5.7/1043 votesLoading...#1 - Susan B. Anthony, I Love You
Season 7 Episode 20 - Aired 2/7/1970
Bille Jo returns from Chicago with a visionary zeal for the women's liberation movement, and enlists her sisters in ""the cause.""
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
6.3/1041 votesLoading...#2 - Hooterville, You're All Heart
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1966
Steve's plane is still sitting damaged where it crashed near the railroad tracks by the hotel. Henry Sharp, from the finance company, comes by because Steve has missed a payment. Steve has barely enough money to repair the plane let alone make his regular payments. Trying to get Sharp to give Steve some time fail. Steve decides to cut corners in repairing the plane. Kate, the girls and Uncle Joe try to help him raise some money, which ends up not being easy. Sunday at church, Reverend Jones enjoyed Steve's singing so much, he starts a contribution drive. They raise enough money to fix the plane and Steve decides to stay in the valley.
Director: Guy Scarpitta
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
6.4/1040 votesLoading...#3 - Kate Bradley, Peacemaker
Season 3 Episode 29 - Aired 4/5/1966
The cheap refrigerator that Uncle Joe bought isn't working, so Kate sends him into Pixley to get some ice for the icebox. Floyd and Charley are having a fight over who is the boss of the Cannonball and then they have a fight over a missing apple. Because of this, Joe can't get to Pixley and Kate's food will spoil. Kate gets the two to patch things up, but then Joe says something and they start fighting again. Kate has Betty Jo bring in the analytical mind of Mr. Douglas to assist in convincing the two to make up, but that doesn't work. Joe uses the hand car to get some ice, while the Cannonball strike continues. Floyd and Charley make up, but once again Joe does something to break them up again. Kate finally comes up with a way to get the two to be friends again.
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: Al Schwartz, Lou Huston
6.4/1040 votesLoading...#4 - Betty Jo's Bike
Season 3 Episode 34 - Aired 5/10/1966
Betty Jo wants to buy her friend Willie's motorized bicycle. Kate says she can if she is able to come up with the money. Betty Jo gets a babysitting job on the condition that Kate is around to supervise, to which Kate reluctantly agrees. Kate winds up doing most of the work. Now many other babysitting offers and many other babies come out of the woodwork. Unfortunately, the jobs are all for the same night and under the same condition of Kate supervising. With help from the family, they make it through the night. Willie says he'll trade his bike for the family dog, but Betty Jo refuses.
Director: Guy Scarpitta
Writer: Jay Sommers, Howard Harris
6.5/1042 votesLoading...#5 - Hooterville A-Go-Go
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/9/1965
The Every Other Wednesday Afternoon Discussion Club, with its new member Lisa Douglas, is planning on holding a square dance as a high school benefit. The Bradley girls decide to try and get King Ring a Ding, the big rock 'n' roll star, to perform at the benefit instead. Who shows up unexpectedly at the hotel instead is Herbie Willits, who used to live in Hooterville and who Kate encouraged to become a singer. Kate wants Herbie to sing at the benefit. What Kate and girls don't realize is that Herbie is King Ring a Ding. When Herbie hears that no tickets have been sold mainly because he's the "headliner", he comes up with a plan. Uncle Joe has his own plan, not realizing what Herbie's plans actually are, and in the process almost ruins the benefit.
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: George O'Hanlon, Charles Tannen
6.5/1039 votesLoading...#6 - The Young Matchmakers
Season 3 Episode 32 - Aired 4/26/1966
It seems that every night everyone has something to do except for Kate. Uncle Joe tells Kate that she needs to get out herself. The girls decide to try and find Kate an eligible bachelor. They first tell Kate that they're grown up now, she doesn't need to take care of them and she should go on a date. That direct approach doesn't work. Their next attempt fails as well. They then ask Mrs. Douglas for her advice. Mrs. Douglas suggests holding a lonely hearts club gathering at the hotel. Three desperate men show up at the hotel hoping to meet some women. Once she knows what is going on, Kate finds a way to get each of the men to leave
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: Al Schwartz, Lou Huston
6.5/1028 votesLoading...#7 - The Fishing Derby
Season 4 Episode 24 - Aired 3/14/1967
Business at the Shady Rest is worse than usual. Uncle Joe speaks to Sam about the Shady Rest and Drucker's Store jointly hosting a fishing derby on Lost Lake. Joe figures that they can advertise expensive prizes, such as a boat, outboard motor and fishing gear, and order the prizes on a 30-day layaway plan. Since Sam and Joe always catch the biggest fish on Lost Lake year after year, Joe figures one of the two of them will win the derby and they can return the prizes before the 30 days. In the meantime, the hotel will be filled up and Drucker's Store will be busy with new customers. Kate has no idea of the underlying scam when she agrees to the derby. The derby does bring in business to both the hotel and store. But it also brings in Rod Granger from the Riverside Chronicle, who seems able to out-fish Sam and Joe. Just when it looks as though Mr. Granger is going to win, Joe comes in with a bigger fish.
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: Dick Conway
6.5/1044 votesLoading...#8 - The Christening
Season 6 Episode 15 - Aired 1/11/1969
Betty Jo has arranged with Reverend Barton to hold Kathy Jo's christening this Sunday. Janet reminds Betty Jo and Steve that it is customary to have godparents stand up during the christening. They have only a few days to decide on who Kathy Jo's godparents will be. They also know that whoever they don't choose will be hurt and offended. Uncle Joe, Sam, Bert Smedley, Wendell and even Doc Stuart all compete to be chosen godfather. Janet is honored that Betty Jo and Steve ask her to be godmother. Betty Jo asks Janet to decide who will be godfather. Janet then asks the Reverend's advice. He comes up with the only choice that makes sense.
Director: Guy Scarpitta
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
6.6/1042 votesLoading...#9 - The County Fair
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 2/8/1966
The annual county fair is coming soon. Betty Jo picks Everett the pig for Hooterville High's cutest livestock contest. Bobbie Jo will be singing in the talent contest. Uncle Joe hopes to win all the prizes at the baseball throwing booth. Although she wasn't going to enter the cake baking contest again, Kate reconsiders. It seems that Everett only perks up when Bobbie Jo is singing. At the fair, they learn that the livestock contest and the talent contest will be at the same time. Betty Jo figures out how Bobbie Jo can be in two places at the same time. Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo both win their contests, but Uncle Joe manages to ruin it for Kate.
Director: Hollingsworth Morse
Writer: Lila Garrett, Bernie Kahn
6.6/1039 votesLoading...#10 - Whatever Happened to Betty Jo?
Season 3 Episode 30 - Aired 4/12/1966
Kate is cleaning out the storage closet. She wants the family members to go through their belongings to see what can be thrown away. Uncle Joe thinks they should start an antiques business with the junk. Everyone is around to help except Betty Jo, who should have been on the afternoon Cannonball run from school. Floyd and Charlie tell Kate that they saw Betty Jo that morning. She was all made up and had a suitcase. It looked like she was about to run away to elope. Kate and the girls look for clues in Betty Jo's room. They find a notebook that leads them to believe that Betty Jo might be thinking of eloping with the new boy in town, Peter Latimer. Betty Jo is actually just coaching baseball to Peter were no one can see them. Kate visits Mrs. Latimer to tell her that their children have eloped. When Betty Jo and Peter come home, everyone finds out that they were worrying over nothing.
Director: Guy Scarpitta
Writer: Al Schwartz, Lou Huston
6.6/1031 votesLoading...#11 - First Night Out
Season 6 Episode 11 - Aired 12/14/1968
Steve wants to take Betty Jo out on the town, but Betty Jo doesn't want to leave the baby with sitters. Dr. Craig says that she, Uncle Joe and Bobbie Jo can look after Kathy Jo at the hotel. Betty Jo reluctantly agrees but all night all she can think of is Kathy Jo. Meanwhile back at the hotel, Bobbie Jo is the first to leave on a date she forgot about. Then Janet has to go on a medical emergency, leaving Uncle Joe alone to look after the baby. Trouble starts when a friendly poker game, Brisbane Snead, the editor of the Pixley newspaper, and the Pixley Sheriff are thrown into the mix. Janet finds a way to get Joe and the baby out of jail before Steve and Betty Jo get home.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Ben Gershman, Dick Conway
6.6/1034 votesLoading...#12 - The Feminine Mistake
Season 6 Episode 13 - Aired 12/28/1968
Bobbie Jo really likes a new book she is reading called "The Feminine Mistake". It talks about how women are denied their humanity by men by being forced into domestic lives rather than real careers. Bobbie Jo decides to look for a job so that she can gain an identity through her work. Her first attempts at jobs end in disaster. Sam let's Bobbie Jo write for the paper. Bobbie Jo writes an article about Dr. Craig that incorrectly portrays her as a snob, causing an uproar in the valley. A remorseful Bobbie Jo decides to leave town. It may take Janet using some reverse psychology to make Bobbie Jo fully understand her life in Hooterville. Bobbie Jo decides to stay, stating "I'm the only one left to give that woman's touch to the Shady Rest..." Meanwhile, Uncle Joe tries to build a motorized bicycle so that he doesn't have to pedal.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Joanna Lee
6.6/1041 votesLoading...#13 - The Great Race
Season 6 Episode 24 - Aired 3/15/1969
Hank Thackery is the owner of the Shady Rests rival hotel, the Pixley House. He plans to set up a jitney service between Pixley and Hooterville as an alternative to the Cannonball. He bets Joe that he can be faster from Pixley to Hooterville than the Cannonball. The loser to act as the bellboy at the other's hotel for a month. Part of Joe's problem in winning is getting Wendell into racing mentality. Hank also convinces the county commissioner that the Cannonball's fate should depend on the outcome of the race. The Cannonball wins with some unexpected help. Hal Smith appears as Jug Gunderson
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
- 6.6/1041 votesLoading...
#14 - The Glen Tinker Caper
Season 7 Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/1969
An unknown singer tries to smuggle an adorable Vietnamese orphan into the United States by bringing her to Hooterville.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 6.6/1035 votesLoading...
#15 - Goodbye, Mr. Chimp (2)
Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 12/13/1969
Uncle Joe tries to get rid of the pet chimp who is gradually wrecking the Shady Rest hotel.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 6.6/1037 votesLoading...
#16 - Love Rears Its Ugly Head
Season 7 Episode 24 - Aired 3/21/1970
Billie Jo tries to spread love through the valley with a new theory of sensitivity training.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
6.7/1052 votesLoading...#17 - Betty Jo's Pen Pal
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/24/1964
The girls are trying to learn some Japanese to make Betty Jo's Japanese pen pal, Nobuko Takamura, feel at home for her visit. Nobuko has come to the US to attend college to improve her English so that she can teach it back in Japan. She would also like to learn American customs. Nobuko tells Joe that in Japan, the women do the yard work. Joe gets Nobuko to do his chores until Kate puts a stop to it. On a picnic, Nobuko can't help but serve Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo's boyfriends. Kate tells Nobuko that the men should be the ones helping the women. Nobuko catches on to that custom quite quickly.
Director: Guy Scarpitta
Writer: Jay Sommers, Lou Huston
6.7/1035 votesLoading...#18 - My Pal Sam
Season 5 Episode 28 - Aired 3/16/1968
Sam has decided to remodel the general store. It will be closed for five days while he goes on vacation. Sam decides spend his time at the Shady Rest. Joe is excited to have all this time with his best friend. But what Joe doesn't account for is that Sam may have plans of his own. Sam ends up spending most of his time helping Helen around the hotel. When Sam finds out on day four why Joe has been in a bad mood, Sam tries to make it up to him all in one day, even if it kills both him and Joe.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
6.7/1039 votesLoading...#19 - The Ballad of the Everyday Housewife
Season 6 Episode 14 - Aired 1/4/1969
Bobbie Jo is babysitting Kathy Jo while Betty Jo is out shopping. Bobbie Jo tells Steve that she believes he is ignoring Betty Jo. In an effort to make it up to her, Steve professes his love to Betty Jo. Betty Jo, who is busy with her chores, doesn't pay too much attention to Steve. When Betty Jo learns from Bobbie Jo why Steve said what he did, Betty Jo feels that she has to make it up to him. But now with Steve preoccupied, Betty Jo really does feel like she's being ignored when she tries to talk to him. In the end, both Steve and Betty Jo make a special effort to make up.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
6.7/1036 votesLoading...#20 - Billie Jo and the Big Big Star
Season 6 Episode 16 - Aired 1/18/1969
Billie Jo arrives back home from a gig in Omaha with her new boyfriend, comedian Rick Wayne. Rick doesn't make a very good first impression in Hooterville. Billie Jo thinks that a good way for the valley residents to get to know Rick better is for him to star in the Hooterville charity radio show. She wishes she could take back the invitation when she hears a part of Rick's routine for the show, which is a put-down of the valley and its residents. Billie Jo has to figure out how to get Rick to not do that routine. A little talk from Steve and everything turns out fine.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
6.7/1032 votesLoading...#21 - A Man Called Cyrus Plout
Season 6 Episode 19 - Aired 2/8/1969
The valley folk are preparing for the annual Founder's Day celebrations. Janet's idea is to have a musical tribute from then to now. Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo and Betty Jo would be the featured performers. Selma, whose husband's great great uncle Cyrus Plout founded Hooterville, believes the girls' mini-skirt outfits are indecent. Uncle Joe actually agrees with her. Uncle Joe believes that since his lodge, the Royal Order of the Camels, is hosting this year's celebrations, he has final say. Janet thinks that the younger people should also have a say. Henrietta Plout unwittingly comes up with an issue that breaks the stalemate.
Director: Ralph Levy
Writer: Charles Stewart, Dick Conway
- 6.7/1037 votesLoading...
#22 - How to Arrange a Marriage
Season 7 Episode 15 - Aired 1/3/1970
Bobbie Jo attempts to soften up Billie's Jo's new boyfriend for marriage.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 6.7/1034 votesLoading...
#23 - Selma Plout's Plot
Season 7 Episode 16 - Aired 1/10/1970
Selme Plout's scheme to snag a husband for her daughter almost forces Steve out of the crop-dusting business.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 6.7/1033 votesLoading...
#24 - The Valley's New Owner
Season 7 Episode 18 - Aired 1/24/1970
Shy Orrin Pike becomes a big man when an old deed indicates he is the legal owner of the entire Hooterville Valley.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
- 6.7/1036 votesLoading...
#25 - Steve's Uncle George
Season 7 Episode 19 - Aired 1/31/1970
Steve's Uncle George visits the Shady Rest hotel and lives up to his repulation as a troublemaker.
Director: Elliott Lewis
Writer: N/A
The Worst Episodes of Petticoat Junction
Every episode of Petticoat Junction ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Petticoat Junction!
The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters do the job of running the hotel.
Genres:ComedyFamily
Network:CBS
Worst Episodes Summary
"Susan B. Anthony, I Love You" is the worst rated episode of "Petticoat Junction". It scored 5.7/10 based on 43 votes. Directed by Elliott Lewis and written by N/A, it aired on 2/7/1970. This episode scored 0.6 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Hooterville, You're All Heart".