Breaking Mayberry

Ol Barn's back in town, bay-bee and he is as infuriating as ever! We finally get #justiceforthelmalou and the Manhunt franchise ends with an inevitable wet thud.At least Warren's almost gone, though.Season 6, episodes 17 and 18 "The Return of Barney Fife" and "The Legend of Barney Fife"

Okay so you know how just like... the general concept of "art" is mostly considered good, like a good thing that most people enjoy. Well, that's wrong, and Andy Griffith is gonna tell you why. It's Season 6. Episode 14 "Otis the Artist"If you like this, leave a rating and review, follow us on Bluesky, visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com.

Content Note: This episode discusses media's portrayal of sexual assault for laughsWell, when you do enough AG double-headers, there's gonna be ones like these. We start with an episode that is absolutely nothing, and then move to a deeply upsetting one, one of the weirdest and grossest things put to TV. Also, Dan might get whacked for getting a haircut.AG Season 6, Episode 14 "The Church Organ" and 15 "Girl-Shy"

In an episode that's dedicated to talking dogs, we focus on a famous talking cat. It's AG Season 6, Episode 12 "Man's Best Friend" and Episode 13 "Aunt Bee Takes the Job"If you like this, leave a rating and review, follow us on Bluesky, visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com.

Okay a lot of weird stuff happened to Marty before and during this episode and we're going to talk about it a lot. But you'll be thanking us because it's a lot better than talking about Andy Griffith Show season 6 episodes 10 and 11, "Aunt Bee on TV" and "The Cannon."If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com.

It's an extra-long BREAKING MAYBERRY ALL-STARS featuring three of our favorite returning guests to talk about the three-no-wait-four-part Andy Griffith Epic - "The Hollywood Arc".Yes, for the first (only?) time in the show's run, the Taylors are leaving North Carolina, and this causes everyone to lose their damn minds. We brought in backup for this one, and our returning guests are bewildered and mystified and one case, deeply upset by Goober's hat.It's Season 6, Episodes 7, 8, and 9 "Off to Hollywood", "Taylors in Hollywood", and "The Hollywood Party".

Dan and Marty take a little break from the doldrums of Mayberry with the classic(?) action movie TimeCop, starring our favorite cokehead gymnast Jean-Claude Van Damme. Dan remembers a repressed shame, we talk JCVDs terrible acting, and we fantasize about using time travel very irresponsibly. 

We go back to the 80s-restaurant-of-debatable-quality of "It's A Living" with Max Ludwig. This time around we explore a few episodes with Andy Griffith ties, including one where a group of grown adult women dress as children's fairy-tale characters in a way that's not at all creepy! Also Marty absorbs so much content it breaks him.It's "It's a Living" Season 3, Episode 14 "The Doctor Danny Show" and Season 5 Episode 4 "Sweet Charity"

Filmmaker and author David Dylan Thomas stops by the Mayberry studios to talk about 2024's I Saw The TV Glow, a movie that's about the horrors and freedoms of nostalgia but also about trans/queer stuff and also maybe about a short-lived McDonald's Ad Campaign.Support Dave's Kickstarter for "White Meat: Appetizer": https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daviddylanthomas/white-meat-appetizerListen to the White Meat Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-white-meat-podcast--6272000Listen to Kill James Bond: https://www.killjamesbond.com/If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com.

Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone...Barney Fife is gone and in his place arises a great evil, so terrible that not even the Andy Griffith Show can tolerate it for very long. Warren Ferguson has arrived, despair all ye mortals.It's Andy Griffith Show Season 6, episode 5 "The Bazaar" and 6 "A Warning From Warren"If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com.

Like Billy Pilgrim, Dan has become unstuck in time. That's why he keeps saying how tired he is after mentioning perfectly normal amounts of time to be awake.We say good-bye to the weirdest recurring characters, right as we were starting to like them. We also say "hello" to Aunt Bea's new boyfriend, and then we say goodbye just as fast.It's a very bittersweet turn of events on Season 6, Episode 3 "Malcolm at the Crossroads" and Episode 4 "Aunt Bea the Swinger"If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com.

We're back in Mayberry for season 6 and the vibes are OFF for reals. Everyone's really tense and awkward and somehow Goober is the highlight. It's a really low point friends. But on the other hand, Marty gets to use a joke he's been holding onto for a while.It's Season 6, Episode 1 "Opie's Job" and Episode 2 "Andy's Rival"If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Blood Knife Editor and co-host of Podside Picnic, Kurt Schiller drops by to talk about all things mystery with a pair of Poirots! We discuss the ins and outs of a great detective fiction, including bumbling cops and pedantic wealthy people. Plus, what if Jigsaw ran a casual chain restaurant?It's Agatha Christie's "Poirot", Series 1, episode 5 "Triangle at Rhodes" and Series9, Episode 3, "After the Funeral"

The boys start a new tradition, watching the Thanksgiving episodes of the beloved war dramedy MASH... what's that you say? There aren't any Thanksgiving episodes of MASH?...The boys start a new tradition, painfully burrowing their way through a Thanksgiving episode of the much-hated and forgotten spinoff AfterMASH, featuring the worst possible choices all around. Dig in!

The failed Backdoor Pilot from the Six Million Dollar Man asks, what if there was like, a computer in your brain, man? The answer is, it would suck! But also some other weird stuff would be like, way better than that.Look there's a bunch of weird stuff in this episode, check it out.Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Look we didn't want to do this one but circumstances forced our hand. We're talking about the Ron Howard-directed Hillbilly Elegy, a movie that Ron Howard is too stupid to understand is political.We all know that JD Vance's memoir is bullshit but would it surprise you to know it's also mean-spirited and it sucks ass? It wouldn't, because you listen to this show, but listen to us talk about it anyway.Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Marty and Dan go back to Hazard County to revisit the Duke boys and their new, laid-back friend, Jude Emery. We get a narrator of our very own, name as many country singers as possible, and learn too much information about Marty's car.Special thanks to Grant. You'll see why.Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

The day has finally come - we're talkin' Doo. We discuss the weird place of Scooby Doo in popular culture, horniness, 80's rock band dynamics, horniness again, Jack Kirby, and the weird current state of the series. Marty gets really mad. You can find 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo on Tubi. Don't worry about the other one. 

We've got Grant from Chip & Ironicus, Six Feats Under, and WSKRS, here to tell us about a show his father loves but can't remember the name of.We're covering The Amazing Race, CBS' not-quite-a-juggernaut world-crossing reality competition. Learn about the wonders of flag twirling and airport logistics! Thrill at men who hate their wives! Watch as two teams of cops get absolutely owned!It's ParentalControl - The Amazing Race with Grant!Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

BACKDOOR LOVERS is back with another failed spinoff pilot!This time it's FORCE SEVEN, a tale of ninjas, Teamsters, and racist puppets that spins off of... hmmm... hold on, I've got it somewhere... oh well, who cares what show this is spinning off of? FORCE SEVEN certainly doesn't! It's its own thing, baby!We're doing episodes of "It's A Living" from Seasons 1, 2, and 3, all of which are basically different shows!Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Parental Control is back with a new season of mom-and-dad shows. Dan's brother Max stops by to discuss a sitcom that only Mom Ludwig remembers, with a theme song out of Sondheim and one of the most bizarre plots we've ever seen on TV.We're doing episodes of "It's A Living" from Seasons 1, 2, and 3, all of which are basically different shows!Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool stuff? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

We're back to Backdoor Lovers, the series about failed spinoff attempts!This time around, it's early-00's witch-core hit Charmed, a show that does not care if it gets a spinoff or not.We meet a whole new version of Dan, learn that the ocean is really small, and learn absolutely nothing about mermaid culture.Breaking Mayberry is back, baby!Subscribe to the Breaking Mayberry Substack for articles and ramblings!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool stuff? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

Hey look we brought someone on that actually knows anything about The Andy Griffith Show, it only took us six years or so.Evan Dalton Smith, author of "Looking for Andy Griffith" out in May from UNC Press, joins the boys for a wide-ranging discussion of all things AG and the culture around it. Also about Paul Giamatti, America's finest character actor.We cover Season 5, Episodes 31 and 32 - "Opie and the Carnival" and "Banjo-Playing Deputy."Pre-order Looking for Andy Griffith from Diesel Books: https://www.dieselbookstore.com/book/9781469678986If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool stuff? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

It's our big send-off to Don Knotts (bigger than what the Andy Griffith show did anyway) and we "celebrate" by counting down Barney Fife's biggest crimes against humanity.Then we cover more of Don Knotts' film career, including "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and "The Reluctant Astronaut", a film which is in high contention for "most unfortunate release date timing."If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool stuff? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

We're! (we're!) Ready! (ready!) To! (to!) Podcast!In what is basically an extended episode of Marty's Comix Korner, Marty and Dan watch 2006's Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.We grapple with the existential question of "What is Garfield?", play "Garf or No Garf" and generally hope you bring lots of spaghetti. For more bonus material like this, join our patreon at https://www.patreon.com/breakingmayberry 

We lawyer up once again with personal injury/medical malpractice attorney Christine Clarke, who shares with us the best cross-examination twist ever heard.Marty and Dan debate which fast-casual restaurant is the best to die from, and Otis sues the county in an AG episode named... Otis Sues The County.If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool stuff? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!read less

Listen close because there is a VERY IMPORTANT Public Service Announcement at the beginning of this episode that you're not gonna want to miss. Also we say good-bye to Mr. Fife (kinda), and a famous comedian shows up to do absolutely no jokes!It's season 5, episodes 29 and 30 - "The Luck of Newton Monroe" and "Opie Flunks Arithmetic"If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool shit? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

The actual AG fans sometimes say you should use the Andy Griffith Show as guideposts for your day-to-day situations. Well, in this episode we imagine what that would look like and it does NOT go well for us!If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.comNeed swords or axes or more cool shit? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

Marty flirts with meeting his double, Dan invites trouble, and a wacky misunderstanding implies that filthy casual sex was just a workplace hazard for a dairy deliveryman in the 60s. It's Season 5, Episode 27 "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau"Need swords or axes or more cool shit? Go to https://battlingblades.com/discount/MAYBERRY for 10% off your order!

Just be chill, allright? Don't screw this up for us. Just. Be Cool.We're just normal guys talking about ham, whale explosions, and Andy Griffith Season 5, Episode 26, "Opie's Newspaper", so just be cool about it, okay?

The opinions held and expressed by "smokin'" Steamboat Willie do not represent those of Breaking Mayberry Enterprises or of Marty and Dan. They are very bad and gross and he is a weird little mouse bastard.It's Andy Griffith Season 5, Episodes 25 and 26 "Guest in the House" and "The Case of the Punch In The Nose"If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Okay so in the middle of recording this episode we got some big news and it's not new now but it was a week ago so just go with it.We're covering THE BIG EPISODE, the "Andy doesn't carry a gun episode". It's a massive letdown and now we could end the whole podcast. (We won't. But we could.)Wanna see Dan's terrible glasses? https://imgur.com/a/u0TaCcxIf you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Professional wrestler and All Elite Wrestling Interviewer RJ City comes by the Breaking Mayberry studios to share some behind-the-ring stories and transport us to the late-80s, as we take on Matlock for the first (and probably last) time!We're introduced to Canadian historical procedurals, witness the Japanese Yakuza Blues Brothers, and are gently lulled to sleep by the dulcet tones of a sweaty old Andy Griffith.It's MATLOCK Season 2, Episode 7 - "The Annhilator!"If you like this, leave a rating and review or visit our Patreon or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Man I hope you all really like the episodes where we go on long digressions because this is for sure one of them.Dan has a great excuse for not wearing a wedding ring, Marty finds the son of God while job hunting, and Andy is a broken man.It's season 5, episode 21 "Barney Runs For Sherriff" and episode 22 "If I had a 1/4 million"Support us with your money dollars at: patreon.com/breakingmayberry

Okay everyone, get this: What if there was a guy... and he wasn't funny?No, but, like... imagine there's a guy, and he's just like... not funny?I don't think you get it. See, there's A GUY. and he's NOT funny.Like, you know how some guys are funny? Well, not this one!It's Andy Griffith Show Season 5 Episodes 19 and 20, "The Lucky Letter" and "Goober and the Art of Love"(Owen Wilson is not the guy who isn't funny. Owen Wilson is hilarious.)Support us with your money dollars at: patreon.com/breakingmayberry

Dan and Marty bring a weird energy into one of the bleakest darkest episodes of TV we've ever seen, but it's okay because we talk about horses. Like, a lot.It's Season 5, Episode 18, "The Rehabilitation of Otis"

It's an unlocked Patreon bonus! Marty and Dan talk about some lesser-known Stars War, that see your Star Wars mythos and say "suck it". Be sure to listen for the part where Dan delivers some news that breaks Marty in two.We're doing "An Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage" (1984) and "An Ewok Adventure: Battle for Endor" (1985)Get access to this and all of our bonus episodes at our Patreon!

In this episode, the Andy Griffith writers create a situation so infuriating that it challenges the boys' moral stance on police brutality.Also, Marty ages 100 years in one sentence.It's Season 5, Episodes 16 and 17, "Goober Takes A Car Apart" and "Barney Fife, Realtor"

Magic is real in the Andy Griffith universe and no one seems to care that much about it! Also Dan nearly blows up his entire house! It's Season 5, Episode 14, "Three Wishes for Opie"THIS MONTH! All Breaking Mayberry money from Patreon or Gumroad goes to support striking WGA/SAG members. Join our Patreon or visit our Gumroad page to purchase our bonus episode packs.

Marty and Dan lose their minds over a musical atrocity that no one asked for, and then we get some quality ridiculousness from everyone's favorite mountain nightmare folk, the Darlings!It's Andy Griffith Show Season 5 Episode 12, "The Darling Baby", and episode 13 "Andy and Helen Have Their Day!"

(Okay look every single image of this episode on the internet is Don Knotts in a racist-ass outfit, so you don't get cover art on this one.)Ciera Gardner, actor extraordinaire and clown, esquire (?) joins us on the pod to talk about Season 5, Episode 11 - "The Pageant" - an Aunt Bee episode that's not very nice to Aunt Bee. This one is deeply weird! See Ciera as Lady Macbeth this summer at Delaware Shakespeare Festival: https://delshakes.org/festival/summer-festival/Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

It's election time in Philadelphia, and Marty has a personal connection in this race. Andy threatens to leave. but then he doesn't, and Marty and Andy lose a round to the Mayberry wiki people.It's Season 5, Episode 9 "Opies Fortune" and Episode 10 "Goodbye, Sherriff Taylor"Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

We're back from Marty's wedding times, and we're ready to get back to the important work of making fun of boomer TV.Marty meets a man who's not here, Dan commits insect genocide, and we all agree that Lady Liberty could use a partner.It's Season 5, episode 8, "Barney's Uniform"Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Okay, so you know MANHUNT? What if that, but there was a dog? Is that... is that anything? Do you like that? No? Okay, well, how about 22 minutes of adults misunderstanding each other in the dumbest ways possible? That do anything for you? Still no? Then I don't know what to tell you, man.It's Season 5, Episodes 6 and 7 "Barney's Bloodhound" and "Man in the Middle"Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

In this episode we describe a drug-addicted cartoon rabbit, and it's nowhere near the most upsetting thing that comes up.It's Season 5, Episode 4, "The Education of Ernest T. Bass."Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

(The two annoying guys are not us, for the record)Okay, you know how your relatives are kind of annoying to be around? Wouldn't it be great to spend some TV time with very realistically annoying people? No?Well, too bad, because that's what's happening, this is the Andy Griffith Show!Covers AG Season 5, Ep 3 "Family Visit" and Episode 5 "Aunt Bee's Romance"Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Okay so look in this episode we thought we'd have fun with the concept of MILF Manor but we absolutely do NOT have fun with the concept of MILF Manor.We do have a lot of fun with Barney Fife hanging in a closet though, so there's that.We return to Mayberry with Season 5, Episode 1 "Opie Loves Helen" and Episode 2, "Barney's Physical"Check out Flaming Nose TV Blog: http://flamingnose.blogspot.com/Check out Surf Kings of Gotham: https://anchor.fm/kyle4788Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

It's the final PARENTAL CONTROL and we brought back Marty's sister Mickey to talk about the TV show which inspired her name - Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.We cover two episodes of the family-themed Western show. Marty gets mad at the past (like always), Mickey has conflicting feelings about her namesake, and Dan introduces us to a man with a "striking" history. Follow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Okay look let me tell you up front: This episode spends a LOT of time talking about Marty's scrotum. And then it spends even more time talking about the Dukes of Hazzard. You can decide which is more unpleasant.It's the Duke boys and their new friend Mason Dixon, P.I. No... no that can't be right. They seriously named the guy "Mason Dixon?" Okay that's not a good start.UPDATE: The narrator of Dukes of Hazzard is Waylon Jennings, not Merle Haggard like we keep saying. But Merle Haggard is a lot funnier to say?Trae Crowder the Liberal Redneck on BLM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l71Pvvnp3oEFollow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Friend of the show and Emmy-award winning TV host Kae Lani Palmisano stops in the throw Marty and Dan into the world of reality TV with her parental control pick - TLC decoration program Trading Spaces!Learn all about the inner lives of interior decorators as we do a deep dive into the history of TLC, reality TV, and some of the most unhinged TV we've ever seen. Get your decoupage ready because it's DIY time on Breaking Mayberry.Trading Spaces Everret, WA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2PWMarfVIcTrading Spaces Harlem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIjDvbOD0GgTrading Spaces 7th Heaven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9bUgmv624QTrading Spaces Fails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_xye7OESnc&t=546sPlaces to follow Kae Lani: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaelanisayshttps://www.instagram.com/kaelanisays/https://twitter.com/KaeLaniSaysFollow Breaking Mayberry on Twitter: twitter.com/BreakMayberry,Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/383110240030195/or email us at breakingmayberry@gmail.com

Our exploration of failed spinoffs continues as we look into a Golden Girls spinoff that actually did make it to the air... kind of!Behold the shockingly mean sitcom EMPTY NEST, which is sort of a spinoff of Golden Girls but not really because THAT pilot was totally different and also sucked, but in a totally different way than how this show sucks. Also Full house is involved and Hollywood legend Rita Moreno is deeply disrespected.