WHAT WAS MAYBERRY WATCHING

[gregg75]

So what were the folks of Mayberry watching when they turned the TV on?


A.) If Mount Airy, North Carolina (near the NC/VA border) is Mayberry then the closest city area seems to be Winston-Salem about 40 miles away. So maybe that's what they were watching.
OR
B.) Maybe they were watching
WBUG (18) Bug Tussle (NET, NC)
WMTP (27) Mount Pilot (NBC/CBS)
WXIP (55) Pixley (ABC)

What shows were on WBUG, WMTP and WXIP?

Here's what Helen Crump was watching..........
SAT
6:30 WXIP(55) "OTIS CAMPBELL AT LARGE"
Otis is almost passed out in a bar somewhere in Pixley and
the Pixley police have just 30 minutes in which to find him.
SAT
7:30 WBUG(18) "BARNEY'S GUN SHOW"
In this episode Barney demonstrates the proper way to load
a rifle and the best way to self remove a bullet from one's thigh.
TUE
7:00 WMTP(27) "THE EARNEST T. BASS SHOW"
Earnest divulges dating secrets and techniques while hanging upside
down from a tree limb and sipping some good ole apple cider.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

One of the biggest continuity errors about Ange (other than the Mayberry phone
system--how could "Sarah" be at the switchboard seemingly 24/7?) was the many
references to their watching Raleigh TV, but yet the Greensboro market was closer
to Mayberry, and in between there and RDU.

I'm not sure the RDU (WRAL-TV/WTVD/etc.) signals would even reach the Mt. Airy
(Mayberry) area.

One phantom station actually mentioned was WZAZ-TV Siler City, which is SE
of Greensboro.

Does anyone recall what station/city Ain't Bee did her cooking show from?

Oh, and the Raleigh station that aired the Colonel ________ show on which
Howard Sprague told jokes (and pi**ed off the Mayberry regulars)--it was real
neat how they watched it in color back at Ange's house, yet the studio cameras
were B&W!

 

[visaman]

One of the biggest continuity errors about Ange (other than the Mayberry phone
system--how could "Sarah" be at the switchboard seemingly 24/7?) was the many
references to their watching Raleigh TV, but yet the Greensboro market was closer
to Mayberry, and in between there and RDU.



Does anyone recall what station/city Ain't Bee did her cooking show from?

I believe they watched the TV channels from Mount Pilot, not Raleigh. Mount Pilot is where Bea did her cooking show. It was too hicksiville for even Raleigh, even if Clay Aiken is from there.

 

[bpatrick]

Actually, I thought Pixley was near Hooterville, which I
think is in a different part of the country. Oliver and Lisa
Douglas would have been more likely to watch that station.

Actually, if Mayberry got the real stations that serve Mt. Airy,
then in the '60s they would have had WFMY (CBS), WGHP (ABC,
signed on in 1963), and WSJS (now WXII, NBC). They might
also have gotten WDBJ (CBS) and WSLS (NBC) from Roanoke,
and--possibly but not probably--WLVA (WSET, ABC) from Lynchburg.
And prior to '67 they would have gotten network shows twice, since
Virginia was on EDT and North Carolina on EST, yet both states observed
a 7:30-11 primetime (except for New Bern's Ch. 12, which did a 6:30-10
primetime, but would not have reaced Mayberry). The same applied to
daytime, so Aunt Bee could have watched "As The World Turns" at 12:30
on WDBJ or 1:30 on WFMY.

 

[jwk1979]

So what were the folks of Mayberry watching when they turned the TV on?


OR
B.) Maybe they were watching
WBUG (18) Bug Tussle (NET, NC)
WMTP (27) Mount Pilot (NBC/CBS)
WXIP (55) Pixley (ABC)

Bug Tussle and Pixley weren't even in the same state or part of the country as Mt. Pilot, Mayberry or Raliegh. Mayberry and Mt. Pilot were in North Carolina while Bug Tussle was to be in either Tennessee or Arkanasas (depending on who you ask) while Pixley, Hooterville and Crabwell Corners was in the Kangaroo State.

 

[Firebird]

Don't forget about the predecessor to all of those automotive shows..........
TUE
8:30 WMTP(27) "GOOBER'S GARAGE"
Master mechanic Goober Pyle goes under the hood to offer automotive advice
such as changing the points on Zeb's 1959 Edsel and the proper tire pressure
for Opie's bicycle. Also on this week's episode Goober answers the age old question,
"Should I fill my Studebaker Lark with Ethyl or Regular gas?"

 

[Prais]

(from Wikipedia re; Hooterville)
Hooterville was based on the Mid-Missouri town of Eldon, Missouri where Paul Henning's wife Ruth grew up, although the exact location in the show was never stated. In numerous episodes it was said that they were close to Chicago; in one Green Acres episode, Mr. Haney said Chicago was 300 miles (480 km) away. Another time it was said a nearby town was called Springfield, which is also the name of the capital city of Illinois as well as a city in southwest Missouri. Hooterville may also have been in the Ozarks. One of the working titles for Petticoat Junction had been Ozark Widow (another had been Whistle Stop).

 

[oldiesfan6479]

8:30 WMTP(27) "GOOBER'S GARAGE"...
....Also on this week's episode Goober answers the age old question,
Should I fill my Studebaker Lark with Ethyl or Regular gas?"

Wow, when did Wilbur and Carol Post stop at Wally's Fillin' Station? Were they
towing the horse trailer? That's a long way from the San Fernandino Valley! ;D

 

[oldiesfan6479]

And prior to '67 they would have gotten network shows twice, since Virginia was on EDT and
North Carolina on EST...so Aunt Bee could have watched "As The World Turns" at 12:30 on
WDBJ or 1:30 on WFMY.

I gave it "a great deal of thought" and decided that she watched WFMY at 1:30.

12:30 wouldn't work since she'd probably still be down at the courthouse after bringing
lunch dinner to Ange and Barn. Also, it would be too disruptive a concept, having the
two choices in summer but 1:30 only in winter. And the "rotor project" for the rooftop
TV antenna never got off the ground (so to speak) since Ain't Bee didn't "call the man"
and let Gomer do it and of course it got screwed up.

 

[radiorob2.0]

There was a lost episode where Emmett built a cable system for Mayberry. The system was state of the art offering stations from Mt Pilot, Siler City and as far away as Raleigh. The system had local origination and a film chain.

Controversy occurred when Ernest T. Bass broke into Emmett's fix-it shop/cable studio and hijack the system. Bass aired stag films on the local origination channel. Among those who viewed the clandestine broadcast included Sheriff Taylor's son Opie and his friends along with local merchant Floyd Lawson who said it was, "The most disgusting two hours I ever watched." However, all heck broke loose when county clerk Howard Sprague's mother caught her son watching, what she called "smut", while he.....this is a family internet site. Mrs. Sprague demanded an investigation. Sheriff Taylor recruited the services of former deputy Barney Fife who confiscated the stag films and took them back to Raleigh for further investigation.

 

[gregg75]

We're just talking GENERAL here, not specific. To me Hooterville, Bug Tussle, Petticoat Juntion and Mayberry all seemed to be in the same GENERAL area (at least on TV).

I'd like to point out that the first stations mentioned by bpatrick are in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem area.

Now back to the listings......

Here's what Goober was watching.....

THUR.
8:00 WXIP (55) "THE FLOYD LAWSON SHOW"
Mayberry barber does topical talk show and interviews guests
while sitting atop his barber chair. This weeks guest Howard Sprague
recites act one of "To Kill A Mockingbird" while Floyd eats ripe bananas.
FRI.
7:00 WMTP (27) "DANCING WITH GOMER"
Gomer shows the latest dance steps he's mastered at various Mount Pilot night
spots. This week he teaches Clara Edwards how to do the jerk and the
mashed potato. Aunt Bee drops by with some fresh pickles and oatmeal cookies.
SAT
6:30 WBUG (18) "COFFEE TALK WITH SARA"
Sara dishes out the latest gossip while sipping coffee and taking switchboard
calls. This week a traveling salesman needs a tow truck for his car which gets
stuck in Snyder's Swamp and Thelma Lou finds a lost puppy at her front door.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

One phantom station actually mentioned was WZAZ-TV Siler City, which is SE
of Greensboro.

"WZAZ In Chicago...Where Disco Lives Forever!"

 

[gregg75]

That was from the movie Airplane.

On Mayberry WZAZ is where Aunt Bea did her cooking show (wikipedia).

Speaking of Aunt Bea.....it's said like "Ant Bea" .......how would it have sounded if
Andy said it the other way..... Auunnt Bea ......which some use today? Doesn't that sound too
city-fied?

 

[Prais]

Citified?? I grew up in Chicago, where people pronounced it as "annt."

My best friend in college was from Greenville, NC (which btw, he pronounced "greenvll" and frequently referred to his "auunt."

 

[bpatrick]

If you go just a little east of "greenvll," say to the Outer
Banks or Hampton Roads, you'll find "auunt" to be the
common pronunciation, a holdover from merrie olde England.

 

[Prais]

Cheerio, old bean!

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but today (October 3, 2010) is the 50th anniversary
of the premiere of The Andy Griffith Show: Monday, October 3, 1960 at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

 

[Bob1370]

What were they actually watching where the show was filmed?
KNXT ch. 2 (CBS)
KNBC ch. 4 (NBC)
KTLA ch. 5 (ind)
KABC-TV ch. 7 (ABC)
KHJ-TV ch. 9 (ind)
KTTV ch. 11 (ind)
KCOP ch. 13 (ind)

The show was filmed in Southern California, IIRC even the exterior shots. The opening with Andy and Ron Howard walking along the path toward the fishing hole? Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

 

[therealjm12]

Bob, you take the mystique out of everything. Next you'll be telling us the guy behind the curtain is actually the wizard.

 

[wbhist]

What were they actually watching where the show was filmed?
KNXT ch. 2 (CBS)
KNBC ch. 4 (NBC)
KTLA ch. 5 (ind)
KABC-TV ch. 7 (ABC)
KHJ-TV ch. 9 (ind)
KTTV ch. 11 (ind)
KCOP ch. 13 (ind)

The show was filmed in Southern California, IIRC even the exterior shots. The opening with Andy and Ron Howard walking along the path toward the fishing hole? Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

I suppose it was a coincidence that the park whose path Andy and Ronny walked along bore the same surname as the former.

As for Channel 4 - at the time of TAGS's debut, it was still known as KRCA - it didn't become KNBC until Nov. 11 or 12, 1962.