While there would be changes in concept and casting, the laid-back character of Andy Taylor "clicked" with TV audiences, ensuring that The Andy Griffith Show would join the Monday night CBS lineup come October 3, 1960.
Child actor Ronny Howard (who, as Ron Howard, would in adulthood enjoy a spectacularly successful career as a film director) was seen in the pilot as the widowed Andy's son Opie, but Frances Bavier played an entirely different role than she would in the actual series, while Frank Cady rather than Hal Smith was cast as town drunk Otis Campbell. Nevertheless, Long Story Short is a tale worth attending.The pilot for the long-running CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show was seen on February 15, 1960, as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." As originally conceived, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was not only the sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry, but he was also the mayor, justice of the peace, and newspaper editor. Without question, the show is still a work-in-progress there are clearly moments when Quinn seems like he’s still struggling to remember a line verbatim and the writing could occasionally use a bit more sharpening. Most importantly, Quinn exudes an everyman quality and basic likeability that allows some of his more inflammatory statements to seem less obnoxious (and more truthful) than they otherwise might. Moreover, the performer displays a facility for foreign accents that might even make Meryl Streep a tad jealous. Unlike some of his comic compadres, Quinn is not much of a shouter, and his fairly low-key delivery ultimately proves more effective that one might at first imagine. (If the f-bomb doesn’t bother you, bringing the teens isn’t an altoghether bad idea!) (There’s even a funny and unexpected Jersey Shore reference in one segment.) While some of the humor is topical, very little is geo-specific, so that the show will appeal to both New Yorkers and tourists alike.Īs might be expected, however, the show is not for the thin-skinned, as Quinn “insults” practically every nationality and religion, nor is it for those averse to the use of four-letter words, which Quinn peppers liberally throughout the evening. And lest one think America is let off the hook, well, think again.įar from being dry and didactic, Quinn engages the audience by constantly drawing parallels to modern-day society and our everyday behavior. The piece, which has been directed by superstar Jerry Seinfeld, takes the form of an illustrated lecture - Aaron Rhyne’s gorgeous projections are truly something to behold - in which Quinn discusses everything from ancient Greek philosophy and the origin of theater to the reasoning behind the Holy Roman Empire, the drug cultures of long-ago South America (one of the show’s funniest segments), England’s obsession with France, and the mystery of why no one emigrates to Canada. While he may not totally accomplish that obviously impossible goal, Quinn nevertheless provides a clever and informative look at many past civilizations, while also making astute and often hilarious observations about how our current behavior is informed by where we’ve come from. Long Story Short, at 45 Bleecker, former Saturday Night Live star Colin Quinn sets out, in his fashion, to tell the whole history of the world in a mere 75 minutes.
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