Product Description
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Down-home humor and an endearing cast of characters
helped to make The Andy Griffith Show one of the most beloved
comedies in the history of television. Introduced as a spinoff
from The Danny Thomas Show in 1960, The Andy Griffith Show ran
for eight seasons in prime time. Widower Andy Taylor divides his
time between raising his young son, Opie, and his job as sheriff
(and Justice of the Peace) of the y North Carolina town,
Mayberry. Andy and Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee, who serves as
a surrogate mother to both her and son. Andy's nervous cousin,
Barney Fife, is his deputy sheriff whose utter incompetence is
tolerated because Mayberry is virtually crime-free.
.com
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Season One
Since its network debut in 1960, The Andy Griffith Show has been
a viewer favorite thanks to its folksy, nostalgic charm and
memorable cast, both of which shine in this set featuring the
series' debut season. Originally spun off from an episode of Make
Room for Daddy (both series shared producers Sheldon Leonard and
Danny Thomas), The Andy Griffith Show centered around the lives
of small-town sheriff Andy Taylor (the marvelously dry Griffith),
his son Opie (Ron Howard), cousin and deputy Barney Fife
(multiple Emmy winner Don Knotts), and the other gentle
eccentrics of Mayberry (which was based on Griffith's real
hometown). But while other "rural" programs poked fun at its
characters (The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies), The Andy
Griffith Show never stooped to stereotypes, preferring instead to
draw its humor from the fine writing and cast, which counted
Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee, Howard McNear as Floyd the Barber,
and Hal Campbell as Mayberry's benevolent drunk, Otis, among the
first season ensemble. All 32 episodes (including the epilogues,
which are rarely aired in syndication) are compiled on this
four-disc set, which regrettably lacks any supplemental features.
--Paul Gaita
Season Two
The Andy Griffith Show returns on DVD with its complete second
season, a five-disc collector’s set of 31 episodes more memorable
than one of Aunt Bee’s "kerosene cucumbers." Set in the small
town of Mayberry, the television series (1960-1968) followed the
hilarious antics of widower Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith),
his son Opie (Ron Howard), and Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts).
It has achieved cult status as one of television’s most beloved
sitcoms for its stellar cast, pristine comedy, and nostalgic
charm. By season two, the series found its tone and tenor, proved
by such classic episodes as "The Pickle Story," "The Manicurist,"
and "Barney and the Choir." After viewers endure (or skip)
Para’s half dozen promotional trailers at the beginning of
disc one, they can bask in 13 hours of restored, uninterrupted,
black and white television magic. The season’s parade of guest
stars includes Barbara Eden, Buddy Ebsen, Alan Hale Jr., Bill
Bixby, and Sterling Holloway. Whereas the first season’s DVD set
was without bonus material, this collection features sponsor
spots, original commercial advertisements (linked to individual
episodes) where the show’s cast members promote brands such as
"Sanka" coffee and "Post" breakfast cereals--a guaranteed smile.
(All ages) --Lynn Gibson
Season Three
The Andy Griffith Show hit its stride during its third season
(1962-63), admirably restored in this five-disc, 32-episode boxed
set. Andy Griffith perfects his levelheaded Sheriff Andy Taylor;
Don Knotts is unsurpassed as the comically neurotic Barney Fife;
and Ron Howard continues his legendary run as earnest Opie. The
season opens with the endearing episode "Mr. McBeevee," Opie's
friend in the trees who Andy believes to be a figment of his
son's imagination. From there, every disc contains renowned
classics, such as "Floyd, the Gay Deceiver" starring the dashing
Howard McNear; "Andy and Opie, Bachelors" offering some of the
season's greatest quips; and "The Darlings Are Coming," that
crazy clan of ain musicians including the overtly
flirtatious Charlene. The season is accled for introducing
several new, recurring characters into the cast including Gomer
Pyle (Jim Nabors), "Miss Peggy" (Joanna Moore), and Helen Crump
(Aneta Corsaut). Except for two episodes missing closing epilogue
scenes (which Para discloses), the set contains 13 hours of
full-length, uncut, black-and-white magic. Also included is the
originally aired "Fishin' Hole" theme music throughout the
collection, as well as more than two dozen "Sponsor Spots,"
vintage commercial advertisements featuring the show's cast.
Don't miss the season highlight, "Man In A Hurry," a touching
story where Malcolm Tucker delivers the now-famous summation of
Mayberry, "Outrageous… a whole town is standing still because two
old women's feet fall a," precisely the reason why this
beloved sitcom remains a timeless treasure. (All ages) --Lynn
Gibson
Season Four
Goober fans, rejoice--the arrival of George Lindsay's popular
character is just one of the homespun joys of The Andy Griffith
Show's fourth season, which has been compiled on this five-disc
set. Lindsay as Goober Pyle, cousin to Jim Nabors's Gomer, makes
his debut in one of the season's funniest episodes, "Fun Girls,"
which is also the only time Gomer and Goober appeared together on
screen. By season's end, Gomer would depart for his own series
(season 4's final episode, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," would serve as
the pilot for that program), but before then, he enjoyed some
fine episodes, including "Andy Saves Gomer" (from a fire at the
filing station) and "Citizen's Arrest" (a knockout showcase for
Nabors and Don Knotts, who is topnotch, as always, as Barney
Fife). Other supporting characters get a spotlight or two in
season 4, including Howard Morris's Ernest T. Bass ("Hot Rod
Otis, "Otis T. Bass Joins the Army") and Denver Pyle and Maggie
Peterson's Briscoe and Charlene Darling ("Briscoe Declares for
Aunt Bee"), but of course, the crux of the show remains Andy and
son Opie (Ron Howard), who do stand-out work in the well-loved
"Opie the Birdman," which addresses serious topics--death and
responsibility--in the series' typically warm and humane manner.
No supplemental features accompany the 32 black-and-white
episodes, but that won't detract one bit from spending some
quality time with the good people of Mayberry. --Paul Gaita
Season Five
When did Mayberry turn into Potterville? In The Andy Griffith
Show's fifth season, Opie (Ronny Howard) buys silk stockings for
an older woman, and publishes all of Mayberry's gossip in a
scandal sheet. Sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith) is accused of gross
malfeasance. A former beau of Aunt Bee's tries to shake Andy down
for $400. Bee herself (Frances Bavier) is a victim of a carny
purse-snatching ring. And recidivists Otis (Hal Smith) and Ernest
T. (Howard Morris) continue their drinking and rock-throwing
unabated. As Bee wails in "Banjo-Playing Deputy," "What's this
world coming to?" Not to worry. This is, after all, Mayberry, and
Andy still has the patience, understanding and country smarts to
restore calm and order. In "TV or Not TV," he sees through bank
robbers (led by Gavin MacLeod) posing as a Hollywood film crew.
In "Opie and the Carnival," he takes at two crooked barkers
who have rigged a sharpshooting game. As the sheriff of Mayberry,
much of his time is spent bailing out his hess deputy, Barney
Fife (Don Knotts). In "Barney's Uniform," Andy recruits a judo
instructor to stand in when Barney is threatened by a disgruntled
citizen.
Season 5 marked two notable lasts for this beloved series, which
never fell below the Top Seven in the ratings. This was the last
season in black and white. More devastating, it was
multi-Emmy-winner Knotts' last season as Barney Fife. By the
penultimate episode, "Opie and the Carnival," he is just gone, an
unceremonious departure for an iconic character so integral to
the show's success. That "Banjo-Playing Deputy" in the season
finale is Jerry Van Dyke, who might have been a worthy
replacement for Knotts. Instead, he reportedly turned down the
role to star in his own sitcom, My Mother, the Car. The rest is
TV infamy. By this time, though, The Andy Griffith Show's best
years were behind it. But this season contains at least two
classics, "Goodbye Sheriff Taylor," in which Barney is sheriff
for a day while Andy interviews for a job in Raleigh, and "The
Case of the Punch in the Nose," in which Barney reopens an
unresolved 1946 case involving Floyd the Barber and Charley
Foley. And with episodes featuring the late Howard Morris' Ernest
T. ("The Education of Ernest T."), the Darling family ("The
Darling Baby"), Mt. Pilot "fun girls" Skippy and Daphne ("The
Arrest of the Fun Girls"), and a guest star turn by Don Rickles
("The Luck of Newton Monroe"), Andy Griffith Show devotees are
advised to take the Fifth. --Donald Liebenson
Season Six
Ask a certain portion of diehard Andy Griffith Show fans why the
series' sixth season (1965-66) is less well-loved than others
from its eight-year run, and the answer boils down to four words:
"Warren Ferguson" and "color episodes." Played by veteran
comedian and writer Jack Burns, Warren was the replacement for
Don Knotts' Barney Fife as Andy's sheriff, and lasted for just
eleven of the season's 30 episodes before vanishing without a
trace. The brickbats heaved at Warren are undeserved, though;
replacing the multi-Emmy-winning Knotts was a task that few
performers would have relished facing (and indeed, Knotts earned
another Emmy for his return to the series in two episodes, "The
Return of Barney Fife" and "The Legend of Barney Fife"), and
Burns certainly gives his all (including his signature,
rapid-fire "huh-huh-huh" gag line) to the character. He's no
Barney Fife, and who could be, aside from Knotts? As for the
color issue, the debate seems to be centered entirely around
preference, although it's true that in syndication, viewer
response has been traditionally stronger to the black-and-white
broadcasts of seasons 1-5.
Aside from the Barney/Warren and color controversies, the sixth
season is notable for the final appearances of supporting
characters Malcolm Merriweather (Bernard Fox) and Ernest T. Bass
(the great Howard Morris) in "Malcolm at the Crossroads" (in
which the pair tangle over a crosswalk), as well as such fun
episodes as "The Taylors in Hollywood" (Andy, Opie, and Aunt Bee
react to a movie being made about them, with The Love Boat's
Gavin McLeod as the movie Andy); "Andy's Rival" (Charles Aidman
guest stars as a new teacher whose working relationship with
Helen Crump makes Andy nervous); and "Otis the Artist" (an
amusing Warren episode, in which he suggests painting to Otis as
a substitute for drinking). Andy Griffith completists will also
note the presence of Jack Dodson in the episode "Lost and Found";
Dodson would later join the series as Deputy Howard Sprague and
transition with most of the supporting cast to Mayberry R.F.D. As
with previous Griffith boxed sets, this five-disc set features no
extras. --Paul Gaita
Season Seven
The Andy Griffith Show's seventh season (1966-67) was the
beginning of the end for the venerable family comedy (Griffith
brought it to a close with the next season), but the gentle humor
and likable characters that helped make it one of the most
popular series on television are still in fine form. Chief among
the season's plusses is a two-episode return visit from Don
Knotts as Barney Fife--in "A Visit to Barney Fife," Andy helps
his former deputy find his footing at his new precinct in
Raleigh, North Carolina, while in "Barney Comes to Mayberry,"
Barney reunites with his old flame, Irene Flogg, now a glamorous
movie star. The latter episode, among the most popular of the
series, won Knotts his fifth Emmy for portraying Barney.
Otherwise, it's business as usual in Mayberry, with series
regulars Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee), George Lindsey (Goober), Hal
Smith (Otis), and a very grown-up Ron Howard (Opie) delivering
their usual warm and funny performances. The show's new face,
Jack Dodson (later Mickey Malph on Happy Days) fares considerably
better as a Barney substitute than the ill-ed Jack Burns; as
mother-dominated town clerk Howard Sprague, Dodson gets some very
funny moments, especially in "Howard the Comedian," where he
embarrasses the citizens of Mayberry with his TV standup debut.
Also on hand: Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump, Denver Pyle and the
Dillards as the hillbilly collective known as the Darling Family,
and an ailing Howard McNear as Floyd the barber; McNear had
suffered a stroke and lost much of his mobility, but Griffith
made arrangements that allowed him to continue on the show in a
more relaxed capacity. Though perhaps not up to par with its
earlier, black-and-white episodes, the seventh season of The Andy
Griffith Show still has plenty of what made the show an enduring
classic: low-key charm and homespun humor. The five-disc set has
no supplemental features. --Paul Gaita
Season Eight
All good things must come to an end--even a classic TV series
like The Andy Griffith Show--but most would hope to close out
their network run like the venerable rural comedy series did,
with its popularity intact (Griffith brought the show to a close
with its ratings at #1) and its episodes still featuring the
gentle, observant humor that marked every visit to Mayberry since
its debut in 1960. Few changes can be seen in the 30 episodes
compiled here, save for the color broadcast (which came to pass
during the '65-'66 season) and the arrival of Sam Jones (the
likable Ken Berry), another amiable widower who became the focus
of the spin-off series, Mayberry R.F.D. Otherwise, it's business
as usual in Mayberry, which includes a welcome return visit from
Don Knotts' Barney Fife (in "Barney Hosts a Summit Meeting,"
where he convinces Andy to let the U.S. and Soviet governments
host a summit in his home), a turn in the role of deputy for
Goober (George Lindsay) in "Suppose Andy Gets ," a great deal
of tomfoolery by newer characters Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson)
and Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman), and guest appearances by Jack
Nicholson ("Aunt Bee the Juror"), Allan (The Brady Bunch) Melvin
("Howard's Main Event") and Morgan Brittany as "Opie's First
Love." Fans may debate on the quality of the final season in
comparison to those that preceded it (and to be fair, there are a
handful of less-than-stellar episodes, most notably "Opie's
Group," which finds Andy's son joining a rock band), but the
comfortable performances by the cast help to smooth over any
rough patches. As with all previous Griffith boxed sets, no
extras are featured here. -- Paul Gaita