This week for my Top 10 Tuesday, I am going back in time to the 60s and the Top 10 Petticoat Junction Characters!
10. FLOYD SMOOT
7. STEVE ELLIOTT
5. BETTY JO BRADLEY
3. SAM DRUCKER
1. KATE BRADLEY
There weren't a ton of characters on Petticoat Junction even though some characters were played by multiple actors (more on that below). So Floyd Smoot was not a major character on Petticoat Junction, but he was likable nonetheless as the train conductor of the Cannonball along with Charley Pratt. He was good natured and kind and a good example of how Petticoat was a kindler and gentler show than its louder neighbor, Green Acres (though he did appear on Acres a couple times too).
9. DR. JANET CRAIG
June Lockhart was put in an unenviable position on Petticoat Junction. Her character, Dr. Janet Craig, was brought on the show towards the end of its run as a replacement for Kate Bradley after Bea Benaderet's death. By the time she joined, the show was already tired plus Kate was such a force that the show felt pretty empty without her. Janet Craig wasn't a bad character, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was still a likable presence.
8. WENDELL GIBBS
Wendell Gibbs came on board (literally, to the Cannonball) after the death of Smiley Brunette as Charley Pratt and subsequent fade out of Floyd Smoot. He only appeared in one season but he made the list thanks in large part to a very funny appearance in the episode where Betty Jo gives birth. As the overly careful and prepared conductor, he never sleeps but then can't go on any longer and of course can't be awoken when the big event actually happens. He was a funny character when he got a chance to be involved.
Steve was a pretty prominent character in the back half of Petticoat Junction and it's easy to forget he started out as Billie Jo's love interest before a real life marriage to Linda Kaye Henning (Betty Jo) changed the show's direction. He was occasionally an interesting character but mostly he was somewhat bland and his singing didn't help matters. I liked him better as a carefree bachelor than a bumbling husband.
6. BOBBIE JO BRADLEY
The first of the three Bradley sisters on the list, Bobbie Jo underwent quite a transformation as the series progressed and not just because she was played by two different actresses. The change is portrayal also led to a very big personality change. Bobbie Jo started as a shy bookworm, a typical middle child. By the end of the series, she had become a complete ditz. The producers were tapping into Lori Saunders' strengths but she also went from somewhat bland to occasionally annoying. She did have funny moments but she's not as strong as her on-screen sisters.
The only Bradley sister to be played by the same actress throughout the run, Betty Jo (as played by Linda Kaye Henning) was one of the few steady actors throughout all seven seasons of Petticoat Junction. She was a little irritating by the end of the series but she was very strong through the courtship, marriage and baby with Steve. She was never quite as vibrant as Billie Jo or as silly as Bobbie Jo but there's something to be said about being the straight woman even on a gentle show like Petticoat Junction.
4. BILLIE JO BRADLEY
Billie Jo was played by three different actresses during the series but she ends up higher than her onscreen sisters thanks in large part to her third portrayer, Meredith MacRae, though all three actresses were pretty solid as Billie Jo. Billie Jo had all the good qualities of her sisters and none of the bad ones. She wasn't grating, she didn't go too far sometimes and she was a really likable personality. Even her singing, which is typically an annoying element of a character (Potsie for example) added a little flavor of cool to the show.
Sam Drucker was a great presence throughout the run of Petticoat Junction. He managed to ground the sillier Green Acres but he fit in much better with the gentler show. He was exactly the type of person you would hope is running a small country store in the middle of nowhere. He had a great rapport with each character on the show even though he rarely had any stories directly about him. He was unassuming by nature but also capable of getting off some good quips.
2. UNCLE JOE CARSON
Always scheming, Uncle Joe was most often the character driving the humor in the show. Sometimes his plots got a little over the top but his mix of ambition and lethargy was a pretty funny combination. He also deserves credit for being a big reason the show was able to solider on even after the death of Bea Benaderet. It's not like the post-Benaderet shows were excellent but his character managed to keep being funny and he was capable of being a solid lead on the show instead of a second banana.
Uncle Joe brought the humor but Kate Bradley was the heart and soul of Petticoat Junction and her family within the show. She was the type of sitcom lead you don't see much anymore - one who is a very clear lead while also being a straight woman. Bea Benaderet had great line deliveries and also an inherently caring personality. You always felt the show was in good hands when Kate was in charge. Benaderet's cancer battle was a little tough to watch as her on-screen appearance became increasingly frail. It was a testament to how great she was on the show that it never felt the same without her after her passing in 1968.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at 1989's Living Dolls!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Modern Family Characters!
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