Review (PDF)

Mayberry 101: Behind The Scenes Of A TV Classic

For the past five years, Neal Brower has written a column called "Professor Brower's Class" in the Bullet, the official newsletter of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club. Each column centers on one episode from the popular television series, The Andy Griffith Show. Brower researches each episode with help from the show's writers, actors, and producers. His essays include their insights as well as Brower's own observations about production, photography, musical scoring, etc. In this first volume of a projected three-volume series, Brower covers the 79 episodes that were written by writers Harvey Bullock, Everett Greenbaum, and Bill Idelson and their partners. Some of the episodes covered in Mayberry 101 include: "The Pickle Story," "Man in a Hurry," "My Fair Ernest T. Bass," "Opie the Birdman," "Mr. McBevee," "Prisoner of Love," "Rafe Hollister Sings," "Class Reunion," "Opie's Hobo Friend," "A Date for Gomer," and "The Darlings are Coming."

Series: Behind the Scenes of a TV Classic (Book 1)

Paperback: 507 pages

Publisher: John F Blair Pub (August 1, 1998)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0895872188

ISBN-13: 978-0895872180

Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 8.9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #611,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #263 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Television > Guides & Reviews #539 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Television > Shows #556 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Television > History & Criticism

Of the two books I own on The Andy Griffith Show, this is definitely my favorite. The detailed episode summaries are a breath of fresh air, and point out lil things you never bothered to take stock of. And the comments from the writers and actors make it even better! Man, I wish something like this would come out for The Monkees' TV show! If you like The Andy Griffith Show, you MUST have this book in your collection!

For all you Mayberry fans out there, this is a pretty good book. It offers a few new insights on all those episodes that we have seen many times. I was kind of disappointed in the fact that most of them are from the story writers and not from the actors. However, it is evident that a lot of research went into this book. If theirs any Mayberry books that provide more insight from the actors point of view please let me know. Happy Reading!

At first I thought this book was a little slow and not interesting since it was from the writers point of view but after reading several pages I fell in love with this book. I really enjoyed the information about what was written contrasted with what was actually filmed and where ideas came from etc. Definitely worth reading if you are a serious TAGS fan. I hope a Mayberry 102 will come out with info on more episodes.

Let me first start off by saying Neal Brower did a fantastic job on Mayberry 101, that said, all that was missing was an in depth look at all the cast members. I would have like to seen profiles of actors like Frances Bavier, what made her the opposite of Aunt Bee in real life ?

What is clear after reading this book is the patience, heart, and love that went into all aspects of what is, in my opinion, the finest show EVER in the history of television. It is a wonderful tribute to this true classic which has withstood the test of time lo these 50 years! After reading the hard work and thought that went into each script, it called to mind the shear HATCHET JOB that networks like TVLAND and WGN subject the episodes of TAGS to, just to squeeze in more commercials, and to self-promote the GARBAGE new sitcoms that they are creating(especially in the TVLAND example)! Besides the epilogues being totally cut, entire sequences also have been removed! I equate this treatment to erasing Mona Lisa's shoulders and leaving just her head on the canvas! Thank God for DVD's and Instant Video. It may make networks like TVLAND obsolete someday! One can only hope!

This is a good book for the deeply fanatical fan of Mayberry and "The Andy Griffith Show". Neal Brower has interviewed the writers of some of the show's episodes and gotten their memories of it and what it was like to work on the show. I deduct one star, though, for the fact that he spends so much time recounting the episode--which, if you're buying this book, you've probably seen. A little more "behind-the-scenes" info would have been appreciated.

Neal Brower's book, "Mayberry 101" is one of those books that you pull out before or after you watch a classic episode of the Andy Griffith show. In Brower's book, the episodes are broken down by season and a little more information about each show is given along with comments from the writers, producers, directors and even the actors. I do wish there were more comments from the actors, but the book is still a gold mine of information for Andy Griffith show fans (like yours truly).I wonder what happened to the other two volumes of this book? This is Volume One, but according to what I have read/understood two more volumes were to be published.Get this book if you enjoy the Andy Griffith Show!

...base! Like so many others, I consider myself the world's biggest Mayberry fan. And that fanaticism would not be complete without this book in my library. Chock full of interesting trivia and just plain, good reading.

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