Miracle on 34th Street (7pm, AMC) - Edmund Gwen won an Oscar for his portrayal of the department store Santa who goes on trial to prove he's the real Kris Kringle in this heartwarming Christmas fantasy from 1947. Also stars Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood and Gene Lockhart.

Christmas is Here Again (8pm, CW) - I'm not sure how I ever missed this (and I may keep right on missing it): Jay Leno narrates the tale of an orphan girl who undertakes the task of recovering Santa's stolen magical toy sack, which was stitched together from the Baby Jesus' swaddling clothes (WHAT!?!). It gets better. Andy Griffith provides the voice of Santa and Shirley Jones is Mrs. Claus. I did not make any of that up.

It's a Wonderful Life (8pm, NBC) - Another showing of Frank Capra's wondrous 1946 classic starring Jimmy Stewart as a small-town banker who learns what life would have been like if he'd never been born. Also stars Donna Reed and Henry Travers.

The March Sisters at Christmas (8pm, Lifetime) - A contemporary adaptation of "Little Women" centers on the March sisters fighting to save their family home while also searching for love during the Christmas season.

Shrek the Halls (8:30pm, ABC) - Shrek, Fiona and the kids try to celebrate the holidays as a family, but visits by Donkey, Puss in Boots, Gingerbread Man and others turn a cozy gathering into a chaotic Christmas. Voices by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas and Cameron Diaz.

A Christmas Carol (9pm, TNT) - Patrick Stewart shines as Ebenezer Scrooge in this 1999 adaptation of the Dickens classic about a miser who's led on a chilling path to redemption.

Slate.com has an interesting essay asserting that North Carolina comedians are redefining American humor. It's a flattering premise, and the author (Evan Smith Rakoff, a Manhattan writer who as far as I can tell, isn't a closet Tar Heel is from Asheboro and graduated from UNC-Greensboro) makes his point by tracing North Carolina comedy influences from Andy Griffith to David Sedaris and Zach Galifianakis. And it's not just about those guys, who are pretty much household names, but lots and lots of other actors and writers and directors and producers with North Carolina ties who are plenty current and influential.

It's definitely worth checking out.

Courtesy of Kevin Siers, the editorial cartoonist at our sister paper, The Charlotte Observer. Find more of his cartoons here.

There are already some marathons planned to honor Andy Griffith's work. We'll update this post as we learn of others.

-TV Land will run blocks of "The Andy Griffith Show" episodes starting tomorrow at 8 a.m. and going until 1 p.m. Then on Saturday and Sunday (July 7 and 8), episodes will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. TV Land airs on channels 54 and 216 on Time Warner Cable; on 304 on DirecTV; 106 on Dish; and 138 and 1138 on AT&T U-Verse.

-The Hallmark Movie Channel (not to be confused with the regular Hallmark Channel) had already planned a "Matlock" marathon for July 4. It begins at 6 a.m. tomorrow and runs until 8 a.m. on Thursday. Hallmark Movie Channels airs on 624 and 1624 on Time Warner Cable, 560 on DirecTV, and 187 on Dish.

-WRAL2 will run a two-day marathon of "The Andy Griffith Show" (classic black & white episodes only!) on Saturday from 1 p.m to 1 a.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. WRAL2 is available over the air at channel 5.2. On Time Warner Cable, you can see it on digital channel 106. Not available on satellite.

-Turner Classic Movies will air Griffith's most memorable motion pictures on July 18. Elia Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd" (1957) will air at 9 p.m.; "No Time For Sergeants" (1958) will air at 10:15 p.m.; "Hearts of the West" (1975) will air at 12:30 a.m.; and "Onionhead" (1958) will air at 2:15 a.m. TCM airs on channels 67, 621, and 1621 on Time Warner Cable; 256 and 1256 on DirecTV; 132 on Dish; and 790 and 1790 on AT&T U-Verse.

What a sad day. Andy Griffith has died. WITN, a news station in Greenville, broke the story this morning. 

There is almost too much to say about Andy Griffith and what he and the legacy of "The Andy Griffith Show" (and "Matlock") have meant to the people of North Carolina. He was simply a treasure. A treasure to the entertainment industry, a treasure to our state, a treasure to our nation.

Here is the beautiful obituary written by former N&Oer Dennis Rogers. This says it all.

The photo here (by staff photographer Travis Long) is from one of his last public appearances in North Carolina. Griffith read a poem at the inauguration of Governor Beverly Perdue in January, 2009. We will always love him in his tan sheriff's uniform, but he looks very stately here. I like this one.

Also, here's a photo gallery of other great shots from Griffith's career and public life. While you're at it, here's a nice short interview Griffith did with NPR in 2007, after appearing in the independent film, "The Waitress."

WRAL has changed up the "Andy Griffith Show" episodes airing this weekend to spotlight those featuing George Lindsey. Lindsey, who portrayed Goober Pyle, passed away earlier this week.

Here's the lineup:

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
1 p.m. Episode 186 - "Goober's Replacement"*
1:30 p.m. Episode 196 - "Goober Makes History"*
3 p.m. Episode 147 - "Goober and the Art of Love" (Best Goober episode ever)

SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012
1 p.m. Episode 221 - "Goober the Executive"*
1:30 p.m. Episode 249 - "A Girl for Goober"*

*Color episode

I think Deputy Barney Fife would agree that there's only one word to describe the kind of year Mount Airy's Andy Griffith Museum had: "Big."

The museum, which is home to the world's largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia, hosted 54,295 fans this year during its first full year in its new permanent home on Rockford Street.

That figure -- about five times the population of the whole town of Mount Airy -- nearly triples the museum's turnout from the previous year (18,636) and exceeds the 40,000-visitor goal town officials had hoped for. (The Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, by comparison, averages about 12,000 visitors per year.)

Today is the 50th anniversary of "The Andy Griffith Show." I can't afford to buy you all steel reinforced septic tanks to celebrate, but I can point you toward some classic episodes and a recipe for Thelma Lou's Cashew Fudge. That's not a bad day at all.

TV Land has a short marathon of classic "Andy" episodes running today from 4pm to 8pm. Some of the episodes they'll air are "The Education of Ernest T. Bass," "Barney Mends a Broken Heart," and "Deputy Otis."

Also, check out Mark Washburn's article about the show from earlier this week.

"The Daily Show" loves to make fun of South Carolina, but last night Jon Stewart turned his eye North to the "marginally saner Carolina" (his words, not mine!). 

Stewart tackled AndyGate. You know what we're talking about. How the world has turned against poor old Andy Griffith because he made a commercial supporting health care reform. In the segment titled "Mayberry, WTF," a stunned Stewart asks, "How do you turn against Opie's pa? Matlock! He's a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner. What happened, North Carolina, did Griffith wipe his [behind] on one of Dean Smith's old jackets?" 

Stewart also shows a clip of Fox News host Bill O'Reilly chastising correspondent Megyn Kelly for not knowing that "Thelma" was "Andy's squeeze" (O'Reilly then makes some bad gay jokes about Andy and Barney). So then Jon Stewart calls out O'Reilly because AS WE ALL KNOW, Thelma Lou was Barney's girlfriend and Helen Crump was Andy's. So there, Fox News. 

The segment is hilarious. Watch below. 

George "Goober" Lindsey has donated some of his prized Goober memorabilia to Mt. Airy's Andy Griffith Museum.

Lindsey played bumbling mechanic Goober Pyle on "The Andy Griffith Show," joining the show in the fifth season when Jim Nabors, who played Gomer Pyle, left to star in his own sitcom.

Lindsey has donated several unspecified wardrobe items from his days on the show (hopefully, one of his trademark hats!), but will be unable to attend the unveiling. Betty Lynn, a Mt. Airy resident who played Thelma Lou on the show, will be on hand for the 11am ceremony on Friday. We think that's a fine tradeoff.