The Strange Disappearance of Andy Taylor's Other Son

[TMC]

Most Andy Griffith Show fans remember Opie Taylor, but few remember that Andy and Helen had another son. So why was Andy Samuel Taylor Jr. completely missing from Return to Mayberry? Discover the curious mystery behind one of Mayberry's most forgotten characters and the possible real-life reason he was never mentioned again.

[icecream]

Ron Howard ate that sibling just like he ate Chuck on Happy Days.

[stevea]

I think that was the first episode of the second season of Mayberry RFD, Andy Griffith's last appearance on that show.

Just another example of a later retcon with no discernible reason.

[Duster76]

I don't know what this comment means:

"Discover the curious mystery behind one of Mayberry's most forgotten characters"

What mystery, this was a TV reunion movie not a miniseries. The reunion was focused on the first five seasons, Howard Sprague from seasons 6-8 was the only additional character. The events that were covered in Mayberry RFD were not part of this. Keep in mind there was enough to do developing things for the cast on hand. I wonder if some of the actors didn't feel slighted, George Lindsey played Goober in 86 episodes he has a tiny part compared to Howard Morris who played Ernest T Bass in 5 episodes.

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Duster76

I wonder if some of the actors didn't feel slighted, George Lindsey played Goober in 86 episodes he has a tiny part compared to Howard Morris who played Ernest T Bass in 5 episodes.

Ernest T Bass brought more to the show in 5 episodes than Goober all of his long run. Goober didn't have the personality Gomer did, Goober was just there like so many from the color era.

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by icecream

Ernest T Bass brought more to the show in 5 episodes than Goober all of his long run. Goober didn't have the personality Gomer did, Goober was just there like so many from the color era.

Goober became a regular in season 5 so he actually was part of the black and white era. Goober made his first appearance in a late season 4 episode that featured the "fun girls", that version of Goober was much different than the version of Goober that became a regular. That original version of Goober had much more personality and life than the toned down version that became the Goober of the final four seasons.

[biffbronson]

I think one of the first times Lindsey as Goober played a very prominent role in a TAGS episode was when he took a car apart and re-assembled it inside the Courthouse (b & w episode).

I didn't look at the video, I tend to not want to fall for clickbait that's often tied in with disappointing content.

In Mayberry RFD, I thought the S2 episode stevea mentioned, concerning who would be named Godfather of the child of Andy and Helen, was fairly memorable (Sam / Goober / Howard / Emmett) - when Griffith and Corsaut's characters are back in town for the Christening.

To me it was a good idea for an episode, although maybe "low-hanging fruit" as far as keeping the viewer curious to see which character would be singled out -- and thus considered #1 in Andy's "book," so to speak:

1. Sam was obviously very intelligent and highly regarded in town, but the most recent, shortest-time friend out of the of the 4. He is chosen initially, which sets off the storyline of the other 3 wanting consideration.
2. Goober was a friend of Andy's for a longer period of time than all the others.
3. Howard among those 4 previously had far more interaction with Helen than the others, as when she was dancing at the party he threw; he went on the train ride with Millie / Helen / Andy (Helen as the potential "Maid of Honor" if I'm not mistaken); and there was the episode when he was in the cabin as part of 2 couples including Helen.
4. Emmett was the only married man of the 4, thus the baby's only immediate potential Godfather to also offer its Godmother right away.

[vitoscotti]

I'm a huge Goober (George Lindsey) fan. His character evolved from a complete idiot on tags to actually teaching a class at Mayberry HS in MRFD. George Lindsey if given a good script was hilarious. He and the other actors had to plow through some horrendous scripts tail end of TAGS and MRFD.

Andy Griffith is credited with 5 MRFD appearances but if my memory is correct I think he was only in 4.

I enjoyed AG's MRFD appearances with the inevitable question of where's Opie and and where's Helen? Some of the reasons Andy gave for their absence were so ridiculous they were hilarious.

I'll definitely rewatch the first episode of MRFD.

[biffbronson]

The 'talking dog' episode is a good example of marginalization more-or-less of the Goober character for the sake of a rather dumb plot.

On the flipside: here are a couple of the standout Goober episodes from the TAGS color seasons, I thought:

1. Goober does not want to embarrass his old friend, played effectively by Noam Pitlick, who we find at episode's end had basically lied to Goober and harassed him mercilessly, as far as their levels of employment in the oil / service station industry. Showing admirable character despite having been mistreated.

2. Computer dating matches Goober with a very intelligent woman, played by lovely Nancy Malone. Despite what appears to be a faulty match / mismatch, eventually we see that there is still the possibility of a relationship, with Goober displaying qualities of character. Actually the final TAGS episode filmed, though shown out of order.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

I'm a huge Goober (George Lindsey) fan. His character evolved from a complete idiot on tags to actually teaching a class at Mayberry HS in MRFD. George Lindsey if given a good script was hilarious. He and the other actors had to plow through some horrendous scripts tail end of TAGS and MRFD.

Andy Griffith is credited with 5 MRFD appearances but if my memory is correct I think he was only in 4.

I enjoyed AG's MRFD appearances with the inevitable question of where's Opie and and where's Helen? Some of the reasons Andy gave for their absence were so ridiculous they were hilarious.

I'll definitely rewatch the first episode of MRFD.

Andy's appearance in the first episode of season 2 is the fifth.

[vitoscotti]

I always found it interesting that Andy Griffith felt TAGS had run it's creative course at the end. But he continues as executive producer on MRFD the whole run. It's a watered version of color episode TAGS with dry as dust Sam and Mike Jones now in the starring roles. It's like AG knew it would be inferior quality but get great carryover ratings and be a huge moneymaker for him. I remember watching MRFD as a kid with my family and we're all saying what is this s@#&?

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

Andy Griffith is credited with 5 MRFD appearances but if my memory is correct I think he was only in 4.

Andy really does appear in five episodes of Mayberry R.F.D.:

“Andy and Helen Get Married” – Andy finally marries Helen as Aunt Bee moves in with Sam and Mike.

“Help on the Farm” – Andy gets Sam to hire to reformed criminals to work on his farm.

“Youth Takes Over” – Andy, along with Sam and Howard have three kids take over their jobs for a day.

“Mike’s Losing Streak” – Andy gives Sam advice after Mike continues to lose things.

“Andy’s Baby” – Andy and Helen return to Mayberry with a new son and select Sam to be his Godfather.

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

I always found it interesting that Andy Griffith felt TAGS had run it's creative course at the end. But he continues as executive producer on MRFD the whole run. It's a watered version of color episode TAGS with dry as dust Sam and Mike Jones now in the starring roles. It's like AG knew it would be inferior quality but get great carryover ratings and be a huge moneymaker for him. I remember watching MRFD as a kid with my family and we're all saying what is this s@#&?

The demise of Mayberry RFD in 1971 might have been avoided had the production team shown any vision beyond just replicating the final three seasons of TAGS. It came down to a choice between the lame Arnie series or Mayberry RFD hopelessly shackled to a dated format from its predecessor. The cast was badly utilized. Ken Berry was a upgrade over the ho-hum performer Andy Griffith had become in the final three seasons of his series. Ken was a solid physical comedian who could be very funny, we saw that in F Troop and Mama's Family, but he was straight-jacketed in the Sam Jones role. There's simply no comparison between Arlene Golonka and the extremely limited Aneta Corsaut. They could have done so much more with Ken and Arlene, it's a shame and disgrace. The addition of the very talented and funny Alice Ghostley over Frances Bavier's played out Aunt Bee character. The earthy Goober and uptight Howard teaming those two characters more often was a comedic opportunity lost. Mayberry RFD could have been so much better, it's sad.

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Duster76

The demise of Mayberry RFD in 1971 might have been avoided had the production team shown any vision beyond just replicating the final three seasons of TAGS. It came down to a choice between the lame Arnie series or Mayberry RFD hopelessly shackled to a dated format from its predecessor. The cast was badly utilized. Ken Berry was a upgrade over the ho-hum performer Andy Griffith had become in the final three seasons of his series. Ken was a solid physical comedian who could be very funny, we saw that in F Troop and Mama's Family, but he was straight-jacketed in the Sam Jones role. There's simply no comparison between Arlene Golonka and the extremely limited Aneta Corsaut. They could have done so much more with Ken and Arlene, it's a shame and disgrace. The addition of the very talented and funny Alice Ghostley over Frances Bavier's played out Aunt Bee character. The earthy Goober and uptight Howard teaming those two characters more often was a comedic opportunity lost. Mayberry RFD could have been so much better, it's sad.

I wasn't impressed with Alice Ghostley on Bewitched. Doubt her Mayberry character would compare to Aunt Bee. While Ken was boring as is here, him being a total buffoon like on Mama's Family wouldn't have been good either.

[vitoscotti]

Originally Posted by Duster76

Mayberry RFD hopelessly shackled to a dated format...Ken Berry was a upgrade over the ho-hum performer Andy Griffith had become in the final three seasons of his series...There's simply no comparison between Arlene Golonka and the extremely limited Aneta Corsaut...The addition of the very talented and funny Alice Ghostley over Frances Bavier...

I disagree on all.