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Petticoat Junction was an American situation comedy that was produced by Filmways, Inc. and originally aired on the CBS network from 1963 to 1970. The rights to the show are held by CBS Paramount Domestic Television.
The "petticoats" of the otherwise obscure title referred to the many women of the Shady Rest Hotel; in the opening sequence, it was implied that Kate Bradley's three daughters swam nude in a water tower, with their petticoats hung over the side. The "junction" in the title refers to the fact it was situated on a train line in the country.
Background
Set in the rural town of Hooterville, the show followed the goings-on at the Shady Rest Hotel, of which Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) was the proprietor. Her lazy Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) helped her in the day-to-day running of the business, while she served as a mediator in the various minor crises that befell her daughters: Betty Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Billie Jo. The actresses portraying Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo varied over the years: Billie Jo was played by Jeannine Riley the first two seasons, then by Gunilla Hutton for one year with the role going to Meredith MacRae for the show's remaining seasons. Pat Woodell was the original Bobbie Jo for two years, Lori Saunders played the part subsequently. Buffs generally consider MacRae and Saunders the "real" Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo, given they played the roles the longest and the shows' early years with Riley and Woodall were not rerun in syndication. Betty Jo was consistently portrayed by Linda Kaye (Henning), daughter of series creator Paul Henning.The character of handsome crop duster Steve Elliott (Mike Minor)was added to the show at the start of it's fourth season as a love interest for eldest daughter Billie Jo. However, in a surprise twist he married Kate Bradley's youngest daughter Betty Jo a season later (likely because Linda Kaye Henning and Mike Minor fell in love and married in real life). They set up house keeping in a little cottage a stone throw away from the rail road tracks between Hooterville and Pixley, A baby was added to the family the following season.
Much of the original focus of the show was on the Hooterville Cannonball, a steam-driven train (serviced by the above-mentioned water tower) run more like a taxi service by its engineer, Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and conductor, Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis). It was not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop in order to go fishing or pick fruit for Kate Bradley's menu at the Shady Rest Hotel. Occasionally, Betty Jo Bradley could be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as driving the train home from trips into town was one of her favorite pastimes. Those trips usually consisted of a stop at "Drucker's Store," proprietized by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady).
Another important character was the unnamed canine companion of the sisters, referred to simply as "the dog". It was portrayed by "Higgins", who later went on to even greater fame as Benji.
J. Homer Bedloe, played by actor Charles Lane, was vice president of the C&FW Railroad. Bedloe was a mean-spirited railroad executive who visited the Shady Rest Hotel periodically attempting to find justification for ending the train service of the Hooterville Cannonball (and never succeeding).
The show benefitted greatly in its first four seasons from the very strong lead-in of The Red Skelton Show, which immediately preceded it on Tuesday nights on CBS. In its first season it even exceeded Skelton's ratings, finishing at #4 overall for the season. The rest of its time on Tuesday nights, it remained in the Nielsen top 25.
In 1968, Bea Benaderet died of lung cancer, and in the story, Joe became the proprietor of the Shady Rest. A new role was created of a female doctor in Hooterville, and June Lockhart joined the cast in the role of Janet Craig to serve as a replacement of sorts for Benaderet. The ratings began to fall (it had also been moved to Saturday night, traditionally American television's lowest-rated night, the previous year) and the show was canceled in 1970.
The show was set in the same fictional universe as the rural television comedies Green Acres, also set in Hooterville, and The Beverly Hillbillies. The shows even shared characters, and sometimes "crossed over" into each other's episodes, especially so during the shows' earlier years.
Cancellation
Petticoat Junction was cancelled in the spring of 1970 due to declining ratings, a full year before the infamous purge by CBS of the other shows that, in the words of Pat Buttram, "had a tree in them."
CBS was lagging behind in certain key demographics by the late 60s, and decided it wanted a more hip, urban lineup to compete for younger viewers. Its sister shows Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies fell victim, as did Hee Haw and Mayberry R.F.D., all of which were still garnering decent ratings.
Syndication and DVD
After its cancellation, Filmways and Paul Henning's company sold the show to CBS. Its distribution has changed hands over the years due to corporate changes involving Viacom, which in 2006 split into two separate companies. Today CBS Paramount Television handles syndication.
The color (1965-70) episodes were shown in syndication for many years after the show's cancellation. However, the rights to the black-and-white (1963-65) episodes were not resolved and they were not included in the syndication package, although these episodes have been shown on occasion on TV Land.
Many of the black-and-white episodes are now in the public domain, their copyrights having lapsed. As a result, there have been numerous releases on low quality discount DVDs of a group of these episodes. The Paul Henning Estate holds the original film elements, and in 2005 allowed 24 of the black-and-white episodes to be officially released on DVD in "ultimate collections" via MPI Home Video.
Trivia
The exterior shots, along with others featuring old steam engines, were filmed partially in Jamestown, California, the site of Railtown 1897 State Historic Park.
Petticoat Junction was based on the life of a small railroad town in the Midwest: Eldon, Missouri. The idea for Shady Rest Hotel came from a small motel owned by the Burris family.
External links
1960s TV shows in the United States | 1970s TV shows in the United States | CBS network shows | Rail transport in fiction | Sitcoms | Television spin-offs | CBS Paramount Television shows
"Petticoat Junction"