Watching this today,I have a higher regard for it than I may have had in the past. Why? By now I've seen pretty much all of the Andy Griffith episodes,(or surely almost all of them) so I am more familiar with the characters and with how this new show dove-tails off of The Andy Griffith show as it tries to keep Mayberry alive for a few more years.
The show has some new characters that are basically stand-ins for many of the old characters that left. Ken Berry plays "Sam Jones",another widowed,single father,(like Andy).
Bless his heart,but he is about as exciting as his name suggests. The Opie character is played by Jodie Foster's younger brother. He seems to lack any spark or enthusiasm for the show,he seems scared yet bored at times. He grows up quick on the show,I almost didn't recognize him in later episodes. He did seem more at-ease and personable/friendly in later episodes so there definitely was some improvement on the part of "Buddy Foster" during the course of the show. All in all,the kid's not bad but he's no Ron Howard. Aunt Bee is still there,doing her same household jobs for Sam Jones now that Andy and Helen got hitched and flew the coop!
Howard Sprague, Goober Pyle,and several other minor but familiar characters are carried over from the old show. Several characters are immediately recognizable and some only vaguely so.
The very cute Arlene Golonka plays Sam's love interest "Millie Swanson". She is very easy on the eyes and has a lovely and interesting personality.... BUT she sounds like a 9 year-old girl when she speaks ! I have indeed heard worse from other actresses but this annoyance is surely worth an honorable mention!
Arlene Golonka does play a solid and good part with her character.
Overall this is a reasonably decent continuation of The Andy Griffith show.
It broke no new ground and took no chances,the characters and stories are pretty bland and generic and so forth.
At the time,in the US,there were many problems,Vietnam being only one of many. TV viewers liked the simple world of Mayberry and didn't want to leave just yet. This show allowed a bewildered public to retreat to Mayberry for a few more soothing years,away from a world that seemed to be unravelling faster all the time!
The show has some new characters that are basically stand-ins for many of the old characters that left. Ken Berry plays "Sam Jones",another widowed,single father,(like Andy).
Bless his heart,but he is about as exciting as his name suggests. The Opie character is played by Jodie Foster's younger brother. He seems to lack any spark or enthusiasm for the show,he seems scared yet bored at times. He grows up quick on the show,I almost didn't recognize him in later episodes. He did seem more at-ease and personable/friendly in later episodes so there definitely was some improvement on the part of "Buddy Foster" during the course of the show. All in all,the kid's not bad but he's no Ron Howard. Aunt Bee is still there,doing her same household jobs for Sam Jones now that Andy and Helen got hitched and flew the coop!
Howard Sprague, Goober Pyle,and several other minor but familiar characters are carried over from the old show. Several characters are immediately recognizable and some only vaguely so.
The very cute Arlene Golonka plays Sam's love interest "Millie Swanson". She is very easy on the eyes and has a lovely and interesting personality.... BUT she sounds like a 9 year-old girl when she speaks ! I have indeed heard worse from other actresses but this annoyance is surely worth an honorable mention!
Arlene Golonka does play a solid and good part with her character.
Overall this is a reasonably decent continuation of The Andy Griffith show.
It broke no new ground and took no chances,the characters and stories are pretty bland and generic and so forth.
At the time,in the US,there were many problems,Vietnam being only one of many. TV viewers liked the simple world of Mayberry and didn't want to leave just yet. This show allowed a bewildered public to retreat to Mayberry for a few more soothing years,away from a world that seemed to be unravelling faster all the time!