The Beverly Hillbillies and What’s Happening!! don’t seem like natural shows to compare, do they? No, they really don’t, but that’s where the fun is. These two situation comedies, which on the surface appear to have nothing in common, actually are similar in many ways and, as silly as this idea is, there are some excellent comparisons to be made. Read along and you’ll see just what I mean.

A wildly popular show, The Beverly Hillbillies premiered in 1962 and rose to the top of the ratings within a matter of weeks. This show centered around Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen), his daughter Elly May Clampett (Donna Douglas), nephew Jethro Bodine (Max Baer Jr.), and Jed’s mother-in-law Granny Moses (Irene Ryan).

The Clampetts, a backwardsfamily who lived deep in the hills of the Ozarks, one day discovered oil on their land and overnight became multimillionaires. Befitting their new wealth, the Clampetts moved to Beverly Hills and bought a new mansion. Virtually all of the comedy was a result of the Clampetts being unfamiliar with how rich city folk were supposed to live. Most episodes also featured the Clampett’s banker and next door neighbor, Mr. Drysdale (Raymond Bailey), his assistant Jane Hathaway (Barbara Kulp), and wife Mrs. Drysdale (Harriet E. MacGibbon). The formula was a success and the show remained a favorite with audiences until it was cancelled in the infamous “rural purge” of 1971. CBS programming chief Fred Silverman decided it didn’t want to be known as a rural network so he cancelled The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D. and Hee Haw despite high ratings for all of these programs.

What’s Happening!! premiered in 1976 and primarily focused on African-American teen Roger Thomas (Ernest Thomas) and his friends Dwayne Nelson (Haywood Nelson) and Fred ‘Rerun’ Stubbs (Fred Berry) who faced typical teen dilemmas and usually tried to do the right thing. Also along for the ride were Raj’s mother, Mama Thomas (Mabel King), who always had the last word, and his little sister Dee (Danielle Spencer), who was constantly getting Raj and his friends in trouble. The boys spent a lot of time at Rob’s Soda Shop where Shirley Wilson (Shirley Hemphill) was their waitress, friend and wisecracker. Unlike the Clampetts, the boys on this show were poor, but they never let this stop them from having fun, often at each other’s expense, but never in a bad way. This was a good, clean show.

So which show was better? Let’s take a closer look and figure it out.

Better Central Character

Jed Clampett vs. Roger ‘Raj’ Thomas

I think the best way to look at this huge question is to look at it this way: which of these fine human beings would you rather have as your best friend? Sure Jed was loaded with dough and extremely generous with his friends and family, which may come in handy, but Raj was just an all-around great guy, someone you feel like you could trust with your life. That, and no disrespect meant for the uneducated Jed, but Raj was book smart, a guy you know could be counted on to help you out of any jam. I don’t think I could say the same about Jed. Jed wasn’t stupid, and he often offered his family sage advice, but he was somewhat slow in putting two and two together. I need my friends to be quick on their feet and Raj fits the bill here.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Maternal Character

Daisy ‘Granny’ Moses vs. Mabel ‘Mama’ Thomas

This one is no contest. I suppose I can see why Granny was a popular character in the ‘60s, but she doesn’t work today. She was stubborn, feisty, gruff, and even something of a racist. This woman was convinced the South won the Civil War. I can’t hold her background against her, but that doesn’t mean I have to like her. Mama Thomas, on the other hand, was a great woman. Despite working six days a week to support her kids, she dearly loved her children and was always concerned for their well-being. I have no reservations in saying I think she’s one of the best single moms in the history of television. Nobody messed with Mama.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Confused Young Man

Jethro Bodine vs. Dwayne Nelson

Dwayne was a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but Jethro was just plain dumb, as evidenced by his being in the sixth grade while still in his late teens. And while I can respect Jethro’s heartthrob status (Max Baer Jr. was the son of former heavyweight champ Max Baer who was one of the subjects of last year’s Cinderella Man by Ron Howard) and his ability to draw the admiration of some pretty ladies, Dwayne did okay for himself. I also have to give Dwayne points for having a really cool afro which easily trumps Jethro’s heinous fashion choice of using a piece of rope instead of a belt for his blue jeans. While Jethro was strong enough to lift a truck off the ground, Dwayne was just a good guy as we saw when he cancelled his date with a new girl he liked so that his long-time friend Shirley wouldn’t have to go to Raj’s party by herself. Nice guy.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Simple Character

Elly May Clampett vs. Fred ‘Rerun’ Stubbs

Elly May liked animals. Rerun liked food. Food isn’t better than animals, but Rerun was certainly better than Elly May. Why? Because Rerun (who was called that because he had to rerun his schooling every summer) always wore a beret. Elly May followed the lead of her cousin in wearing a rope instead of a belt on her jeans. Bad. Don’t get me wrong, I liked some of Elly May’s animals. She had a pet chimpanzee of some kind named Skipper, and chimps are always funny, but Rerun was a good dancer. And when fat guys are good dancers, comedy is inevitable. Rerun was also cool because he always took the fat jokes at his expense in stride. And to put how awesome Rerun’s character was into a little perspective; Fred Berry liked playing the character so much that he had his middle name legally changed to Rerun. What a great name.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Killjoy

Milburn Drysdale vs. Dee Thomas

This one is probably the toughest call to make with all of these character match-ups. Mr. Drysdale was mostly a likeable guy, but his chief concern was keeping the Clampett money in his bank. That’s not very interesting. Dee was mostly a one-dimensional character whose sole concern was getting Raj into trouble. Dee was often given some very funny lines, but you can’t help yourself from hating her as a character. It’s amazing that neither Mama nor Raj ever slugged her. She certainly deserved a good beating for being such a brat and only once in this season did she show that she even had a nice side. I’m not a Drysdale fan, but Dee was detestable.

Edge: The Beverly Hillbillies

Better Lady from the Primary Place of Business

Jane Hathaway vs. Shirley Wilson

Miss Hathaway’s stuffy and manipulative behavior or Shirley’s wise-cracking and tough personality that shielded a caring she had for the boys? There’s really no contest here. I don’t know that I hated Miss Hathaway, but she wasn’t very likeable and I didn’t understand why she constantly threw herself at Jethro, even though she should have been able to see he wasn’t right for her. On the other side, Shirley was great. She’d engage in some fantastic insults in with Rerun, but it was obviously all in good fun. Again, I’d rather be her friend than friends with Miss Hathaway who always seemed to have an ulterior motive behind her actions.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Best Guest Star

Jim Backus vs. Dick Van Patten

It doesn’t get much better than a match-up of the guy who played Thurston Howell III and voiced Magoo vs. the guy who played one of TV’s greatest dad’s in Tom Bradford. I like both of these guys. Backus appeared in an episode called The Clampetts Entertain while Van Patten’s episode was called The Burger Queen. Both are good episodes and both prominently feature these guys, but Backus gets a slight edge for two reasons: One, he has a little more screen time. Two, Van Patten shares his screen time with Robbie Rist, the kid who played Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch. Everybody hates, or at least should hate, Cousin Oliver.

Edge: The Beverly Hillbillies

Better Best Episode
The Giant Jackrabbit vs. The Tickets

The Giant Jackrabbit still ranks as the highest rated half hour of television in the history of the Nielsen ratings, pulling a 65 share on January 8, 1964. This is an amazing feat when you consider all of the great television shows in the last 42 years. This episode also featured Sharon Tate (Wife of Roman Polanski and was later murdered by followers of Charles Manson). Yes, it’s a decent episode, but even producer Paul Henning couldn’t say why this episode was any better than the rest. Perhaps it was because Granny saw a kangaroo in her backyard and confused it with a giant jackrabbit. Yeah, now that I think of it, that’s a bad premise and I don’t have a clue why this episode did so well.

The Tickets was a great episode because it featured all the elements that made What’s Happening!! fun to watch. It had Mama giving Raj two tickets to the Stevie Wonder concert, Raj torn between asking Dwayne or Rerun to go with him, Dee driving a wedge between their friendship with Rerun when the coin flip came up in Dwayne’s favor, Mama explicitly telling Raj that he couldn’t sell the tickets so he could do something different with both of his friends, and then the three of them being arrested for attempting to sell the tickets in exchange for money they could use to buy cheaper tickets. Hilarity ensues and we see why Mama was always right.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Southern California Location
Beverly Hills vs. Watts

I think most people would rather live in Beverly Hills than in Watts. I know I’m among that group. But I’m not here to question which place is a better place to live. I‘m here to question which location is the best to set a sitcom. They both have advantages. Beverly Hills is full of rich people, large homes, and expensive things. Watts is full of poor people, cramped houses (though curiously not so much in the Thomas house on What’s Happening!!), and unsafe streets. The problem in deciding between these two locations is that despite the locations playing a big part in the lives of the characters, they rarely play a part in the stories of either show. In both of these shows, most of the action takes place in either the Clampett mansion or the bank, or in the Thomas house or the soda shop. Very little happens in the neighborhood.

Edge: Draw

Better Catchphrase
“Well, doggies” vs. “Hey, hey, hey!”

No contest here. Thirty years later, I still find myself saying “hey, hey, hey” to my friends. It’s just a fun thing to say and a fine way to greet someone. I can’t say the same for “well, doggies.” That’s a boring catchphrase if you ask me.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Better Theme Song

Both of these are extremely memorable and catchy songs. The Beverly Hillbillies theme is long remembered for its rhyming words sung by Jerry Scoggins to a tune by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (most famous for their tune “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” featured prominently in Bonnie and Clyde). The What’s Happening!! theme by Henry Mancini, who scored countless television shows and movies including personal favorite Charade, is every bit as memorable, despite being free of lyrics. Whenever I hear it, it gets stuck in my head. In this case, that’s generally a good thing.

Edge: What’s Happening!!

Page 1 | Page 2 | Next >>