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 show 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.
[edit] Plot
Andy Taylor returns to Mayberry with wife Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut) (whom he had married in 1968, on the first episode of The Andy Griffith Show spin-off Mayberry R.F.D.) with two purposes: to run for sheriff again after nearly twenty years away; and more importantly, to witness his son Opie (Ron Howard) become a father. The surprise comes when he finds that his old friend and deputy, 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 elected sheriff, and intends to run for the position himself.
[edit] Trivia
- Frances Bavier, who played Aunt Bee on the original series, was one of the few cast members not to be involved in the reunion. Bavier had retired in 1970, after leaving Mayberry R.F.D. Her absence was explained by a scene in which Andy visits the cemetery where Aunt Bee is buried — Bee had died at some point between leaving Mayberry R.F.D. and the events of the movie.
- 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.
[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.
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