'The Andy Griffith Show' is one of the most beloved TV sitcoms of all time. Originally televised on CBS from Oct. 3, 1960 to Apr. 1, 1968, the show ended its final season at No. 1 and consistently ranked in the top 10. More recently, the show has taken on a new life in TV Land reruns.

Andy Griffith had already made a name for himself in movies like 'A Face in the Crowd' and 'No Time for Sergeants,' when he agreed to star in his own TV show as the widowed Sheriff Andy Taylor, who didn't have to carry a gun in the small country town of Mayberry, N.C.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'The Andy Griffith Show,' we thought we'd catch up with the cast members -- arguably the best character actors in the business -- who appeared on the show over the years, and who'll be forever embedded in the minds and memories of millions of Mayberry fans.

A true test of television greatness depends on whether the series will be immortalized in a DVD box.

Believe it or not, 'Jersey Shore' has been crowned as such -- fist-pumping its way to take its throne on the DVD shelf. As we are deep in another season of "GTL"... wait a second, you look confused, do you not know what GTL is?
Sure you can Google it, but it's much better to witness it yourself by buying the the entire first season on DVD. We imagine the "uncensored version" is way better than any horror flick you were intending to watch this weekend.
Find out how this little MTV show that could -- placed Jersey on the proverbial TV map.

Another honorable mention is a new season of 'Matlock' also hitting shelves today. Find out the complete list of releases after the jump!

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I wonder how many people are going to go to pick up 'Alice,' hoping to settle in to some great 70s comedy featuring grumpy bosses and the kissing of grits, and then they put the DVD in and discover the other 'Alice.' Of course, that's not going to happen because people don't buy DVDs without looking at the cover (I hope), but I can imagine a few people looking at the listing below and thinking of the Linda Lavin show before the SyFy miniseries.

• 'Alice' - Miniseries
• 'Designing Women' - Season 3
• 'Doctor Who' - Dalek War and Remembrance of the Daleks: Special Edition
• 'Have Gun Will Travel' - Season 4, Vol. 1

I know that the odds of this statement being repeated are about as good as finding the lost director's cut of The Magnificent Ambersons at my local Blockbuster (let alone an actual cut of The Magnificent Ambersons until it's remade with Ben Stiller and Jack Black), but here goes: I love my cable provider.

Oh, sure, they're a faceless media corporation that forwards all of my tech support calls to some far off land, finds any reason to raise my rates, and is as electrically reliable as a used Pontiac Sunfire. But the guy they hired to write their TV listings amuses me to no end. Check out this recent listing for a rerun of America's favorite old show (with an emphasis on "old"), Matlock, infused with a tasty bit of TV trivia. Who says TV is no longer the great educator?

Michael Ausiello is reporting that the role of Pam's mom has been cast on The Office. The name Linda Purl may not sound familiar to you, unless of course, you're a huge Matlock fan, but the woman best known for playing Matlock's daughter has snagged the role of Mrs. Beesly.

Some fans may be disappointed that the role didn't go to a bigger name, but if you think about it, that's just kind of the way of The Office. As BJ Novak says, "it is supposed to be real average Joes, and casting a famous actor takes away from that." So casting Glen Close, for instance, would be a bit of a distraction. However, this news still disappoints me-- but for a different reason.

It may have been the Me Decade.

But in TV land, the sisters were doin' it for themselves and finally getting respect as cops, war nurses and working moms; iconic shows like 'Hill Street Blues,' 'St. Elsewhere' and 'L.A. Law' would forever change (for the better) cop, medical and legal dramas; and no idea was too high concept to fill a primetime spot (time-travelling physicist? check; housewife-turned-CIA op? check; New York City beauty in love with a subterranean monster? check).

The bottom line: They all add up to 10 years of fine channel surfing -- and our awesome list of the 40 best series of the 1980s.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

How can there be so many DVDs released in one day and there not be one that I want to buy? I never got into Stargate, I don't want to own Dallas on DVD, ditto Reba, and I refuse to buy Walker Texas Ranger because a.) it's not very good, and b.) it replaced a show that I really loved in the early 90s. I enjoyed Benny Hill, but I don't know if I enjoyed it enough to own it. So it looks like I'm going to save some money this week.

Yeah, right. Like I won't find something to buy that was released a while ago.

• Alvin & The Chipmunks - The Chipettes
• Ben 10 Alien Force - Season 1, Vol. 2
• The Benny Hill Show - Best of the Early Years
• Captain and the Kings - Miniseries
• Dallas - Season 10
• House of Payne - Vol. 3

So what did you do yesterday? I spent the entire Sunday watching detective movies on The Hallmark Channel. Of course, when I say "detective movies" it sounds like I was watching old film noir flicks from the 40s and 50s. Actually, I was watching Murder, She Wrote, Perry Mason movies, and Matlock.

Yes, I have the social life of a 70 year-old woman.

I've always been a sucker for these shows, going back to the NBC Mystery Movie and Columbo and McMillan and Wife. Those shows were probably better produced and written than the stuff you see on Hallmark Channel, but I think the new shows are quite entertaining and fun, and it's good to see favorite familiar faces on TV again: the McBride movies with John Larroquette, the Murder 101 movies with Dick Van Dyke, and the TV movie series I'd like to talk about, Jane Doe.

To put it simply, I'm worried about Jane Doe.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• The Cosby Show - Seasons 7 and 8
• Deadliest Catch - Season 3
• Def Poetry Jam - Season 3
• Fortysomething - Complete Series
• Hell's Kitchen - Season 1
• The Last Detective - Series 4
• Living with Ed - Season 1
• Matlock - Season 1
• Meerkat Manor - Season 2
• Mythbusters - Collection 3
• Nanny 911 - Season 1
• Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Set
• Rock of Love with Bret Michaels - Season 1
• Sense & Sensibility - Miniseries
• Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles - Season 6

(S04E10) "OK, Jerry, why are you under my desk" - Carl Sack

So as the show begins we see one of Boston Legal's causes of the week. The only saving grace of the environmental storyline is that this week, Crane, Poole & Schmidt are the bad guys. It's almost as if someone held up a mirror to the show and said, "you know, you guys aren't perfect." I just wish it hadn't felt like a leftover from NBC's green week.

Still, we had to have the "other side of the story" shoved down our throats. I've heard all the "data" that Katie was spewing from other sources and, frankly, I think it's crap. Anyone who thinks tap water is just as good as bottled water should move into my building and see how long the can stomach the sewage that comes out of the pipes. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Boston have an awesome mass transit system? Why would an environmentalist need a car in the first place?

Looks like the Hallmark Channel is making a bid to play with the bigger networks.

The cable network has gone on a Christmas shopping spree and bought several shows from CBS Television Distribution, including I Love Lucy, Cheers, 7th Heaven, 12 holiday movies, and more episodes of Touched By An Angel and Matlock. 7th Heaven starts in January, Cheers later next year, and then I Love Lucy will start in early 2009.

This is good news for fans who like the channel but are overdosing on reruns of Murder, She Wrote and those mystery movies that star John Larroquette and Lea Thompson.

It's amazing that even in this day an age where information is easily searchable, TV writers still think we're morons that will accept whatever's on the screen as what can happen in real life. Take, for example, the tried-and-true TV convention of lawyers and doctors visiting another state to ply their trade. A friend of a cousin of a golfing buddy is up on murder charges in Chicago? No problem; Ben Matlock will fly out from Atlanta to defend him. Your husband's boss' dogwalker's cousin from Seattle has bony tumors in his head that make him look like a lion? Simple; recruit the plastic surgeon from New York who just happens to be there that day to perform the procedure to make him look normal.

Does the last scenario sound ridiculous? It sure does, but it was also a major plot point on the last episode of Grey's Anatomy. "McSteamy" was all ready to perfrom the facial surgery on Sheppard's patient, but the kid died before that part of the operation could start.