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The Movie: Its theme song recently belted out by Donald Trump and Megan Mullaly at the 2005 Emmys, "Green Acres" is the famed TV series that ran from 1965-1971, and focused on Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), a big-city lawyer who moves out to the small town of Hooterville with wife Lisa (Eva Gabor), looking to restart his life as a farmer. Once the two arrive, they find that farm living isn't as easy as they thought it'd be, and matters are complicated further by the bumbling, but well-meaning residents of the town. For Oliver, there's also the close-to-home errors made by Lisa, including - as we see in an early episode - putting the toaster in the oven to make toast. Performances from Gabor and Albert are wonderful, as are supporting efforts by Hank Patterson as Fred Ziffel, Tom Lester as Eb Dawson and Arnold the Pig as Arnold Ziffel. Some of the highlights of this season include: "The Man For the Job" (Oliver is considered by a committee looking to elect the next senator), "Oliver Vs. the Phone Company" (Oliver protests the local phone company, and looks to get its management removed), "No Tresspassing" (Oliver and Lisa go on a picnic), "Flight to Nowhere" (Oliver and other Hooterville residents are offered a flight to Europe in an agricultural exchange program), "My Mother, the Countess" (Lisa informs that her mother, a countess, is on her way) and "Oliver's Jaded Past" (Lisa tells Oliver he promised a New York vacation if she stayed on the farm for two years.) Season 3 63. 3- 1 064 6 Sep 67 The Man For the Job 64. 3- 2 066 13 Sep 67 Lisa's Jam Session 65. 3- 3 065 20 Sep 67 Love Comes to Arnold Ziffel 66. 3- 4 067 27 Sep 67 Oliver vs. the Phone Company 67. 3- 5 068 4 Oct 67 Oliver Takes Over the Phone Company 68. 3- 6 070 11 Oct 67 A Kind Word For the President 69. 3- 7 069 18 Oct 67 Don't Count Your Tomatoes Before They're Picked 70. 3- 8 072 25 Oct 67 Eb Elopes 71. 3- 9 073 1 Nov 67 The Thing 72. 3-10 074 8 Nov 67 Das Lumpen 73. 3-11 075 15 Nov 67 Won't You Come Home, Arnold Ziffel? 74. 3-12 076 22 Nov 67 Jealousy, English Style 75. 3-13 077 29 Nov 67 Haney's New Image 76. 3-14 079 13 Dec 67 Alf and Ralph Break Up 77. 3-15 078 20 Dec 67 No Trespassing 78. 3-16 080 27 Dec 67 Eb Returns 79. 3-17 071 3 Jan 68 Not Guilty 80. 3-18 081 10 Jan 68 Home is Where You Run Away From 81. 3-19 083 24 Jan 68 How to Suceed in Television Without Really Trying 82. 3-20 084 31 Jan 68 Arnold Ziffel, Boy Hero 83. 3-21 082 7 Feb 68 Flight to Nowhere 84. 3-22 062 14 Feb 68 My Mother the Countess 85. 3-23 085 21 Feb 68 The Spring Festival 86. 3-24 086 28 Feb 68 Our Son, the Barber 87. 3-25 087 6 Mar 68 Oliver's Jaded Past 88. 3-26 088 13 Mar 68 The Hungarian Curse 89. 3-27 089 20 Mar 68 The Rutabaga Story 90. 3-28 090 27 Mar 68 Instant Family 91. 3-29 091 3 Apr 68 A Star Named Arnold is Born (1) 92. 3-30 092 10 Apr 68 A Star Named Arnold is Born (2) The DVD VIDEO: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents "Green Acres" in the show's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. As with quite a few older shows, the opening and ending credits look rather worn and dirty, but the remainder of the episodes do look considerably fresher. Sharpness and detail are not outstanding, but remain pleasant and consistent throughout the majority of the running time. The presentation occasionally showed some slight specks and inconsistent grain during the episodes, but print flaws were quite minimal, and the majority of the episodes looked crisp and clean. No edge enhancement or pixelation was noticed, but a tiny bit of shimmering was occasionally seen. Colors still had a spark to them and looked natural, not appearing smeary or otherwise problematic. SOUND: The mono soundtrack sounded clear, with only a little bit of hiss. Overall, fine considering the age of the show. EXTRAS: Nothing. Final Thoughts: "Green Acres" sometimes seems a bit dated in terms of humor at this point, but the concept's still fun and there are certainly some highlights throughout this set. Sony offers fine audio/video quality, but little in the way of supplements. Recommended for fans. |