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29 out of 29 people found the following review useful: The Life and Times of Sheriff Andy Taylor, 9 January 2004 Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida
THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (CBS, 1960-1968) is not only Andy Griffith's first TV show, but his best. Griffith, who made his mark on Broadway, then in a TV adaptation and screen version of NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS, along with so few movies to his credit, might have turned his NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS role into a weekly comedy series in the "Gomer Pyle" mode, but instead, the writers worked around with a more original premise about the day and the life of a sheriff in a southern town called Mayberry. Although the title might indicate a variety show, it is in fact a TV sit-com. With the opening fade-in and titles featuring a father and his young son walking down to the pond carrying their fishing poles over their shoulders with the underscoring to whistling properly titled "The Fishing Pole," concluding with the little boy throwing a rock into the pond, it's become one of those rare cases that a series, lasting eight successful seasons, to resume with the same opening, but with some minor changes over the years, converting from black and white to color and with the growth of the sheriff's young son.During the show's eight seasons, this wholesome sit-com not only centers upon Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), but on the citizens of the town from where this is set, Mayberry, North Carolina. Of course a series that would have such a long run would go through some dramatic or necessary changes, such as the loss of certain characters, (Deputy Barney Fife for example), the addition to others (Goober Pyle, Howard Sprague), but in fact, has become one basic show with two different formats.Andy Taylor is an easy-going but sometimes laid back sheriff who is seldom in complete uniform, unlike his bumbling deputy, Barney Fife, who not only dresses accordingly, ranging from tie, hat and a gun in his holster containing one bullet, by which he would at times nearly shoot himself in the foot, but mainly goes strictly by the book of the law. Together Andy and Barney team up for some humorous police work, in spite of Mayberry's very low crime wave, whether it be riding along in their squad car or in the sheriff's office where Barney would accidentally lock himself inside a jail cell while cleaning up the cots. With Andy playing the straight man, it is Barney who supplies the full quota of laughs. At times, Barney becomes the bumbling fool in the eyes of the townspeople and it is up to Andy to prove the people wrong by helping Barney restore his confidence and setting matters straight, usually giving Barney the credit actually due to the sheriff himself. Aside from their professions in keeping law and order in Mayberry, certain episodes would set focus on their personal lives, particularly on Andy, a widower/ father to his young son named Opie (Ronny Howard), cared for at home by his matron Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier). The first season to THE GRIFFITH SHOW did find Andy romantically involved with Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue), the lady druggist. After the Ellie character was written out of the series, seasons two and three found Andy sporatically having other love interests before finally settling on Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut), Opie's school teacher. As for Barney, he's a carefree bachelor with his heart set on Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn), but unlike Andy (who would make Helen his bride in the premiere spinoff series of MAYBERRY RFD in 1968), Barney would never marry.After five seasons, which were initially filmed in black and white, the story went through format changes after shifting to color. With the Barney Fife character out of the story (Knotts left the series to spend more time starring in movies, and became the only performer of the series to leave the series and reprise his role once or twice a year in guest starring appearances for old times sake), Sheriff Andy Taylor acquired a substitute deputy named Warren (Jack Burns). Because no one could play the deputy as good as Don Knotts, Burns was written out of the show after some 12 episodes, thus, for the duration of the series, Andy would be sheriffing about town alone, leaving the deputy spot permanently vacant. Andy's police work would become less frequent in the storyline and would focus more on Andy's family life and the citizens around him.While normally programs such as this losing a key supporting character such as Don Knotts would suffer in the ratings, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW continued to prosper over the next three years, becoming the number one show by the time Griffith decided to hang up his badge by the end of its eighth season in 1968. By then, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW acquired more new characters to the lineup, such as Goober Pyle (George Lindsay), Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson) and Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman), the handy man (who replaced Floyd, the Barber, as played by Howard McNear, who passed away midway during the 1967-68 season), all becoming familiar and likeable faces, thus, all part of the Mayberry family.What has become the secret to the success of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW? Could it be the father and son relationship between Andy and Opie, (who affectionally calls addresses him as "Paw.")? The chemistry between best friends Andy and Barney? Or the now familiar faces and classic characters who took part as the citizens of Mayberry that made the show so special? One thing for sure, there is nothing really dated about THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. It could have been set anywhere and anytime, since it hardly deals with current issues of the day and discussion of present political issues. With the exception of the women's fashions or the automobiles used, the situations could very well be today. During its first few years, the sit-com of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW played funny without becoming too silly (except for some episodes featuring the wild Ernest T. Bass, as played by Howard Morris), and during its final years, focused more on serious issues without becoming overly sentimental. But even during those black and white years, for a comedy series, there were times when the show went strictly dramatic, including the most famous episode titled "Opie the Birdman" where Opie accidently kills a mother bird up a tree with his slingshot, and after going through his tearful period of guilt, makes amends by caring of her baby birds before they are able to fly off on their own; or another episode involving Aunt Bee and former visiting beaus (once played by Wallace Ford), plus her decision whether to marry or remain with her family and friends. However the final three seasons became more wholesome and down to earth with lots of character study and developments. Andy had lost his heavy Southern accent for a more natural tone. Sometimes he would take time to sing a song on the porch with his guitar. Aunt Bee, who earlier appeared as just a homemaker relying on Andy to take her grocery shopping in the squad car, would become more independent when not only learning and being able to drive a car for herself, but in one episode dedicated entirely to her as she is taking flying lessons and earning a pilot's license after going solo. Little Opie, who was about six years of age when the show premiered, would be an adolescent 14-year-old by the show's end, becoming more interested in girls and appearing in the band playing rock and roll music. Over the years he acquired new friends, ranging from Johnny Paul during the early years to Arnold during the final three seasons.Aside from the series regulars as Clara Jackson, who later became Clara Edwards(Hope Summers), Bee's closest friend; there were semi-regulars as Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), the town drunk; The Darling Family (headed by Denver Pyle), Mayor Stoner (Parley Baer), among others. While the Andy Taylor character had been originally introduced in an episode to the family sit-com, MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY (1959) starring Danny Thomas, characters introduced on THE GRIFFITH SHOW would be spawned on their own, especially Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), for GOMER PYLE, USMC, and Sam Jones (Ken Berry) for MAYBERRY, RFD.After THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW finally ended its run in 1968, it has never gone from view. There are episodes that have become favorites, in fact, classics. Of the 249 episodes, there was only one Christmas episode, which aired during its first season, with the story taken from Charles Dickens A CHRISTMAS CAROL involving an unhappy and miserable modern day Scrooge (Will Wright) sitting outside the sheriff's courthouse watching the family he had put in jail singing Christmas carols, and tearfully singing silently to himself outside, thus, ranking one of my most memorable Griffith episode. There are more but it would be too intricate to detail. However, through frequent reruns over the years on various local and cable TV channels, it has found its way in becoming part of television history. Various episodes, particularly those involving Barney Fife, were the ones selected when distributed on video cassette. And finally, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW resumes its immortality with its distribution on DVD and frequent reruns on TVLand.
35 out of 41 people found the following review useful: The "Citizen Kane" of Television Shows, 23 July 2000 Author: tfrizzell from United States
"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.
30 out of 35 people found the following review useful: The show closest to my heart, 16 January 2002 Author: SmileyVision from United States
Being a small town man,I think it makes sense that my favorite all time TV series is set in a small town.In this complex world we live in,I bet we all,whether we admit it or don't,long for the stress free world that the fine folks of Mayberry live in. There are countless things I love about this show.For starters, Andy's relationship with Opie warms my heart to no end.Having had to grow up without a dominant male figure in my life,I always secretly considered Andy my father figure.Deputy Bernard P. Fife,played with expert comic style by Don Knotts. Barney was indeed a bumbler,but can you name a real life law man who had as much dedication and heart? Couldn't you just smell the wonderful aroma of Aunt Bee's home cooking? Floyd Lawson,played by Howard McNear,was second only to Don Knotts as perhaps the funniest individual on the show.McNear,throughout most of his years on the show,was very ill,having suffered a stroke early on,but he continued on playing this beloved character.What dedication.I don't know if he ever won an Emmy for this role,but he darn sure deserved one.The Pyle cousins, Goober and Gomer were,and still are an absolute riot.What else can I say but let's hop in the car and go to Mayberry. To me,it's not a question of whether or not you like the show, but rather a question of which episode is your favorite?2/26/2006 R.I.P. Don "Barney Fife" Knotts (1924-2006)
28 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Andy Griffith is America's Giovanni Guareschi, 23 March 2005 Author: Sanatan Rai (sanatan@gmail.com) from Stanford, California, the USA
The Andy Griffith show is one of the best television programmes I have seen. It presents a very gentle, humorous look on small-town America, that hasn't been equalled.The earlier episodes are better than the later ones. I suppose the transition point is when they went from being in black-and-white to colour. Unlike Guareschi's books, the good sheriff does not have a Peppone to ply his wits against, though Barney Fife comes pretty close sometimes, albeit unwittingly.The episodes are done with great sensitivity and betray a great acumen in human character. It is unfortunate that such programming is no longer produced in America---it cannot be because of a lack of talent.The Andy Griffith show demonstrates that human nature is essentially the same. Not only is Mayberry amazingly similar to Don Camillo's village, but people have the same kind of obsessions, desires and fears everywhere. This is truly an American classic, and one wishes that it were better known to foreign audiences.
21 out of 26 people found the following review useful: I wonder if a show of such high caliber would 'make it' today..., 6 September 1999 Author: Frank Caperton (dstninc@hotmail.com) from Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Think about it - headline reads: "Andy Griffith, The Brady Bunch, and Gunsmoke" return to prime-time, network television in a modernized version in an effort to bring back morally reposible programming to the American livingroom. (Dreams are allowed, aren't they?)
15 out of 15 people found the following review useful: A Piece of Americana, 23 April 2003 Author: Brian Washington (Sargebri@att.net) from Los Angeles, California
The Andy Griffith Show will always be remembered as one of the great slice of life series that ever came on television. It represented the ideal small town full of not only ordinary citizens but the crazies that inhabited it as well, especially characters like Ernest T. Bass and the Darlings. The thing that really made this show great was the relationship between the ever cool Sheriff Andy Taylor and the hyperactive Barney Fife. It was Barney as well as the characters of Aunt Bea, Floyd, Otis, Gomer, Goober and, later, Howard and Emmitt that made this show the classic that it was. Also, in later years this show was criticized for not having any black characters on it. If you think about it, this show was merely a reflection of the times that the show took place in, the early to mid 1960's. Despite that, this show will always be a classic.Also, one of my favortite episodes will always be the bootlegging episode with the two sisters when you get to see Barney let loose and go POW, POW, POW with his trusty ax.
14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Great show!, 17 August 2004 Author: wwfmegan from USA
This show is a really beautiful show. The characters are sweet and funny.ANDY: Andy is the Mayberry sheriff and a very understanding man, who cares for others and raises his son with the help of his aunt.BARNEY: Barney is Andy's sweet, naive deputy, who takes pride in almost anything he does. Barney in a lot of episodes tries to act tough and mean, but deep down, he's too soft to ever hurt anyone.OPIE: Opie is a cute, sweet, little boy, who has gotten into lots of trouble with Andy. Accidentally killing the mother bird, etc. During the first season, Opie was soooooooooo cute.AUNT BEE: Aunt Bee is a warm-hearted woman who cares for others very much, and wouldn't hurt a fly. She wants everybody to eat, and to be happy.GOMER: Gomer works at the gas station. He was dopey, but sweet. The best episode with him in it, if you ask me, is "A Date For Gomer." It shows how generous and caring he really is.GOOBER: Goober, Gomer's cousin, wasn't as shy as he was, but he was still very sweet and dopey. Goober was in more episodes than the rest of the characters, I think.HELEN: Helen is Opie's school teacher, a pretty young lady from Kansas. She and Andy fall in love and begin to date. Andy and Helen have had a lot of fights, but it always works out. Helen sometimes can be very sweet if she's sad or depressed about something.THELMA LOU: Thelma Lou is Barney's girlfriend. Barney marries her in Return To Mayberry. Thelma Lou is a pretty sweet, young, cheerful lady. She and Barney have had a lot of fights, but it always works out in the end.OTIS: Otis is the town drunk. He's hilarious the way he comes in and locks himself in jail, when he's drunk.THE DARLINGS: The Darlings are a funny, hillbilly family. Briscoe the dad, is creepy the way he slowly talks, but is very funny. Charlene's a sweet, pretty really young girl, but she was nutty whenever she tried to get Andy. And the boys not speaking was pretty funny.ERNEST T. BASS: Ernest T. Bass goes from being a nut to a softy, and back again. He likes to throw rocks through windows. Too bad he was only in 5 episodes of Tags.ELLIE: Ellie was the female pharmacist. She was pretty, but she seemed way too young to be Andy's girlfriend. I wonder why she left the show?PEGGY: In all four episodes that she appeared in, she always had a little problem with Andy. I liked her voice.HILDA MAE: Hilda Mae was Barney's girlfriend in the earlier shows. She only appeared in two episodes. It's a mystery what happened to her.BEN WEAVER: In all the episodes he appeared in, he was a complete jerk, only to turn into an angel by the end of the episode.RITA: Rita was Otis's wife. Wish we could see Otis spending more time with his wife at home.CLARA: Clara sometimes could be sweet, but a lot of times I thought her character was too smart elecky to be Aunt Bee's best friend.EMMA: Emma is a cute little elderly lady. She was hilarious in the episode when Ellie wouldn't give her her sugar pills.FLOYD: I loved the way Floyd talks. The way he would go "oooh" was priceless. MAYOR STONER: My favorite episode with him in it was when he got drunk after Barney did, when the governor was coming to town.MAYOR PIKE: He was funny the way he would agree with one person and then switch sides.The list goes on of all the characters, but this show is soo funny and sweet. It's one of my all time favorites. The very first episode I saw I think, was the Loaded Goat.10/10
14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Great TV, 21 July 2004 Author: mcdoodad49 from Austin, Texas
"The Andy Griffith Show", in my opinion, will always be in the top 10 of my favorite shows, and I've watched the reruns numerous times since the first episode in 1960. I'm sure Danny Thomas has received many accolades for creating this timeless classic. My only criticism is that it stayed on the air three years too long. When Don Knotts exited, that's where it should have ended. The support characters of Goober, Howard and Emmitt never captured the comic timing or spirit of the original cast, and the storylines were bland. I especially detested Jack Burns' character Warren. He was very annoying. The last three years just weren't funny or even compelling enough to bother watching. Even Andy became more cranky and less down-home. He even lost his southern accent and laid-back ways.
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: One of the most heartwarming sitcoms of all time, 18 June 2000 Author: raysond from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
As a native of the state of North Carolina,it comes on almost four to five days a week here,and its still in re-runs to this day. The Andy Griffith Show was just that: the sheriff with a heart of gold and a big smile to match along bringing the moral values and lessons that you see in today's shows of this magnitude or any other,and it still holds up to this day. What really made that show what it is brings up to the great writing and storytelling,combining that with good ole North Carolina humor along with country comedy and add just a touch of Southern gothic for a good measure. What really made that show hum like a fine motor for the first five seasons was the feisty spit and polish and by the book lawman deputy Barney Fife played with great precision and timing by Don Knotts who won five emmys for his work on that series. What really brought that show out was the father and son relationship of Sheriff Taylor and his son Opie(played by Ron Howard). Andy taught Opie valuable lessons on character and important values and morals as well as development of him from a boy into manhood. The characters that really brought that show out were certain individuals the gave Sheriff Taylor major fits(and Barney as well)like Goober,his cousin Gomer,and the nuttiest of them all: Ernest T. Bass,as well as Otis the town drunkard. After Knotts left the show to pursue other interests in 1965,the show wasn't the same as it was,but it never gave up on interest on the situations that went on in Mayberry. The black and white episodes were simply the greatest ever with Knotts in them,but kinda changed course when the show went to color. One of my all time best ever. Interesting Note on Andy Griffith: When the show left the airwaves in April of 1968 on the CBS network,it was the #1 show on television.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Why don't they release more of the B&W Episodes on DVD?, 7 December 2003 Author: scaves from USA
I recently purchased the double DVD of "Andy of Mayberry" at MediaPlay and my spouse and I had a good laugh looking at all of them. We also saw the Andy Griffith Reunion Show on TV a few weeks ago. I've always had a tremendous fondness for this series, and such a crush on Andy when I was a girl. The series was ahead of itself in its day in concept and psychology; I don't think any of the other series at or around the time ("Bewitched," "I Dream of Genie," "Father Knows Best," "Leave it to Beaver" or "I Love Lucy") had quite the same combination of warmth and realism that this show had, despite its zaniness.At present, there are two versions of the double DVD that you get at media stores, both with all the same episodes: "High Noon at Mayberry" (one of the funniest!), "The Big House" ("Here at the ROCK..."), "Andy Discovers America" (one of my faves because Griffith gives a tour de force performance in his story about Paul Revere to the rapt school boys and the credulous Barney. This episode also introduces Helen Crump, the exacting school teacher). "Barney's New Car" (terrific! Knott's at his funniest!). Then there is "Class Reunion," which in my opinion has one of the sexiest and most romantic--because restrained and shy--kisses in all of film history besides "It's a Wonderful Life." Poor Sharon and Andy, drawn to one another and drawn away from one another because of professional differences and attitudes about fulfillment. "I like "A Wife for Andy" because of the hilarious demonstration of reverse psychology: Barney gets Andy interested in Helen precisely because she is "all wrong for him": a modern career woman who can't cook: "This dame's not for Andy. Let's get this dinner over with." I could do without "Here Come the Darlin's" (Charlene annoyed me), as much as I admire the Dillards and their fine Blue Grass music. And why oh why do they have "Dogs Dogs Dogs" and not "Opie the Birdman"? I'd also like to see the episode where Gomer runs around after Barney: "Citizen's Arrayest! Citizen's Arrayest!" And the one where Aunt Bee is eager for Andy to buy her a little cape she sees in one of the department store windows, but he doesn't take the hint and gets her pickling jars instead. Then the rotten mayor (I think), knowing Aunt Bee wants the cape, buys it himself and Andy has to negotiate with him. In short, I want more of the B&W episodes on DVD, but they seem to have stopped at sixteen.On TVL presently, it seems to be mostly the color-episodes. I've read every comment on this board before offering my own, and y'all are right: WHAT HAPPENED TO ANDY? It's as though when Don Knotts left the show, all the "twinkle" went out of Sheriff Taylor. Maybe it's because the rapport built up between the two, where Andy would tease and Barney would get "sensitive," wasn't there any more, but like many of you said, Andy turns into a curmudgeon, a nag, constantly annoyed, inflexible in his handling of Opie, unresourceful, and lacking in that incandescent joy that was his hallmark early on--as though he has fallen into a depression. What made the series for me in its early years (besides the incredible comic talent of Knotts!) was the steady and happy presence of this sheriff who acted as a catalyst for settling chaos, whose patience, intelligence, sense of humor, keen observation, and basic love of life--that electrifying grin!--was a stabilizing presence on the show. Look at how he dealt with Opie's request to run away in the first episode! When they made the color episode about "Daisy," and Andy's so ticked off about Opie bringing the sick horse home, had the writers forgotten what he taught Opie about respecting animals in "Birdman?" In the color episode where Opie wants to take piano lessons and play football but the activities conflict, why did it take the coach to teach Andy, whose IQ seems to have declined, that an athlete can also be a pianist: just reschedule Opie's practice time! Had the writers forgotten that Andy Taylor the Sheriff (along with Andy Griffith the actor) is also a keen musician? Look at him playing Blue Grass with the Dillards. Or accompanying Rafe Hollister.In short, I'd like to have access to more of the black and white episodes on DVD. Is that a possibility, O Beings In Charge?Post Script: What is "Opie" short for? Is it Obadiah, or is it the initials O. P.? Do we ever find out? :)
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