Sitcom: Beverly Hillbillies
Episode: Christmas in Hooterville
Year: 1968
Story line: Romance blooms during a Hooterville Christmas.
Details: This was a mashup before mashups were cool. Take a heap of the Hillbillies hog jowls, sprinkle in an overdose of Petticoat Junction sacarine and top it with essence of Green Acres and you have Christmas in Hooterville. I always loved the way Hooterville was the center of the universe for these shows, and of all of them, Green Acres was by far my favorite. We get only Sam Drucker and Eb the farmhand here, but they keep it interesting. As always, the Petticoat Junction folks just plain suck. Those annoying chicks who bathe in the town’s water supply. Uncle Joe, who needs to be soundly slapped upside the head. And that annoying crop duster, Steve, who married Billie Joe and serenades Granny with a godawful and completely irrelevant song. Totally not Christmas. Anyway, in short, the Hillbillies are in Hooterville for Christmas, where Sam and Uncle Joe are vying for Granny’s affection. It’s cornball humor at its best and definitely had me laughing out loud in spots.
Killer quote: “If the fish ain’t bitin’, change your bait.” Granny, before undergoing a massively creepy makeover in an attempt to draw out Sam Drucker’s love.
Killer quote II: “Put some clothes on him and they’ll think he’s a hippy.” Jethro, talking about Elly May’s bear, which is about to drive cross-country from Beverly Hills to Hooterville with Mr. Drysdale. The bear does make a rather righteous hippy …
Ebenezer alert: This one’s a tie between Mr. Drysdale and shiftless Uncle Joe. The former is oppressing his bank employees, making them work on Christmas day. The latter smells money on Granny and starts putting on the moves.
In-breeding alert: Green Acres farmhand Jeb tries to put the moves on Hillbilly Elly May. Nothing good can come of that, and fortunately, it doesn’t get anywhere. Could have been a truly terrifying spinoff, though.
Childhood memory: I remember all three of these shows in reruns. Hated Petticoat Junction but often sat through it while waiting for something else to come on (remember: we had only a few channels back in the day). Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies were massively cool, especially in their earlier episodes. Long live Arnold Ziffel! No real recollection of this Christmas special.