Did The Andy Griffith Show change TV?
 

It's a curious question.

The series was shot with one camera for at least the first five years. Can you imagine all the shots and continuity it took to put that show together?

Rance Howard (Ron's father) put the kibosh on Opie being smarter than the adults. "That's not real life." The first two episodes show Opie being smart beyond his years. That changed immediately. Too bad the premise of smart kids vs. stupid adults still lives today.

Andy refused to shoot the series in front of a live audience. He said there's no need and it screws up timing. (See Ed O'neill's abhorrence to shooting in front of a live audience in Married with Children).

Most of the main actors were college graduates. That was an oddity in 1960.

Andy Griffith: Grad of North Carolina University (started as a HS teacher)
Don Knotts: Graduate of West Virginia University
Jim Nabors: Grad of Alabama University (1st job editing news video)
George Lindsey: Grad of Alabama University (HS Chemistry teacher)
Ron Howard: Attended USC, didn't graduate. Probably too rich at that point.
Frances Bavier: Tell me a woman born in 1905 that graduated college.

Bob Newhart took Andy Griffith's advice about "smart" kids in a TV show. Newhart never had any kids in any of his series, ever.

If you look at the influence of that show it's quite amazing. From writers, producers, directors and actors there's nothing that compares. Who knew this show (that barely made it on the air) would give us so many great artists.

Who knew?

i think it was the first openly gay show on television. opie had a dad but no mom. barney looked in drag and he was the bitch to andy. andy gave him a "bullet" but he was never allowed to cock it. floyd the barber. jesus christ. he was probably leaking lead from the first unsuccessful male piercings. the town drunk only showed up when the jail was empty and had an ass the size of a queen sized pillow. and only looked better the next morning. it was even flavored with earnest t bass incest. you hop out of a truck filled with relatives that if you say goodbye uncle, one of your aunts will answer back, you throw rocks too.

So it changed TV by not having "too-smart" kids and not having a studio audience? Since those things existed prior to Andy Griffith and persisted decades after the show, I guess it didn't change TV.

Ron Howard was not only too rich, he attended their film school and probably already knew more than they did.

Well the show was about a man with too much power. He was respected more then the mayor and not many people came into town that they didn't know. Also i think most of the people there were klansmen since no person of color. Thou they did let gomer live even thou he was gay because they knew he was a moron they could control.

Andy was the pimp. Aunt Bee was the madam. Floyd, Gomer and Barney were escorts to men. Thelma Lou and Heln were domanatrinatrixes. Mayberry was the sex capital of North Carolina.

LMAO

Opie's mother died, and Andy dated and had a GF.

The first 5 seasons of the show were as good as tv ever got imo. When Don Knotts left the show died. Andy became an asshole, the town looked drab in color, Opie went from a cute kid to a homely teenager, and the secondary characters were all extremely boring (how square characters like Howard and Emit were to be the "joke".)

Those first five seasons were magic though. My favorite bit:

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