RIP Junior Seau and Adam Yauch

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Private Daniel Farren (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions from August to October 1868, in Arizona. His citation reads:

Bravery in scouts and actions against Indians.

Sergeant Charles H. Fasnacht (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania, Virginia. His citation reads:

Capture of flag of 2nd Louisiana Tigers (C.S.A.) in a hand-to-hand contest.
Captain John B. Fassett (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His citation reads:

While acting as an aide, voluntarily led a regiment to the relief of a battery and recaptured its guns from the enemy.


I’m just sayin… is sad to report that Junior Seau passed away this past Wednesday and Beastie Boy Adam Yauch passed away yesterday. In his prime, Junior Seau was one of the best linebackers in the NFL. He was only 43 years old. I believe this makes 8 members of the 1994 San Diego Chargers team that are no longer with us. Adam Yauch was a founding member of the Beastie Boys… a Hall of Fame group that I dare say is one of the greatest of all time. To be honest with you, I remember listening to them when I was younger… but I wouldn’t say I was a “fan”. I was more focused on music that was coming from the West Coast back then... but I still had an appreciation for what the Beastie Boys were doing. I have probably listened to them more since I met Jeremy (as they are his favorite group). Yauch had been fighting cancer since 2009... a fight that ended yesterday at the age of 47. Way too young to die.,,


The I’m just sayin… Top 2,613 Movies of All-Time Countdown

2013 Journey to the Center of the Earth
Henry Levin
James Mason, Pat Boone, Diane Baker
1959

2012 Revolution
Hugh Hudson
Al Pacino, Nastassja Kinski, Donald Sutherland
1985

2011 Spider-Man
Sam Raimi
Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
2002

2010 Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder
William Holden, Gloria Swanson
1950

2009 Wrongfully Accused
Pat Proft
Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crenna, Melinda McGraw, Kelly LeBrock
1998

2008 Secretariat
Randall Wallace
Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Dylan Walsh, James Cromwell, Kevin Connelly, Scott Glenn
2010

2007 Kelly's Heroes
Brian G. Hutton
Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles
1970

2006 Stealth
Rob Cohen
Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx
2005

2005 The Big Tease
Kevin Allen
Craig Ferguson, Frances Fisher, Mary McCormack
2000

2004 The Big Chill
Lawrence Kasdan
Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Kevin Kline, JoBeth Williams, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place
1983

2003 Modern Problems
Ken Shapiro
Chevy Chase, Dabney Coleman, Nell Carter
1981
Mark Winslow: "I'm not a freak, I'm a goddamn good-looking man".

2002 Siege
Julien Bryan
Julien Bryan
1940

2001 The Jazz Singer
Richard Fleischer
Neil Diamond, Laurence Olivier, Lucie Arnaz
1980

2000 Stuart Little 2
Rob Minkoff
Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, Michael J. Fox, Melanie Griffith, Nathan Lane, James Woods, Steve Zahn
2002

1999 Les Misérables
Claude Lelouch
Jean-Paul Belmondo
1995

1998 Mask
Peter Bogdanovich
Cher, Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott, Laura Dern
1985

1997 The Boxer
Jim Sheridan
Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson
1997

1996 Rio Bravo
Howard Hawks
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond
1959

1995 The Diary of Anne Frank
George Stevens
Joseph Schildkraut, Ed Wynn, Shelley Winters, Millie Perkins, Richard Beymer, Diane Baker
1959

1994 The Framed Cat
Hanna Barbera
Tom and Jerry
1950

1993 The Concorde ... Airport '79
David Lowell Rich
George Kennedy, Alain Delon, Charo
1979

1992 Across the Pacific
John Huston
Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Charles Halton
1942

1991 Jungle Book
Zoltan Korda
Sabu
1942

1990 Salvador
Oliver Stone
James Woods, James Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage
1986

1989 Minority Report
Steven Spielberg
Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
2002

1988 Bulworth
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Isaiah Washington
1998

1987 Trouble Along the Way
Michael Curtiz
John Wayne, Donna Reed
1953

1986 All Good Things
Andrew Jarecki
Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Kristen Wiig, Philip Baker Hall
2010

1985 Transporter 2
Louis Leterrier
Jason Statham
2005

1984 Garden State
Zach Braff
Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Method Man
2004

1983 Wisdom
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright
1986

1982 Night Passage
James Neilson
James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea
1957

1981 Executive Suite
Robert Wise
William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, June Allyson, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Douglas, Shelley Winters
1954

1980 Rachel, Rachel
Paul Newman
Joanne Woodward, James Olson
1968

1979 The Bible: In the Beginning
John Huston
George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Peter O'Toole
1966

1978 Great McGinty, The
Preston Sturges
Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff
1940

1977 Fools Rush In
Andy Tennant
Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek
1997

1976 V for Vendetta
James McTeigue
Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt
2006

1975 What's Love Got to Do with It
Brian Gibson
Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne
1993

1974 The Swarm
Irwin Allen
Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland, Fred MacMurray, Richard Widmark, Katharine Ross, Bradford Dillman, Lee Grant
1978

1973 We Own the Night
James Gray
Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Robert Duvall
2007

1972 The Hard Way
John Badham
Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Annabella Sciorra, Stephen Lang
1991

1971 The Transporter
Corey Yuen
Jason Statham, Shu Qi, Matt Schulze
2002

1970 The Last Temptation of Christ
Martin Scorsese
Willem Dafoe, Barbara Hershey, Harvey Keitel, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie
1988

1969 Blue Sky
Tony Richardson
Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones
1994

1968 One Million B.C.
Hal Roach, Jr., Hal Roach
Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Lon Chaney, Jr.
1940

1967 Shy People
Andrei Konchalovsky
Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh
1987

1966 The Truman Show
Peter Weir
Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone
1998

1965 Bachelor Party
Neal Israel
Tom Hanks, Tawny Kitaen, Adrian Zmed
1984

1964 Kiss and Tell
Richard Wallace
Shirley Temple, Jerome Courtland, Walter Abel
1945

1963 Marlowe
Paul Bogart
James Garner, Rita Moreno, Gayle Hunnicutt, Bruce Lee
1969

1962 Wagon Master
John Ford
Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, Jr.
1950

1961 Midnight Madness
Michael Nankin, David Wechter
Michael J. Fox, David Naughton
1980

1960 Northwest Passage
King Vidor, Jack Conway, W.S. Van Dyke
Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan
1940

1959 Mean Girls
Mark Waters
Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Tina Fey
2004

1958 Rosewood
John Singleton
Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean, Esther Rolle, Elise Neal
1997

1957 Me, Myself & Irene
Peter and Bobby Farrelly
Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger, Robert Forster, Chris Cooper
2000
Irene P. Waters: "I never wanted to sleep with you, Hank! Okay, you tricked me!"
Hank Evans: "Yes, I tricked you. It was deceitful, it was disgusting and despicable. But just for once, see it from my side".
[shrugs]
Hank Evans: "I was horny".

1956 Sgt. Bilko
Jonathan Lynn
Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Glenne Headly
1996
Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko: "All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work".

1955 Medicine Man
John McTiernan
Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco
1992

1954 Youngblood
Peter Markle
Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb, Keanu Reeves
1986

1953 Kramer vs. Kramer
Robert Benton
Dustin Hoffman, Justin Henry, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, JoBeth Williams, Howard Duff
1979

1952 Double Dynamite
Irving Cummings
Frank Sinatra, Jane Russell
1951

1951 The Spirit of St. Louis
Billy Wilder
James Stewart
1957

1950 Navy SEALs
Lewis Teague
Charlie Sheen, Michael Biehn
1990

1949 All the Young Men
Hall Bartlett
Alan Ladd, Sidney Poitier, James Darren
1960

1948 Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
John Glen
Georges Corraface, Rachel Ward, Tom Selleck, Marlon Brando
1992

1947 Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Werner Herzog
Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Xzibit
2009

1946 Shrek 2
Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas
2004

1945 Giant
George Stevens
Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Mercedes McCambridge, Chill Wills, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Elsa Cardenas
1956

1944 Saratoga Trunk
Sam Wood
Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Flora Robson
1945

1943 A Show of Force
Bruno Barreto
Amy Irving, Andy García, Robert Duvall, Kevin Spacey
1990

1942 Hooper
Hal Needham
Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jan-Michael Vincent, James Best
1978

1941 Iron Eagle II
Sidney J. Furie
Louis Gossett Jr., Mark Humphrey
1988

1940 Just You and Me, Kid
Leonard B. Stern
George Burns, Brooke Shields
1979

1939 Hit!
Sidney J. Furie
Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor
1973

1938 Road to Rio
Norman Z. McLeod
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour
1947

1937 Some Call It Loving
James B. Harris
Zalman King, Richard Pryor
1973

1936 Sure Thing, The
Rob Reiner
John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Nicollette Sheridan, Anthony Edwards, Viveca Lindfors, Tim Robbins
1985

1935 Holocaust
Marvin J. Chomsky
Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty, Rosemary Harris
1978

1934 The Dogs of War
John Irvin
Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Colin Blakely
1980

1933 Final Analysis
Phil Joanou
Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts, Keith David
1992

1932 Waterloo Bridge
Mervyn LeRoy
Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson
1940

1931 Captain Carey, U.S.A.
Mitchell Leisen
Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix
1950

1930 The Hospital
Arthur Hiller
George C. Scott, Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes
1971

1929 Freaky Friday
Mark Waters
Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chad Michael Murray, Mark Harmon
2003

1928 Irene
Herbert Wilcox
Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, Roland Young
1940

1927 The Best Man
Franklin J. Schaffner
Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Lee Tracy, Edie Adams, Ann Sothern, Shelley Berman
1964

1926 Married to the Mob
Jonathan Demme
Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, Oliver Platt, Joan Cusack, Alec Baldwin, Nancy Travis
1988

1925 Hud
Martin Ritt
Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal, Brandon DeWilde
1963

1924 The Last Starfighter
Nick Castle
Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Catherine Mary Stewart
1984

1923 The Kid
Jon Turteltaub
Bruce Willis, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Spencer Breslin
2000

1922 Birdy
Alan Parker
Nicolas Cage, Matthew Modine
1984

1921 SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2
Bob Clark
Jon Voight, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel
2004

1920 Pinocchio
Roberto Benigni
Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Kim Rossi Stuart
2002

1919 The Contract
Bruce Beresford
Morgan Freeman, John Cusack
2006

1918 Strange Cargo
Frank Borzage
Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Ian Hunter
1940

1917 Paper Moon
Peter Bogdanovich
Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
1973

1916 Space Cowboys
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, James Cromwell, Loren Dean, Courtney B. Vance, William Devane, Blair Brown
2000
"Barbara Corvin: ""Would you like me to read the instructions to you again?""
Frank Corvin: ""Let me tell you something, my dear. Those instructions were written by a fellow in Japan when they made this damn thing. They were probably translated by some gringo who was an expatriate American that couldn't get a job in this country. And then the Japanese guy probably translated him just to double check on him. You don't need these instructions. Not at all. Tear them up"".
"
1915 Last Man Standing
Walter Hill
Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern
1996

1914 The Cotton Club
Francis Ford Coppola
Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, James Remar, Nicolas Cage, Fred Gwynne
1984

1913 The Dilemma
Ron Howard
Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah
2011

1912 Three Kings
David O. Russell
George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
1999

1911 The Great Escape
John Sturges
Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, James Donald, Donald Pleasence
1963

1910 Too Many Husbands
Wesley Ruggles
Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, Melvyn Douglas
1940

1909 Wyatt Earp
Lawrence Kasdan
Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Dennis Quaid, Isabella Rossellini, Michael Madsen, Mark Harmon, Mare Winningham, Tom Sizemore
1994

1908 Mildred Pierce
Michael Curtiz
Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth
1945

1907 Great Dictator, The
Charles Chaplin
Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie
1940

1906 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Luke Wilson, Bob Newhart
2003
Elle: "I didn't know I could be this happy without incurring credit card debt!"

1905 Battle Hymn
Douglas Sirk
Rock Hudson, Martha Hyer
1956

1904 Get Low
Aaron Schneider
Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black
2010

1903 The Barkleys of Broadway
Charles Walters
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
1949

1902 Murder by Death
Robert Moore
Peter Falk, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Alec Guinness
1976

1901 Head of State
Chris Rock
Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Tracy Morgan
2003

1900 Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Stephen Herek
Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, Josh Charles
1991

1899 The Long Gray Line
John Ford
Tyrone Power, Ward Bond
1955

1898 They Knew What They Wanted
Garson Kanin
Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, William Gargan
1940

1897 Arabian Nights
John Rawlins
Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu, Leif Erickson, Billy Gilbert, Turhan Bey, Shemp Howard
1942

1896 The Wind and the Lion
John Milius
Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, John Huston
1975

1895 Jaws 2
Jeannot Szwarc
Roy Scheider, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary
1978

1894 Power
Sidney Lumet
Richard Gere, Julie Christie, Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Kate Capshaw, Beatrice Straight, E.G. Marshall
1986

1893 Mercury Rising
Harold Becker
Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens
1998

1892 The Killers
Donald Siegel
Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, Ronald Reagan
1964

1891 Pride and Prejudice
Robert Z. Leonard
Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Edward Ashley
1940

1890 The Big Street
Irving Reis
Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Barton MacLane
1942

1889 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Jan de Bont
Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler
2003

1888 Bright Lights, Big City
James Bridges
Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates, Dianne Wiest, Tracy Pollan, Swoosie Kurtz, Jason Robards
1988

1887 Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson
George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston
2009

1886 Pittsburgh
Lewis Seiler
John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott
1942

1885 Camelot
Joshua Logan
Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings
1967

1884 The Scarlet Claw
Howard Hawks
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall. Walter Brennan
1944

1883 Four Weddings and a Funeral
Mike Newell
Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell
1994

1882 The Missouri Breaks
Arthur Penn
Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson
1976

1881 New Moon
Chris Weitz
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
2009

1880 Heaven's Gate
Michael Cimino
Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Mickey Rourke
1980

1879 Back to Bataan
Edward Dmytryk
John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi
1945

1878 Due Date
Todd Phillips
Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis, Jamie Foxx, RZA, Alan Arkin, Matt Walsh, Danny McBride
2010

1877 The End
Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field
1978

1876 True Grit
Joel and Ethan Coen
Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, and Hailee Steinfeld
2010

1875 Runaway Train
Andrei Konchalovsky
Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay
1985

1874 Silver Streak
Arthur Hiller
Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Jill Clayburgh
1976

1873 Ladder 49
Jay Russell
Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jay Hernandez, Morris Chestnut, Robert Patrick
2004

1872 The Toy
Richard Donner
Jackie Gleason, Richard Pryor, Scott Schwartz, Teresa Ganzel
1982

1871 The Substitute
Robert Mandel
Tom Berenger, Ernie Hudson
1996

1870 Haunted Harbor
Clarence Brown
Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor
1944

1869 In Old California
William C. McGann
John Wayne, Binnie Barnes
1942

1868 Trespass
Walter Hill
Bill Paxton, Ice Cube, Ice-T
1992

1867 Abe Lincoln in Illinois
John Cromwell
Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon
1940

1866 The Informant!
Steven Soderbergh
Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey
2009

1865 Bluebeard
Alfred Hitchcock
Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix
1944

1864 The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Henry Levin
Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Barbara Eden
1962


The I’m just sayin… Kid Show of the Week

The Andy Griffith Show is a sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and a young son, Opie (Ron Howard, billed as Ronny). Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life.

The series was a major hit, never placing lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ending its final season at number one. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show entitled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964), a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986). The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air across the United States, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.

The series' plot revolves around Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and his life in sleepy, slow-paced fictional Mayberry, North Carolina. Sheriff Taylor's level-headed approach to law enforcement makes him the scourge of local moonshiners and out-of-town criminals, while his abilities to settle community problems with common-sense advice, mediation and conciliation make him popular with his fellow citizens. His professional life, however, is complicated by the gaffes of his comically inept deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts). Barney is portrayed as Andy's cousin in the first, second, and sixth episodes, but is never referenced as such in the later episodes. Andy socializes with male friends in the Main Street barber shop and dates various ladies until a schoolteacher becomes his steady interest in the third season. At home, Andy enjoys fishing trips with his son, Opie (Ronny Howard), and quiet evenings on the front porch with his maiden aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier). Opie tests his father's parenting skills season after season, and Aunt Bee's ill-considered romances and adventures cause her nephew concern.
Andy's friends and neighbors include barber Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear), service station attendants and cousins Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) and Goober Pyle (George Lindsey), and local drunkard Otis Campbell (Hal Smith). On the distaff side, townswoman Clara Edwards (Hope Summers), Barney's sweetheart Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn) and Andy's schoolteacher sweetheart Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut) become semi-regulars. Elinor Donahue made twelve appearances as Andy's girlfriend, Ellie Walker, in the first season. In the color seasons, County Clerk Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson) and handyman Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman) appeared regularly, while Barney's replacement deputy Warren Ferguson (Jack Burns) appeared in the sixth season. Unseen characters such as telephone operator Sarah, and Barney's love interest, local diner waitress Juanita Beasley, as mentioned in first season episode "Andy Forecloses", are often referenced. In the series' last few episodes, farmer Sam Jones (Ken Berry) debuts, and later becomes the star of the show's sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D.

Initially, Griffith played Taylor as a heavy-handed country bumpkin, grinning from ear to ear and speaking in a hesitant, frantic manner but later changed, becoming this Lincolnesque character. As Griffith stopped portraying some of the sheriff's more unsophisticated character traits and mannerisms, it was impossible for him to create his own problems and troubles in the manner of other central sitcom characters such as Lucy in I Love Lucy or Archie Bunker in All in the Family, whose problems were the result of their temperaments, philosophies and attitudes. Consequently, the characters around Taylor were employed to create the problems and troubles, with rock-solid Taylor stepping in as problem solver, mediator, advisor, disciplinarian and counselor. Aunt Bee, for example, was given several wayward romances requiring Andy's intervention, Opie suffered childhood missteps that needed a father's counsel and discipline, and Barney engaged in ill-considered acts on the job that required Sheriff Taylor's professional oversight and reprimand. Andy Griffith has said that he realized during the earlier episodes of the program that it was much funnier for him to play the straight man to Knotts' "Barney," rather than his being the originator of the comedic scenes between them.

The show comprises 8 full seasons and 249 episodes — 159 episodes in black and white (seasons 1–5) and 90 in color (seasons 6–8). Griffith appears in all 249 episodes with Howard coming in second at 209. Only Griffith, Howard, Bavier, Knotts, and Hope Summers appeared in all eight seasons. Knotts left the show at the end of the fifth season to pursue a career in films (on the show it is told that he takes a job as a detective in Raleigh) but returned to make five guest appearances as Barney in seasons six through eight. His last appearance in the final season in a story about a summit meeting with Russian dignitaries ranked eleventh among single comedy programs most watched in television between 1960 to [1984], with an audience of thirty-three and a half million. The color episodes of the show in its later years are markedly different from the black-and-white episodes of the first five seasons. New writers took over the scriptwriting for the post-Knotts color seasons, and they generally abandoned the character-based sitcom format in favor of dry humor revolving around rather mundane aspects of life in a small town.

All in all, this is a great show to watch with boys and girls.