Assign. 5-1; The Andy Griffith Show

There is a small, laid-back town in the Southeast where the sheriff does not carry a gun, and his deputy proudly possesses one bullet in his shirt pocket. This is the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, and is the setting for one of the most popular sitcoms ever aired in the history of television, The Andy Griffith Show.

The Andy Griffith Show is about the life of a widowed sheriff named Andy Taylor in the town of Mayberry, North Carolina. (Purdy, 2002). With the help of his Aunt Bea, he raises his young son, Opie. (Purdy, 2002). Sheriff Taylor had a comedic sidekick for a deputy, named Barney Fife. (Purdy, 2002). There were other friends, neighbors and townspeople that helped in making the show a success. The sitcom’s plots were centered on the level-headed Sheriff Taylor and his approach to law enforcement in this slow-paced town. (The Andy Griffith Show, 2010). He rounds up out-of-town criminals and local moonshiners, settles community problems and disputes with common-sense advice, and handles parenting issues with sound and logical lessons by which to learn. (The Andy Griffith Show, 2010).

The premise of The Andy Griffith Show was simple, and its plots were never complex. (Purdy, 2002). When the show first aired, it seemed old-fashioned and countrified. (Frye, 2008). The writers were not to be influenced by the problems and stresses of real world happenings during that period of time, but rather kept their focused on a fictional place of tranquility. (Vaughan, 2004). The show’s complex mix of casual humor, quirky characters, and small town attitude proved to be a winning combination, and ultimately became a popular culture phenomenon. (Frye, 2008).


I absolutely love catching episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. I watched it as a child with my dad, and have never tired of its continuous run still seen on TV screen today. I find its simplistic story lines so relaxing, entertaining, and easy to watch. The Andy Griffith Show, now 50 years young, has never been off the air since its debut back in 1960, proving its rightful place in American popular culture.


REFERENCES

Frye, T. (2008). The Andy Griffith Show. Retrieved July 28, 2010 from http://www.tv.pop-cult.com/andy-griffith.html.

Purdy, E. (2002, January 29). The Andy Griffith Show. St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Retrieved July 28, 2010 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_glepc/is_tov/ai_2419100044.

The Andy Griffith Show. (2010). Retrieved July 28, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andy_Griffith_Show.

Vaughan, D. (2004, September 30). Why The Andy Griffith Show is Important to Popular Culture Studies. The Journal of Popular Culture, 28(2),397-423.