Beverly Hillbillies – simple but humorous plot for all ages
When you think back to yesteryear and think about how life was back in the “old days” you might think about how some of the shows on television used to showcase that life. Television shows nowadays tend to focus on the future and sci fi or modern times and it seems do not have near enough comic relief. The old classics continue to do well in reruns because of their simple themes and hilarious plot lines for all ages. One of the most popular shows that depicted life as it used to be was called the Beverly Hillbillies and was one of the most popular shows of that time.
What is Beverly Hillbillies’ story line all about?
The show first aired in 1962 and continued until 1971 and was widely popular with all of its viewers. The story followed the lives of the Clampett’s and their exploits in moving to the rich neighborhood of Beverly Hills from the ‘hills’. The story starts by Jed Clampett who was out hunting. On this hunting trip on his own property he misses his target and hits the ground. Upon hitting the ground oil spews from the ground and Jed Clampett instantly becomes a multi-millionaire.
The show’s funniest moments and highlights
The oil company buys the rights to drill on Jed’s land and the Clampett’s move off to Beverly Hills and purchase a mansion right beside their banker. The Clampett clan consists of Jed Clampett, Elly May Clampett, Jethro Bodine and of course the loveable but ornery Granny Clampett. The story lines are classic fish out of water settings with the back water Clampett’s often finding themselves in hilarious situations (for example they didn’t know what a door bell was for a long time…)
One target of their back water thinking is their neighbor and banker the Drysdales. In one particularly funny episode the Drysdales are keeping a hippo for a local zoo, Granny goes out and marks the hippo up in sections for cooking including the body, jaws and fat back. She even tries to take the hippo home as she plans to make several meals out of him. This is one of the highest ranked episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies show run. Many other stories center around Jethro as well as Elly May and their adjusting to fashionable Beverly Hills.
The show is still popular today and reruns can be seen on many channels including TV Land and other networks. DVD sets can also be purchased to watch all 9 seasons of this wonderful classic comedy series.