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Information about Return To Mayberry

Return to Mayberry was a television movie made in 1986 on NBC. The show was a reunion movie for the 1960s American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. The movie premiered on April 14, 1986 was one of the highest rated shows in the 1986 season, and was the second most watched program of the week (after The Cosby Show). Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for the movie, and it is generally regarded as one of the best of the "reunion" genre.

Plot

Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) returns to his hometown of Mayberry with wife Helen (Aneta Corsaut) (whom he had married in 1968, on the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D.) but without his second-born son Andy, Jr. (christened on R.F.D.). Andy's main purpose for returning is to see son Opie (Ron Howard) into fatherhood, as his wife is nearly nine months pregnant.

Andy finds that his old deputy and cousin, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), has returned from Raleigh (where he had moved after Knotts left the series in 1965) to become the acting sheriff following the death of the preceding sheriff, and intends to run to win the position outright. However, he becomes annoyed as many townspeople assume that Andy has returned to take over the Sheriff's office (despite Andy's constant denial of the matter) and beg their old friend to take over. Barney also gets caught up in believing a commercial ploy to attract tourists to Myer's Lake via a mechanical monster. Meanwhile, Opie ponders moving his family out of Mayberry to expand his journalism career.

Most of the characters from the old series are revisited. The milquetoast Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson), in an attempt to look younger, is seen in various hues of hair color. The Pyle cousins, Gomer (Jim Nabors) and Goober (George Lindsey), share filling station duties (and are seen together for only the second time in Mayberry history). Howard Morris and Denver Pyle reprise the hillbilly roles of Ernest T. Bass and Mr. Darling, respectively, along with Maggie Peterson and The Dillards as the rest of the Darling clan. Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), the former town drunk, has become sober and now drives an ice cream truck.

In the end, Andy learns that hotel owner Wally Butler was using Ernest T. Bass and Barney to propagate a lake monster panic. A dragon artifact was confiscated from a defunct restaurant and planted in the lake to boost business. At a "victory rally" for Barney, an informal straw poll is taken. Andy is favored as sheriff despite not being on the ballot. Unwilling to keep Barney from realizing his dream, Andy steadfastly refuses to enter the race. Surprisingly, Barney makes an emotional withdrawal speech and endorses Andy. Andy agrees to serve, and the last shot seen is of the "new" sheriff and deputy putting up an American flag on Mayberry's Main Street.

Changes

Most of the surviving cast members of The Andy Griffith Show reprised their roles in the reunion movie. One notable exception was Frances Bavier, who played Aunt Bee for all eight TAGS 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. Bee had apparently died at some point between the end of Mayberry R.F.D. and the events of this movie. Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker) and Jack Burns (Warren Ferguson) were two other cast members not to be involved in the movie. Some of the main R.F.D. regulars, including Sam Jones, son Mike, and Millie Swanson—who first began on the last TAGS season—were also absent. (Ken Berry, who had played Jones, was forced to decline as he was busy playing Vinton Harper on Mama's Family.) Former series regulars Howard McNear (as Floyd Lawson), Hope Summers (as Clara Edwards), and Paul Hartman (as Emmett Clark) had long since passed away.

Also in the movie, Gomer and his long time sweetheart LuAnn (Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.) had went their separate ways, as Gomer was shown as being unattached in this TV movie. Barney and Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn) finally married in the movie. In a 1966 episode where Barney returned home to rekindle their relationship only to find out that Thelma Lou had married someone else. In the movie, it is briefly mentioned by Andy that Thelma Lou's first marriage had lasted only 18 months.

Since the original outdoor sets from the original Andy Griffith television series had long since been destroyed, the producers had to recreate the town of Mayberry. As a result there were some differences between this version of Mayberry and the one from the TV series. One of the more notable differences was that the main street went past the courthouse rather than ending at the building, and that there was a small island with a flagpole on the street in front of the courthouse.

Cast

Andy Griffith ... Andy Taylor
Ron Howard ... Opie Taylor
Don Knotts ... Barney Fife
Howard Morris ... Ernest T. Bass
Jim Nabors ... Gomer Pyle
Hal Smith ... Otis Campbell
Betty Lynn ... Thelma Lou
George Lindsey ... Goober Pyle
Denver Pyle ... Briscoe Darling
Aneta Corsaut ... Helen Crump Taylor
Jack Dodson ... Howard Sprague
Maggie Peterson ... Charlene Darling
Robert Broyles ... Wilson
Karlene Crockett ... Eunice Taylor
Rance Howard ... Preacher
Karen Knotts ... Opie's Receptionist
Richard Lineback ... Wally Butler
Allen Williams ... Lloyd Fox
Paul Willson ... Ben Woods

External links

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1983 1984 1985 - 1986 - 1987 1988 1989

Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI
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National Broadcasting Company

Type Broadcast television network
Country  United States
Availability    United States, also distributed in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean
Founder David Sarnoff
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Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

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Their 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive.
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
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Television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V., or more recently, tv; sometimes called telly, the tube, boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures
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A situation comedy, usually referred to as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy programs which originated in radio. Today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television, as one of its dominant narrative forms.
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The Andy Griffith Show is an American television series humorously depicting life in a fictional southern community. The show stars Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor, the sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina.
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April 14 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. Nielsen Ratings are offered in over forty countries.
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The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, first airing on September 20, 1984 and running for eight seasons on the NBC television network, until April 30, 1992.
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Cast of The Andy Griffith Show:
  • Sheriff Andy Taylor - Andy Griffith
  • Opie Taylor - Ron Howard (as Ronny Howard)
  • Deputy Barney Fife - Don Knotts
  • Aunt Bee - Frances Bavier
  • Gomer Pyle - Jim Nabors

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Sheriff Andy Taylor is the main character on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom of the 1960s. He was played by Andy Griffith from 1960-1968; and 1968-1969 on Mayberry RFD.

Andy Taylor is a widowed father to his son Opie Taylor.
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Andy Griffith

Andy Griffith receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005
Birth name Andy Samuel Griffith
Born May 1 1926 (1926--) (age 81)
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For the Rascal Flatts song, see .
Mayberry is the name of a fictional town in North Carolina which was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D..
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Helen Crump was a fictional character on the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. She was Opie's school teacher and also later became Sheriff Andy Taylor's girlfriend (and eventually, his wife). She was played by Aneta Corsaut.
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Aneta Corsaut (b. November 3 1933, Hutchinson, Kansas - d. November 6 1995, Studio City, California) was an American television actress. She is best known for playing Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith Show.
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-1968- 1969 1970 1971  1972 .  1973 .  1974 .  1975  . 1976  . 1977  . 1978 

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spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one, such as a television series based on a pre-existing one, or as a new company formed from a university research group or business incubator.
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Mayberry R.F.D. (R.F.D. is a postal abbreviation for Rural Free Delivery) was a spin-off, or, perhaps more accurately, a direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title.
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Opie Taylor is a character from the American television series The Andy Griffith Show which was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968. Opie was portrayed by Ron Howard.
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Ron Howard

Birth name Ronald William Howard
Born March 1 1954 (1954--) (age 53)
Duncan, Oklahoma, U.S.
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Bernard "Barney" Fife[1] was the fictional deputy sheriff in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. He was played by comic actor Don Knotts.

Overview


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Don Knotts

Don Knotts, in his best known role as Deputy Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show
Birth name Jesse Donald Knotts
Born July 21 1924(1924--)
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Raleigh, North Carolina

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Nickname: City of Oaks
Motto: You Can See the Whole State from Here
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-1965- 1966 1967 1968  1969 .  1970 .  1971 .  1972  . 1973  . 1974  . 1975 

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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.
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Jack Dodson (May 16, 1931 - September 16, 1994) Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American television actor best remembered for the character Howard Sprague in The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D.
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Gomer Pyle was the simple-minded gas station attendant and later auto mechanic in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, played by Jim Nabors. Nabors continued the character in his own starring vehicle, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. from 1964-69.
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Jim Nabors

Jim Nabors
Birth name James Thurston Nabors
Born May 12 1930 (1930--) (age 77)
Sylacauga, Alabama, USA
Died


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