Mayberry RFD? (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Scott]

just wondering what people thought of the chances of seeing this show come out eventually?
i know its generally regarded as a milkwater followup to an all time classic, but i've always liked it and found the cast very appealing.
i also thought i remembered seeing a Warners card at the end of recent reruns (tho that may just be tv sundication rights).
if Warner does in fact own the rights to the show, do you think that would make it more or less likely to show up?

 

[Steve Phillips]

There is only one thing more boring than the last three years of "The Andy Griffith Show", and "Mayberry R.F.D." is it.



This is actually playing in syndication somewhere? I might actually try to sit through one or two if it showed up in my area.

 

[Paul Sandhu]

I wouldn't mind seeing this after they're done with the season sets of AG show.

 

[Gregory V]

Mayberry RFD was way WAY lame. Worse even than the color episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. And they were pretty bad. Funny the B&W Andy's were SOOOOO funny, and the minute it went to color it was a whole different story. Guess it was the loss of Don Knotts, or maybe just a great show running out of steam, or maybe a little of both. Mayberry RFD was a BIG waste of film. Ken Berry was capable of much better.

 

[Linda Thompson]

But, personally, I would MUCH rather see a full-series release of Gomer Pyle, USMC first.

 

[Jeff#]

The Andy Griffith Show or ANY show that went through the transition period from black & white to color was better in color. What matters the most is the writing, and the writers were getting tired in the last few years. I seem to recall there were some different writers too by that time, so that's a factor.

I think the die-hard Barney Fife fans just felt that the show was better with him. But even Barney guest-starred in a few shows in later seasons. When Jim Nabors (as Gomer) left Mayberry for his spinoff series, Goober foot the bill as comic relief.

But the 1965-1966 season was hurt only by the addition of Jack Burns as Warren, Andy's new deputy. Other than that, it was just fine! But I did think it was strange that Andy didn't have a deputy in the last 2 years of the show!

Mayberry, RFD aired in syndicated reruns in Philadelphia in the 1980s and early 90s. It wasn't that different. It was basically just The Andy Griffith Show without Andy or Opie (although they both guested in the premiere episode in 1968). Jack Dodson as Howard Sprague and Paul Hartman as repairman Emmett returned for the new series along with George Lindsey as Goober.

Aunt Bee was also still regularly seen, as she went to work for Sam Jones on his farm until Frances Bavier retired in 1970. Alice Ghostly from "Bewitched" became the new housekeeper. A bright addition was cute Arlene Golonka as Millie Swanson -- a young woman way out of Sam's league!

The spinoff lasted one more year, until it was cancelled like all other CBS rural sitcoms in an attempt to "urbanize" their image.

 

[Jeff#]

F Troop was OK, but how much better was Mama'a Family as a sitcom with the addition of Ken? I think he made it worse, and so did Dorothy Lyman -- who with a few exceptions gave up acting after that series ended to move into TV directing instead.

Has anyone ever seen "The Ken Berry Wow Show" from the early 1970s? That's another in a long line of short-lived variety shows that hasn't turned up in reruns -- not even on TV Land.

 

[DaveyM]

I'm not a fan of Mayberry RFD, but i agree with Linda about Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. I would love to have this one on Dvd. Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton made a great team