As I started to finalize my reflections on the “The Andy Griffith Show”, the 50th anniversary and its influence on Pop Culture, I found this in a post:

When “The Andy Griffith Show” capped a triumphant eight-year run on CBS in 1968, after 249 episodes, it was the top-rated program on television. Now, a half-century after its debut, on Oct. 3, 1960, reruns of the original “Griffith” appear in 90 markets domestically and on cable’s TV Land. In Chicago, it has been broadcast by WGN since September 1971.¹

I was shocked. The ground breaking entertainment lives on today more than I imagined.

From the whistle in the opening credits to the cast of characters, ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ has infiltrated our society in countless ways enduring time and cultural shifts.

A half century after the debut on October 3, 1960 we see how the mythical utopian Mayberry changed our lives. From Andy, Barney, Opie and Aunt Bee to Gomer, Otis, Goober and Floyd – the show had an ensemble cast primed to deliver laughs, even with a moral compass pointing in the right direction.

I remember watching the show regularly. These are the episodes which really stand out to me:

• Andy doesn’t believe Opie had been receiving gifts from a man in a hat and threatens to “give him a whippin’” only to find the boy was being truthful.
• Another life lesson: Opie kills the Mama bird with his sling shot and has to learn responsibility by taking care of the orphans.
• “Citizen’s Arrest!” – hysterical. How many people have referenced this episode to embolden their Good Samaritan efforts.
• Otis…Otis…Otis: I don’t know about you, but if Otis was on the show – I wasn’t missing a minute. Fantastic television manifested every time Barney and Otis bickered.
• Opie finding a baby and going to his Dad asking very difficult life questions. This episode really stands out for me as I discovered it was Jack Nicholson who plays the baby’s father.
• Barney in full motorcycle gear was another hysterical episode and I remember the sidecar jokes: “Fill it with water and you could take a bath in it.” (I paraphrase)
• My favorite ever: Barney locking himself in the jail cell while trying to scare the children – the famous “Scared Straight” scene.

It’s hard to stop the list because the memories are so endless. “Going up to Mount Pilot” or patting my gun, calling it “baby” are straight out of the Andy Griffith archives and probably go over most peoples’ heads.

We could list countless episodes, favorite moments, memorable moments or simply, best lines.

I think most of us want to live in Mayberry, a place where the sheriff doesn’t need to carry a gun…Mayberry – the last utopia of television?

Well, half of century later, we’re still talking about, so they must have been onto something.

1. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/2764216,andy-griffith-show-anniversary-100310.article

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As the relationship with Crazed Fanboy deteriorated, the partnership between Robert Herriman (author “Insights”) and the Brian strengthen to for the current “Desk of Brian”.

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