My eagle-eyed wife spotted a link from the previously cited as somewhat scary The Andy Griffith Show Watcher’s Club. The link further demonstrates the debauched interconnectedness of TV land. Mayberry was used as a set in the original Star Trek series episdoes “Miri” and “The City on the Edge of Forever”. A devoted member of TAGSWC has assembled a website which has to be the oddest Trek-related site I’ve ever seen:
The thing I particularly love about this site is the abandoned, devastated cityscape seen in “Miri”, considered as a plot point in the Andy Griffith story line. What happened here? Did everyone move to Central City? Was it a riot or plague? Maybe it was a huge race riot, such as Rosewood or Tulsa in 1921.
None can tell – but it seems clear, Mayberry didn’t make it to the future.
Hmm… mentioning Rosewood and Tulsa in the context of a Trek-related posting reminds me – gotta do a bit on race in Star Trek sometime. Aaron McGruder’s always hilarious daily strip “The Boondocks” recently cited Levar Burton’s Geordi LaForge as a “most embarrassing black person”. Aaron’s observations echo those of my pal Dave Dushe.
Dave pointed out to me that Worf and Geordi, the only series regulars of African ancestry in TNG, are symbolically emasculated as a defining characteristic of their beings. As I said, it bears some musing.