Best Billie Jo?
I think Jeannine Riley was the best. She was such a better actress I think. More seasoned. There was an amateurish, awkwardness about her two replacements, especially Meredith MacRae.
shareI like Meredith MacRae. Jeannine Riley improved in the second year, but she always seemed too comic. Some of it's the writing, but Meredith MacRae's Billie Jo had a more reasoning personality and was more relatable as a human being when the other characters could be lacking real-world dimensions... Except in those two episodes where she brings women's lib and "togetherness exercises" to the valley, that was more in character for Bobbi Jo.
shareI dont' remember the black-and-white episodes (I was only six years old when they first aired,) so I can't really say much about Jeanine Riley. I've been watching the ones with Gunilla on MeTV lately, and, while she is funny, I DO like Meredith MacRae the best. Pretty much for the same reasons you listed. I DID not like the feminist episodes either.
shareI had never seen the first two seasons of Petticoat Junction until I recently purchased them on DVD. That said, I have come to like Jeanine Riley's portrayal of Billie Jo the best. I can't believe I'm saying this, because I absolutely adored Meredith MacRae in the series. But, Jeanine was much better at comedy and made the character of Billie Jo a lot more spunky. Meredith was beautiful and very heartwarming, as well as a great singer, but her character was made too vanilla for me. Gunilla was ok, but didn't get very much air time and didn't have the opportunity to develop her character of Billie Jo.
shareVery well put. Jeannine Riley grew into a fine comic actress just during her two years on the show (compare her performance in the pilot to her later episodes). There's a wonderful tartness to her performance that helped distinguish her from her onscreen sisters.
shareMeredith MacRae is my favorite.
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