Harper Valley PTA (TV series)
| Harper Valley PTA | |
|---|---|
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| Also known as | 'Harper Valley' |
| Created by | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Based on | Characters created by George Edwards |
| Starring |
Barbara Eden Fannie Flagg Jenn Thompson Anne Francine Bridget Hanley Rod McCary Mills Watson George Gobel Allison Harvey |
| Opening theme | "Harper Valley PTA", originally performed by Jeannie C. Riley |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (per episode) |
| Production company(s) |
Redwood Productions (season 1) Ten-Four Productions (season 2) |
| Distributor |
Universal Television NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | January 16, 1981 – August 14, 1982 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Harper Valley PTA (1978 film) |
Harper Valley PTA (known simply as Harper Valley during its second season) is an American sitcom based on the 1978 film of the same name, which was itself based on the 1968 country song recorded by country singer Jeannie C. Riley and written by Tom T. Hall. The series, starring Barbara Eden who reprised her role from the film, aired on NBC from January 16, 1981 to August 14, 1982.
The series went on to flesh out the story in the song, as it told of the adventures of Stella Johnson (Barbara Eden), a single mother to teenager Dee (Jenn Thompson), who lived in the fictional town of Harper Valley, Ohio. The town was dominated by the namesakes of the founder, the Harper family, most prominently represented by the mayor, Otis Harper, Jr. (George Gobel). Mrs. Johnson's flouting of the small town's conventions, and exposure of the hypocrisy of many of its other residents, provided the series' humor.
In the show's early episodes, Mrs. Johnson had been recently elected to the board of directors of the PTA and this was the source of most of the show's plots; later it was decided that this idea had been carried about as far as was practical and the PTA aspect was dropped from the show, which was then retitled Harper Valley. During this phase, Stella's relationship with Dee was more prominent and actor Mills Watson joined the cast as Stella's eccentric uncle, Winslow Homer Smith. Nicknamed Buster, he was an inventor, whose inventions never worked the way they were supposed to. Stella still did battle with the Reillys on occasion.
At various times, Stella had to deal with her devious twin, Della Smith (played by Barbara Eden wearing a black wig), much as she had when she was on her more famous series, I Dream of Jeannie when she played her evil twin sister, Jeannie II.
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