| Mayberry R.F.D. | |
|---|---|
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| Created by | Bob Ross |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Earle Hagen |
| Opening theme | "Mayberry March" |
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 78(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company | R.F.D. Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 23, 1968 (1968-09-23) – March 29, 1971 (1971-03-29) |
| Related | |
| The Andy Griffith Show | |
Mayberry R.F.D. (abbreviation forRural Free Delivery) is an American television series produced as aspin-off continuation ofThe Andy Griffith Show. When starAndy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting characters returned for the retitled program, which ran for three seasons (78 episodes) on theCBS Television Network from 1968 to 1971.[1]
During the eighth and final season ofThe Andy Griffith Show, widower farmer Sam Jones (Ken Berry) and his young son Mike (Buddy Foster) are introduced and gradually become the show's focus.Sheriff Andy Taylor takes a back seat in the storylines, establishing the new premise. Sheriff Taylor and newlywed wife Helen made guest appearances onMayberry R.F.D. until late 1969 before they relocated with Opie.Mayberry R.F.D. was popular throughout its entire run but was canceled after its third season in CBS's "rural purge" of 1971.[2]
Father and son stories involving Sam and Mike Jones are reminiscent of the episodes that starred Andy Griffith. Both characters are introduced in the last season ofThe Andy Griffith Show (TAGS), beginning with Sam's election as head of the town council. Most of the town folk fromTAGS continued their roles. Loyal Mayberry citizensGoober Pyle (George Lindsey),Clara Edwards (Hope Summers), Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman) andHoward Sprague (Jack Dodson) are seen regularly.
Sheriff Andy Taylor and his sweetheart,Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut), marry in the new title's first episode. Both Andy and Helen make additional appearances during the first season (mostly Andy, who remains Sheriff of Mayberry in the early appearances.) Griffith and Coursaut leave the series for good in late 1969 with a move toCharlotte, North Carolina, as the explanation. Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) becomes Sam's housekeeper but leaves after the second season to be replaced by Sam's cousin, Alice Cooper (Alice Ghostley).
Don Knotts asBarney Fife andRonny Howard asOpie Taylor both appear in the first episode, with Barney serving as Andy's best man for the wedding. ActressArlene Golonka (who played Howard Sprague's sweetheart Millie Hutchins/Swanson in the Griffith show) becomes Sam's love interest in the retitled seasons.
A recurring African American character named Ralph (Charles Lampkin) lives with a teen daughter and pre-teen son next to the Jones farm. Mary Lansing appeared occasionally as Emmett's wife, Martha. As with its predecessor,Mayberry R.F.D. continued under the sponsorship ofGeneral Foods and its products.
An NBC reunion movie,Return to Mayberry, was produced in 1986 and featured many original performers fromThe Andy Griffith Show. Ken Berry, Buddy Foster and Arlene Golonka did not appear, nor didThe Andy Griffith Show regulars Frances Bavier,Elinor Donahue, andJack Burns. Nevertheless,Return does share continuity with theR.F.D. storyline, by maintaining that Andy andHelen are married. However, Andy and Helen's son, Andy Jr., is never mentioned.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| Pilot | 1 | April 1, 1968 (1968-4-1) | — | — | ||
| 1 | 26 | September 23, 1968 (1968-9-23) | May 12, 1969 (1969-5-12) | 4 | 25.4 | |
| 2 | 26 | September 22, 1969 (1969-9-22) | April 13, 1970 (1970-4-13) | 4 | 24.4 | |
| 3 | 26 | September 14, 1970 (1970-9-14) | March 29, 1971 (1971-3-29) | 15 | 22.3 | |
In 1983, the distribution rights toMayberry R.F.D. were acquired byTelepictures Corporation through its Perennial division, which was later acquired byLorimar Productions, which was in turn acquired byWarner Bros. and merged intoWarner Bros. Television Distribution.
On April 8, 2014,Warner Home Video released the first season on DVD in Region 1.[3] It was re-released as a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) DVD via theWarner Archive Collection label on February 27, 2018.[4]
The complete series was released on DVD on June 13, 2023.[5]
The final episode ofThe Andy Griffith Show was titled "Mayberry R.F.D." and added an Italian-American family to the Sam Jones homestead. The producers chose to forgo a big overhaul and instead stuck with the winning premise of a widower, his son and the matronly Aunt Bee. Therefore, the series was much the same asThe Andy Griffith Show, without Andy Taylor and son Opie.
Mayberry R.F.D. was consistently in the top ten in theNielsen ratings the first two years of its run, but dropped to number 15 during its third and final season.[6] That year CBS, seeking a more urban image, canceled all its rural-themed shows includingGreen Acres,Hee Haw andThe Beverly Hillbillies in what became known as the "rural purge".[7][8][9]
