An instant hit in its 1963-64 first season, Petticoat Junction is set at the bucolic but run-down Shady Rest Hotel, managed by widow Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet, the voice of Betty Rubble on The Flintstones) with her three beautiful daughters: flirtatious Billie Jo (Jeannine Riley), bookworm Bobbie Jo (Pat Woodell), and pigtailed tomboy Betty Jo (Linda Kaye). Kate's finagling Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) routinely complicates matters with ill-fated get-rich-quick schemes. Other colorful characters include Charley (Smiley Burnette) and Floyd (Rufe Davis), engineers on the Hooterville Cannonball (“the train that's loved by all”), who are more interested in life's simple pleasures (such as fishing) than running the train on time, and Sam Drucker (Frank Cady), the self-described “general storekeeper, notary republic, and town wit.” Throughout the 38 episodes of the first season, Kate and company struggle to thwart efforts by Homer Bedloe (Charles Lane), “the most ruthless man since Ivan the Terrible,” to put the Shady Rest (“that Victorian mass of potential kindling”) out of business and shut down the antiquated Cannonball. Created by Paul Henning, Petticoat Junction is neither as widely syndicated nor as popular as Henning's The Beverly Hillbillies or Green Acres, but it's a pleasure to rediscover. DVD extras include episode introductions and affectionate recollections by Woodell and Kaye (aka Linda Kaye Henning, Paul's daughter), as well as an archival interview with the late Paul Henning, sponsor spots, and a photo gallery. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)
Petticoat Junction: The Official First Season
Paramount, 5 discs, 974 min., not rated, DVD: $42.99 Volume 24, Issue 2
Petticoat Junction: The Official First Season
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