Green Acres: The Complete First Season

To paraphrase the classic title song, DVD is the place for Green Acres to be. Hooterville may have been condemned by critics as a vast wasteland, but as the first season demonstrates, it provides fertile ground for bizarre behavior by a gallery of classic characters whose eccentricities rival the residents of Twin Peaks. "Oliver Buys a Farm," the series pilot, is a comparatively tame episode that gives little hint of the weirdness to come. Lawyer Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), weary of life in New York ("It's a rat race, and the rats are winning!" he declares), buys the Haney place to the horror of his socialite wife Lisa (Eva Gabor). Look for appearances by Petticoat Junction denizens Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan), Sam Drucker (Frank Cady), Hooterville Cannonball engineer Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis), and everyone's favorite wonder pig, Arnold Ziffel. Other memorable episodes include "The Day of Decision," in which all of Hooterville wonders whether "she will" or "she won't" as Lisa chooses between life on the farm or returning to New York, and "Never Look a Gift Tractor in the Mouth," in which Doris Ziffel is convinced that her husband Fred and Lisa are having an affair. Featuring all 32 episodes on two double-sided discs, this otherwise extra-less set boasts decent transfers. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)