Ready? Sing along with us!:
“Green Acres is the place to be
Farm living is the life for me
Land spreading out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan – just give me that countrysideNo, New York is where I’d rather stay
I get allergic smelling hay
I just adore a penthouse view
Darling, I love you but give me Park AvenueThe chores!
The stores!
Fresh air!
Times Square!You are my wife
Good bye…city life
Green Acres….we are there!”
Yes, the theme song to Green Acres is an amazing earworm that will lodge itself in your head for days. (Which is no surprise, given how it was written by Vic Mizzy — the musical master who also gave us the theme to The Addams Family). And the show itself is pretty fantastic itself! Airing on CBS from 1965-71 as a sort of companion show to the rural comedies The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, Green Acres starred Eddie Albert as Oliver Douglas, a New York City lawyer who moves the country for a slower-paced life — much to the eternal dismay of socialite wife Lisa (Eva Gabor) who longs to return to the Big Apple. In their new home, they encounter a variety of odd and endearing small town folk. Who can forget Arnold the pig? The series ran for a whopping 170 episodes before it was cancelled by CBS in their so-called “rural purge” in order to focus on more city-based programs in 1971. That footnote aside, the series is as charming and homespun as ever, and a new complete series set is being released tomorrow so that you can revisit Green Acres whenever you wish! Bonus features include:
– Pilot Episode Commentary By Pop Culture Historian Russell Dyball
– Interview With Eddie Albert From The Dick Cavett Show (Audio Only)
– Interview With Eddie Albert From The Danny Kaye Show
– Select “Granby’s Green Acres” Original Radio Shows
Green Acres, we are there! Will you be?