''Return to Mayberry'' is a 1986 American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
based on the 1960s
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s ''
The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
The ...
'' and ''
Mayberry R.F.D.
''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (abbreviation for Rural Free Delivery) is an American television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting character ...
''. The film premiered on April 13, 1986, on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, and was the highest-
rated television film of 1986.
[ Sixteen of the original cast members reunited and reprised their roles for the film and its success could have led to additional Mayberry programs, but ]Griffith
Griffith may refer to:
People
* Griffith (name)
* Griffith (surname)
* Griffith (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency
* Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Rid ...
was committed to '' Matlock'' (also airing on NBC at the time) for the 1986–87 season.[
Most of the characters from the old series are revisited. The slightly milquetoast ]Howard Sprague
Howard Sprague is a fictional character on the CBS television sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', and its spin-off ''Mayberry R.F.D.''. He was played by Jack Dodson from 1966-71.
He was characterized by his milquetoast demeanor, moustache, bow tie ...
(Jack Dodson
John Smeaton "Jack" Dodson (May 16, 1931 – September 16, 1994) was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and its Spin-off (media), spin-off ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' ...
), in an attempt to look younger, is seen in various hues of hair color. Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a fictional character played by Jim Nabors and introduced in the middle of the third season of ''The Andy Griffith Show''.
A naïve and gentle auto mechanic, he became a character in the January 1963 episode, ''Man in a Hurry''. ...
(Jim Nabors
James Thurston Nabors (June 12, 1930 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and comedian, widely known for his signature character, Gomer Pyle.
Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica, California, Sa ...
), having returned to civilian life following his stint in the Marines, shares filling-station duties with his cousin Goober (George Lindsey
George Smith Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Goober Pyle on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and his subsequent tenure on '' Hee-Haw''.
Life and ...
), and the pair are seen together for only the third time in the history of the franchise (after having previously only been shown together in the episode " Fun Girls" and an episode of ''Gomer Pyle, USMC
''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Show ...
''). Howard Morris
Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Cae ...
and Denver Pyle
Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in se ...
reprise the hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...
roles of Ernest T. Bass
Ernest T. Bass is a fictional character on the American TV sitcom '' The Andy Griffith Show''. He was played by Howard Morris.
As with many of the show's characters, Morris had worked previously with other members of the cast and crew. He had wo ...
and Briscoe Darling Briscoe may refer to:
Placenames
* Briscoe, Missouri
* Briscoe, Texas, USA
* Briscoe, West Virginia, USA
* Briscoe County, Texas
* Briscoe, Cumbria, England
Other
* Briscoe (automotive company), defunct American automobile manufacturer
* Bris ...
, respectively, along with Maggie Peterson
Margaret Ann Peterson (January 10, 1941 – May 15, 2022) was an American actress and singer. She was best known for playing Charlene Darling on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. She also played the character of Doris in the episode "A Girl for Goob ...
and The Dillards
The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on ''The Andy Griffith Show''.
Band ...
as the rest of the Darling family. Otis Campbell
Otis Campbell is the fictional "town drunk" in Mayberry on the American TV sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show.'' Otis was played by Hal Smith and made frequent appearances on the show from 1960 to 1967 but stopped appearing toward the end of the s ...
( Hal Smith), the former town drunk, has become sober and now drives an ice cream truck. The film serves as the series finale to ''The Andy Griffith Show'', as no further episodes were made to continue from where it left off.
Plot
Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) returns to his native Mayberry to see his son Opie (Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
) become a first-time father. He also intends to run in the soon-to-be held sheriff's election. When Andy learns that his old deputy Barney Fife
Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program ''The Andy Griffith Show'', portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow-paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North C ...
(Don Knotts
Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also ...
), now back in Mayberry himself serving as acting sheriff, announced his own candidacy, Andy tells Opie that he won't run against Barney.
Barney tells Andy that he decided to run for sheriff because nobody else would. Andy mentions that Barney's old girlfriend Thelma Lou
Thelma Lou, or Thel by boyfriend Barney Fife, is a character on the American television sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960-1968). The character appeared in 26 episodes, starting with the first-season episode, "Cyrano Andy". Thelma Lou was por ...
, now divorced, is back in Mayberry. As Barney leaves to teach a safety class at school, they encounter Ernest T. Bass
Ernest T. Bass is a fictional character on the American TV sitcom '' The Andy Griffith Show''. He was played by Howard Morris.
As with many of the show's characters, Morris had worked previously with other members of the cast and crew. He had wo ...
who gives them a cryptic rhyme: "Your hair was brown but now it's gray; make that monster go away." The "monster" is an elaborate publicity stunt orchestrated by businessman Wally Butler (Richard Lineback
Richard D. Lineback (born February 4, 1952) is an American actor who appeared in the films ''Speed'', ''Twister'' and '' Varsity Blues''. He played Deputy Dodd in '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''.
Lineback has appeared in many roles on the ...
), who bought a restaurant outside of town and added a hotel.
Andy goes to the cemetery to visit Aunt Bee
Aunt Bee is a fictional character from the 1960 American television sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Played by Frances Bavier, the character migrated to the spinoff ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971) when ''The Andy Griffith Show'' ended its run ...
's grave, and finds Thelma Lou there visiting her uncle's gravesite. They go to the school where Barney is teaching. While Barney and Thelma Lou get reacquainted, Andy drives over to Opie and his wife Eunice's house just as she is about to go into labor. They are unable to get to the hospital in time, and Andy delivers his grandson in the back of the car.
The next day, Gomer and Goober are out fishing at Myers Lake when Gomer sees a monster stick its head up out of the water. Andy and Barney arrive shortly afterward, but Barney doesn't believe Gomer's story until he sees what looks like monster tracks in the mud. When Gomer later shows Barney a picture he took of Goober with something unidentifiable in the background, Barney becomes convinced there is a monster in the lake.
With Barney's opponent Woods now running an aggressive campaign to discredit Barney, Howard and Opie try to convince Andy to re-enter the race. Meanwhile, former town drunk Otis Campbell ( Hal Smith), now long sober and driving an ice cream truck, is serving customers near Myers Lake when he sees the "monster" pop out of the lake. Otis races to the courthouse to tell Barney. Despite Andy's pleading with Barney to end his quest because people were laughing at him, Otis' report convinces Barney to resume the hunt for the monster.
At Butler's Inn, Andy notices a picture with a dragon's head in it and remembering Ernest T.'s rhyme, Andy drives up to the Darlings' homestead, where Ernest T. now hangs out. Briscoe Darling (Denver Pyle
Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in se ...
) and his daughter Charlene (Maggie Peterson
Margaret Ann Peterson (January 10, 1941 – May 15, 2022) was an American actress and singer. She was best known for playing Charlene Darling on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. She also played the character of Doris in the episode "A Girl for Goob ...
) are delighted to see Andy. Andy manipulates Ernest T. into telling him when the monster will show up in Myers Lake again.
At the lake, while Barney baits a trap, Andy spots Ernest T. going into a nearby stone quarry shed. Butler arrives at the shed to futilely get Ernest T. to reel the monster back in, but Andy catches both of them in the act. Barney and Howard follow Andy to the shed, and Andy makes it look like Barney plotted to make Butler overconfident and force his hand. Butler had found some old dragon artifacts, presumably left by the restaurant's former owners, and hired Ernest T. to instigate a hoax at Myers Lake to attract customers.
Howard takes pictures of Barney with the dragon's head for the newspaper, and Andy tells Butler about the legal consequences of his actions.
Later, at a campaign rally for Acting Sheriff Fife, Barney learns that Andy opted out of the sheriff's race to give Barney a better chance to win, he humbly asks the crowd to vote for Andy as a write-in candidate because "That's exactly what I'm gonna do." Andy is eventually elected sheriff, Opie accepts a newspaper job in Binghamton, and Barney and Thelma Lou finally get married, with Ernest T. and the Darlings joining in the celebration.
The final shot (seen behind the end credits) is of Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Fife folding up an American flag at the end of the day on Mayberry's Main Street.
Cast
* Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...
as Andy Taylor
* Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
as Opie Taylor
Opie Taylor is a fictional character played by Ron Howard in the American television program '' The Andy Griffith Show'', which was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968. Opie Taylor appeared in 209 of the 249 episodes of '' ...
* Don Knotts
Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also ...
as Barney Fife
Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program ''The Andy Griffith Show'', portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow-paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North C ...
* Howard Morris
Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Cae ...
as Ernest T. Bass
Ernest T. Bass is a fictional character on the American TV sitcom '' The Andy Griffith Show''. He was played by Howard Morris.
As with many of the show's characters, Morris had worked previously with other members of the cast and crew. He had wo ...
* Jim Nabors
James Thurston Nabors (June 12, 1930 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and comedian, widely known for his signature character, Gomer Pyle.
Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica, California, Sa ...
as Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a fictional character played by Jim Nabors and introduced in the middle of the third season of ''The Andy Griffith Show''.
A naïve and gentle auto mechanic, he became a character in the January 1963 episode, ''Man in a Hurry''. ...
* George Lindsey
George Smith Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Goober Pyle on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and his subsequent tenure on '' Hee-Haw''.
Life and ...
as Goober Pyle
Goober Pyle is a fictional character in the American TV sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and its sequel series ''Mayberry RFD''. He was played by George Lindsey. Lindsey first read for the part of Gomer Pyle, Goober's cousin, which went to acto ...
* Aneta Corsaut
Aneta Louise Corsaut (November 3, 1933November 6, 1995) was an American actress and writer. She is best known for playing Helen Crump on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1963–1968), Judge Cynthia Justin on '' Matlock'' (1991–1992), and Jane in ' ...
as Helen Crump Taylor
* Jack Dodson
John Smeaton "Jack" Dodson (May 16, 1931 – September 16, 1994) was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and its Spin-off (media), spin-off ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' ...
as Howard Sprague
Howard Sprague is a fictional character on the CBS television sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', and its spin-off ''Mayberry R.F.D.''. He was played by Jack Dodson from 1966-71.
He was characterized by his milquetoast demeanor, moustache, bow tie ...
* Betty Lynn
Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn (August 29, 1926 – October 16, 2021) was an American actress. She played Thelma Lou, Deputy Barney Fife's girlfriend, on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. During the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in many films, including ...
as Thelma Lou
Thelma Lou, or Thel by boyfriend Barney Fife, is a character on the American television sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960-1968). The character appeared in 26 episodes, starting with the first-season episode, "Cyrano Andy". Thelma Lou was por ...
* Maggie Peterson
Margaret Ann Peterson (January 10, 1941 – May 15, 2022) was an American actress and singer. She was best known for playing Charlene Darling on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. She also played the character of Doris in the episode "A Girl for Goob ...
as Charlene Darling
* Denver Pyle
Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in se ...
as Briscoe Darling Briscoe may refer to:
Placenames
* Briscoe, Missouri
* Briscoe, Texas, USA
* Briscoe, West Virginia, USA
* Briscoe County, Texas
* Briscoe, Cumbria, England
Other
* Briscoe (automotive company), defunct American automobile manufacturer
* Bris ...
* Hal Smith as Otis Campbell
Otis Campbell is the fictional "town drunk" in Mayberry on the American TV sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show.'' Otis was played by Hal Smith and made frequent appearances on the show from 1960 to 1967 but stopped appearing toward the end of the s ...
* Rodney Dillard as Rodney Darling
* Doug Dillard
Douglas Flint Dillard (March 6, 1937 – May 16, 2012) was an American musician noted for his banjo proficiency and his pioneering participation in late-60s country rock.
Biography Early life
Dillard, who grew up on a farm near Salem, Missouri, ...
as Doug Darling
* Mitch Jayne as Mitch Darling
* Dean Webb as Dean Darling
* Richard Lineback
Richard D. Lineback (born February 4, 1952) is an American actor who appeared in the films ''Speed'', ''Twister'' and '' Varsity Blues''. He played Deputy Dodd in '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''.
Lineback has appeared in many roles on the ...
as Wally Butler
* Karlene Crockett as Eunice Taylor
* Allen Williams as Lloyd Fox
* Paul Willson
Paul Lee Willson (born December 25, 1945) is an American film, television and voice actor well known for many roles, including as Paul Krapence on '' Cheers''. He was born in Fairmont, Minnesota, the son of Doris Geraldine and Lee Wilford Willso ...
as Ben Woods
* Rance Howard
Rance Howard (born Harold Engle Beckenholdt; November 17, 1928 – November 25, 2017) was an American actor who starred in film and on television. He was the father of actor and filmmaker Ron Howard and actor Clint Howard, and grandfather of actr ...
as Preacher
* Robert Broyles
Robert Houston Broyles (January 20, 1933 - February 12, 2011) was an American character actor, drama teacher, theatre director, and writer. He was sometimes billed as Bob Broyles or Bobby Broyles.
Early life
Broyles was born in Sparta, Tenness ...
as Wilson
* Karen Knotts as Opie's Receptionist
Production
Most of the surviving cast members of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' reprised their roles in the reunion movie. One notable exception was Frances Bavier
Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is best known for her role o ...
, who played Aunt Bee
Aunt Bee is a fictional character from the 1960 American television sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Played by Frances Bavier, the character migrated to the spinoff ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971) when ''The Andy Griffith Show'' ended its run ...
for all eight seasons as well as two seasons of ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' Bavier had retired shortly after leaving ''R.F.D.'' in 1970. Her absence was explained by a scene in which Andy visits the cemetery where Aunt Bee is buried, confirming that Aunt Bee is deceased. The official reason given for Bavier's absence was poor health (she died in 1989).
Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
, playing an adult Opie, had quit his acting career by this point to focus on being a film director, and had already directed the hit movies '' Night Shift'' (1982), and ''Splash
Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to:
Common meanings
* Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water
Entertainment
* ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah
** ''Splash, Too'' ...
'' (1984) (which even featured Griffith co-star Howard Morris
Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Cae ...
in a cameo role.) ''Return to Mayberry'' marks (as of 2022) the last significant acting role for Howard.
The Forty Acres backlot in Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
, where most of the Mayberry exteriors were filmed in the original series, had been razed in 1976. For this movie, the town of Los Olivos, California
Los Olivos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "the olive trees") is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tourism is popular in this rural area which is an ag ...
doubled for Mayberry, with a stretch of Grand Avenue being used for the town square. A reconstruction of the original courthouse set was built in a small park at the corner of Grand and Alamo Pintado Avenues. The mid-intersection flagpole seen repeatedly in the movie is a veterans memorial that was built in Los Olivos shortly after World War I.
Ratings and Reception
''Return to Mayberry'' premiered on April 13, 1986 at 9:00pm (ET/PT) as part of '' NBC Sunday Night at the Movies'', and earned a Nielsen rating of 33.0, meaning around one-third of the TV-viewing public had tuned in to the broadcast. It became the top-rated made-for-TV movie of the 1985-86 season, and the second most-watched program that week (behind ''The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...
'').
Although ''Return to Mayberry'' was a ratings success, its critical reception was mixed. A review in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' opined that its "slow pace, extremely modest level of humor and straightforward and predictable plotting make ''Return to Mayberry'' a less appealing reunion for the audience than it may have been for its actors." ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' discussed the film only when it was in its last days of production, saying, "Even on TV's crowded reunion calendar, ''Return to Mayberry'' is a special event", but offering no substantive comment on the merits of the finished product.
More recent reviews have been kinder, calling it "marvelous blast from the past"[ and a reunion that "worked largely because the producers kept the original flavour of the series yet brought the show up to date".]
2004 re-broadcast
''Mayberry'' was rebroadcast on Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...
in 2004 by some ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliates
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or al ...
as a replacement for the network's unedited rebroadcast of the film ''Saving Private Ryan
''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...
''. ''Ryan'' included language which the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) had ruled "indecent and profane" in March 2004, and ''Mayberry'' was seen as a safer alternative, despite the fact that ''Ryan'' had already aired on the network in 2001 and 2002. The chief executive of Citadel Communications
Citadel Communications Ltd. is an American private broadcasting company. It is based in Bronxville, New York and owns 1 Low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power television station on which it operates a regional 24-hour news cycle, 24-hour Un ...
— the main affiliate owner to rebroadcast ''Mayberry'' — cited the recent 2004 US Presidential election
The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...
as a justification. "We're just coming off an election where moral issues were cited as a reason by people voting one way or another", the executive said, "and, in my opinion, the commissioners are fearful of the new Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
." In the end, however, no complaints were lodged against ABC affiliates which showed ''Ryan'', perhaps because even conservative watchdog
Watchdog or watch dog may refer to:
Animals
*Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence
* Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed
* Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet U ...
s like the Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers t ...
supported the unedited rebroadcast of the film.
Confusion with later reunion
In 2003, four surviving cast members (Griffith, Howard, Knotts, and Nabors) came together for a reunion special that featured the actors reminiscing about their time on the show. The production was interspersed with archival footage and short filmed interviews with some of the other surviving cast members. This special was called ''The Andy Griffith Show: Back to Mayberry''. Some media outlets have occasionally called this show, too, ''Return to Mayberry'', which led to some confusion between the two productions. The title, ''The Andy Griffith Show: Back to Mayberry'', distinguishes this production from a 1993 production titled ''The Andy Griffith Show Reunion''.
Home media
The film was originally released on VHS in 1989 by Forum Home Video under license from Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
(). A budget release from Video Treasures
Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...
followed. It was released again in 1994 by Regent Entertainment
Here Media Inc. is an LGBT-oriented media company. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company produces and distributes niche content focused on LGBT consumers.
History
Here Media was founded in 2009 by Paul Colichman and Stephen P. Jarchow when He ...
().
In 2007, the film was released on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
as a bonus feature included with ''The Andy Griffith Show'' box set (), in 2010 as a special feature on the DVD ''The Andy Griffith Show 50th Anniversary: The Best of Mayberry'', and on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in 2014 as a special feature on ''The Andy Griffith Show: Season 1''.
It was released individually on DVD on June 13, 2017.
References
External links
*
Official Ernest T. Bass Website
{{mayberry
1986 television films
1986 films
1986 romantic comedy films
American romantic comedy films
Films about police officers
Films based on television series
Films set in North Carolina
Films shot in California
NBC network original films
Television films based on television series
Television series reunion films
The Andy Griffith Show
1980s English-language films
1980s American films