The Andy Griffith Show - General Discussion

[cooksdelight]

It might be three miles walking distance, when in reality it’s just on the other side of town.

”She’s nice!! She’s real nice!!” :)

[Browncoat]

Yeah, but if it's just three miles, they can go back!  And they all act like the night is completely ruined and they've missed the dance, when they could just load up the car and go back!

"And a door prize!"

[cooksdelight]

In the episode where Barney keeps his uniform on all the time to avoid being beaten up.... the big dance was on Wednesday night. And I said “Why isn’t it on Saturday night?” My husband reminded me, back in that time here in NC, you didn’t work a full day on Wednesday. The bank and factories closed at noon, so that people could get their weekly shopping done. Weird, I know, but it was something that happened in small towns in NC and a Wednesday night dance would make perfect sense.

[Browncoat]

It was that way in small-town Virginia, too.  To make up for being closed a half-day on Wednesday, the banks and hardware stores would be open on Saturday mornings.

[Maherjunkie]

I never understood how Aunt Bee was an otherwise good cook except for pickles.

[cooksdelight]

Pickles are fickle. :)

My grandmother could cook, can, preserve just about anything and it was all delicious. But pickles were her downfall.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 10/13/2017 at 9:31 PM, cooksdelight said:

In the episode where Barney keeps his uniform on all the time to avoid being beaten up.... the big dance was on Wednesday night. And I said “Why isn’t it on Saturday night?” My husband reminded me, back in that time here in NC, you didn’t work a full day on Wednesday. The bank and factories closed at noon, so that people could get their weekly shopping done. Weird, I know, but it was something that happened in small towns in NC and a Wednesday night dance would make perfect sense.

 

On 10/14/2017 at 5:53 AM, Browncoat said:

It was that way in small-town Virginia, too.  To make up for being closed a half-day on Wednesday, the banks and hardware stores would be open on Saturday morning

Thank you for posting that.  Little details like this make the show even more enjoyable.

[cooksdelight]

“No Time For Sargeants” is on TCM at 8 pm eastern time tonight!

[Browncoat]

Hilarious movie! 

[ByaNose]

Ron Howard’s father Rance died. He was on the show several times & might have even directed. 

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/rance-howard-actor-dad-director-ron-howard-dies-89-article-1.3657138

[chessiegal]

I saw Rance passed - what character/s did he play on the show? What a treat it must have been for Ron to have his Dad on the show.

[cooksdelight]

He was the governor’s driver when Barney gave them a ticket for parking in a no parking zone. He was one of the 2 treasury agents who came to court house to notify Andy of the gold truck, he was the bus driver in the episode when Barney’s cousin Virgil came to visit, and he was one of the party guests when the rumor got started that Andy and Helen were getting married and everyone chipped in to fix up Andy’s bedroom.

He also appeared on his son Clint Howard’s show “Gentle Ben.” He’s got a pretty lengthy resume. Clint also appeared on the show as Leon, the little boy in a cowboy hat who was always trying to give someone a bite of his sandwich.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397555/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Edited November 26, 2017 by cooksdelight

[cooksdelight]

Bye, Gomer! Tell God we said “hey”. :(

http://pix11.com/2017/11/30/jim-nabors-of-gomer-pyle-fame-dead-at-87/

[cooksdelight]

Awww, I wish I got that channel. I watch Andy on Sundance and TV Land.

A friend of mine lives in the same town in Alabama where Jim Nabors grew up, he has family still living there. And he had a lake house next to theirs and she told me he would always be so friendly and nice when he’d be down there.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

he would always be so friendly and nice when he’d be down there.

It's always nice to hear when a celebrity who portrays friendly and nice characters is actually friendly and nice in real life.

I watch Andy on a local station every day, sometimes supplemented with TVLand (or replaced if the local station shows an ep I don't particularly care for, like the exploding goat one).

 

ETA: Tonight's episode is "Citizen's arRAYest!  Citizen's arRAYest!"  I am glad the local station is showing a Gomer-centric ep today.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Browncoat

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 11/25/2017 at 7:37 PM, ByaNose said:

Ron Howard’s father Rance died. He was on the show several times & might have even directed

When EVERYBODY says the same thing about a person, you have to believe it.  And every interview you see has people saying that the reason Ron Howard is such a good person is that his parents were good people.  Specifically, Rance always had his own life and career, so young Ron was never pressured to support the family with his acting.

 

On 11/30/2017 at 2:32 PM, cooksdelight said:

A friend of mine lives in the same town in Alabama where Jim Nabors grew up, he has family still living there. And he had a lake house next to theirs and she told me he would always be so friendly and nice when he’d be down there.

With the laid back  "Aw, shucks" personality of Jim Nabors, it's easy to forget that he was the lead in a series (Gomer Pyle,USMC) that was in the top 10 for several years.  And as Cooksdelight said, he stayed friendly and nice.  I like that.

Edited December 13, 2017 by TheLastKidPicked

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

When EVERYBODY says the same thing about a person, you have to believe it.  And every interview you see has people saying that the reason Ron Howard is such a good person is that his parents were good people.  Specifically, Rance always had his own life and career, so young Ron was never pressured to support the family with his acting.

Not only that, but he disciplined Ronnie and treated him like his son, punishing him when he deserved it, and not letting him get away with anything because he was on a tv show. I think I posted it the In Memoriam thread, how once, when Rance punished Ronnie, Ronnie went to complain to Andy, but Andy sided with Rance, and told him that he (Ronnie) knew he'd been in the wrong.

[cooksdelight]

Watching “The Inspector” when Luke is arrested for shooting at Andy... but it’s Rafe Hollister! LOL

[SnarkySheep]

On 10/13/2017 at 11:31 PM, cooksdelight said:

In the episode where Barney keeps his uniform on all the time to avoid being beaten up.... the big dance was on Wednesday night. And I said “Why isn’t it on Saturday night?” My husband reminded me, back in that time here in NC, you didn’t work a full day on Wednesday. The bank and factories closed at noon, so that people could get their weekly shopping done. Weird, I know, but it was something that happened in small towns in NC and a Wednesday night dance would make perfect sense.

I had no idea! (Well, but I'm 37 and have lived in New England all my life...) Thanks for that info!

 

On 11/26/2017 at 7:22 AM, cooksdelight said:

Clint also appeared on the show as Leon, the little boy in a cowboy hat who was always trying to give someone a bite of his sandwich.

This, I had just recently learned...I think that's sweet! Hey, why not pull the family into your show if you can, right?

[cooksdelight]

One of the things that drives me nuts is the ever-changing courthouse. In the beginning, the front wall closest to the cells was solid. Then it had a window!

[Browncoat]

Continuity was never this show's strong suit.

[cooksdelight]

“The Farmer Takes A Wife” is on now, and maybe I’ve seen it before but never paid attention.... Jeff has a tag on the front of his truck. NC has never required front & back tags, but CA does. I’ve also seen different colored tags, maybe rental cars they got for the show.

[cooksdelight]

Season one, “The Beauty Contest”, mayor Pike’s daughter Josephine is later Goober’s date, Lydia. The one who can’t do anything because everything makes her sick. :)

[Starry Eyes]

Nip it, Nip it, Nip it in the bud!!!!  My favorite episode was The Lucky Letter.  It had such meaning to it.  I also loved the episode where Otis buys himself a car.  I loved Otis's character.

[Browncoat]

6 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

I also loved the episode where Otis buys himself a car.  I loved Otis's character.

"Beep, beep!  Outta my way, Sunday driver!"

[Starry Eyes]

Wake me up at 8:00, 8:00 Saturday, beautiful Saturday...  

[Browncoat]

I'm watching the high school reunion episode now, and Andy and Barney are waxing poetic about Andy's relationship with Sharon in high school -- one of the great love stories of all time.  What I wonder is, if he and Sharon were an item until graduation, who did he marry?  Who is Opie's mother? 

[cooksdelight]

Sharon wanted to leave town and hit the big city, what’s why they broke up.

[Browncoat]

I get that, and so would everyone else in their high school.  And everyone else in their high school would know about Andy and Sharon and how they were the perfect couple.  I can't imagine wanting to be the next girl -- having to follow the great love of Andy's life -- if I'd known all about his and Sharon's high school romance.  I'd never feel like I could measure up to that.  So, when did Andy meet Opie's mother?  Did Andy go to college and meet her there?

[cooksdelight]

Andy’s story changes like the wind. Once it was mentioned he was in WWII, (the episode with the fueding families, when he counted in French, having served there) but when they aired the high school reunion episode, there’s no way he was old enough. They rarely mention his late wife, Opie’s mother. I have no idea why.

[Browncoat]

Maybe he met Opie's mother in France!

[cooksdelight]

She was mentioned once by Andy in a discussion with Opie, cannot remember the episode name. Not by name, just “your mother....”

[Browncoat]

And since Opie is so young in the first episode, and has been taken care of by Rose (who's leaving to get married and being replaced by Aunt Bee) for a good while, can we assume Opie's mother died in childbirth?  It had to be that or shortly thereafter, I think.

[cooksdelight]

I got the impression Opie had some type of memory of his mother. We should write to Ron Howard and ask him to spill the beans.

[Browncoat]

2 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

We should write to Ron Howard and ask him to spill the beans.

I wonder if he would respond.

[cooksdelight]

He’s one of the few living survivors of the show.... maybe??

[cooksdelight]

The reunion episode is on again now, Class of ‘45. So no way Andy served in WWII. And Ramona Wiley. The way they played loose with people’s names always fascinates me.

[Browncoat]

And Barney's middle initial changed all the time -- sometimes it was P, sometimes it was A...

I'm not on Twitter -- I wonder if Ron Howard would respond to a tweet?  Or if he's on Twitter?

[cooksdelight]

Bernard P. Fife, Oliver was his middle name at one time. 

I’ll see if I can find a contact for him, as I have friends in the business.

Email sent, I’ll let you all know if I hear back.

[Browncoat]

Thanks!  I'm really interested to know if there was a backstory, and if so, what it might be.

[cooksdelight]

I have a good friend who has an acting school, she knows everyone out there. I have never read anything anywhere about his wife so it may just be a “mystery.”

[Browncoat]

It is quite likely that no one back then gave nearly as much thought to these things as we do!  And they probably never would have thought that anyone would.  LOL

[cooksdelight]

You’re right. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.... what happened to that woman? I’m just persnickety when it comes to this show I love so much, and all of the continuity errors.

[Maverick]

According to the Mayberry Wiki, the only information we get about Opie's mom is in the Danny Thomas Show backdoor pilot.  There Andy states his wife died when Opie was "thelrast little speck of a baby".  The only time she's directly referenced on the show itself is "Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee" where Opie asks if Aunt Bee has the same kind of love Andy did for his maw.   

 I think it's a case of Occam's Razor.   The writers just never gave any thought to Andy's wife beyond the fact she was dead.  

[cooksdelight]

@Maverick, thank you for that info. It was indeed that episode I saw not long ago (again) where the special love was mentioned. 

I’d still like to know how/why she died. One of those things that will always make me wonder. I met Andy Griffith in Manteo many years ago and I should have asked him. LOL

[Browncoat]

@Maverick, thanks!  I suspect you're right and a backstory was never even considered.

As for how/why she died, I'll go with complications due to the birth/pregnancy, but perhaps a few months later instead of directly in childbirth.

[cooksdelight]

This popped up in my Facebook newsfeed.... I swear, you cannot escape the “spies.” LOL

http://www.trend-chaser.com/entertainment/andy-griffith-show/?utm_source=mt&utm_campaign=23842825314760077-23842825314820077-mt&utm_medium=Facebook+Pages-mt&utm_content=23842825316600077-mt&utm_term=blank&ios=1&safari=1&Exc_TM_LessThanPoint001_p1=1

[Browncoat]

And there are soooooo many continuity errors!  But I love the show, too — except for the ones in color, and the one with the goat.  I really don’t like the one with the goat.

[SnarkySheep]

On 5/4/2018 at 7:47 PM, Browncoat said:

On 5/4/2018 at 7:45 PM, cooksdelight said:

We should write to Ron Howard and ask him to spill the beans.

I wonder if he would respond.

I just looked him up on Twitter (@RealRonHoward) and he seems very chatty, responding to all sorts of comments from people. Give it a try!

I doubt he'll know any more than we do, though. It just doesn't seem like it was developed much, storywise...for instance, Opie's mother had to have been a relatively young woman when she died. Wouldn't there have been grandparents, aunts or uncles coming to see Opie? All we got was Andy's side of the family.

[cooksdelight]

9 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Wouldn't there have been grandparents, aunts or uncles coming to see Opie? All we got was Andy's side of the family

I’ve never thought about the lack of grandparents.... but you’re right, a whole slew of people are missing!