The Beverly Hillbillies (The original sales pitch pilot for CBS) UNAIRED PILOT..... "Who are these people?! Where are they from?" a narrator asks, as a 1921 Oldsmobile Model 43-A touring car rumbles down the road in sunny Southern California. This is the original opening to pilot of The Beverly Hillbillies. The episode was never aired, only used to sell the sitcom to CBS. The same familiar faces (and car) populate the episode. In fact, it is largely the same script and plot as the first aired episode, "The Clampetts Strike Oil." But there are some key differences. One major difference immediately jumps out. Perhaps you have already taken note of it. The show was initially called The Hillbillies of Beverly Hills. Additionally, the iconic theme song, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," was not yet in place. Instead, the Clampetts drive along to some generic bluegrass banjo pickin'. There are also additional scenes tacked on in an epilogue. Overall, it's fascinating to see how a new series was pitched especially one that became an unlikely ratings behemoth. THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES..... Is an American sitcom originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from September 26, 1962 to March 23, 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr. The series is about a poor backwoods family transplanted to Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land. A Filmways production created by writer Paul Henning, it is the first in a genre of "fish out of water" themed television shows, and was followed by other Henning-inspired country cousin series on CBS. In 1963, Henning introduced Petticoat Junction, and in 1965 he reversed the rags to riches model for Green Acres. The show paved the way for later culture conflict programs such as The Jeffersons, McCloud, Diff'rent Strokes, The Nanny, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Doc. Panned by many entertainment critics of its time, it quickly became a huge ratings success for most of its nine year run on CBS