The Andy Griffith Show (seasons 1-5)

The Andy Griffith Show is an American situation comedy television series, that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series originated partly from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show.

The show starred Andy Griffith in the role of Andy Taylor, the widowed sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, a fictional community of 2,000 people. Other major characters include Andy's well-meaning cousin and deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts); Andy's aunt and housekeeper, Bea Taylor (Frances Bavier); and Andy's young son, Opie (Ron Howard). Eccentric townspeople and temperamental girlfriends complete the cast.

Summary
Widower Sheriff Andy Taylor, and his son Opie, live with Andy's Aunt Bea in Mayberry, North Carolina. With virtually no crimes to solve, most of Andy's time is spent philosophizing and calming down his cousin Deputy Barney Fife.

Why These Seasons Rock

 * 1) It shows the life and times of a southern sheriff in Mayberry, North Carolina in the 1960s.
 * 2) Great acting, even for when the show went downhill.
 * 3) It teaches good morals for families, especially kids, such as keeping promises.
 * 4) Its episode, "The Christmas Story" was heart-warming and sweet.
 * 5) The intro is iconic and memorable.
 * 6) Andy and Barney do humorous police work. Like Andy playing the straight man, and Barney providing his quota of laughs.
 * 7) His wife was revealed as they got married in the pilot episode of Mayberry R.F.D.
 * 8) Likable characters such as Andy Taylor, Opie Taylor, Barney Fife, and Aunt Bea.
 * 9) It spawned 3 shows and 1 television film, such as Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mayberry R.F.D., The New Andy Griffith Show, and Return to Mayberry.
 * 10) Opie deciding to keep Aunt Bea in the first episode is heart-warming.
 * 11) The black-and-white cinematography is a nice touch for the 1960s until when Season 6 came out in color.
 * 12) Plenty of great and memorable episodes come from these seasons.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The shows final three seasons were poorly recieved Barney Fife was no longer a main character in the show, despite his guest appearances.
 * 2) There were some unlikable characters, especially Arnold Winkler, and Barney Fife at times
 * 3) Its last episode, "Mayberry R.F.D." was mediocre.

Trivia

 * Andy Griffith later went on to star on Matlock in 1986.
 * Only episodes 80 - 95 are in the public domain due to failure of renewing the copyright.