Geographically I mean? The characters from "Green Acres", and "The Beverly Hillbillies" were supposed to b from this area too. But, something I've always wondered; when the "Hillbillies" did their Christmas episode, they had blizzard like conditions, but "GA" and "PJ", in their Christmas episodes, it was summer like weather. So, is Hooterville out west, like in Nevada?
shareNo, they were not from NEVADA..
JEB.. there was 'HUNTING FOR FOOD...'.. song.. He was in the woods, wooded area, I don't know if it was supposed to be in the Mountains.. looked like it.. 'WHEN UP FROM THE GROUND.... ' song again
Remember, the 'B.H.' was a SITCOM.. a RIDICULOUS sitcom.. funny, but ridiculous.. So, yes, one could not pack ALL their belongings on that OLD HEAP of a TRUCK (including putting their 'GRANNY' on a ROCKING CHAIR) and travel hund.. A FEW MILES.. like that! But, the B.H., along with P.J., G.A. had things that JUST COULD NOT HAPPEN! (P.J. -OKAY, was a lot more realistic than then B.H., but G.A.? Things that happened at times there were along the lines of 'Harry Potter' Magic! So, OF COURSE the CLAMPETTS could drive HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of miles in a 30, 40 year old truck with the 4 of them on it with ALL of their BELONGINGS tied on to the truck.. travelling up and down the APPALACIANS, THE ROCKIES, crossing the Mississippi, and everything else.. and WHAT RAIN?SNOW? TORNADOS?
ANYHOO........
The Beverly Hillbillies seemed to have come from a Wooded, if Not Mountainous area... I never thought ROCKY MOUNTAINS.. no, I always thought.. EAST, CENTRAL HILLBILLIES.. Like APPALACHIANS.. (Martin Sheen is doing a beg-a-thon for the 'Appalachian' people now.. which actually, the chains.. stretch from Alabama to Newfoundland.. and there are a LOT of poor areas in there.. AREAS in WV., NY., V., Kent., NC, SC., Tenn., Pa., AND anywhere in between..)
Snow can and does happen in EVERY STATE, including HAWAII.. but...
All 3 shows have had SNOW .. The other 2 basically have had SNOW only at CHRISTMAS TIME-I.E. CHRISTMAS EVE..
Green Acres.. the area is BLAND, FLAT.. PETTICOAT Junction.. going up a hill, there are PINES.. (not a DESERT).. also.. WE HAVE HAD THUNDER STORMS on this show.. in dramatic shows..
GREEN ACRES? THE lAWYER, MR. OLIVER was from NYC.. and returned there.. Mrs. Oliver loved going shopping there... I do not remember if they DROVE to NYC.. or if they TOOK the CANNONBALL, to the ONE PLANE, ONE FLIGHT A DAY AIRPORT.. to NYC? (I REMEMBER Mr. Oliver's 'mother' had to use the 'sidecar' to get out there..).. but, they (G.A.'s writers) seemed to IMPLY that they were not THAT FAR.. from the city.. (Well, within a days drive?)
So, the CREATOR, PAUL HENNING.. I believe , NEVER wanted to tell anyone WHERE these shows took place on purpose! A LOT OF SHOWS ARE LIKE THIS! It lends to the mystery.. (Maybe, because people would like to IMAGINE that the SHADY REST, Sam's store, are a few hours away.. and maybe, someday they could VISIT IT? and unfortunately.. SOME do believe and try.. i.e. the ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.. takes place in MAYBERRY.. N.C.... PEOPLE had tried to find it and Andy Taylor, etc..)
So, The SHADY REST, Sam Drucker's store, and Mr Oliver's laughable farm can be in probably 30 of the 50 states.. (ok, although Hawaii does get SNOW, it is on top of one of their Volcanos.. can rule it out, and I am ruling out Arizona, N.M, Nevada.. and Texas, Florida and the other very southern states.. and ALASKA!
That is a mystery alright. I mean "the Hillbillies" going to Beverly Hills from their home in the mountains, by automobile. Also, on "PJ", they take a train to go to 'Drucker's' store. I mean it can't be that far.
shareI think you summed it up nicely bm. They were purposefully vague on where Hooterville and surroundings were. It was clear that it wasn't supposed to be too close to New York or the West Coast--at least, on Green Acres that seemed clear, based on the many episodes that had the Douglass' traveling.
I believe the Clampett clan was supposed to have taken several days to drive that old truck to California. They did fly home a couple of times before "Hooterville" was ever mentioned on that show. Bugtussle was the town most often mentioned as being close to their home in the hills. It was only later in the Beverly Hillbillies did they ever want to link up the characters with the Petticoat Junction crowd, and Hooterville just became a place they had grown fond of and liked to visit. It wasn't supposed to be where they were from.
Another advantage in producing a series and leaving it vague where the setting is is that future scripts can have different things happen without ruining all aspects of continuity. If they, for example, rarely show any snow, they don't get so much criticism if they haven't established them to be living in Michigan, for example. Oliver and Lisa can fly to Chicago for some reason only if we never established that they live 25 miles outside.
And of course, if we never name the state they are in, they can have the governor do all sorts of goofy things without offending the residents of any actual state. I recall a Green Acres where the governor announced "The state is bankrupt. But I have a plan. I'm immediately raising all income tax by 56 percent" which caused Oliver to blow a gasket.
<<<I believe the Clampett clan was supposed to have taken several days to drive that old truck to California. They did fly home a couple of times before "Hooterville"
Hooterville was mentioned on the show after the first time they fle
In the very first season.
It was mentioned on the show during their very first visit back home.
Way before Petticoat Junction premiered the next season.
Beverly Hillbillies Jed's cabin was in the Ozark mountains. So, south Missouri, Arkansas, or Oklahoma are most likely. And seeing as Granny always leans towards the confederacy, Arkansas is the most likely.
shareA state has never been mentioned, but the references they DO make puts Hooterville somewhere in the mid-West, most likely Illinois, Indiana, or Missouri. I may be fuzzy on the details, but I remember reading that the idea for Petticoat Junction came about from an inn in Missouri that Paul Henning (or his wife??) spent summers at while growing up.
PJ and Green Acres have made references to Chicago here and there, possibly indicating that this was the nearest large city.
Videoguy7579, you are correct. Paul Henning did base PJ on a hotel from his wife's side of the family. It's mentioned in the DVD Return to Hooterville. As to how The Beverly Hillbillies came to integrate with PJ and GA, Jethro's Mother Pearl was supposed to be a distant cousin of Kate's.
shareFlyboyLA: Isn't there an episode where Granny visits and tells Kate that she looks a lot like Pearl?
shareYes, there is the episode right after Kathy Jo's birth when Granny comes to look after the baby when Steve and Betty Jo bring her home. However, Kate does not appear in this episode anymore. This is the episode where it is mentioned that Kate is a distant cousin of Pearl. It just aired recently on MeTV. It was one of the earlier season 6 episodes. Very funny btw.
shareby
Videoguy7579
» Tue Mar 17 2015 16:50:24 Flag ▼
A state has never been mentioned, but the references they DO make puts Hooterville somewhere in the mid-West, most likely Illinois, Indiana, or Missouri. I may be fuzzy on the details, but I remember reading that the idea for Petticoat Junction came about from an inn in Missouri that Paul Henning (or his wife??) spent summers at while growing up.
PJ and Green Acres have made references to Chicago here and there, possibly indicating that this was the nearest large city.
I totally agree!!! Southern Missouri, Illinois, Indiana or Arkansas even! The Ozarks !!
In one episode where Betty Jo is pregnant, Steve indicates he wants the baby to be born in a hospital in Baltimore. This, of course, does not go over well with the Bradleys because the girls were all brought into the world by the doctor in Hooterville, and Betty Jo wants to use that doctor too. But it could be assume Baltimore is close by.
sharenear Bugtussle.