It’s May and for the past several years the MeTV network has shown extra MAY-berry things throughout the month. This year, they are kicking off the first weekend of MAYberry with the TV reunion movie, Return to Mayberry, on Sunday May 7, 2023 @4pm ET. Hopefully you aren’t getting this episode late and missed it but even if you are, I think you’ll find things here that you’ll enjoy learning about the movie and what happened to our Mayberry friends.
The movie originally aired on April 13, 1986; almost 18 years after the series ended. Sixteen original cast members reunited to reprise the characters fans all came to know and love during the 8 years of The Andy Griffith Show. On April 11, 1986 the New York Time wrote an….unfriendly review of the television movie saying it was “a less appealing reunion for the audience than it may have been for its actors.” Well, they were proven wrong because “Return to Mayberry” was the highest-rated television film of 1985-86 with around one-third of the TV-viewing public having tuned in to the broadcast.
We’ll even play a little Return to Mayberry trivia. Come along with us and let’s have fun talking Mayberry.
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Please leave comments or ask questions on the TwoChairsNoWaiting.com website or using the contact information given in the podcast. I would love to have you be a part of our next feedback episode. Call the Two Chairs No Waiting Hot-line at (888) 684-8415 and leave a voice mail to be part of the show.
Executive producer of Two Chairs No Waiting for Episode #733: Paul Mulik Patreon Patron of the Week #733: Eric Lowry High Sherriff of Two Chairs #733: Chris Smyrl
The MeTV Network dedicated the entire month of May to Mayberry in 2020. It was a wonderful month of much needed Mayberry moments to distract us from the events happening in the world around us and giving fans the chance to share those moments together.
Wrapping up the Month of Mayberry, MeTV aired the 1986 reunion movie “Return to Mayberry” on May 31st. Fans of the podcast gathered, virtually, to watch the movie together as well as visit before the movie, after the movie and during commercial breaks. It was the next best thing to being there.
This episode we’ll talk about the reunion movie and thank MeTV for “The Month of MAYberry.”
Bonus: This week’s installment of This Week in Mayberry History by Randy Turner featuring “Michael J. Pollard.“
Don’t forget to sign up for the Two Chairs No Waiting e-mail mailing list. I want to be able to reach out to you if there’s a problem with the website and the best way to do that is by using a mailing list. Don’t worry, I won’t be filling your mailbox with e-mail but I would like to have a way to say “hey” if the need arises.
Please leave comments or ask questions on the TwoChairsNoWaiting.com website or using the contact information given in the podcast. I wo love to have you be a part of our next feedback episode. Call the Two Chairs No Waiting Hot-line at (888) 684-8415 and leave a voice mail to be part of the show.
Last episode we were reminded about the “Return to Mayberry” television movie by Randy Turner’s This Week in Mayberry History report so I thought it was fate when I ran across a forgotten Mayberry historical gem.
I was looking through the files on my computer trying to find a Mayberry related image and came across a folder named Everett. In that folder was a file named “ending.” Not a descriptive name but it made me want to open it to see what was in there. Turns out that it was a letter from The Andy Griffith Show writer Harvey Bullock from 1999 addressing a question about the “Return to Mayberry” and the possible alternate ending that was written.
This is BIG and I’m just sorry it’s been filed away in a digital folder for all these years but at least we get to hear the answer now.
Bonus: This week’s installment of This Week in Mayberry History by Randy Turner featuring Elinor Donahue.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Two Chairs No Waiting e-mail mailing list. I want to be able to reach out to you if there’s a problem with the website and the best way to do that is by using a mailing list. Don’t worry, I won’t be filling your mailbox with e-mail but I would like to have a way to say “hey” if the need arises.
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Follow me on Twitter if you use twitter. I’ve been posting Mayberry things there as another way to let folks know about The Andy Griffith Show.
Don’t forget to leave comments or ask questions on the TwoChairsNoWaiting.com website or using the contact information given in the podcast. We’d love to have you be a part of our next feedback episode. Call the Two Chairs No Waiting Hot-line at (888) 684-8415 and leave a voice mail to be part of the show.
I ran across an article by Ryan Vandergriff on TVOvermind.com called ‘A Return to Mayberry: Remembering “The Andy Griffith Show“‘ recently. It was published a little over a year ago but I thought it would be worth taking the time to talk about here on the podcast.
Bonus: This week’s installment of This Week in Mayberry History by Randy Turner featuring information about the “Return to Mayberry” television movie.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Two Chairs No Waiting e-mail mailing list. I want to be able to reach out to you if there’s a problem with the website and the best way to do that is by using a mailing list. Don’t worry, I won’t be filling your mailbox with e-mail but I would like to have a way to say “hey” if the need arises.
Contact Info
Follow me on Twitter if you use twitter. I’ve been posting Mayberry things there as another way to let folks know about The Andy Griffith Show.
Don’t forget to leave comments or ask questions on the TwoChairsNoWaiting.com website or using the contact information given in the podcast. We’d love to have you be a part of our next feedback episode. Call the Two Chairs No Waiting Hot-line at (888) 684-8415 and leave a voice mail to be part of the show.
Visit the Return to Mayberry set with Jim Clark and Ken Beck. The original telling of this story can be found in the April 13, 1986 edition of The Bullet and is written by Jim Clark, himself.
We get to hear Jim’s account of first meetings with Andy Griffith, Aneta Corsaut, Betty Lynn, Hal Smith and other cast and crew members from The Andy Griffith Show. Jim and Ken have written so many Mayberry book that I guess I’ve always felt they always knew these folks so it’s fun to hear a little insight into how it all began.
Reading Jim’s words, and you hearing them, takes us all along with him so we can picture in our minds eye that we were there with he and Ken. Thank big you to Jim and Ken for going to Mayberry and bringing us along.
Follow me on Twitter if you use twitter. I’ve been posting all kinds of Mayberry things there as another way to let folks know about The Andy Griffith Show.
Don’t forget to leave comments or ask questions on the TwoChairsNoWaiting.com website or using the contact information given in the podcast. We’d love to have you be a part of our next feedback episode. Call the Two Chairs No Waiting Hot-line at (888) 684-8415 and leave a voice mail to be part of the show.
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Visit the Return to Mayberry set with Jim Clark and Ken Beck. The original telling of this story can be found in the April 13, 1986 edition of The Bullet and is written by Jim Clark, himself.
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