''Carter Country'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from September 15, 1977 to August 23, 1979. It starred

Victor French Victor Edwin French (December 4, 1934 – June 15, 1989) was an American actor and director. He is remembered for roles on the television programs ''Gunsmoke'', ''Little House on the Prairie'', ''Highway to Heaven'', and ''Carter Country''. ...

and

Kene Holliday Kenneth Earl Holliday (born June 25, 1949) is an American actor of stage, film, and television. He is known for his role as Ben Matlock's original private investigator, Tyler Hudson, on '' Matlock'', and as Sgt. Curtis Baker on ''Carter Country ...

. A young

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

appeared in two episodes.

Synopsis

''Carter Country'' is set in the fictional small town of Clinton Corners in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

(presumably near the part of the state from which U.S. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

hailed, thus the title) and features French as police chief Roy Mobey and Holliday as city-bred, college-educated, Sergeant Curtis Baker.

Richard Paul Richard Paul (June 6, 1940 – December 25, 1998) was an American actor who was born in Los Angeles, California. Early life Paul was born in Los Angeles, California. Richard earned a Bachelor of Arts in public affairs from Claremont Men's Coll ...

as Mayor Teddy Burnside,

Harvey Vernon Harvey Vernon (June 30, 1927 – October 9, 1996) 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''. He also appeared in motio ...

as racist officer Jasper DeWitt, and

Barbara Cason Barbara Cason (November 15, 1928 – June 18, 1990) was an American character actor, character actress. Life and career Cason was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Helen Louise (Phebus) and Charles Carroll Cason. She began her career a ...

as town employee Cloris Phebus rounded out the cast. DeWitt was shown to be a member of the local branch of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

and he often made disparaging comments against minorities, but was still a loyal and honest law enforcement officer. In several episodes it is hinted that his racist attitude is an act and that he joined the KKK in order to keep an eye on their activities. Separate from his racism, DeWitt resents Baker for taking the sergeant's position, to which DeWitt felt entitled due to his tenure. Additional comic support was provided by Texas-born actor

Guich Koock ''Guich'' tribes, ''Gish'' tribes, or ''Jaysh'' tribes ( jaysh, literally "Army"), or sometimes ''Makhzen'' tribes, were tribes of Arab origin organized by the sultans of Moroccan dynasties to serve as troops and military garrisons, as well as t ...

who played the part of goofy deputy Harley.

Vernee Watson Vernee Christell Watson-Johnson (née Watson; born September 28, 1949) is an American actress, author, and acting coach. Watson-Johnson is best known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and as ...

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 The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

, and was often characterized as being an irreverent, comedic version of the movie '' In the Heat of the Night'', especially with the aspect of an educated, African American man coming to a small, southern town to work as a police officer. The character of Mayor Burnside coined a minor catchphrase with his manic "Handle it, Roy, handle it!", used when delegating various details to Chief 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."

Ratings

The first season ranked 32nd out of 104 shows, and averaged a 19.6 rating. The second season ranked 70th out of 114 shows, with an average 15.6/27 rating/share.

Popular culture

Mayor Burnside's catchphrase "Handle it, Roy, handle it!" was repeated by rapper Greg Nice for the 1992

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 20 ...

Nice & Smooth Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays (born May 30, 1967) and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes (born August 3, 1967) plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. The duo released f ...

hip hop song ''DWYCK''.

Episodes

Season 1: 1977–78

Season 2: 1978–79

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0075489, title=Carter Country 1977 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Georgia (U.S. state) American Broadcasting Company original programming 1970s American sitcoms 1970s American workplace comedy television series English-language television shows