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''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
and 90 in
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. The series originated from an episode of '' The Danny Thomas Show''. It stars Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor, the widowed sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, a fictional community of roughly 2,000–5,000 people. Other major characters include Andy's lifelong friend, the well-meaning and enthusiastic but bumbling deputy, Barney Fife (
Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
), Andy's aunt and housekeeper, Bee Taylor ( Frances Bavier) and Andy's young son, Opie (
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...
). The townspeople round out the regular cast. Regarding the tone of the show, Griffith said that despite a contemporary setting, the show evoked nostalgia, saying in a '' Today'' interview, "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series was never placed lower than seventh in the
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, ending its final season at number one. The only other shows to end their runs at the top of the ratings are ''
I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...
'' (1957) and ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' (1998). On separate occasions, it has been ranked by ''
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'' as the 9th- and 13th-best series in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six
Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
. The series spawned its own spin-off'' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (1964–1969)and a reunion telemovie, '' Return to Mayberry'' (1986). After the eighth season, when Griffith left the series, it was retitled '' Mayberry, R.F.D.,'' with Ken Berry and
Buddy Foster Lucius Fisher "Buddy" Foster IV (born July 12, 1957) is an American former child actor. He is the older brother of actress and director Jodie Foster. Beginning his career at the age of eight, he had television roles from the late 1960s through th ...
replacing Griffith and Howard in new roles. In the new format, it ran for 78 episodes, ending in 1971 after three seasons. Reruns of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' are often shown on
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,
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,
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, and SundanceTV. On those channels, the episodes are edited to make room for more commercials, but some airings on SundanceTV air the full uncut versions. The complete series is available on DVD and Blu-ray and intermittently on streaming video services such as Amazon Prime and
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. Mayberry Days, an annual festival celebrating the sitcom, is held each year in Griffith's hometown, Mount Airy, North Carolina.


Origin

Sheldon Leonard—producer of ''The Danny Thomas Show''—and
Danny Thomas Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...
hired veteran comedy writer Arthur Stander (who had written many of the "Danny Thomas" episodes) to create a pilot show for Griffith, featuring him as justice of the peace and newspaper editor in a small town.Kelly, Richard. ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Blair, 1981. At the time, Broadway, film, and radio star Griffith was interested in attempting a television role, and the
William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...
told Leonard that Griffith's rural background and previous rustic characterizations were suited to the part. After conferences between Leonard and Griffith in New York City, Griffith flew to Los Angeles and filmed the episode. On February 15, 1960, ''The Danny Thomas Show'' episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith" aired. In the episode, Griffith played the fictional Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, North Carolina, who arrests Danny Williams (Thomas' character) for running a stop sign. Future players in ''The Andy Griffith Show,'' Bavier and Howard, appeared in the episode as townspeople Henrietta Perkins and Opie Taylor (the sheriff's son), respectively.
General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...
, sponsor of ''The Danny Thomas Show,'' had first access to the spin-off and committed to it immediately. On October 3, 1960, at 9:30 p.m., ''The Andy Griffith Show'' made its debut.Beck, Ken, and Jim Clark. ''The Andy Griffith Show Book''. St. Martin's Griffin, 1995.


Production

The sitcom's production team included producers Aaron Ruben (1960–1965) and Bob Ross (1965–1968). First-season writers (many of whom worked in pairs) included Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart, Arthur Stander, and Frank Tarloff (as "David Adler"), Benedict Freedman and John Fenton Murray, Leo Solomon and Ben Gershman, and Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. During season six, Greenbaum and Fritzell left the show. Ruben departed for ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'', a show he owned in part. Writer Harvey Bullock left after season six. Bob Sweeney directed the first three seasons save the premiere. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed at Forty Acres in Culver City, California. Woodsy locales were filmed north of
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
at Franklin Canyon, including the opening credits and closing credits with Andy and Opie walking to and from "the fishin' hole".
Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
, who knew Griffith professionally (they had appeared together in both the Broadway and film versions of '' No Time for Sergeants'') and had seen ''The Danny Thomas Show'' episode, called Griffith during the developmental stages of the show and suggested the Sheriff character needed a deputy and comic sideman; Griffith agreed. Knotts auditioned for the show's creator and executive producer, Sheldon Leonard, and was offered a five-year contract playing Barney Fife. The show's theme music was composed by
Earle Hagen Earle Harry Hagen (July 9, 1919 – May 26, 2008) was an American composer who created music for films and television. His best-known TV themes include ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''I Spy (1965 TV series), I Spy'', ''That Girl'' and ''The Mod Sq ...
, who also performed the whistling in the opening and closing credits.
Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...
was credited by the BMI as "co-composer", but was not involved with the composition of the theme. In 1961, actor Everett Sloane, who also guest starred as Jubal Foster in the episode "The Keeper of the Flame", wrote lyrics for the theme after he learned it did not have any. This vocal version of the theme was renamed "The Fishin' Hole" and first appeared on an
LP album The LP (from long playing or long play) is an analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of   rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specificati ...
of music from the show. One of the show's tunes, "The Mayberry March", was reworked several times in different tempo, styles, and orchestrations as background music. The show's sole sponsor was
General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...
, with promotional consideration paid for (in the form of cars) by
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
(mentioned in the credits).


Griffith's development of Andy Taylor

Initially, Griffith played Taylor as a heavy-handed unworldly country bumpkin, grinning from ear to ear and speaking in a hesitant, frantic but friendly manner. The style recalled that used in the delivery of his popular
monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...
s such as " What It Was, Was Football." He gradually abandoned the "rustic Taylor" and developed a serious and thoughtful characterization. Producer Aaron Ruben recalled:
He was being that marvelously funny character from '' No Time for Sergeants,'' Will Stockdale role Griffith played on stage and in filmnbsp;... One day he said, "My God, I just realized that I'm the
straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...
. I'm playing straight to all these kooks around me." He didn't like himself n first year rerunsnbsp;... and in the next season he changed, becoming this Lincolnesque character.
As Griffith stopped portraying some of the sheriff's more unsophisticated character traits and mannerisms, creating his own problems and troubles was impossible in the manner of other central sitcom characters such as Lucy in ''I Love Lucy'' or Archie Bunker in ''
All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'', whose problems were the result of their temperaments, philosophies, and attitudes. Consequently, the characters around Taylor were employed to create the problems and troubles, with rock-solid Taylor stepping in as problem solver, mediator, advisor, disciplinarian, and counselor.


Premise and characters

The series revolves around Andy Taylor ( Andy Griffith), the sheriff of the sleepy, slow-paced, fictional community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His laid-back but level-headed approach to law enforcement makes him the scourge of local
moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...
rs and out-of-town criminals, while his abilities to settle community problems with commonsense advice, mediation, and conciliation make him popular with his fellow citizens. His professional life, however, is complicated by the repeated gaffes of his inept deputy, Barney Fife (
Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
). Barney is Andy's cousin and best friend. At home, widower Andy raises his young son Opie ( Ronny Howard), assisted by his maiden aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee ( Frances Bavier). Opie, though generally respectful and well-behaved, is also curious and adventuresome and tests his father's parenting skills. Aunt Bee, meanwhile, is a wonderful cook and housekeeper, but her ill-considered romances and occasional quirks cause her nephew concern. Andy's friends and neighbors include, at various times, barber Floyd Lawson ( Howard McNear; Walter Baldwin portrayed the role in the 1960 episode "Stranger in Town"), service station attendants and cousins
Gomer Pyle Gomer Pyle is a fictional character played by Jim Nabors and introduced in the middle of the third season of '' The Andy Griffith Show''. A naive and gentle auto mechanic, he became a recurring character with the January 1963 episode "Man i ...
( Jim Nabors) and Goober Pyle ( George Lindsey), and local drunkard Otis Campbell ( Hal Smith). There are two mayors over the course of the series: Mayor Pike ( Dick Elliott) is more relaxed, but often indecisive, while Mayor Roy Stoner ( Parley Baer) has a more assertive personality. Other semi-regulars include townswoman Clara Edwards ( Hope Summers), Barney's sweetheart Thelma Lou ( Betty Lynn) and Andy's schoolteacher sweetheart Helen Crump ( Aneta Corsaut). Ellie Walker (
Elinor Donahue Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue; April 19, 1937) is an American retired actress known for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early li ...
) is Andy's girlfriend in the first season, while Peggy McMillan ( Joanna Moore) is a nurse who becomes his girlfriend in season 3. In the color seasons, County Clerk Howard Sprague ( Jack Dodson) and handyman Emmett Clark ( Paul Hartman) appear regularly, while Barney's replacement, Deputy Warren Ferguson ( Jack Burns), appears in about half of season six. Ernest T. Bass made his first appearance in episode 94 ("Mountain Wedding"), as well as four later episodes. The actor who portrayed him, Howard Morris, also played George, the television repairman in episode 140 ("Andy and Helen Have Their Day") and two uncredited voice roles, as Leonard Blush and a radio announcer. Morris also directed a total of eight episodes of the show, none while portraying Ernest T. Bass.
Unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film or television, or a silent character in radio or literature, is a character who is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...
s such as telephone operator Sarah, and Barney's love interest, local diner waitress Juanita Beasley, as mentioned in the first season, are often referenced. The show's announcer for the first five seasons, Colin Male, portrayed Game Warden Peterson in episode 140 ("Andy and Helen Have Their Day"). In the series' last few episodes, farmer Sam Jones ( Ken Berry) debuts and later becomes the lead of the retitled show, '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' Don Knotts, Aneta Corsaut, Jack Dodson, and Betty Lynn also appeared on Griffith's later show, '' Matlock''.


Episodes

The show comprises eight full seasons and 249 episodes—159 episodes in black and white (seasons 1–5) and 90 in color (seasons 6–8). Griffith appears in all 249 episodes with Howard appearing in 202, Bavier appearing in 175, and Knotts appearing in 141. Only Griffith, Howard, Bavier, Knotts and Hope Summers appeared in all eight seasons. Knotts left the show at the end of season five to pursue a career in films (on the show, it is explained that he takes a job as a detective with the Raleigh Police Department) but returned to make five guest appearances as Barney in seasons six through eight. His last appearance is in the final season, in a story about a summit meeting with Soviet dignitaries "ranked eleventh among single comedy programs most watched in television between 1960 and 1984, with an audience of thirty-three and a half million."


Reruns, spinoffs and reunions

In 1964, daytime reruns began airing during the fall season and the show has been in syndication since. The reruns were retitled ''Andy of Mayberry'' to distinguish the repeat episodes from the new episodes airing in primetime. At the end of season four (May 1964), the backdoor pilot " Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." aired and the following September, the spinoff series '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' debuted with Jim Nabors in the role of Gomer and Frank Sutton as
drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...
Sergeant Vince Carter. In the last episodes of the eighth season, as Griffith was preparing to leave, the character Sam Jones, played by Ken Berry, was introduced as the new star and the series was retitled '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' Most of the cast members continued their original roles, with Bavier becoming Sam's housekeeper. To create a smooth transition, Andy and Helen were married in the first episode with the new title and remained for a few additional episodes before leaving with a move to
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
, effectively ending their appearances. After ''RFD''s cancellation in 1971, George Lindsey played Goober for many years on the popular country-variety show '' Hee Haw.'' Goober, Barney and Emmett all made appearances in the series premiere of '' The New Andy Griffith Show,'' which starred Griffith as a similar but canonically different character, Mayor Andy Sawyer. All three characters treated Sawyer as if he were Andy Taylor. The series only lasted ten episodes.The New Andy Griffith Show, TVparty.com
, retrieved February 12, 2020
In 1986, the reunion telemovie '' Return to Mayberry'' was broadcast with several cast members reprising their original roles. Absent, however, was Frances Bavier. She was living in Siler City, North Carolina in ill health and declined to participate. In the TV movie, Aunt Bee is portrayed as deceased (and in fact, Bavier did die three years later), with Andy visiting her grave. Also absent were Howard McNear, Paul Hartman, Jack Burns, and the cast members who were featured only in the ''Mayberry RFD'' seasons. Griffith and Howard reprised their roles a final time for a Funny or Die skit supporting the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama. In 1993, ''The Andy Griffith Show'' had a Reunion Special which featured Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Jim Nabors, George Lindsey, and Jack Dodson. In 2003, four surviving cast members (Griffith, Howard, Knotts, and Nabors) came together for a reunion special that featured the actors reminiscing about each other's time on the show. The production was interspersed with archival footage and short filmed interviews with some of the other surviving cast members. This special was called ''The Andy Griffith Show: Back to Mayberry.''


Reception


Ratings

''The Andy Griffith Show'' was a top ten hit through its entire run, never ranking lower than seventh place in the yearly ratings. A Nielsen study conducted during the show's final season (1967–68) indicated the show ranked number one among blue collar workers followed by ''
The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...
'' and ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
.'' Among white collar workers, the show ranked third, following ''Saturday Movies'' and ''
The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'' is a TV Variety show, variety-Television comedy, comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the series was his 1964 hit "Everybody Loves ...
''. The final season of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' was the number one ranked show on television. Other shows to have accomplished this include ''I Love Lucy'' and ''Seinfeld.'' In 1998, the year ''Seinfeld'' ended, more than five million people a day watched the show's reruns on 120 stations.


Awards and nominations


Emmys

1961 * Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Series: Don Knotts – Won * Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor – Nominated (Winner: '' The Jack Benny Program'') 1962 * Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor: Don Knotts – Won * Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor – Nominated (Winner: '' The Bob Newhart Show'') 1963 * Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor: Don Knotts – Won 1966 * Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy: Don Knotts for "The Return of Barney Fife" – Won 1967 * Outstanding Comedy Series – Nominated (Winner: ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'') * Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy: Don Knotts for "Barney Comes to Mayberry" – Won * Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy: Frances Bavier – Won


TV Land Awards

* Favorite Second Banana: Don Knotts – Won (2003) * Single Dad of the Year: Andy Griffith – Won (2003) * Legend Award – Won (2004)


Other accolades

* In 1997, the episode " Opie the Birdman" was ranked No. 24 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. * In 2002, ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' ranked ''The Andy Griffith Show'' ninth on its list of the 50 Best Shows of All Time. * Bravo ranked Andy Taylor 63rd on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters. * In 2013, ''TV Guide'' ranked ''The Andy Griffith Show'' number 15 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.


Merchandise and pop culture

Very little merchandise was produced for ''The Andy Griffith Show'' during its original run, a peculiarity for a hit TV show in the 1960s. One theory for the lack of merchandise is that the show's producers, Griffith in particular, wanted to protect its image as a realistic and thoughtful offering and keep the public's focus on the show itself rather than its branding. Among the handful of merchandise released during the show's first run,
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
published two ''The Andy Griffith Show''
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s, one drawn by Henry Scarpelli, the other by Bill Fraccio. In 2004, copies in near-mint condition were priced in excess of $500 each. There was also a
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
, two coloring books, and a 1966 Grape-Nuts cereal box with a photo of Griffith in character as Sheriff Andy Taylor beside a lemon pie recipe on the back. The show's enduring popularity has spawned considerable merchandise during the decades following its cancellation, including board games, bobblehead dolls, kitchenware, and books. In 2007, a line of canned foods inspired by the series was made available in grocery stores across America. Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina, annually hosts a week-long "Mayberry Days" celebration featuring concerts, parades and appearances by the show's players. In 2003, the country band
Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...
released the song " Mayberry" and many of the lyrics pay tribute to the show. The 1989 song " Floyd the Barber" by American grunge band
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
references multiple characters from the show, including Floyd, Barney, Opie, Andy, and Aunt Bee. Canadian rapper and singer
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
references the show's theme song in his 2009 track " Best I Ever Had". The cable television network
TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...
erected bronze statues of Andy and Opie in Mount Airy and
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
(''see:'' Pullen Park). The Taylor Home Inn in Clear Lake, Wisconsin, is a bed-and-breakfast modeled after the Taylor Home. The Mayberry Cafe in Danville, Indiana, features Aunt Bee's Fried Chicken and a replica of Andy's
Ford Galaxie The Ford Galaxie is a car that was marketed by Ford in North America from the 1959 to 1974 model years. Deriving its nameplate from a marketing tie-in with the excitement surrounding the Space Race, the Galaxie was offered as a sedan within the ...
police car. In 2021, the original feature film ''Mayberry Man'' was produced by children of actors from ''The Andy Griffith Show'' featuring Mayberry tribute artists set in a fictitious modern-day Mayberry.


Home media

In the late 1980s, Premier Promotions released various episodes on VHS. Most tapes had either two or four episodes. In the early to mid-1990s, United American Video (under license from the show's then-syndicator Viacom Enterprises) released VHS tapes of various episodes. They either had two or three episodes. These compilations were culled from episodes early in the show's run that had lapsed into the public domain; these episodes continue to be circulated on unofficial video releases. Starting in 2004, Paramount Home Entertainment (under the CBS Home Entertainment label starting in 2006) released all eight seasons as single-season packages on Region 1 DVD. ''The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Series'' was first released as a 40-disc boxed set in 2007. In addition to all 249 episodes of the series, its bonus features included the episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith" from '' The Danny Thomas Show'' which served as the pilot, the episode "Opie Joins the Marines" from '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' which featured Ron Howard and the 95-minute,
made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
'' Return to Mayberry''. In 2016, ''The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Series'' was repackaged and released again as a 39-disc set that featured all 249 episodes of the series but did not include the bonus feature disc. The last 16 episodes of the third season, which lapsed into the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
after CBS neglected to file copyright renewals on the episodes in 1989, are available on discount DVDs. The 2007 lawsuit ''CBS Operations Inc v. Reel Funds International Inc.'' ruled that the episodes in question were
derivative work In copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major copyrightable elements of a first, previously created original work (the underlying work). The derivative work becomes a second, separate work independent from ...
s based on the copyrighted episodes even though the episodes themselves were not under copyright and granted CBS indirect copyright over the public domain episodes; the ruling
enjoin An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable ...
ed Reel Funds International, a public domain distributor, from selling DVDs with those episodes within the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Note: The Region 1 release of ''The Third Season'' contains two episodes edited for syndication: "The Darlings Are Coming"—which had several scenes cut—and "Barney Mends a Broken Heart", which had its epilogue cut.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * Beck, Ken, and Clark, Jim. ''Mayberry Memories.'' Rutledge Hill Press, 2000. * * Fann, Joey. ''The Way Back to Mayberry''. Broadman and Holman, 2001. . * Kelly, Richard. ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (John F. Blair, 1981). . * McElroy, Kathleen. "Remembering Mayberry in White and Black: The Andy Griffith Show's Construction of the South," ''Memory Studies,'' 8 (Oct. 2015), 440–453. * Pérez Firmat, Gustavo. ''A Cuban in Mayberry: Looking Back at America's Hometown''. Austin: The University of Texas Press, 2014. *


External links

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''The Andy Griffith Show'' and ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' background article
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Andy Griffith Show, The American television spinoffs 1960s American single-camera sitcoms 1960 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings 1960s American police comedy television series Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Nielsen ratings winners North Carolina culture Television series about families Television series about widowhood Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in North Carolina Television shows adapted into films Television shows adapted into comics Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Articles containing video clips CBS sitcoms