Articles by [email protected]

This is First and Last, an essay series examining my favorite TV show debuting each year through its first and last episodes. The eighth installment […]

Sixty years ago, there was a long-running TV program called “The Andy Griffith Show,” which took place in a fictional North Carolina town called Mayberry. […]

When you watch reruns of The Andy Griffith Show—most notably its first five seasons—you can’t help but get taken in by the easy-going chemistry between […]

“I fit in a real peculiar slot,” wrote Andy Griffith in 1959. At the time, he might have been right: He was a North Carolina-bred […]

As one of the most mysterious figures on The Andy Griffith Show, Mr. McBeevee left a lasting impression on the CBS sitcom’s viewers. TV veteran Karl […]

The episode “Opie the Birdman” is not only a simple story about a boy’s mistake but also contains profound lessons about responsibility, kindness and how […]

1. Andy Griffith originally intended to play the comic, not the straight man. When the show began, Andy planned to be the funny one. But […]

Ron Howard has had quite the career. When he was just two years old, he got his start in the industry with a tiny part […]