The Andy Griffith Show
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 5:20 am
I have been waiting for someone to start a TAGS thread but no dice, so it looks like I've been elected.
So why not swipe something Ivan wrote on another thread in response to some Mayberry trivia -
Don Knott's last onscreen words as Barney Fife occurred not on The Andy Griffith Show but on it's spin off Mayberry RFD on the 1st episode of season one.
During Andy and Helen's wedding, Best Man Barney frantically searches his pockets for the wedding ring. In a panic he mumbles "I had the ring" to the minister before finding it.
You'd think the writers would have given him a better send off line.
Though the episode's end opens with him dueting with Andy on "Long Long Long Ago" as the camera pulls back and reveals they are in the honeymoon suite while
frustrated new bride Helen awkwardly sits and smiles.
ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) -
I did manage to see one episode of Mayberry RFD. It's the episode where Natalie Schafer (Lovey from Gilligan's Island) guest stars as a social ladder climbing mother of a girl Goober is dating. Goober has to pretend that he owns a mansion and has servants. I liked it. It seemed like it was more of the same - what we were used to seeing in the last 3 seasons (in color) on The Andy Griffith Show. Now, I know there are many that hate those last 3 colored seasons of TAGS so I can imagine Mayberry RFD wouldn't be to their liking, but for those of us who adore TAGS no matter what season it is (*) I think Mayberry RFD is an enjoyable way to spend the time (especially since you still have those great Mayberry characters like Goober around). I look forward to seeing more episodes of the show in the future.
(*) Yes we all get it - the first 5 seasons of TAGS in B&W are the best but to just outright dismiss the rest of the show simply because it went to color (everything went to color on television at the time) and because Barney was gone is ridiculous. I mean I seriously hope Barney isn't the only reason people watch the show. There's so much more to that show than just Barney Fife. It was a slice of life that is long gone and the town of Mayberry is a setting unlike any other in the history of television. It was magical. Out of all the settings in the history of television if there was one place I'd love to live it would have to be Mayberry. It's that special. Well, maybe Robin's Nest would be the other. So people who think Barney is the only draw to watching the show are totally missing what made the show so great. Because that means you care nothing about what goes on around Barney, you're just tuning in to see his antics. Which is really selling the show short. One of the greatest episodes is "Opie the Birdman" and Barney is largely in the background in that one. Andy and Opie are front and center. And if you get nothing out of that episode and you don't get misty-eyed during the course of the story (because you didn't get enough Barney) then I truly feel sorry for such a person. Talk about missing the whole point of the story and the show as a whole. I always say that ANY TAGS is better than no TAGS at all. Even in color and without Barney it was still a better show than any other silly sitcom on the air at the time. It even finished in 1st place in the Nielsen ratings during its final season.
Luthers nephew Dobie wrote:
Ivan!
You little beauty, that's going straight to the pool room!
Well said, I am saving the above as I agree with every word. In fact I would add it's lazy thinking to condemn episodes just because they were in color and Barney was gone.
Howard Sprague for one was a worthy addition as a regular who at times delivered the moments of pathos as effectively as Knotts did.
"Howard's New Life" was without a doubt one of the very best episodes of the series, a hilarious take on a dream most every man has pondered at one time, if only after some beers - being
a beachcomber on a beautiful island in the Caribbean. Mayberry R.F.D. has had it's moments to, as when Howard and Emmet travel to NYC to defend rural life as opposed to urban life
on a David Susskind type panel show. After a day in NYC before that night's appearance, Howard has gone completely native and like Captain Renault in Casablanca has gone over to the
other side. Mayberry R.F.D. had more observational based humor than TAGS did, probably reflecting new lead Ken Berry's style.
I didn't know TAGS went out as the number 1 series, I bet that never happened before or since.
Mayberry R.F.D. runs Saturdays at 3:00 and 3:30 pm on MeTVplus.
So why not swipe something Ivan wrote on another thread in response to some Mayberry trivia -
Don Knott's last onscreen words as Barney Fife occurred not on The Andy Griffith Show but on it's spin off Mayberry RFD on the 1st episode of season one.
During Andy and Helen's wedding, Best Man Barney frantically searches his pockets for the wedding ring. In a panic he mumbles "I had the ring" to the minister before finding it.
You'd think the writers would have given him a better send off line.
Though the episode's end opens with him dueting with Andy on "Long Long Long Ago" as the camera pulls back and reveals they are in the honeymoon suite while
frustrated new bride Helen awkwardly sits and smiles.
ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) -
I did manage to see one episode of Mayberry RFD. It's the episode where Natalie Schafer (Lovey from Gilligan's Island) guest stars as a social ladder climbing mother of a girl Goober is dating. Goober has to pretend that he owns a mansion and has servants. I liked it. It seemed like it was more of the same - what we were used to seeing in the last 3 seasons (in color) on The Andy Griffith Show. Now, I know there are many that hate those last 3 colored seasons of TAGS so I can imagine Mayberry RFD wouldn't be to their liking, but for those of us who adore TAGS no matter what season it is (*) I think Mayberry RFD is an enjoyable way to spend the time (especially since you still have those great Mayberry characters like Goober around). I look forward to seeing more episodes of the show in the future.
(*) Yes we all get it - the first 5 seasons of TAGS in B&W are the best but to just outright dismiss the rest of the show simply because it went to color (everything went to color on television at the time) and because Barney was gone is ridiculous. I mean I seriously hope Barney isn't the only reason people watch the show. There's so much more to that show than just Barney Fife. It was a slice of life that is long gone and the town of Mayberry is a setting unlike any other in the history of television. It was magical. Out of all the settings in the history of television if there was one place I'd love to live it would have to be Mayberry. It's that special. Well, maybe Robin's Nest would be the other. So people who think Barney is the only draw to watching the show are totally missing what made the show so great. Because that means you care nothing about what goes on around Barney, you're just tuning in to see his antics. Which is really selling the show short. One of the greatest episodes is "Opie the Birdman" and Barney is largely in the background in that one. Andy and Opie are front and center. And if you get nothing out of that episode and you don't get misty-eyed during the course of the story (because you didn't get enough Barney) then I truly feel sorry for such a person. Talk about missing the whole point of the story and the show as a whole. I always say that ANY TAGS is better than no TAGS at all. Even in color and without Barney it was still a better show than any other silly sitcom on the air at the time. It even finished in 1st place in the Nielsen ratings during its final season.
Luthers nephew Dobie wrote:
Ivan!
You little beauty, that's going straight to the pool room!
Well said, I am saving the above as I agree with every word. In fact I would add it's lazy thinking to condemn episodes just because they were in color and Barney was gone.
Howard Sprague for one was a worthy addition as a regular who at times delivered the moments of pathos as effectively as Knotts did.
"Howard's New Life" was without a doubt one of the very best episodes of the series, a hilarious take on a dream most every man has pondered at one time, if only after some beers - being
a beachcomber on a beautiful island in the Caribbean. Mayberry R.F.D. has had it's moments to, as when Howard and Emmet travel to NYC to defend rural life as opposed to urban life
on a David Susskind type panel show. After a day in NYC before that night's appearance, Howard has gone completely native and like Captain Renault in Casablanca has gone over to the
other side. Mayberry R.F.D. had more observational based humor than TAGS did, probably reflecting new lead Ken Berry's style.
I didn't know TAGS went out as the number 1 series, I bet that never happened before or since.
Mayberry R.F.D. runs Saturdays at 3:00 and 3:30 pm on MeTVplus.