Vote for why you think it jumped
Exit...Stage Left (Barney Fife)
Color
Never Jumped
Howard Sprague
Helen Crump
Shark Bytes
Good question Smartgirl. The nostalgia and longing for simpler times probably didn't enter into our awareness until the movie American Graffiti came out in '73 and Happy Days started (I think) in '74. That's when the whole "re-living the 50s and 60s" thing got going. That coincided with the US wrapping up operations in Vietnam, the first oil embargo of '73-74, Nixon's resignation in '74 after Watergate, and muscle cars from Detroit were done thanks to higher insurance rates and emission regulations. That was the perfect storm for much of America to realize that the 25 year post WWII party of cheap energy and a limitless growing economy was over and when many people started to long for the more confident and warmer times (although I'm speaking in terms of white middle class America and not from a minorities' standpoint) of the previous decades.
So going back to AG, you're point is a good one - in 1960-61 when the series first started, it was probably just pure economics that dictated B&W over color. Bacause the general American population was not yet self aware of the nostalgia of that era and didn't have the benefit of history and hindsight, B&W was just the norm of that time. There was no "statement" being made with B&W - it was just cheaper and expected in the early 60s. I don't have any figures, but my gut feeling tells me that there weren't many color TVs in homes anyway until the mid to late 60s (I was born in '66 and remember having a B&W TV in our home until the mid-70s when my parents finally broke down and got a color set so my sister and I wouldn't keep bugging them). And it seems that alot of TV shows were going color during the mid-sixties, so AG going color was just the thing to do at that time - again, I don't think that there was any "statement" or real significance involved.
So going back to AG, you're point is a good one - in 1960-61 when the series first started, it was probably just pure economics that dictated B&W over color. Bacause the general American population was not yet self aware of the nostalgia of that era and didn't have the benefit of history and hindsight, B&W was just the norm of that time. There was no "statement" being made with B&W - it was just cheaper and expected in the early 60s. I don't have any figures, but my gut feeling tells me that there weren't many color TVs in homes anyway until the mid to late 60s (I was born in '66 and remember having a B&W TV in our home until the mid-70s when my parents finally broke down and got a color set so my sister and I wouldn't keep bugging them). And it seems that alot of TV shows were going color during the mid-sixties, so AG going color was just the thing to do at that time - again, I don't think that there was any "statement" or real significance involved.
The mood of the film is often established by the fact that it's B&W. Making them a fake looking color (although the colorization process IS getting better) just ruins and cheapens the whole viewing experience.
DAS, you are so right. I never considered it in the context of Andy G, but I think you are on point. Here's a question though--you remarked that B&W provides for a nostalgic appeal; had we viewed it in '60 & '61, when it was contemporaneous & nostalgia was off the table, would it have still made a difference? My guess is yes but I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.
And BTW, I quite agree with you about colorization. Regardless of the technology, the day they colorize "Citizen Kane" is the day I move to Tibet.
DAS, you are so right. I never considered it in the context of Andy G, but I think you are on point. Here's a question though--you remarked that B&W provides for a nostalgic appeal; had we viewed it in '60 & '61, when it was contemporaneous & nostalgia was off the table, would it have still made a difference? My guess is yes but I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.
And BTW, I quite agree with you about colorization. Regardless of the technology, the day they colorize "Citizen Kane" is the day I move to Tibet.
I certainly agree with you Smartgirl. That's why purists of old films sometimes hate it when the films are colorized. The mood of the film is often established by the fact that it's B&W. Making them a fake looking color (although the colorization process IS getting better) just ruins and cheapens the whole viewing experience. I have recently seen some older Laurel & Hardy films from the '30s that were colorized by Cabin Fever Entertainment. To each his own, by I didn't care for it much - I prefer B&W.
However, IMHO color DID contribute to the chessiness of the later episodes - as my earlier post stated the soft focus B&W of the first 5 seasons gave the show it's nostalgic down-home appeal. The sharper color film of the final 3 seasons only emphasized the fakeness of the sets and dorkiness of the characters and their outfits (especially Howard Sprague).
OK, DAS. I'll buy that. I think similarly that B&W helped a show like "The Twilight Zone," giving it an added surreal and dreamlike quality.
OK, DAS. I'll buy that. I think similarly that B&W helped a show like "The Twilight Zone," giving it an added surreal and dreamlike quality.
Howard & Helen were too of the worse characters on the show. But there was also the deputy, & the repairman. They were just as bad. After Floyd died & Gomer joined the Marines, they could not come up with good characters to replace them. Andy did loose interest in the show after Don Knotts left. But you also need to remember, he was not in all the black & white eposides. He missed several each year to make movies. They had a better supporing cast at that point. Due to this, the show did not suffer.
As for Helen, she never acted like a girl friend, she acted like she was his wife. And Howard was a freak. Goober was annoying. I do not watch the color episodes. Too painful.
As for Helen, she never acted like a girl friend, she acted like she was his wife. And Howard was a freak. Goober was annoying. I do not watch the color episodes. Too painful.
Smartgirl, in my opinion it wasn't that going color ruined AG. It was just a coincidence that AG went color in the Fall of '65 at the same time that Don Knotts left the show and there was a switch up of the writers (the newer writers portrayed Andy as irritable rather than warm and approachable as in the first 5 seasons). Had AG gone color at any other time or not at all and stayed B&W, the last three seasons probably would have still been bad compared with the first 5 seasons. It just worked out that since the show went color when the rest of the changes took place, it provided a convenient point for viewers to distinguish between the "good" and "bad" episodes.
However, IMHO color DID contribute to the chessiness of the later episodes - as my earlier post stated the soft focus B&W of the first 5 seasons gave the show it's nostalgic down-home appeal. The sharper color film of the final 3 seasons only emphasized the fakeness of the sets and dorkiness of the characters and their outfits (especially Howard Sprague).
As an interesting side note, some local independent TV stations which show AG (not TVLand) sometimes show the later color episodes in B&W in a deliberate attempt to fool viewers into thinking that these episodes are the "good" ones.
However, IMHO color DID contribute to the chessiness of the later episodes - as my earlier post stated the soft focus B&W of the first 5 seasons gave the show it's nostalgic down-home appeal. The sharper color film of the final 3 seasons only emphasized the fakeness of the sets and dorkiness of the characters and their outfits (especially Howard Sprague).
As an interesting side note, some local independent TV stations which show AG (not TVLand) sometimes show the later color episodes in B&W in a deliberate attempt to fool viewers into thinking that these episodes are the "good" ones.
I agree with the posts regarding the shrew Miss Crump. I think of all the beautiful and cool women that Andy had some interest in and yet he ends up with Helen Crump and her ugly fake hairpiece, her ugly hairstyle and her mouth the size of a NFL regulation football - not to mention her bitchiness. Ya, I would have gone for the hillbilly girl! lol
Everyone here seems to think that going to color made this show bad; that implies that color somehow causes "lameness." Isn't it more likely that the show switched to color at the same time that lameness crept in for other reasons? Otherwise, please define exactly how color, in and of itself, causes something to be lame. By way of example, if the first few seasons had been in color as well, would they have been worse than their B&W counterparts? Why? Thanks!
This show jumped 3 times. First when Barney left, then when it went color, then when Sam Jones came on. It survived only because the network wanted it to.
I agree completely with DAS. I feel the same way you do. When Barney Fife left the show changed forever. And that was about the same time it became Color and that just added to the Lameness. The icing on the cake was Howard Sprague. That character has to be the most boring of any in the entire history of tv.
I think Andy became grumpy as a result of his law enforcement career. Don't forget, he got to see the real seamy side of Mayberry, and if you think people like Howard and Floyd didn't have some "stuff" going on, well I've got this bridge to sell you...
As well, he had to watch as his incompetent sidekick went on to be a big city detective, complete with a big city salary, leaving Andy in the dust.
Then he had to put up with the infernal nagging of good old Aunt Bea and an underachieving little parasite like Opie.
I'd be grumpy, too....
As well, he had to watch as his incompetent sidekick went on to be a big city detective, complete with a big city salary, leaving Andy in the dust.
Then he had to put up with the infernal nagging of good old Aunt Bea and an underachieving little parasite like Opie.
I'd be grumpy, too....
As in previous posts, Andy Griffith was funniest and warmest in the first 5 seasons. The last three seasons paled in comparison after Barney Fife left, the more experienced writers left, and the show went to color.
Barney served as the comic foil to Andy's straight man role. After Barney left, Andy became boring, irritable, not as compassionate nor understanding, and no fun.
The newer writers gave the later episodes a more generic and at times surreal quality. The warm quaint southern North Carolina charm was gone. On occasion the later shows tried to emphasize the small town charm, but this often came across as forced and stuffy, almost a caricature of the earlier shows.
Then there's the color. The soft focus B&W gave the show it's authentic rural small town feel. The color just emphasized the artificiality and fakeness of the sets and location scenes.
As I stated, Andy's kind of a jerk, Opey's no longer cute, Goober is a pale comparison to Gomer as well as irritating, and Howard is just plain weird and creepy.
There's the unsettling feeling that in the later color episodes, even the small town oasis of sanity in an increasingly crazy world is being spoiled. In an apparent attempt to appeal to younger viewers, the color episodes sometimes brought in elements of the mid to late 60s that didn't fit the image of Mayberry that the earlier B&W episodes established and portrayed so convincingly. Sad to see such a good show go down in flames.
Barney served as the comic foil to Andy's straight man role. After Barney left, Andy became boring, irritable, not as compassionate nor understanding, and no fun.
The newer writers gave the later episodes a more generic and at times surreal quality. The warm quaint southern North Carolina charm was gone. On occasion the later shows tried to emphasize the small town charm, but this often came across as forced and stuffy, almost a caricature of the earlier shows.
Then there's the color. The soft focus B&W gave the show it's authentic rural small town feel. The color just emphasized the artificiality and fakeness of the sets and location scenes.
As I stated, Andy's kind of a jerk, Opey's no longer cute, Goober is a pale comparison to Gomer as well as irritating, and Howard is just plain weird and creepy.
There's the unsettling feeling that in the later color episodes, even the small town oasis of sanity in an increasingly crazy world is being spoiled. In an apparent attempt to appeal to younger viewers, the color episodes sometimes brought in elements of the mid to late 60s that didn't fit the image of Mayberry that the earlier B&W episodes established and portrayed so convincingly. Sad to see such a good show go down in flames.
the color episodes were SO extremely lame and IRRITATING to watch
here are just SOME examples:
Barney hosting a summit meeting between Russia and the USA at Andy's house
Andy firing his gun at a pair of counterfeiters driving down Main street and making the car crash. He fired a gun on a crowded street? Ridiculous!
Aunt Bee taking flying lessons
all those STUPID episodes with them going to Hollywood
and any episode with Howard in it
and Goober too
Goober was okay in the BW eps but not the color ones
here are just SOME examples:
Barney hosting a summit meeting between Russia and the USA at Andy's house
Andy firing his gun at a pair of counterfeiters driving down Main street and making the car crash. He fired a gun on a crowded street? Ridiculous!
Aunt Bee taking flying lessons
all those STUPID episodes with them going to Hollywood
and any episode with Howard in it
and Goober too
Goober was okay in the BW eps but not the color ones
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