roghache This is a mindless, entertaining series from the 1960's that baby boomers such as myself grew up on. Petitcoat Junction is something of a first cousin to The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. The series portrays the goings on at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is located on the outskirts of the little village of Hooterville. The hotel is run by the widowed Kate Bradley and her three lovely young daughters, Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo...all without much assistance from their lazy but protective Ol' Uncle Joe. Much of hotel life revolves around the local steam train, the Cannonball, operated by Floyd and Charlie, who make regular stops during their runs to Sam Drucker's little country store.The two main stars wonderful, with Bea Benadaret playing the widow, Kate, and Edgar Buchanan Uncle Joe, who's mainly seen concocting get rich quick schemes while lazing about on the hotel's porch in his rocking chair. Yes, he's a-movin' kinda slow at the Junction. The three beautiful daughters are adequately cast, though with various actress changes mid way through the series.The show gets its name from the three daughters at the Shady Rest. Naturally many of the plot lines revolve around the suitors of these lovely young ladies. Betty Jo, the youngest, is the one given the most character portrayal, initially something of a tomboy but eventually growing up to wed sweetheart Steve, the first Bradley sister to marry. Unlike some viewers, I don't recall her two sisters having very distinctive personalities, except for Billie Jo being starstruck. In my opinion, they mainly seem to look pretty, banter a bit with each other & their mom, and attract beaux. Assorted guests come & go from the Shady Rest, and it's all a leisurely, amusing tale of their various misadventures. All in all, it's a cute, fun, and harmless little series.

bettesbaby I liked Petticoat better than the other two shows that came from the same people. I was told as a child I liked Green Acres. After having seen it as an adult, more like having been forced to sit through it, I can safely say I definitely like Petticoat Junction better of the three. What's to say about it. It was a TV show about a widow, Kate, who was going through the empty nest syndrome, unfortunately, she never really got to the empty part. Not that she didn't push.Because of the show I wanted to learn how to fly a plane as a child. Thinking of my driving record I think the world can heave a huge sigh of relief that I never did. I also like to watch Beverly Hillbillies sometimes, but not often.

dataconflossmoor In 1970 when CBS took "Petticoat Junction" off the air, it was for purposes of deviating itself from the ossified reputation of a network perpetuating rural comedies...CBS was on the verge of embarking on sitcoms with social poignancy and ethnicity recognition!! (Shows like "All in the Family") As a child, I always fondly remember "Petticoat Junction" as a wholesome T.V. show....My identification with "Petticoat Junction" was particularly positive because it resembled my mother's family of three daughters, and, my mother was the youngest daughter who got married first (Just like the T.V. Show!!). This culminating with "My Three Sons" mirrored my personal family situation, as I was one of three sons in my family!! The Shady Rest Hotel was a quaint resemblance to my days up at my grandfather's summer home in Michigan...The innocence more than anything, encompassed a fondness for the fortunate unity that a happy family possesses!! I seem to remember one of the last episodes of "Petticoat Junction" where Billie Jo was advocating women's liberation!! This particular episode sort of explained why "Petticoat Junction" was taken off the airwaves!! Ignoring the tumultuousness of the 1960's totally, producers of "Petticoat Junction" were sort of conveying the message that they had a very uncomfortable disposition with social issues!!As time has passed, it makes you realize that comedy back then was very innocent, and, the need for change simply accommodated the future....One of my favorite movies is "Sex.Lies, and Videotape" this film is the antithesis of the television show "Petticoat Junction"...Here is the catch though!! The movie "Sex,Lies and Videotape" could have taken place in Hooterville!! The actual depiction of small-town America is not a paralleled panacea right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Realistically assessing Hooterville, it would most likely be a town which would be subject to an abyss of dreadfully high unemployment, and, it would get bludgeoned by one recession after another. You would have a scenario whereby Wal-Mart would be putting Sam Drucker's store out of business. Also, the divorce rate would most likely be commensurate with the national average too!!What I am saying is that, television needs to change with people!! The homey associations of family values pertinent to yesteryear, were indeed for the past!! Today's comedy is not just about sex, but also, they are about realistic proclivities which reflect the lifestyle patterns of today!! The illustration of human error is what a comedy is all about!! I loved "Petticoat Junction", I do not think I would want to watch it as a new television show today though!!...From the seventies there arose many television series which articulated the rage form of the American public.. Petticoat Junction's innocuous demeanor was an anachronism to this trend of agitation and ideological malcontent. Hence, the perception of moral infuriation, by the television audience, could not be quelled by hovering around the piano and singing! I feel it is imperative that television should mirror American's personal and social transitions! I liked "Petticoat Junction" back then because it reflected my happiness as a young boy with a loving family! A state of cop-aesthetic satisfaction is humorous in its own realization!! Realism and doubts, as depicted in television shows today, also have a comically identifiable twist to them....Shows like "Petticoat Junction" placated the ambitions of the perfect post World War II American family, and resonated themselves to a state of domestic idealism! Many shows today evoke a candid commentary which is very amenable to misery and social injustice! This appreciation in entertainment dichotomy makes me an utterly saturated recipient of the television industry!!

Brian Washington When this show first premiered its biggest attraction were the three Bradley daughters. However, you really got to see a great comedy and the real stars were the late great Bea Benederet as Kate and the late and equally great Edgar Buchanan as Uncle Joe, who was always looking to get rich quick. The girls themselves were pretty well fleshed out characters themselves. Billie Jo was the ambitious star-struck one, Bobbie Jo was the somewhat dim bulb and Betty Jo was the tomboy. Betty Jo became the most evolved character as you saw her grow up from being a girl who was pretty much pre-occupied with sports into a beautiful young woman who eventually settled down and married the man of her dreams. Too bad Bea Benederet passed away. When that happened the wind seemed to go out of the show and within two years it was gone. Perhaps it was a precursor of things to come becuase within a year after it had gone off the air all the great rural television shows were virtually wiped out in the infamous purge of 1971.