Number 1 Programs: THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

It may be safe to say that if you live in the United States and watch television, then you are aware of the 50+ year old sitcom THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. It is one of the great comedies of all time. A timeless classic that each generation seems to discover and love. So it is not surprising that THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES were the #1 program on TV for two straight seasons (1962 - 1964). Oh, and those were the first two season of the series.

BROADCAST HISTORY

Season 1 & 2: Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. (CBS)
Season 3 - 7: Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. (CBS)
Season 8: Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. (CBS)
Season 9: Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. (CBS)

THE RATINGS:

Season 1 - #1 (36.0 rating)
Season 2 - #1 (39.1 rating)
Season 3 - #12 (25.6 rating)
Season 4 - #7 (25.9 rating)
Season 5 - #7 (23.4 rating)
Season 6 - #12 (23.3 rating)
Season 7 - #10 (23.5 rating)
Season 8 - #18 (21.7 rating)
Season 9 - fell outside of the top 30 (N/A)

When you look at the ratings, you see that when the series was moved, it had a direct affect on the numbers. Even though it was only a half hour shift, the move from 8:30 in season six to 9:00 in season seven, then back to 8:30 in season eight produced declining numbers in that 8th season. Not to mention when it was moved to a new night, the audience did not follow.

About THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES:

To know what THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES is about, you just need to sing the theme song, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," sung by Jerry Scoggins (backed by Flatt and Scruggs).

Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed

A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,

Then one day he was shootin at some food,

And up through the ground came a bubblin crude.

Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

Well the first thing you know ol Jed's a millionaire,

Kinfolk said "Jed move away from there"

Said "Californy is the place you ought to be"

So they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly.

Hills, that is. Swimming pools, movie stars.

A classic, well executed "Fish out of Water" story. The series is about a poor backwoods family transplanted to Beverly Hills, after striking oil on their land. The family that move to Beverly Hills is Jed, his good looking daughter, Elly May, his nephew Jethro and Granny. The live in a mansion, next to the Drysdales, and it even has a cement pond (swimming pool). Jed has his money deposited in Mr. Drysdale's bank, which he will do anything to keep the money there, honestly or not. Mr. Drysdale's assistant  Miss Jane Hathaway, half-heartily helped Drysdale in his plots, but had a soft spot for the Clampetts, particularly, Jethro.

Each week America would watch the Clampetts try to interact with "city folk" in their unique, innocent way. Jethro was always look at as the smarter one of the bunch, since he did have a 6th grade education. But, it was always Jed that had the true wisdom, even when Granny, the spit-fire that she was, was involved.

In all, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES produced 274 episodes over the nine seasons on CBS. The first three seasons were filmed in Black & White, while the remaining six season were in color.

CAST:

Jed Clampett ......................................... Buddy Ebsen
Granny .................................................. Irene Ryan
Jethro Bodine ........................................ Max Baer
Elly May Clampett ................................. Donna Douglas
Mr. Milburn Drysdale ............................ Raymond Bailey
Mrs. Drysdale ....................................... Harriet MacGibbon
Miss Jane Hathaway ............................. Nancy Kulp

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