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"Green Acres" Episode - Lost Master?

S

Stanislav

Today, TV Land is running "Green Acres" episode #35, "I Didn't Raise My Pig to Be a Soldier." (It's the one in which Arnold the Pig is mistakenly drafted into the army.)

For some reason, this one episode exists only in very sub-par condition. It looks like a 3rd or 4th generation 16mm print -- a little blurry, faded color, lots of noise and dirt and a few small splices. (Probably an old print that was once circulated to "offline" CBS affiliates.)

I wonder the story behind this. Even if the original master was lost, one would think that there were better copies available for the syndication package. I can't think of any other late 60's prime-time sitcoms that have an episode in such horrible shape.

(There's also, BTW, another "Green Acres" episode in which it sounds like 3/4 of the dialogue was "looped" post-production. I'll make note of which one when it turns up again.)
 
> Today, TV Land is running "Green Acres" episode #35, "I
> Didn't Raise My Pig to Be a Soldier." (It's the one in
> which Arnold the Pig is mistakenly drafted into the army.)
>
> For some reason, this one episode exists only in very
> sub-par condition. It looks like a 3rd or 4th generation
> 16mm print -- a little blurry, faded color, lots of noise
> and dirt and a few small splices.

Now that you mention it I have noticed that episode being of poor quality too.
I remember because it is my favorite episode of G.A. In fact, it's one of my favorite episodes of any show of all time. They Army guys wouldn't even notice Arnold was a pig! It was so realistic. I went thru the draft physical and they wouldn't have notice if I had two noses on my face. It was brillant satire.
 
> I remember because it is my favorite episode of G.A. In
> fact, it's one of my favorite episodes of any show of all
> time. They Army guys wouldn't even notice Arnold was a pig!
> It was so realistic. I went thru the draft physical and
> they wouldn't have notice if I had two noses on my face. It
> was brillant satire.


GA is one of the best sitcoms of all time -- once it hit its stride around the 2nd season it became brilliant. Hard to believe that such a surreal, almost anti-establishment show had its roots as a spin-off of the bland "Petticoat Junction." Despite the occasional character crossovers, it was almost like another world -- as if PJ were Hooterville and GA were a parallel universe "Bizarro" Hooterville.

I really identified with the show because, as I've often told people, many days I feel like I'm Oliver and the whole world is Hooterville.
 
> Today, TV Land is running "Green Acres" episode #35, "I
> Didn't Raise My Pig to Be a Soldier." (It's the one in
> which Arnold the Pig is mistakenly drafted into the army.)
>
> For some reason, this one episode exists only in very
> sub-par condition. It looks like a 3rd or 4th generation
> 16mm print -- a little blurry, faded color, lots of noise
> and dirt and a few small splices. (Probably an old print
> that was once circulated to "offline" CBS affiliates.)
>
> I wonder the story behind this. Even if the original master
> was lost, one would think that there were better copies
> available for the syndication package. I can't think of any
> other late 60's prime-time sitcoms that have an episode in
> such horrible shape.

I have this episode on DVD in the Green Acres 2nd season set and it is digitally remastered from the original prints. Did the TV Land version of the episode contain the MGM logo followed by the Orion TV production logo or just the Filmways logo but no MGM or Orion logo?

Years ago,I watched Green Acres on TBS and then on CBN and they used the original prints and nearly all of the prints were of a blurry and scratchy nature before they remastered the episodes back in the mid 1990's when they aired on TV Land originally.
 
> I have this episode on DVD in the Green Acres 2nd season
> set and it is digitally remastered from the original prints.
> Did the TV Land version of the episode contain the MGM logo
> followed by the Orion TV production logo or just the
> Filmways logo but no MGM or Orion logo?


I did not notice -- I had already changed channels after the last scene.

> Years ago,I watched Green Acres on TBS and then on CBN and
> they used the original prints and nearly all of the prints
> were of a blurry and scratchy nature before they remastered
> the episodes back in the mid 1990's when they aired on TV
> Land originally.


Well, pretty much all the episodes look fine -- clear and crisp -- except this one, and it's many noches below the others in quality. Perhaps something happened to the TV Land remastered version (though one would think they had backup copies) and they never bothered to go back and re-do it, or no longer had access to the source material and had to grab the best available copy they could locate.
 
Local TV/DVD Question

Is TV Land or some other local TV station allowed to air a given epidsode of a show from a DVD collection IF their copy for syndication failed or plays but is too poor?<P ID="signature">______________
The 2006 New York Yankees...on to title #27!</P>
 
Both the print and the plot were recycled

I recall the episode. It had a marked similarity to a far more cutting episode of The Phil Silvers Show/You'll Never Get Rich (aka Sergeant Bilko) in which a chimp was inducted into the US Army (and they had to Court Martial him to get him out of the army).


>
> Now that you mention it I have noticed that episode being of
> poor quality too.
> I remember because it is my favorite episode of G.A. In
> fact, it's one of my favorite episodes of any show of all
> time. They Army guys wouldn't even notice Arnold was a pig!
> It was so realistic. I went thru the draft physical and
> they wouldn't have notice if I had two noses on my face. It
> was brillant satire.
>
 
Re: Both the print and the plot were recycled

> I recall the episode. It had a marked similarity to a far
> more cutting episode of The Phil Silvers Show/You'll Never
> Get Rich (aka Sergeant Bilko) in which a chimp was inducted
> into the US Army (and they had to Court Martial him to get
> him out of the army).


It's been said that there are really only at most a few dozen basic sitcom plots, and that every show in the last half-century has used some variation of those ideas. There are shows even today that are doing episodes in which the underlying premise was probably done 50 years ago on "I Love Lucy." Whether any particular version of a plot is a hit or miss depends largely on the strength of the characterizations, the quality of the writing of the lines and jokes, and the creativity of whatever "twist" or variation they put on it.

(Similarly, many artists may record the same song, but all put their individual stamp on it, and often a cover version of a song ends up far more popular than the original. Sinatra, for one, was very good at taking a song that had been around for years and so crafting it to his individual style and talents that it almost became something brand-new.)

I hope that's not all too deep and philosophical for this board! (Grin)
 
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