7.8/10286 votes#1 - Oliver Buys A Farm
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/15/1965
New York lawyer Oliver Douglas quits his job at the law firm of Felton, O'Connell, Clay, Blakely, Harmon, Dillion & Pasteur and buys a farm in Hooterville, sight unseen. The locals are astounded that Haney had managed to unload the place on someone and try to talk him out of it. Laying her eyes on the dilapidated farmhouse for the first time, Lisa bursts into tears.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.8/10214 votes#2 - Lisa's First Day On the Farm
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/22/1965
Lisa gets her first look at their dilipidated--and empty--farmhouse and is horrified. Oily Mr. Haney, who previously owned the dump, took everything with him, including the bathroom fixtures, and tries to resell them to Oliver. Eb, one of Haney's workers, is hired on as their farm hand. Lisa goes out to meet the locals, most of whom have entered a pool wagering on how long the Douglases will stay. Lisa is ready to immediately return to New York, but after a chat with Kate Bradley, she decides to give farm life a try.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.6/10180 votes#3 - The Decorator
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/29/1965
Oliver wants to start farming but Lisa demands he have their house redecorated first. Sam Drucker recommends a decorator from Pixley. Kate Bradley tries to tutor Lisa in the kitchen since she doesn't know the first thing about cooking. Kate starts by showing her how to make something easy: hotscakes. Adding to the chaos is Oliver's mother, who arrives to rescue Lisa from her nightmarish country life.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.4/10168 votes#4 - The Best Laid Plans
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/6/1965
While Oliver makes plans to get the farm in working order, Lisa travels to New York to pack up their furniture. The Hooterville locals begin gossiping, assuming Lisa left him for good. While she's in the city, Oliver's mother connects her with an architect who designs an extravagant country club.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.8/10167 votes#5 - My Husband, the Rooster Renter
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/13/1965
Mr. Haney rents Bertram the rooster to Oliver for fifty cents a day. Unfortunately, he's a "pecker", not a "crower", so he also gets a chicken named Alice. Oliver then sets about getting a phone installed in the kitchen (though the line won't be connected for three months), the plumbing and roof fixed, and electricity via a rickety power generator. Mr. Douglas also meets his county farm agent, the absent-minded Hank Kimball, who takes some soil samples for analyzing.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.5/10157 votes#6 - Furniture, Furniture, Who's Got the Furniture?
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/20/1965
Oliver's mother sends the Douglases their furniture from New York, while she also rides down to visit them. While Oliver and Lisa wait for the furniture to arrive, Eunice is stuck with Uncle Joe on his handcar, getting to Hooterville. Things go bad to worse when Eunice finds herself the target of Newt Kiley's bull, and the Douglases' furniture is delivered to Mr. Haney's instead.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.6/10146 votes#7 - Neighborliness
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/27/1965
Oliver is frustrated because, among other problems, his new plow won't arrive in time for planting season. Uncle Joe has a solution that, naturally, benefits him as well. He charges farmers one dollar each to enter a plowing contest, promising them free lunch and big prizes. This is all news to Oliver as the neighbors on their tractors start descending on his farm.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.6/10142 votes#8 - Lisa the Helpmate
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/3/1965
Oliver has collected soil samples from his farm for the university to analyze. When the samples are accidentally spilled, Oliver's mother siezes the opportunity to get her son off the farm; she mixed the dirt with products from her cosmetics bag.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
8.0/10156 votes#9 - You Can't Plug in a 2 with a 6
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/10/1965
It's planting time in Hooterville and Oliver is shocked that the locals make their crop choices based on aches and pains. Back on the farm, Oliver assigns every electrical device a number from one to seven in an effort to keep their creaky generator from blowing. All gadgets up to a total of seven can be plugged in at the same time, but Lisa can't quite grasp the concept.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
8.0/10144 votes#10 - Don't Call Us, We'll Call You
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/17/1965
With their phone still not connected, Oliver asks Mr. Kimball to put some pressure on his mother, who owns the telephone company. Kimball says he and his mother aren't speaking, but Oliver convinces him to make up with her. His mom is so grateful, she promptly has a phone installed--on top of a pole outside their bedroom.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.7/10138 votes#11 - Parity Begins at Home
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 11/24/1965
Oliver wants to plant wheat on all 160 of his acres, but the local agricultural committee says he can only do eight. Incensed, Oliver takes his complaints all the way to Washington. Surprisingly, Haney sides with Oliver and prepares to fight the National Guard in "The Siege of Green Acres".
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.8/10131 votes#12 - Lisa Has a Calf
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/8/1965
Fearful that Mr. Haney will lay claim to Eleanor's calf, the Douglases decide to keep the cow's pregnancy a secret. The Hooterville gossips get part of the story right, except they think it's Lisa who's expecting.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.6/10137 votes#13 - The Wedding Anniversary
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/15/1965
While Oliver tries to recall how long he's been married to Lisa, she flashes back to last year's anniversary which ended with them in jail. The trouble began when a panicked Oliver found corn bores in his terrace garden. His mother, refusing to keep party guests waiting at the Waldorf while Oliver plays farmer, started tossing his "crop" off the balcony. Pots crashing onto the street below did not please the NYC cops.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.6/10135 votes#14 - What Happened in Scranton?
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/22/1965
Lisa is shocked that Hooterville doesn't have a beauty salon. She calls her mother-in-law who ships out her hair dresser, Claude. (She blackmails him with one word: "Scranton".) Setting up shop on the Cannonball, he gives the Hooterville women new hairdos. Now, they're too "beautiful" for farm work.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.8/10114 votes#15 - How to Enlarge a Bedroom
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 12/29/1965
After Lisa delivers an ultimatum, Oliver hires incompetent carpenters Alf and Ralph Monroe to enlarge the tiny bedroom. The Monroes have just begun moving the walls when the building inspector, the father of Eb's girlfriend, "disapproves" the project and condemns the whole house. Oliver is left with an open air bedroom without a roof.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.7/10120 votes#16 - Give Me Land, Lots Of Land
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/5/1966
Lisa is against buying neighboring property owned by the Watsons until she see their farmhouse. Thinking the house is part of the deal, Lisa sells the Watsons' furniture to Mr. Haney and has their things brought over. All of this happens while Oliver is in New York arranging the financing.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.7/10127 votes#17 - I Didn't Raise My Husband to Be a Fireman
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/19/1966
Oliver is allowed to join the Hooterville Volunteer Fire Department if he'll play an instrument in their marching band. As Chief Joe Carson explains, they have more parades than fires. Patriotic speeches follow as Oliver takes his new duties very seriously.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.8/10125 votes#18 - Lisa Bakes a Cake
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/26/1966
Oliver's upset that Lisa listed him the new phone directory as an attorney. He fears he'll be flooded with calls wanting his legal advice. Instead, lawyer Douglas becomes cranky when his phone doesn't ring. Meanwhile, Lisa tackles a formidable task in the kitchen: baking a cake. When Oliver finally gets a potential client, the unlucky man encounters Ralph's plank, Lisa's 20-pound pound cake and Haney's truck.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.7/10122 votes#19 - Sprained Ankle, Country Style
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/2/1966
While fixing the TV antenna, Oliver falls through the roof and sprains his ankle. A parade of Hooterville residents shows up to give their regards while he's off his feet, but instead of sharing the food they've made for him, they crowd him off his own bed to watch Frankenstein Meets Mary Poppins on television.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.9/10143 votes#20 - The Price of Apples
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/9/1966
Oliver will make considerable more on his apple crop if he gets his to market first. He hires local highschoolers to pick the fruit and uses their old truck to haul them. As the rickety truck suffers numerous breakdowns, the apple prices begin to drop. Finally, Lisa's hotscakes come to the rescue.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.7/10119 votes#21 - What's In a Name?
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/16/1966
Ralph Monroe finds herself smitten with Hank Kimball, but discovers that he won't date a woman with a man's name. She asks Oliver to file court papers to have her name changed to something more feminine. While in court, Oliver learns that his license to practice law is not recognized by the state. This sends Oliver back to the books to study for the state's bar exam.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.6/10116 votes#22 - The Day of Decision
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 2/23/1966
Lisa agreed to try out Green Acres for six months. Today's the day she decides whether to stay in Hooterville or return to New York. Everyone anxiously awaits her decision. In the meantime, Oliver flashes back to their first days on the farm, his physical mishaps around the house, and Haney's lousy products.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
8.0/10114 votes#23 - A Pig In a Poke
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/9/1966
Oliver is invited to New York to be the guest speaker at a Harvard alumni banquet but he arrives with an unexpected stowaway. Meanwhile, the Ziffels fear that they'll lose Arnold to Mr. Haney, who's trying to take the pig in lieu of a debt that he claims the Ziffels owe him.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
7.9/10127 votes#24 - The Deputy
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/16/1966
Sam Drucker's off for a two-week vacation to visit his sister, leaving Oliver to take over his duties as deputy sheriff. Complications ensue when Oliver demonstrates how to use a pair of handcuffs to Lisa before discovering that he's lost the keys.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
8.1/10115 votes#25 - Double Drick
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 3/23/1966
Tired of repairing the rickety generator that Haney sold him, Oliver checks on the status of his electricity. Learning that his application was never mailed, Oliver decides to deal with the power company in person. He finds that nothing in Hooterville is done simply--or correctly; he ends up with a meter that runs even when it's disconnected and another pole by the bedroom window.
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: Jay Sommers
The Best Episodes of Green Acres Season 1
Every episode of Green Acres Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Green Acres Season 1!
Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a rural country...
Genre:Comedy
Network:CBS
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Oliver Buys A Farm" is the best rated episode of "Green Acres" season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 286 votes. Directed by Ralph Levy and written by Jay Sommers, it aired on 9/15/1965. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Lisa's First Day On the Farm".