David Fernandes

A spin-off of The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D. became successful in its own right. The show aired from 1969 through 1971 and was consistently in the top 15 of the Nielsen ratings. Its demise was caused by the sudden elimination of rural-oriented series by CBS in 1971 in order to make room for more "realistic" fare. The show's popularity owed much to the casting; George Lindsey (playing Goober Pyle), Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague), Paul Hartman (Emmett Clark), Ken Berry (Sam Jones), and others who moved seamlessly from The Andy Griffith Show to the new series. Episode-by-episode, this is the definitive reference to Mayberry R.F.D. Each entry provides episode title, writer, director, regular and guest cast, and numerous other facts about it. Capsule biographies of guest stars are given within the entry for the initial episode in which they worked, while more detailed biographies of the writers, directors, and major stars follow the episode guide.

On the February 2, 1960, episode of The Danny Thomas Show, entertainer Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) is arrested for a traffic violation by a small-town sheriff named Andy Taylor, played by a good-natured Southern actor named Andy Griffith. Thus was born one of the most popular television shows of the 1960s--The Andy Griffith Show. From the time it officially debuted in October 1960, The Andy Griffith Show was a perennial favorite on CBS, finishing its eight-year run as the top-rated show on television. It also produced some of the most remembered characters (Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee, and Barney Fife) of the era. Each of the show's 249 episodes is fully detailed here, including air dates, cast and production personnel, guest stars, and a bevy of facts about that particular episode. The 1986 television movie Return to Mayberry is covered in detail. Brief biographies of the show's major stars, producers, directors and writers are also provided.