In the first episode, before they sorted out whether Andy or Barney was gonna be the straight man (both are a bit goofy for several episodes and the show really doesn't quite gel until Andy becomes the wiser of the two), there's this moment where, upset that their old housekeeper is being replaced by Aunt Bee, Opie answers the door, hoping that the old housekeeper has decided not to go get married but to stay on at the Griffith's, and it's Barney. Little Ronnie Howard pouts, "Oh, it's only Barney!" and stoops a little, like he's completely let down.

"ONLY BARNEY? ONLY Barney!" Don Knotts response is pure comedy gold, bulging eyes, hands on hips; that guy was a nonpareil physical comedian, throwing his body into every clownishly overwrought emotion.

I love that show. My friend owns that box set.

I adore the Andy Griffith show and have an enduring crush on Andy. Wish I could splurge on this right now.

There was a profile of Brad Paisley in the New Yorker recently mentioning his passion for Andy Griffith shows. Apparently he keeps a full set in the tour bus and when the band travels around, he'll say "How 'bout a Griffith?" and fire one up. On reading this I felt a kinship with him.

HOLY COW wait I might have finally hit on my Halloween costume idea....Aint Bea.

I remember when I was in school in North Carolina in the 80s--we could get Andy Griffth 3 times a day without cable.

One of the seasonal jobs I had for a few years was proofreading tax returns for a company called Computax.

Most celebrity returns were anonymized, but Griffith's was not. It was sort of a trip to hold (the computer-generated printout of) his tax return. He earned like a half million dollars or something that year.

If you're a fan of Andy, may I point out his appearances on What's My Line? There's something about his joy on that show that makes me really happy. Because of those clips, I'm now pondering getting this boxset.

No Time for Sergeants is very worth digging up.

Well, friends, I bit the bullet and bought it. I did.

We've had the early '60s Andy Griffith standup -- "What it Was, Was Football" and his descriptions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet amd Carmen -- in the car for a good two months now. It is ridiculously funny.

My dear one LOOOOVES Andy Griffith. Early in our relationship, I was hanging out at his house and noticed something behind the blinds. Here's my big garage punk drummer guy, and he has one of those metal poster-signs with a picture of Don Knotts and the words "BLOODHOUND OF THE LAW."

And for the noncomedy fans, don't miss Andy as the Over The Top Evil Version Of Andy Taylor in A Face in the Crowd. Lonesome Rhodes!

Just saw Andy on a TV commercial for elder insurance. He looks very old. *cry*