Not in reality, though in the fictional realm it did.

"Carter Country," for those who don't remember (and that's likely most people), was a sitcom set in the fictional town of Clinton Corners, Ga., a small town that was suggested to be close to Plains, Ga., the hometown of then-president Jimmy Carter.

The debut episode, titled "Hail to the Chief," was about the hubbub that followed the announcement that newly minted President Carter (who took office nine months before the show premiered in 1977) would be passing through Clinton Corners. The mayor wanted to have a black person on the stage for the presidential event, and fortunately the town's new deputy just happened to fit the bill.

That set up the show's theme of finding humor in turbulent southern race relations -- the Internet Movie Database calls the show a "light-hearted, comic variation of 'In the Heat of the Night'" -- as the mostly well-meaning locals struggle with the new reality of integration and equal rights.

Carter's election was of course the most obvious basis of the show's concept, however it also came at a time of resurgence for the rural sitcom.

The late '60s were the heyday of the format, with shows such as "Petticoat Junction," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and, of course, "The Andy Griffith Show" ruling the airwaves. However, all of those, and their related spinoffs, were gone by 1971, giving way to a new, urban sensibility in prime time.

"Carter Country," even though it only lasted two seasons, was part of TV's return to the country. For example, the year it ended, 1979, brought the debut of "The Dukes of Hazzard," and the less well-remembered "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo," a spinoff of the 1978 comedy "B.J. and the Bear," about a truck driver and his pet monkey.

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