Today's generation may relate to "Mayberry" because something in their inner being still needs and hungers for basic decency and moral humanity. We boomers didn't hunger for those things in the same way because, for the majority of us, that constituted the atmosphere in which we were being raised up.

I live in the same NC town, neighborhood, house that I was raised in. Though larger than "Mayberry," the values were essentially the same. But the atmosphere has changed around here. For example, If we heard sounds coming from the street, it was likely a musical tune emanating from the ice cream vendor's truck and would lure us safely from our backyards. Now it would be raunchy four-letter-word rap lyrics emanating freely, indiscriminately from a street rod.

Think how red-faced and horrified your mom-- or Aunt Bee-- would become if exposed to all this "unbridled freedom of expression" which kids today have to become jaded towards in order to survive daily life. I hope kids one day wage a backlash towards the open, unrestricted anything goes, anywhere, anytime, any place kind of world that the adult Boomer generation, unfortunately, helped create.

Sadly, I don't think the film, "Pleasantville" ran long enough for us to learn if the coloring of their world ultimately enriched their value system, or ultimately corroded their values altogether.

Actress Betty Lynn, who played Thelma Lou, Barney's girlfriend, had moved to Mount Airy, NC, Andy's birthplace, back in 2008 after being robbed in Los Angeles three times. Back in April of this year, her wallet was stolen in a shopping center there. Police caught the thief.

And in February, someone defaced the statue of Andy and Opie that was provided to Mount Airy by TV Land. It was spray painted green and red.

Has anyone seen Ernest T. Bass lately?

I still watch the reruns of "The Andy Griffin Show." They were great and are still classics.

My favorite character was Ernest T Bass...he really cracked me up.

But...you forgot to mention that this show made "Opie," Ron Howard, what he is today, a great writer and producer. It was the set of Mayberry RFD that set those wheels in motion.

Thanks for memories...
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~

What sticks in my mind are those musical intros that every TV show had to have. None anymore distinctive than Andy Griffith. But for me as a small child, I did not care for the show that much. It was later in teens or early adulthood when I enjoyed an episode here or there.

To me, what made the show was Andy being the voice of reason and sanity, usually, and playing off all the kooky characters. Seeing “Gomer Pyle” on the old shows was funny. Don Knots was one of those amazing characters who played such a great role as Barney. Like “Jethro Max Bauer,,” Don really gave his role a distinctiveness that would have been tough to match.

I see the Andy Griffith show as having a sort of modern counterpart in the Jeff Foxworthy gang who seem to entertain audiences with their so called “redneck” humor. But what I see as others posting here have noted, was the old way of doing things and being nice and caring that comes through. It was much that way, with some more harsh realities avoided, of course. It was idealistic (or watered down) but still with an element of truth in it that should give us all reason to ponder as to what we have now become and if we really like that or not. We can laugh at Mayberry, but maybe Mayberry knew something we completely forgot in the 21st century.

What did TV execs have against rural stuff? Had it lost interest or were TV execs more interested in changing our entertainment and artificial view of reality, which they are so good at doing? I am not sure. I do think people were changing. To me, everything was changing so radically near to 1970 and one can see little signs everywhere if one looks back to then.

Of course, we might ask why they were changing. That could be a long discussion. But tastes and views were changing. I’ll offer a single antidote to consider. When a young man and woman might chance to go a little too far and end up with the woman getting pregnant, for many, it was understood that the union must be honored and the child cared for. For many if not most, there was no hesitation in this conclusion.

They married and brought the child up, often with not much thought to themselves, since in their minds, the child came first. But it was in the 70s particularly, where couples began to say, what about me and my needs and life? There is a balance to be had in such things, but often, sacrifices must be made for the child. Those wild impromptu sex-capades might have to be curtailed or well planned to avoid detection. But it got the point where they began to resent any sacrifice or infringement upon their own needs for the sake of a child. A child became and burden and a hindrance.

Now, they often do not bother to marry, which leaves the child and mother disadvantaged throughout their lives, especially the child, since the mother still claims her rights to exploring life. But before WWII, most figured that once they started a life, they had a duty and obligation, which is right as I see it.

I think these types of changes toward selfishness and self-indulgence were reflected in our choices of entertainment and all things. I just have to throw in one more. Sorry. You can stop reading here if you haven’t already. You know I’m a wind bag by now, don’t you?

Singles bars were pretty rare in southern Maine, Portland only 2 hours from Boston. There were drinking joints, of course and one might pick up someone there, but it was still rare. It was the elate 70s when there were about 5 or 6 well known places in say, 1977, the year I graduated. Only one of those was in Old Orchard beach, 20 minutes south of Portland.
In the 80s, many more! In the 90s, entire sections of Portland’s Old Port section were practically nothing but bars to find a pick up. It used to be a popular shopping district but now nothing but endless bars for many blocks and streets. Old Orchard Beach, always the popular tourist attraction, and long a place where French Canadians from Quebec would come for their summer vacations, is also swamped with bars everywhere.

When I was a kid, this was a family type place, oriented toward kids. They still have kids attractions here and there but mostly bars. Many places don’t even open till night time.

Its all about sex and good times and no one wants anything to do with kids or families. What changed? We wanted fun, not fulfillment and legacy. As well, jobs and economics became very unreliable, which encouraged many, including my self, to avoid such unreliability of the future. So they party hardy and if a child so come along, too bad, that is his/her problem.

So CBS might have said goodbye the rurals and Mayberry, but maybe it was not CBS along that did this. I think many of us did the same thing. We were born and raised in somewhat reliable ways, but we did not stick to them. We decided there were better ways to be found. In hindsight, I would question what has come into being since the latter baby boomers have tried it their way.

So I’ll leave it with this. Who really canceled Griffith and Mayberry. Maybe they were not the best entertainment. As a child, I am not a good judge. It was never one of my favorite shows. But the Hillbillies were! Why are they both gone? Why did we change so much? And what has been the result?

I loved the show as a child and love it as an adult! I wish life was simple like that and I imagine it was in many places? It was innocent and that is what I like! Now isn't the actual town Mayberry ficticious? Mount Pilot I believe is real? I looked on a map, but never found a Mayberry, but I could be wrong! Between Leave it to Beaver and Andy Griffith Show, I wish it could be like that? My fantasy I guess!

Rivers End, there is a Mayberry MD in Carroll County, Mayberry IL in Wayne County, Mayberry MO in Butler County, and Mayberry NE in Pawnee County. There is also a Mayberry Village CT and a Mayberry Ridge in MD.

on your side note, I spent an evening trying to find the jump the shark website I had bookmarked. It was bought by TV Guide, but they don't carry the site, do they? That was a great web site and someone needs to do it again!!!

Strictly speaking, "The Andy Griffith Show" was not a "spin-off" of "The Danny Thomas Show" -- the two series had no characters in common. Producer Sheldon Leonard was the creative force behind both shows, though, and came up with the idea of doing the pilot as an episode of Thomas' show.