Buddy Ebsen, almost a scarecrow in 1939, definitely a side kick to Davey Crockett in the 1950's, like Jed Clampett struck oil & gold in this series. He is a classic character that grows on you. The show has so many classic comic moments that I could not even list them.
The series had continuity as it would refer back to previous episodes very often throughout it's run. The show had very good production qualities, great locations, & was in a way spun off & in conjunction with Petticoat Junction & Green Acres. When Fred Silverman canceled it in the early 1970's, it was one of the most stupid things ever done by a television executive.
Irene Ryan was the kind of Granny who was like nobody else. She was a ball of fire who could hold her own with anyone. Jethro (Max Baer Jr) was the 6th grade graduate who was more like a college egghead except that routine was naive, not political. Donna Douglas (Elly Mae) was the tomboy everyone wanted to love but whose only love was her critters (animals).
This original series was so good that when a movie of it was tried with different actors, it just could not work. Lots of people popped into this show as guests. Everybody who was anybody would pop up from John Wayne & many other well known actors to athletes like pitchers Don Drysdale & Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers.
Animals from Giant Jack Rabbits to Possum, porpoises, poodles & a whole menagerie of animals were on the show. This series never lacked for variety either as almost everything us city folks do was on there. The show never lost it's freshness, even finding new ways to make banker Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) look like more of a Scrooge & even making him into a soldier when he and Jethro face off in tanks!
This is a show that never lost its naivety, charm, or ever wore out it's welcome with the American public when it ran on CBS. The last line of the shows credits always reverberates through my mind:
"Sit a spell, take your shoes off. You all come back now, hear?"
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