How long and how different would The Andy Griffith Show have been if Don Knotts stayed for the duration? If Don had stayed, we can only assume Andy would have stayed. So would the show have lasted eleven seasons (since in real life The Andy Griffith Show lasted eight followed by three seasons of Mayberry R.F.D., which was successful and only cancelled as part of the rural purge)? Would it have gone past that? Also, do you think they would have added Howard Sprague? He wasn’t a direct replacement for Barney (the failed Warren Ferguson was), but he was still brought in to fill the void left by the departed Fife. Okay, let’s think of how differently the show would have been.

Hopefully they would have left out Emmett. He was not needed after Floyd left. Wonder if Aunt Bea would have stayed past season 10 if Barney were there?

If he stayed the show still goes downhill. Once any good show goes beyond the fifth season, a show only stays good if they add new characters who fit well and it gives them more stories. If Barney stays they probably don't add new characters, and the stories get sillier. Just like it did with Barney leaving. Still good, but sillier, both ways.

I don't think it would have lasted. Once actors grow tired and or bored, they want to move on. We have a very inconsistent Andy Taylor character in the last seasons. I think Andy really wanted to wrap up the show after Don left, but kept getting sweet-talked into doing another season.

Barney was also getting too irritating in his last two episodes (Don Rickles and Opie Flunks Arithmetic) in the 5th season and that didn't speak well for the future of the show. Andy and Barney both flying off the handle at everything? I honestly think Howard Sprague might have been better for the show than Barney after the 5th season. His character calmed the show down again, and calmed Andy for those episodes too. The comedy was sorta getting too frantic. Andy and Barney were starting to bump heads too much.

Having a couple more seasons with Barney would have been a good thing, especially if it meant less Helen. The color episodes seem almost like a different series than the black-and-white ones, especially after the loss of Floyd.

I firmly believe the show would have ended its run after 8 seasons and Mayberry RFD would never have existed. The last three seasons of TAGS had more in common with Mayberry RFD than it had with the first five seasons. The transition from TAGS to RFD was close to seamless. That said, let's think about what the final three seasons with Barney might have looked like.

When Knotts left the show took a double hit, not only did he take Barney with him but episodes featuring "lawman's work" were lost as well. The jailhouse episodes provided a wealth of material, Andy's position as sheriff became almost insignificant after Warren's brief stay ended. Now, by the time we were finished with season 5 many of the Barney episodes were formula driven. Barney gets the mistaken impression Andy is planning to get married, Barney gets bullied (check availability of Allan Melvin), Barney and Thelma Lou have a falling out, Barney mistakenly allies himself with a bad guy, Barney goes overboard when the Mayberry jail hosts a big deal criminal.... . The show definitely would have been funnier and I'd take the formula I described above over the replacement, Aunt Bee learns to drive, Aunt Bee learns to fly, Aunt Bee owns a restaurant, Aunt Bee hosts a TV series... .

One final point, Howard probably would not have existed, but I believe that Emmett would have, but the character would have been imagined differently (and may in fact have been a better addition to the show).

You could see hints of Andy's grumpiness even in the last few Barney episodes, so I'm thinking Andy would have still turned into the Andy we know in the color version, and I think Andy and Barney would butt heads a lot more as someone mentioned and would h ave prolly been too dramatic rather than funny. I think Andy was really getting tired of the role.

I think Barney's departure was good timing. He REALLY was beginning to get on Andy's nerves AND mine as well. When Barney butt's into Andy's parenting, and his relationship with Helen Crump, or brings the two diner house bimbo's back to jail....he TOTALLY screws up things fro Andy. It was always good to see Barney return each season in a special episode or two.....but leaving as a regular was a good thing.

The only bad episodes with Don Knotts were the first season when the characters were taking shape and Andy was also a funnyman. It wasn't anybody's fault, just a process. After that every tags episode Don Knotts was in was mostly a classic or near classic.

If Don Knotts didn't leave tags there'd be many more terrific episodes. I didn't see any tiring of the show by the actors. Andy Griffith grumpy? When Don Knotts left Andy was put in comedic awkward situations in the script to fill the void left by Don Knotts leaving. Andy Griffith delivered some of his finest comedic work in the color episodes.

Howard Sprague a plus over Barney Fife? Tags better without Barney? Come on, thats absurd!

The color episodes declined in overall quality without Don Knotts. But, still there were many great color episodes. The color episodes are still vastly better than any sitcoms made today.

I agree that the color episodes are much better than anything on today. I liked Howard much better in RFD than Andy Griffith Show. I could not stand Emmett. When they tried to celebrate his 50th birthday and the man was 72 in real life that was to much. Floyd was so missed. I also like Goober better in RFD. He was not as dumb.

...It was always good to see Barney return each season in a special episode or two.....but leaving as a regular was a good thing.

A couple of the color episodes with Knotts were real clunkers. The supermarket holdup episode was totally inane, and I didn't much like the one with the Russians, either.

A couple of the color episodes with Knotts were real clunkers. The supermarket holdup episode was totally inane, and I didn't much like the one with the Russians, either.
The supermarket episode is one of my top 5 favorite tags episodes. I love all the Barney color episodes.

To me the 5th Season, the last B and W one, was the start of the decline of the show.

They were smart not to have Barney in every episode. It kept the character fresh longer and kept him from being another Fonzie and killing the show's original flavor. I think 5 years is a good run for any show, if the new characters had been better a couple more seasons may have been more favorably remembered, but it became a different show. Season 1 Andy and Season 6 Andy are almost like an evil twin situation. Andy was never as jolly in the later years. Too much Emmett, Howard, and Helen Crump along with "Aunt Bee learns to (fly, drive, run for office, etc)" also pushed my tolerance.

I think Barney's departure was good timing. He REALLY was beginning to get on Andy's nerves AND mine as well. When Barney butt's into Andy's parenting, and his relationship with Helen Crump, or brings the two diner house bimbo's back to jail....he TOTALLY screws up things fro Andy. It was always good to see Barney return each season in a special episode or two.....but leaving as a regular was a good thing.

Are you confusing the characters with the actors who played them?

I think the only actor from the series who managed to avoid typecasting was Ron Howard.

Hard to say. Barney was hilarious, but how much longer could they stretch the comedy before it got absurd? As long as he didn’t have too many episodes about him, it would be fine. Barney was great as a side character too.

Howard wasn’t a bad character. His lameness and awkwardness was funny in doses. Floyd was still hilarious. Emmett was useless.

I too didn’t like most of the episodes featuring Aunt Bee. Running for office was fine, but flying a plane? Really?

Hard to say. Barney was hilarious, but how much longer could they stretch the comedy before it got absurd? As long as he didn’t have too many episodes about him, it would be fine. Barney was great as a side character too.

Howard wasn’t a bad character. His lameness and awkwardness was funny in doses. Floyd was still hilarious. Emmett was useless.

I too didn’t like most of the episodes featuring Aunt Bee. Running for office was fine, but flying a plane? Really?

I think they might've had the opposite problem. In Season 5 Andy is a lot more willing to get angry with Barney's nonsense. There's also the fact that A Warning from Warren (which is usually in the top 5 of Worst TAGS episodes ever) was originally written for Knotts to perform, which would mean that it would've Don Andy would be screaming at and forcing to go jump in the lake.

I think they might've had the opposite problem. In Season 5 Andy is a lot more willing to get angry with Barney's nonsense. There's also the fact that A Warning from Warren (which is usually in the top 5 of Worst TAGS episodes ever) was originally written for Knotts to perform, which would mean that it would've Don Andy would be screaming at and forcing to go jump in the lake.

Was the anger just part of the role or was Griffith really angry?

Was the anger just part of the role or was Griffith really angry?

A combination of both. In Season 5 Bob Ross (not to be confused with the Painting guy) took over as Producer from Aaron Reuben. Unlike Aaron Reuben Ross was a guy who wanted there to be more nastiness to Mayberry which meant during Season 5 Andy was quicker to lose patience with Barney than he was in the previous four seasons. Not helping things was there was a bit of tension behind the scenes in Season 5. George Lindsey (who played Goober) and Andy Griffith did not get on well and both would get into heated arguments during rehearsals as well as on set. (Though not as bad as they would get in the color seasons) on set. Also happening at the time was Griffith's failing marriage to his first wife Barbara that was brought on due to Andy taking on Aneta Corsaut (Helen Crump) as his mistress. The two would frequently "watch quote TV" on set, particularly if there was a bed on set, which resulted in one instance where a cast member walked in on them royally watching quote TV

A combination of both. In Season 5 Bob Ross (not to be confused with the Painting guy) took over as Producer from Aaron Reuben. Unlike Aaron Reuben Ross was a guy who wanted there to be more nastiness to Mayberry which meant during Season 5 Andy was quicker to lose patience with Barney than he was in the previous four seasons. Not helping things was there was a bit of tension behind the scenes in Season 5. George Lindsey (who played Goober) and Andy Griffith did not get on well and both would get into heated arguments during rehearsals as well as on set. (Though not as bad as they would get in the color seasons) on set. Also happening at the time was Griffith's failing marriage to his first wife Barbara that was brought on due to Andy taking on Aneta Corsaut (Helen Crump) as his mistress. The two would frequently "watch quote TV" on set, particularly if there was a bed on set, which resulted in one instance where a cast member walked in on them royally watching quote TV
Griffith’s first marriage lasted from 1949 to 1972.

Griffith’s first marriage lasted from 1949 to 1972.

And from 1964 onwards Andy was cheating on his first wife with Aneta, who he would propose three times for marriage (Aneta turned him down because she liked being free). If you want more details I recommend checking out the book Andy and Don.

And from 1964 onwards Andy was cheating on his first wife with Aneta, who he would propose three times for marriage (Aneta turned him down because she liked being free). If you want more details I recommend checking out the book Andy and Don.

Are you suggesting Andy Griffith’s personality was closer to that of “Lonesome Rhodes”, the character he played in his movie debut “A Face in the Crowd”?

Are you suggesting Andy Griffith’s personality was closer to that of “Lonesome Rhodes”, the character he played in his movie debut “A Face in the Crowd”?

I'd say it's more the kid who was bullied by the rich people of his town finally getting to live the life his rich bullies did and not knowing how to handle it. Griffith grew up in a poor area and when he hit it big he probably felt the need to be like the rich people growing up. Unfortunately he didn't know the right way to do this which led to the aforementioned fights with his wife and having an affair with Aneta.

I'd say it's more the kid who was bullied by the rich people of his town finally getting to live the life his rich bullies did and not knowing how to handle it. Griffith grew up in a poor area and when he hit it big he probably felt the need to be like the rich people growing up. Unfortunately he didn't know the right way to do this which led to the aforementioned fights with his wife and having an affair with Aneta.

I read that Griffith was estranged from his hometown for years.