The Andy Griffith Show

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

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.
 

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

On the episodes "Aunt Bee The Juror" and "Opie Finds a Baby", a future superstar Oscar winner appears.

Can you name that actor?
The first to respond gets a coupon good for a Tuesday night blue plate special dinner with all the fixings and a bottle of pop at the Mayberry diner, served by the fair Juanita.

[Pahonu]

On the episodes "Aunt Bee The Juror" and "Opie Finds a Baby", a future superstar Oscar winner appears.

Can you name that actor?
The first to respond gets a coupon good for a Tuesday night blue plate special dinner with all the fixings and a bottle of pop at the Mayberry diner, served by the fair Juanita.

I’ve never seen either of those episodes, and this is totally a guess, but I remember reading that Jack Nicholson had appeared on TAGS and wondered what kind of character he would have played. The article mentioned he was in lots of old TV series before his film career took off, like Dr. Kildare, Hawaiian Eye, and even Sea Hunt. That last one I actually saw before I knew he was in it. It was one of those “holy crap, that’s Jack Nicholson!” moments.

Edit:
Perhaps I did see those two episodes as I watched lots of TAGS reruns as a little kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s but don’t remember recognizing Nicholson. I might not have even known who he was. I would have been too young to see his films at the time. PG Star Wars was more my speed. LOL!

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

On the episodes "Aunt Bee The Juror" and "Opie Finds a Baby", a future superstar Oscar winner appears.

Can you name that actor?
The first to respond gets a coupon good for a Tuesday night blue plate special dinner with all the fixings and a bottle of pop at the Mayberry diner, served by the fair Juanita.

I’ve never seen either of those episodes, and this is totally a guess, but I remember reading that Jack Nicholson had appeared on TAGS and wondered what kind of character he would have played. The article mentioned he was in lots of old TV series before his film career took off, like Dr. Kildare, Hawaiian Eye, and even Sea Hunt. That last one I actually saw before I knew he was in it. It was one of those “holy crap, that’s Jack Nicholson!” moments.

Edit:
Perhaps I did see those two episodes as I watched lots of TAGS reruns as a little kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s but don’t remember recognizing Nicholson. I might not have even known who he was. I would have been too young to see his films at the time. PG Star Wars was more my speed. LOL!

Hi Pahonu,
You won, it was Jack Nicholson.
I laughed when I read "It was one of those “holy crap, that’s Jack Nicholson!” moments." That's exactly how I feel when I spot a future star in a small role.
Leonard Nimoy for instance in the aforementioned Sea Hunt, Harrison Ford in Get Smart.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Hey Dobie,

Great job starting a TAGS thread. Just what we need! I didn't even realize you took what I posted on the other thread and posted it here. TAGS is not just a TV show, it's a piece of history! How someone can slag off the last 3 seasons while seemingly praising other sitcoms of the time is beyond me! Look, I love me some BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and HOGAN'S HEROES and I DREAM OF JEANNIE too but on their best day they couldn't hold up to any of the color episodes of TAGS. Even at its "worst" TAGS was better than most anything else on at the time.

Hey, you mentioned the Howard episode where he goes to a tropical island. I have only vague memories of that episode but it's one that never left me! Probably because TAGS is such a "local" show where almost everything always takes place in Mayberry. Yes there was the episode where Andy and Barney go to the big city (Raleigh) and one where Andy visits Barney in Raleigh once Barney leaves Mayberry and becomes a big-time detective (hehe) there. But that's as far as anyone would travel on that show. Oops, I forgot the 3 episodes where they go to Hollywood. My bad! But Howard on a tropical island is such an "out there" type of thing that it just sticks in your mind. And like you say, how many of us males haven't fancied about giving it all up and just moving to some tropical paradise? Heck, when I watch MPI and see Mag's lifestyle I always yearn for that kind of carefree island life. I really need to dig up this Howard episode and give it a revisit, now that I have the complete 8-season box set. It was sometime in the mid-90s when I watched this episode. A lifetime ago. I was still in middle school I believe.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hey Dobie,

Great job starting a TAGS thread. Just what we need! I didn't even realize you took what I posted on the other thread and posted it here. TAGS is not just a TV show, it's a piece of history! How someone can slag off the last 3 seasons while seemingly praising other sitcoms of the time is beyond me! Look, I love me some BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and HOGAN'S HEROES and I DREAM OF JEANNIE too but on their best day they couldn't hold up to any of the color episodes of TAGS. Even at its "worst" TAGS was better than most anything else on at the time.

Hey, you mentioned the Howard episode where he goes to a tropical island. I have only vague memories of that episode but it's one that never left me! Probably because TAGS is such a "local" show where almost everything always takes place in Mayberry. Yes there was the episode where Andy and Barney go to the big city (Raleigh) and one where Andy visits Barney in Raleigh once Barney leaves Mayberry and becomes a big-time detective (hehe) there. But that's as far as anyone would travel on that show. Oops, I forgot the 3 episodes where they go to Hollywood. My bad! But Howard on a tropical island is such an "out there" type of thing that it just sticks in your mind. And like you say, how many of us males haven't fancied about giving it all up and just moving to some tropical paradise? Heck, when I watch MPI and see Mag's lifestyle I always yearn for that kind of carefree island life. I really need to dig up this Howard episode and give it a revisit, now that I have the complete 8-season box set. It was sometime in the mid-90s when I watched this episode. A lifetime ago. I was still in middle school I believe.

Ivan,
"Howard's New Life" from season 8 could be a stand alone show with nothing to do with Mayberry, it is so deftly written. Because it speaks to that little boy inside you, with that secret yearning for
the island life ever since you first read/watched Robinson Crusoe. It's not sexist to note the fairer sex may not relate to it the same way.
Howard's steady deterioration till he becomes one of the zombie layabouts in Harry Dean Stanton's shop is hilarious, as is what Stanton does with a tiny part. I love the flyswatter bit.
"Wanna buy a boat in a bottle?"
I see online that many TAGS purists complain it isn't Mayberry centric. No kidding, you could put Bob Loudon from Newhart or Alex from Taxi or Mr. C from Happy Days in Howard's
place and it would work just fine.