Petticoat Junction and Green Acres were closely intertwined with each other and the characters of Petticoat Junction's Hooterville and Green Acres' Haney farm (located just outside of Hooterville) often visited each other.
One of the top rated programs from 1963 -70, Petticoat Junction revolves around the town of Hooterville and The Shady Rest Hotel, the only guest housing in town. Hotel owner Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) runs her establishment along with her lazy Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) and her three beautiful teen-aged daughters. In addition to Kate's role as innkeeper and mother, she is frequently at odds with Homer Bedloe (Charles Lane), the Vice President of the notorious C.F. & W. Railroad. Homer greedily hopes to close down the railroad that runs through Hooterville and ultimately bring Kate's business to an abrupt halt.
Kate's incredible home cooking is famous from Hooterville all the way to Crabwell Corners. It once enticed a group of gluttonous jurors, staying at the Shady Rest Hotel, to refuse to reach a verdict in order to stay and help themselves to her home cooking. Uncle Joe is the penny-pinching, slothful manager of The Shady Rest Hotel. Many times Uncle Joe fakes an attack of lumbago when there is work to be done and can be found either sleeping on a couch or rocking in the chair on the porch. The eldest of the Bradley girls, Billie Jo, attends secretarial school, while the other two sisters, Bobbie Jo and Betty Jo attend Hooterville High. All three girls keep their eyes peeled for a husband of their own. During the fourth season a pilot named Steve Elliot (Mike Minor) crashes in a nearby field and is pursued faithfully by all three Bradley girls.
With the success of Petticoat Junction, the folks at CBS produced another Hooterville hit, Green Acres, earning the network the nickname of the "Country Broadcast System." Green Acres became an instant success and was one of the top rated programs from 1965 to 1971. Many of the Petticoat Junction cast (Edgar Buchanan, Rufe Davis, Bea Benadaret, Lori Saunders, and Smiley Burnette) and many of the Green Acres cast (Eva Gabor, Eddie Albert, Hank Patterson, Sid Melton, Pat Buttram, and Tom Lester) often made guest appearances on each others' series.
Green Acres centers around Oliver Douglas (Eddie Albert) who quits his job at a Manhattan law firm to follow his life-long dream--owning and running a farm. He purchases a 160-acre mess and looks forward to the challenge of fixing up the place and making it a success. Although his flaky, city-spoiled wife, Lisa (Eva Gabor) pleads with him not to take them from their Park Avenue surroundings and relocate them to their home near Hooterville, Oliver ignores her and they are Green Acres bound. Oliver and Lisa try to adapt to their new life on the farm as the residents of Hooterville try and adapt to the city-slicker duo.
The zany cast members are some of TV's most memorable personalities. The townspeople belong to such highly praised organizations as "The Volunteer Fire Department Band" and "The Every-Other-Wednesday-Afternoon-Discussion-Club." Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram) who sold Oliver the farm is constantly trying to make a quick buck and pull a fast one. Fred Ziffel (Hank Patterson) and his wife Doris (Barbara Pepper) are the proud parents of Arnold the Pig. Another unforgettable set of neighbors are Alf (Sid Melton) and Ralph (Mary Grace Canfield), the inept brother and sister carpenter team who work on fixing the Douglas' home throughout the entire series.