MVP Week Minisode: TV Classic The Andy Griffith Show Reviewed!

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[00:01:33] I'm talking about the 24-7 show on TV land itself. I am talking about the one, the only, eight season run that puts pretty much the meaning of CBS.

[00:01:53] And it is the one and only Andy Griffith Show. You know, the title theme, you know, the influence.

[00:02:01] Literally, anytime you see a small town full of just bizarre residents or even just a wacky show like Picket Fences, you know it's pretty much just all influenced by here.

[00:02:13] And it's tied with I Love Lucy and Seinfeld as the top shows that knew when they was time to quit, even though they were killing it in the ratings.

[00:02:24] It could have gone on for 20 more decades, practically.

[00:02:27] So it ran from 1960 to 1968. It originated on an episode of the sitcom The Danny Thomas Show. I had no idea, but that was the case.

[00:02:39] I knew about the spinoffs.

[00:02:42] I knew about the movie, but that was the case.

[00:02:43] One that included Gomer Pyle, US MC, starring Jim Neighbors in the title role, the singer.

[00:02:49] As well as Mayberry RFD, which had a lot of the supporting characters played by, you know, Ken Berry, George Lindsay, Jack Dodson, and Irene Golanski.

[00:03:02] Yeah, so you probably know about Andy Griffith, but I'll do a brief rundown.

[00:03:07] You know, the actor in the title role.

[00:03:14] I just, you know, talk about immortalizing.

[00:03:19] And even though I never understood why it was the other way around, why the character was actually Andy Taylor.

[00:03:30] But, yeah, for whatever reason, they did it that way.

[00:03:33] And he was pretty heavily involved in it.

[00:03:35] I don't think he ever pulled a Carol O'Connor where he would rewrite scripts, but he definitely had his hand in it to where he could say no.

[00:03:43] And he's a TV favorite.

[00:03:45] I saw that, I'm a millennial as much as I hate to say, but, you know, TV land was a big deal in my household.

[00:03:53] You know, when I wasn't watching Nickelodeon, Disney, or Cartoon Network, I pretty much had Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Killigan's Island, plenty of other shows on.

[00:04:04] And this was no different.

[00:04:06] This is a winner.

[00:04:07] I will occasionally see an episode of it.

[00:04:12] It was set in the 30s, but meant to be kind of ageless, even though it was shot in the 60s.

[00:04:18] And it's a small town, never comes off as a backwards town.

[00:04:24] It's definitely a little southern.

[00:04:28] And it's beloved because the main characters of Widow were his cousin, the inept deputy, Barney Fife, played by Don Knotts.

[00:04:40] He's the sheriff.

[00:04:41] And he's raising his son, Opie, played by Ron Howard.

[00:04:45] And here's the thing, you know, when you see Ron, young Ronnie Howard in this, you're just like, yeah, you can't have happy days without this.

[00:04:54] Like, for all we know, this and Andy Griffith are in the same universe.

[00:05:00] They practically are.

[00:05:01] Yeah.

[00:05:02] Just the rest of the characters are just so heartwarming.

[00:05:06] And it was just one of those, just kind of a coming of age show at a bit.

[00:05:11] And.

[00:05:13] Aunt B, who's the housekeeper, was played by Francis Babier.

[00:05:19] And just again, you just.

[00:05:23] The narrator was nice.

[00:05:25] The theme was legendary and you can find you can stream it now on Paramount because it's a CBS deal.

[00:05:32] But chances are, you probably have seen it whether you were just at a random hospital clinic or hotel lobby.

[00:05:40] It's on, you know, every other channel all the time.

[00:05:45] And, you know, nothing wrong with that.

[00:05:47] You know, I was never really big on Matlock.

[00:05:49] It's fine for what it was.

[00:05:51] But this, this is the Andy Griffith I grew up with.

[00:05:54] I associate with, you know, even though there were cops, it wasn't about police work.

[00:06:00] It was just typical, just kind of drama with some comedy.

[00:06:04] There was an occasional laugh track, but nothing that just made you go, hmm.

[00:06:10] What's this about?

[00:06:13] And set in the town of Mount Ari and set in North Carolina.

[00:06:19] So, yeah, it is Southern as Southern gets.

[00:06:22] Despite being a backwards state, it I think the thing is everyone could associate with it because it was just again, just like lessons.

[00:06:31] Kind of Boy Scout type stuff, like let's go on a camping trap.

[00:06:35] Let's go fishing.

[00:06:36] I mean, hell, that's in the title sequence of the show.

[00:06:39] And yeah, it just, you would also just see people not really acting inappropriate, but not making good decisions.

[00:06:49] And you get kind of a slap on the wrist from one of the characters and how to be a better communicator, how to be a better dad, how to be a better son.

[00:06:57] And with these life lessons, you just, you just really just feel validated as a person.

[00:07:13] And, you know, it just, there's something about this show that I think just, you know, as critics have noted, just, just it's serious and thoughtful.

[00:07:29] And I think that's where anyone can relate to it, no matter what race, political affiliation or upbringing or era you were born in.

[00:07:39] I never saw the reunion special that was in 93 or the 86 return to Mayberry, but it is what it is.

[00:07:49] Anytime I see just an obscure reference or just a small town of individuals, I'm like, yeah, there's, there's no way around it.

[00:07:57] They are referencing the shit out of it.

[00:07:59] TV land would do their various pop culture themed award shows and they did plenty of awards for this around 03 and 04 back when they were trying to up their ratings.

[00:08:11] So we're going to blame them.

[00:08:15] And 2002, this rank was ranked ninth on the list of the 50 best shows of all time.

[00:08:21] I'm down with that.

[00:08:22] You know, this is, this is a classic.

[00:08:25] And it just, there's just something about just seeing living and breathing characters.

[00:08:35] And apparently there were some rights issues.

[00:08:45] So sometimes there'd be some bootleg tapes going out and Paramount owns it now.

[00:08:51] There's been some controversy claiming that other companies are actually owed the rights to this and to which they've not responded.

[00:09:01] And there's some episodes that are believed to be public domain, but you know what?

[00:09:07] That's not our problem.

[00:09:08] That's their problem for fucking up.

[00:09:10] So enjoy it for what it is.

[00:09:13] Apparently, uh, that in pop culture, there's various locations that, uh, baseball teams and bed and breakfast suites that are modeled after various houses and cop cars and

[00:09:30] and even just other just locations that are meant to look like the day-to-day lifestyle of Andy Griffith.

[00:09:37] And I think that is just very interesting.

[00:09:39] Um, yeah.

[00:09:42] And altogether, I mean, most of these guys have since passed us, but if anyone's going to watch this in today's world, just go in, have fun.

[00:09:53] And you will literally be very entertained, even if you're lukewarm to the notion of watching older black and white TV.

[00:10:03] And, uh, that, that's the thing.

[00:10:05] Um, it's just, it's pretty much just a show that is just meant to just touch on life and how to get good at it.

[00:10:18] And I'd rather anybody nowadays watch something like this as opposed to a sitcom that has cynical, unlikable characters or a violent show that has a lot of fear mongering, but no hope.

[00:10:33] Hope.

[00:10:34] Yeah, it, it rules.

[00:10:36] There's no way around it.

[00:10:37] The show rules and we'll always be in the zeitgeist of TV gems that have will touch future generations to come.

[00:10:46] Everybody check it out for sure.

[00:10:57] We'll return after these messages.

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