Greetings, Let me be a bit cynical. When the show lost Barney and went color, something happened. Those two items are the most obvious, but they hide a third element. I think the writing of the show really suffered. Maybe they relied on the new invention of color. We sometimes forget just how revolutionary color TV was over B&W back then. The Opie's Job episode was actually the first color episode produced of the series and the attention to writing they had before, was overlooked. The two writers of that episode only had a few shows under their belt and if you compare all their writing, you see a definite drop in quality from B&W to color.
Opie's Fortune (B/W) Opie finds money in a lost wallet., TV or Not TV (B/W) Bank robbers posing as TV producers comes to visit the Sheriff of Mayberry. (I think was actually a bit weak) Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau (B/W) Aunt Bee fabricates a story about her and a local man. Compared to Opie's Job (C) Opie vies for a job at the grocery store. The Bazaar (C), The entire Ladies' Auxiliary is arrested for running a bingo game. A Man's Best Friend (C), Goober thinks he's found a talking dog. (Maybe the worst episode even with heart & caring) Eat Your Heart Out (C) Goober has a crush on a waitress. I am not sure these writers were at their best on those episodes, if they had a best! I guess Opie's Fortune was a great one. I may have missed an episode that this team wrote, but you get my opinion. Now to another subject - Ya'll will probably know the answer or at least have a well thought out opinion on this. - Why don't the owners of the various TV series that we all remember release them on DVD sooner than they seem to be doing? Would that really hurt syndication money? It is so cheap to make them available on DVD and the window of opportunity with we the audience is limited as we get older. We would be shocked to know just how few TV shows are available of the hundreds of "hits" from the 50's and on. Think of all those westerns from the 60's that are NEVER syndicated. I would buy the entire series of Alias Smith & Jones, or Laramie. Plus the cop shows, the comedies, etc. They could even do pre-orders to see if there is enough interest! If the masters are just sitting on a shelf somewhere not making any money, why don't they try? Just my rant for today, (I reserve the right to another) Martin Simmons Opie's dad _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
