this. Like I said, a bunch of the "experts" give credit to PH for all three.
Just because I haven't condemned this time, doesn't mean I've stopped pointing out their mistakes. Because I haven't.
Mania" site, go to the "It Got By The Censor" thread, there is a post listing 11 series that thru
spin offs and guestings are all connected. As we are all fellow TV buffs here, I have to tell
you Magnum Mania is the most user friendly, well organised site for a TV show I have ever
seen. MeTV should swipe some of it's ideas and use them here.
https://tommywestphall.fandom.com/
Thank you!!!
about letting us post most anything.
Parallel Universe!
Gomer Pyle was a semi-regular on Andy Griffith before getting his own show (similar to Rhoda on the Mary Tyler Moore Show).
Andy Griffith appeared on a single episode of the Danny Thomas show (similar to Mork & Mindy on Happy Days).
Green Acres never appeared on Petticoat Junction prior to their show but share the same location and some characters.