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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
"Green Acres Is The Place To Be .....", January 24, 2005
".....dah-ling I love you, but give me this DVD!"
**wink**
On January 13, 2004, attorney-turned-farmer Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), his glamorous wife Lisa (Eva Gabor), and the whole Hooterville population became digitally enhanced and entered the 21st Century when this good-looking 2-Disc DVD set was released by MGM Home Entertainment.
This compact DVD package of "GREEN ACRES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON" serves up all 32 color episodes from the initial season of this very funny rural sitcom. This boxed set is very nearly worth the modest asking price for the first couple of hilarious episodes all by themselves.
"Green Acres" premiered on CBS-TV on Wednesday night, September 15, 1965, at 9:00 PM Eastern Time with Episode #1, "Oliver Buys A Farm", which introduced the American people to Oliver, Lisa, Eb, Mr. Haney, Sam Drucker, and Arnold (the smartest pig in the valley).
Announcer/Newsman John Daly (of "What's My Line?" fame) serves as "narrator" throughout the debut program, which was a very clever piece of casting by the "Green Acres" brain-trust. Daly's low-key, deadpan, and well-scripted narration is one of many highlights from the first episode. Utilizing Daly as a narrator here was a very inventive way of introducing the show's basic premise and cast of characters to the audience for the first time. Mr. Daly's commentary tells us just exactly why Mr. Douglas abandoned his fancy Park Avenue penthouse apartment and his posh New York lifestyle to take up residence on a ramshackle farm near Hooterville. "Oliver Buys A Farm" is one of the best (and funniest) debut episodes of a sitcom I can think of.
Other favorites of mine in this 1st-season compilation include ..... "The Decorator", "You Can't Plug In A 2 With A 6", "Lisa Bakes A Cake", "The Price Of Apples", and "Never Look A Gift Tractor In The Mouth".
The wild and crazy Hooterville brand of ultra-silly humor, as created by show executives Jay Sommers and Paul Henning, is present in full force in every episode of "Green Acres" (and its Hooterville sister sitcom, "Petticoat Junction").
MGM did a smart thing (IMO) with this first-season DVD set of "Acres", releasing the 32 programs on just two discs (both double-sided), thus keeping the MSRP for this DVD product as low as possible. It breaks down to just 65 to 75 cents per episode. Not bad at all, as far as I'm concerned! There are eight episodes per disc side.
And it appears that MGM didn't skimp on the picture quality of these shows either (despite the bargain-basement retail price). These episodes look quite a bit better than I expected. The video looks crisp and clear for the most part, with adequate colors. The opening credits are speckled with quite a bit of dirt and grain, and a few scenes within some of the episodes also suffer from their advanced age, with specks and dirt popping up occasionally. But this isn't overly distracting or annoying, in my opinion.
Plus: these first-season "Acres" episodes are presented here in complete, uncut form (as far as I am able to discern), with running times averaging about 25-and-a-half minutes per show.
No extra supplemental features are offered up within this set. But that's okay by me. For the price paid, I couldn't really expect any extras anyway. I'm very satisfied with this boxed set as is. Sure, it might have been nice if MGM had thrown in a couple of extra features -- like, say, half-a-dozen free Lisa Douglas hotcakes. Oh -- wait a second -- scratch that idea. (LOL!)
Anyway, as I stated, this set does just fine with just the 32 episodes themselves. Being able to watch Oliver Douglas out in his fields, on his tractor, while wearing a three-piece business suit via the full Digital splendor of the DVD format is also a major positive attribute to be applied to this DVD release. :-)
Some interesting CBS-TV trivia regarding "Green Acres" ...... The final first-season episode of "Acres" aired on the exact same night that another classic CBS sitcom, "The Dick Van Dyke Show", was wrapping up its five-year run on the network -- June 1, 1966. "Green Acres", as it turned out, actually surpassed the Van Dyke series by 12 programs (in total number of episodes broadcast before going off the air) -- 170 to 158. "Acres" aired for six total seasons vs. Van Dyke's five.
In terms of ratings, "Green Acres" was a winner right out of the gate -- rising to #11 in the Nielsen TV ratings in just its first year. During the show's second season, it ranked even higher (#6).
MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS DVD COLLECTION .....................
2-Disc Set. ... Dual-Layered, Dual-Sided Discs. ... 32 color episodes from the 1965-1966 TV season, presented in "Film Date" (Production) Order. ... To differentiate between "Side A" and "Side B" on these discs, you must look for an "A" or a "B" printed on the inner ring of each disc side. These letters appear just to the left of the words "Disc 1" or "Disc 2". (Why the disc-makers couldn't have simply marked each disc "Side A"/"Side B", I have no idea. Many double-sided discs from different companies are like this, however. It's designed as a mini-"torture" test I guess. But, it's not a huge deal, once you know where to look for the teeny-weeny "A" and "B" markings on each side. Without those letters on the discs, it really *would* be aggravating as all get out trying to figure out which side is which.)
Video -- Full Frame TV ratio (1.33:1).
Audio -- Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.
Subtitles -- None.
Menus -- Main Menus are animated (with pictures & music). "Episode Selections" Sub-Menus are static.
Chapter Stops? -- No.
Play All Option? -- No.
Packaging -- Multi-panel "Digipak" case, with outer cardboard slipcover.
A nice 12-page booklet comes in this DVD package. The colorful booklet, which includes several photos of the cast as well as one "Video Screen Capture" still image from each episode, serves as an Episode Guide. Info includes episode numbers, ep. titles, show descriptions, original CBS Air Dates, and complete production credits for each program.
----------------------
Take a break from big-city life, like Oliver Douglas has done, and pick up this terrific two-disc DVD set of "GREEN ACRES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON". These shows are good for what ails you. (Unless, of course, your ailment stems from having eaten a few of Lisa's hotcakes. For that catastrophe, you'll need to purchase one of the DVD season sets of "ER".) :-)
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 Green Acres - The Complete First Season (1965-66) B0000V4906
Eddie Albert
MGM/United Artists
Green Acres - The Complete First Season (1965-66)
Movies & TV
"Green Acres Is The Place To Be ....."
".....dah-ling I love you, but give me this DVD!"
**wink**
On January 13, 2004, attorney-turned-farmer Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert), his glamorous wife Lisa (Eva Gabor), and the whole Hooterville population became digitally enhanced and entered the 21st Century when this good-looking 2-Disc DVD set was released by MGM Home Entertainment.
This compact DVD package of "GREEN ACRES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON" serves up all 32 color episodes from the initial season of this very funny rural sitcom. This boxed set is very nearly worth the modest asking price for the first couple of hilarious episodes all by themselves.
"Green Acres" premiered on CBS-TV on Wednesday night, September 15, 1965, at 9:00 PM Eastern Time with Episode #1, "Oliver Buys A Farm", which introduced the American people to Oliver, Lisa, Eb, Mr. Haney, Sam Drucker, and Arnold (the smartest pig in the valley).
Announcer/Newsman John Daly (of "What's My Line?" fame) serves as "narrator" throughout the debut program, which was a very clever piece of casting by the "Green Acres" brain-trust. Daly's low-key, deadpan, and well-scripted narration is one of many highlights from the first episode. Utilizing Daly as a narrator here was a very inventive way of introducing the show's basic premise and cast of characters to the audience for the first time. Mr. Daly's commentary tells us just exactly why Mr. Douglas abandoned his fancy Park Avenue penthouse apartment and his posh New York lifestyle to take up residence on a ramshackle farm near Hooterville. "Oliver Buys A Farm" is one of the best (and funniest) debut episodes of a sitcom I can think of.
Other favorites of mine in this 1st-season compilation include ..... "The Decorator", "You Can't Plug In A 2 With A 6", "Lisa Bakes A Cake", "The Price Of Apples", and "Never Look A Gift Tractor In The Mouth".
The wild and crazy Hooterville brand of ultra-silly humor, as created by show executives Jay Sommers and Paul Henning, is present in full force in every episode of "Green Acres" (and its Hooterville sister sitcom, "Petticoat Junction").
MGM did a smart thing (IMO) with this first-season DVD set of "Acres", releasing the 32 programs on just two discs (both double-sided), thus keeping the MSRP for this DVD product as low as possible. It breaks down to just 65 to 75 cents per episode. Not bad at all, as far as I'm concerned! There are eight episodes per disc side.
And it appears that MGM didn't skimp on the picture quality of these shows either (despite the bargain-basement retail price). These episodes look quite a bit better than I expected. The video looks crisp and clear for the most part, with adequate colors. The opening credits are speckled with quite a bit of dirt and grain, and a few scenes within some of the episodes also suffer from their advanced age, with specks and dirt popping up occasionally. But this isn't overly distracting or annoying, in my opinion.
Plus: these first-season "Acres" episodes are presented here in complete, uncut form (as far as I am able to discern), with running times averaging about 25-and-a-half minutes per show.
No extra supplemental features are offered up within this set. But that's okay by me. For the price paid, I couldn't really expect any extras anyway. I'm very satisfied with this boxed set as is. Sure, it might have been nice if MGM had thrown in a couple of extra features -- like, say, half-a-dozen free Lisa Douglas hotcakes. Oh -- wait a second -- scratch that idea. (LOL!)
Anyway, as I stated, this set does just fine with just the 32 episodes themselves. Being able to watch Oliver Douglas out in his fields, on his tractor, while wearing a three-piece business suit via the full Digital splendor of the DVD format is also a major positive attribute to be applied to this DVD release. :-)
Some interesting CBS-TV trivia regarding "Green Acres" ...... The final first-season episode of "Acres" aired on the exact same night that another classic CBS sitcom, "The Dick Van Dyke Show", was wrapping up its five-year run on the network -- June 1, 1966. "Green Acres", as it turned out, actually surpassed the Van Dyke series by 12 programs (in total number of episodes broadcast before going off the air) -- 170 to 158. "Acres" aired for six total seasons vs. Van Dyke's five.
In terms of ratings, "Green Acres" was a winner right out of the gate -- rising to #11 in the Nielsen TV ratings in just its first year. During the show's second season, it ranked even higher (#6).
MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS DVD COLLECTION .....................
2-Disc Set. ... Dual-Layered, Dual-Sided Discs. ... 32 color episodes from the 1965-1966 TV season, presented in "Film Date" (Production) Order. ... To differentiate between "Side A" and "Side B" on these discs, you must look for an "A" or a "B" printed on the inner ring of each disc side. These letters appear just to the left of the words "Disc 1" or "Disc 2". (Why the disc-makers couldn't have simply marked each disc "Side A"/"Side B", I have no idea. Many double-sided discs from different companies are like this, however. It's designed as a mini-"torture" test I guess. But, it's not a huge deal, once you know where to look for the teeny-weeny "A" and "B" markings on each side. Without those letters on the discs, it really *would* be aggravating as all get out trying to figure out which side is which.)
Video -- Full Frame TV ratio (1.33:1).
Audio -- Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.
Subtitles -- None.
Menus -- Main Menus are animated (with pictures & music). "Episode Selections" Sub-Menus are static.
Chapter Stops? -- No.
Play All Option? -- No.
Packaging -- Multi-panel "Digipak" case, with outer cardboard slipcover.
A nice 12-page booklet comes in this DVD package. The colorful booklet, which includes several photos of the cast as well as one "Video Screen Capture" still image from each episode, serves as an Episode Guide. Info includes episode numbers, ep. titles, show descriptions, original CBS Air Dates, and complete production credits for each program.
----------------------
Take a break from big-city life, like Oliver Douglas has done, and pick up this terrific two-disc DVD set of "GREEN ACRES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON". These shows are good for what ails you. (Unless, of course, your ailment stems from having eaten a few of Lisa's hotcakes. For that catastrophe, you'll need to purchase one of the DVD season sets of "ER".) :-)
David Von Pein
January 24, 2005
- Overall: 5
- Overall: 5
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Location: Mooresville, Indiana; USA
New Reviewer Rank: 1,261
Classic Reviewer Rank: 394
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