Return to Mayberry

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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.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] Plot

Andy Taylor returns to his hometown of Mayberry with wife Helen (Aneta Corsaut) (whom he had married in 1968, on The Andy Griffith Show spin-off Mayberry R.F.D.) but without his second-born son Andy Jr. (christened on "RFD"). Andy's main purpose for returning is to witness his elder son Opie (Ron Howard) become a father, 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.

Most of the characters from the old series are revisited. The milquetoast Howard Sprague, in an attempt to look younger, is seen in various hues of hair color. The Pyle cousins, Goober and Gomer, share filling station duties (and seen together for only the second time in Mayberry history). Opie ponders moving his family out of Mayberry to expand his journalism career. Howard Morris and Denver Pyle reprise the hillbilly roles of Ernest T. Bass and Mr. Darling. Otis, 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. Barney finally decides to withdraw from the contest and asks Andy to take over as sheriff with Barney as the deputy. Andy agrees, and the last shot seen is of the "new" sheriff and deputy putting up an American flag in downtown Mayberry.

[edit] Cast

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 ten seasons. Bavier had retired shortly after leaving Mayberry 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 and Jack Burns were two other cast members not to be involved in the movie. Some of the main R.F.D. regulars, Sam Jones, son Mike, and Millie Swanson—who first began on the last AGS season—were also absent. (Ken Berry was forced to decline as he was busy playing Vinton Harper on Mama's Family.)

[edit] Trivia

• Since the original outdoor sets from the original Andy Griffith television series had 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 this street.

• Apparently Gomer and his long time sweetheart LuAnn (Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.) went their separate ways, as Gomer is unattached in this TV movie.

• Barney and Thelma Lou finally tie the knot here, but in a 1967 episode where Barney returns home to rekindle their relationship, he finds out she married someone else. In the movie, it is briefly mentioned by Andy that her marriage only lasted 18 months.

[edit] External links

• Mayberry.com - home of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club w/ Interviews, Episode Guides, newsletters, and forums.
• Behind the Scenes of the Real Mayberry - a behind the scenes look at The Andy Griffith Show and the real Mayberry, includes filming locations, the stars made on the show, and Mayberry trivia.
• Return to Mayberry at The Internet Movie Database