Andy Griffith

[Kaos]

I love the show.  Always have.  Well, let me back that up a little.  I love the black and white episodes.  I don't care for Warren, Howard Sprague, Emmit or any of those characters that rolled in at the end. 

The show was 99% perfect, the characters almost perfectly cast.  Andy, Floyd, Barney, Opie, Otis, the mayors, Jubal... even Gomer. 

But that 1%?  It's Aunt Freaking Bea.  She pisses me off.  I don't like her.  And I don't like Helen Crump either.  Andy should have stuck with Ellie or Peggy.  Peggy was pretty hot for the day. 

In a weird side note, Nurse Peggy is Tatum O'Neal's mom in the real world. She turned out bad.  Bunch of DUIs and drug abuse.  Sponged off Tatum most of her life. Lung cancer from smoking killed her.

Ellie's still alive and was still doing some acting as recently as 2011.

Julie Adams who played Nurse Mary was also reasonably hot. She had a long career.

The other nurse Mary, Sue Ann Langdon, had one of those 70s careers where she was on half a dozen shows (Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Mannix, Gunsmoke, etc.)  Was married from 1959 until she died in 2010 (of boredom I assume).

Helen Crump just nastied away at age 62 after not doing much other than Crumping.  Never married. Never had kids.  Blessings.

[Buzz Killington]

Agreed about the B/W vs the color episodes.  Listening to Howard Sprague's voice makes me want to stab myself in the ears with a rusty fork.
I still have the trivia game somewhere in the closet. I could kick everybody's ass back in the day at that game.

My most prized non-athletic autographed picture is of Barney locked in the jail cell that Don Knotts signed for me.

[jmar]

Andy had an offscreen fling going with Helen and Bea did not approve. Read where she never really cared for Andy who was known to be quite the practical joker.
Just a guess but if I'm the practical joker type Bea would most certainly be a regular target.

[Buzz Killington]

Just call the man, Aunt Bea.

[GH2001]

Color Andy episodes are like the last season of sopranos. Avg by the shows standard. Still better than most else. The plot lines were weird too. Andy goes to Mexico? Howard bowls a 300? Aunt bea opens a Chinese cafe? Goober becomes a business owner and signs up for a dating service? Tha hell?

Frances Bavier was notoriously hard to get along with for most everyone not just andy. I saw in an andy interview with Larry king maybe - that she had apologized to him for being that way and they had made their peace before she died in the late 80s.

The chemistry on that show - esp between andy and don knotts - was its wheelhouse. It was just way ahead of its time on comedy and timing. Just brilliant.

[GH2001]

Just call the man, Aunt Bea.

But what about the butter n egg man?

[Buzz Killington]

But what about the butter n egg man?

He butters her up and she eggs him on.

[Snaggletiger]

Trivia:  Who did everyone talk to, but you never saw?

[Buzz Killington]

Hey Sarah!  Get me the sheriff over'n Mt. Pilot.

[Snaggletiger]

Hey Sarah!  Get me the sheriff over'n Mt. Pilot.

Winna Winna Chicken For Dinna.

[wesfau2]

More overrated:

Andy Griffith or John Wayne?

Trick question: it's both.

[Buzz Killington]

[wesfau2]

Oh, I did, baby rager.

[Snaggletiger]

Millions upon millions laugh at your weak, uninformed attempt at discrediting 2, true American treasures.  Your larynx should anticipate a well placed knife-edged chop in the near future. 

[Kaos]

More overrated:

Andy Griffith or John Wayne?

Trick question: it's both.

I don't care about John Wayne one way or another.  Never had any impact on me. 

But the Andy Griffith show?  It's one of the most important pieces of American television history.  Easily one of the ten greatest shows ever aired.  One of the last of an era; an era where the American values of honesty, discipline and an ability to laugh at yourself were treasured and not shit on.  An era when spoiled bratty kids were taught hard lessons rather than being the highlight of the humor.

Andy Griffith was the dad I wanted to have and the father I aspired to be.  Simple lessons in how to treat other people and about what was really important were carefully woven into a show that had impeccable comic timing.  There are things I learned from The Andy Griffith Show that still sustain me today. 

Say what you will about John Wayne, but it shows a surprising degree of ignorance to dismiss the mastery that was Mayberry.

[GH2001]

More overrated:

Andy Griffith or John Wayne?

Trick question: it's both.

You either have a weird sense of humor or are not paying close attention to the punchlines and timing of the show. The chemistry on the show was extremely good.

John Wayne? Sure. No issue with that. I like the Duke but I recognize he was nothing special as an actor.

[AUJarhead]

More overrated:

Andy Griffith or John Wayne?

Trick question: it's both.

Actor that should have been a Marine?  John Wayne

Marine that should never have been an actor?  John Bobbit

[CCTAU]

Actor that should have been a Marine?  John Wayne

Marine that should never have been an actor?  John Bobbit

Two little old ladies happened to be in the car following Lorena as             
she threw the severed penis out of the window, and it actually bounced         
off their winshield before landing on the road.                                 
                                                                               
At this point one of the ladies turned to the other and asked,                 
                                                                               
      "Did you see the dick on that bug ???"                           

[Snaggletiger]

Two little old ladies happened to be in the car following Lorena as             
she threw the severed penis out of the window, and it actually bounced         
off their winshield before landing on the road.                                 
                                                                               
At this point one of the ladies turned to the other and asked,                 
                                                                               
      "Did you see the dick on that bug ???"                           

Lorena went on to be a successful TV weather-woman up north.  Mainly because when she tells you there will be 6 inches on the ground.....