"The Andy Griffith Show" (1960) TV series 1960-1968

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Creator:

Sheldon Leonard

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

3 October 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

Widower Sheriff Andy and his son Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee in Mayberry NC. With virtually no crimes to solve...

Plot Keywords:

Aunt | Sheriff | Mayberry | Widower | Deputy Sheriff

Awards:

Won 6 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 18	5:00 PM	TVLAND	High Noon in Mayberry	#3.17
Sat. July 18	5:30 PM	TVLAND	The Loaded Goat	#3.18

Cast

Andy Griffith	...	Sheriff Andy Taylor / ... (249 episodes, 1960-1968)
Ron Howard	...	Opie Taylor (210 episodes, 1960-1968)
Frances Bavier	...	Aunt Beatrice 'Bee' Taylor / ... (175 episodes, 1960-1968)
Don Knotts	...	Deputy Barney Fife / ... (141 episodes, 1960-1968)

Also Known As:

"Andy of Mayberry" (USA) (rerun title)

Runtime:

30 min (249 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1960-1965) | Color (1965-1968)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) (video rating) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Opie Taylor was named for Opie Cates, a prominent band leader of the 1930s and 1940s whom Andy Griffith and Sheldon Leonard, the show's producer, both admired.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In "Goober Makes History", Goober says that Hawaii was the 49th state and Alaska the 50th. It's actually the other way around.

Quotes:

Barney Fife: The last big buy was my mom's and dad's anniversary present.
Andy Taylor: What'd ya get 'em?
Barney Fife: A septic tank.
Andy Taylor: For their anniversary?
Barney Fife: They're awful hard to buy for. Besides, it was something they could use. They were really thrilled. It had two tons of concrete in it. All steel reinforced.
Andy Taylor: You're a fine son, Barn.
Barney Fife: I try.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fishin' Hole Theme

The "Citizen Kane" of Television Shows

"The Andy Griffith Show" is probably the greatest sitcom of all time. The writing, the direction, the characters, and the stories all combined to make one of the greatest television shows of any era. Andy Taylor (Griffith) is the sheriff of a small, fictional North Carolina town named Mayberry. He has all sorts of adventures that are so realistic and pure that one feels that they are really in Mayberry when watching the show. Andy lives with his Aunt Bea (Frances Bavier) and his young son Opie (Ron Howard) and works with his deputy sheriff Barney Fife (Don Knotts). The thing that sets "The Andy Griffith Show" apart from almost all other television shows is the realism of the characters. Even though the characters are silly at times, often you can relate these people to actual people that you know or have known. The amazing insight by the writers is truly uncanny. The number of characters that are well-developed is also amazing when one considers how poor writing for television shows usually is these days. The show started out a bit silly in the beginning, but hit a peak from seasons two to five when characters like Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear), and Goober Beasley (George Lindsey) became more prevalent in the series' plot. However, after the departure of Don Knotts in 1965, the series went from being exceptional to being fair at best the rest of the way. The magic that Knotts brought to the show was even more evident when he was gone. Also Nabors left to create his own series and McNear suffered from health problems throughout the entire run of the series. Smith and Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) also had very little to do with the series after Knotts left. All in all a great series for about five years, but the show's magic slowly disappeared when the series went to color. 5 stars out of 5 for 1960-1965. 2.5 stars out of 5 for 1965-1968.