CBS to Air THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, Today

Brighten up the holidays with THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring two newly colorized back-to-back episodes of the classic series to be broadcast Friday, Dec. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.

The special features the heartwarming "The Christmas Story" and "The Pickle Story," two episodes considered favorites by fans and the general public alike. Each is newly colorized to match as closely as possible to later episodes of the series that were actually filmed and broadcast in color. The main titles and end credits of the two episodes are seamlessly combined into one set at the beginning and end of the hour, with no interruption between the episodes.

"The Christmas Story," originally broadcast Dec. 19, 1960, finds Andy and Barney planning a joyful holiday at home with friends and family, only to have the town Scrooge insist that Andy lock up one of the community's known moonshiners. With a prisoner in custody, either Andy or Barney will have to stand guard. If Andy cannot be home for Christmas, maybe Christmas can come to Andy.

In "The Pickle Story," originally broadcast Dec. 18, 1961, Aunt Bea whips up a batch of homemade pickles that leaves much to be desired in the way of taste. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Andy and Barney secretly switch her pickles with the store-bought variety. Everyone raves, and Bea soon decides to enter a jar in the competition at the county fair, leaving Andy and Barney in a bit of a "pickle."

"The Andy Griffith Show" originally aired on CBS from Oct. 3, 1960 through Sept. 16, 1968, and has been seen in reruns, first on the Network and later in Syndication and on various cable networks, ever since. During its primetime run, it was one of TV's most popular programs, regularly finishing in the Nielsen Top 10, and was ranked as the nation's most popular program in its eighth and final season from 1967 to 1968. The program stars Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor and Don Knotts as his trusty-yet-bumbling deputy Barney Fife. Ronnie Howard, child star who went on to become the Academy Award-winning director and noted producer Ron Howard, appears as Andy's son, Opie, and Frances Bavier as Andy's housekeeper, Aunt Bea. Elinor Donahue appears in "The Christmas Story" as Andy's girlfriend, Ellie Walker.

Image courtesy of CBS