By Michaela Gordoni
THE TWILIGHT ZONE creator Rod Serling had it right when he said THE ANDY GRIFFITH cast are “characters, not caricatures,” making it a real-feeling comedy.
The show features Andy Griffith as the sheriff in the little town of Mayberry. His duty is to his family first — which doesn’t conflict with his job, as the town has little crime.
This month, MeTV rolled out its yearly “Month of Mayberry” celebration in honor of the show. This October will mark 65 years since the show premiered, and it still has a loyal fanbase of old and newcomers after more than six decades on TV, TV Insider reported.
The show had 249 episodes across eight seasons. It was a top 10 hit each year it originally aired and never went below No. 7 on the list.
MeTV’s lineup includes the 1993 ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW REUNION for the first time, premiering on May 30, 8/7c. The cast, including Ron Howard, Jim Nabors, George Lindsey and Jack Dodson, discuss their time together on the show.
The show will air at 8/7c and 8:30/7:30c Mondays through Fridays. Each week features episodes centered around a different character. The week of May 5 is Andy, May 12 is Barney, May 19 is Aunt Bee and the rest of the regular characters, and May 26 is guest stars like Gavin MacLeod, Barbara Eden and Bill Bixby.
Betty Lynn, who played Barney’s long-term girlfriend, Thelma Lou, said the show was “the kind of comedy I like, where one minute you’re laughing and the next minute there’s a tear in your eye or a little catch in your throat.”
It pulled on emotions, but it was also filled with wholesome themes. Sheriff Andy was a man of character. Though he was a widower, he didn’t grumble but threw himself into his town and family. It was completely appropriate for families to watch, with humor that never bordered on inappropriate, nor a hint of anything sexual.
Related: Andy Griffith: ‘I Never Stopped Thanking God for the Help He Provided’
“In stark contrast to the many contemporary depictions of fathers as incestuous brutes or bumbling dopes, Andy Taylor was a fallible human being but one who was intelligent, caring, and responsible,” Transparency wrote. “Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee provided Andy and Opie as well as the program itself with a sense of warm domesticity. Supporting characters like Otis Campbell…all helped to make the show a smashing success that is thoroughly enjoyable decades after it first aired.”
Modern media and entertainment are saturated with explicit language and graphic and immoral content. EUPHORIA, for example, is a far cry from the simple goodness displayed in THE ANDY GRIFFITH show.
People are coming back to classic shows like this because moral content that everyone can watch is what they want. And ANDY GRIFFITH gives that to them.
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