Carter Country
Encyclopedia
Carter Country is an American
television
sitcom
that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC
.
(presumably near the part of the state from which U.S. President Jimmy Carter
hailed, thus the title) and featured Victor French
as police chief Roy Mobey and Kene Holliday
as city-bred, college-educated, black Sergeant Curtis Baker.
It also featured Richard Paul
as Mama's boy Mayor Teddy Burnside, Harvey Vernon
as racist officer Jasper DeWitt, and Barbara Cason
as town employee Cloris Phebus. Additional comic support was provided by Texas-born actor Guich Koock who played the part of goofy deputy Harley. Vernee Watson
rounded out the cast as the mayor's educated secretary and a love interest for Baker. The plot centered around the stereotypical racism of the Deep South
, and was often characterized as being an irreverent, comedic version of the movie In the Heat of the Night.
The character of Mayor Burnside coined a minor catchphrase with his manic "Handle it, Roy, handle it!", used when delegating various details to Sheriff Mobey such as fixing a parking ticket. If Mobey protested or asked any further questions, Burnside would stifle further discussion with a dismissive hand gesture and a further "Handle-it, handle-it, handle-it!"
Burnside often introduced himself to members of the public as "Teddy Burnside, your mayor by a landslide."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
Synopsis
Carter Country was set in the fictional small town of Clinton Corners in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
(presumably near the part of the state from which U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
hailed, thus the title) and featured Victor French
Victor French
Victor Edwin French was an American actor and director.-Early career:Born in Santa Barbara, California,...
as police chief Roy Mobey and Kene Holliday
Kene Holliday
Kenneth Earl "Kene" Holliday is a prolific American character actor of stage, film, and television, best known for his role as Ben Matlock's original private investigator, Tyler Hudson, on Andy Griffith's hit television series Matlock....
as city-bred, college-educated, black Sergeant Curtis Baker.
It also featured Richard Paul
Richard Paul
Richard Paul was an American actor.He was born in Los Angeles, California. He was able to imitate most American and many foreign dialects. He had a tenor voice and trained with Lee Sweetland....
as Mama's boy Mayor Teddy Burnside, Harvey Vernon
Harvey Vernon
Harvey Vernon was an American actor from Flint, Michigan. His birth name was Chet Smith.Perhaps his most famous role was Jasper DeWitt in the television series Carter Country...
as racist officer Jasper DeWitt, and Barbara Cason
Barbara Cason
Barbara Cason was an American character actress. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she began her career appearing in theatre and on local television in Memphis during the 1950s, where she notably co-founded and ran the Front St. Theatre.She relocated to New York City in 1967, becoming active in theatre...
as town employee Cloris Phebus. Additional comic support was provided by Texas-born actor Guich Koock who played the part of goofy deputy Harley. Vernee Watson
Vernee Watson-Johnson
Vernee Watson-Johnson is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on Welcome Back, Kotter and as Viola "Vy" Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing the mother of Will Smith's character.She played a small role on Sister, Sister as Lisa's best...
rounded out the cast as the mayor's educated secretary and a love interest for Baker. The plot centered around the stereotypical racism of the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
, and was often characterized as being an irreverent, comedic version of the movie In the Heat of the Night.
The character of Mayor Burnside coined a minor catchphrase with his manic "Handle it, Roy, handle it!", used when delegating various details to Sheriff Mobey such as fixing a parking ticket. If Mobey protested or asked any further questions, Burnside would stifle further discussion with a dismissive hand gesture and a further "Handle-it, handle-it, handle-it!"
Burnside often introduced himself to members of the public as "Teddy Burnside, your mayor by a landslide."
Season 1 (1977-1978)
22 episodes:| № | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Hail to the Chief" | 1977 September 15 |
| 2 | "Beating the Pounds" | 1977 September 22 |
| 3 | "Out of the Closet" | 1977 September 29 |
| 4 | "The Fireside Burnside Budget Chat" | 1977 October 6 |
| 5 | "Baker Buys a House (Part 1)" | 1977 October 20 |
| 6 | "Baker Buys a House (Part 2)" | 1977 October 27 |
| 7 | "Bye, Bye Baker" | 1977 November 3 |
| 8 | "Senior Citizen Siege" | 1977 November 17 |
| 9 | "Chicks and Turkeys" | 1977 November 24 |
| 10 | "Chief to Chief" | 1977 December 1 |
| 11 | "Union vs. the Confederacy" | 1977 December 8 |
| 12 | "A-Hunting We Will Go" | 1977 December 15 |
| 13 | "By the Light of the Moonlight" | 1977 December 22 |
| 14 | "The Physical" | 1978 January 5 |
| 15 | "Roy's Separation" | 1978 January 12 |
| 16 | "Red Armstong, Goodbye" | 1978 January 19 |
| 17 | "Ballots for Burnside" | 1978 January 26 |
| 18 | "The Chief's Dressing Down" | 1978 February 2 |
| 19 | "All About Floyd" | 1978 February 9 |
| 20 | "Roy Pays His Taxes" | 1978 February 23 |
| 21 | "Roy's Encounter" | 1978 May 9 |
| 22 | "Baker Saves a Life" | 1978 May 16 |
Season 2 (1978-1979)
22 episodes:| № | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | "One of Our Chiefs Is Missing" | 1978 September 23 |
| 24 | "The Tracy Report" | 1978 September 30 |
| 25 | "The Selling of the Mayor (Part 1)" | 1978 October 21 |
| 26 | "The Selling of the Mayor (Part 2)" | 1978 October 28 |
| 27 | "Poor Butterfly" | 1978 November 11 |
| 28 | "Gambler's Unanimous" | 1978 November 25 |
| 29 | "Roy Makes the Grade" | 1978 December 2 |
| 30 | "Hurricane Jasper" | 1978 December 16 |
| 31 | "Firing of a Harley" | 1978 December 23 |
| 32 | "Owed to Billy Joe" | 1979 January 6 |
| 33 | "The Russians Are Coming" | 1979 January 13 |
| 34 | "Happy Anniversary" | 1979 March 29 |
| 35 | "Teddy the Tiger" | 1979 April 5 |
| 36 | "New Kid in Town" | 1979 April 12 |
| 37 | "Baker's First Day" | 1979 April 19 |
| 38 | "The Last Dinosaur" | 1979 April 26 |
| 39 | "The Big Move (Part 1)" | 1979 May 10 |
| 40 | "The Big Move (Part 2)" | 1979 May 17 |
| 41 | "The Big Move (Part 3)" | 1979 May 24 |
| 42 | "Teddy's Folly" | 1979 May 31 |
| 43 | "The Prisoner of Clinton Corners" | 1979 June 7 |
| 44 | "The Abominable Showman" | 1979 June 21 |