The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.
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Episode 1 - Opie and the Bully
Release Date: 1961-10-02Sheriff Andy Taylor must decide whether to intervene or let the problem work itself out when a bully harasses his son Opie at school.
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Episode 2 - Barney's Replacement
Release Date: 1961-10-09When a rookie policeman is sent to Mayberry for training, Barney mistakenly believes the man is his replacement and quits the police force to become a vacuum-cleaner salesman.
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Episode 3 - Andy and the Woman Speeder
Release Date: 1961-10-16Andy arrests an attractive speeder, who promptly uses flattery and charm to turn the various prosecution witnesses -- Opie, Barney and Floyd the barber -- against a hapless Andy and his case.
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Episode 4 - Mayberry Goes Bankrupt
Release Date: 1961-10-23Will the town coffers run out of cash? It appears that way when Mayberry resident Frank Myers is stunned to discover that the township apparently owes him close to $350,000!
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Episode 5 - Barney on the Rebound
Release Date: 1961-10-30After a disagreement with Thelma Lou, Barney unwittingly falls under the spell of the female half of a scheming con team and Andy must attempt to save the day.
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Episode 6 - Opie's Hobo Friend
Release Date: 1961-11-13Andy is wary when Opie becomes fascinated by a wily hobo (Buddy Ebsen) who begins to influence the boy with his carefree, conniving ways.
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Episode 7 - Crime-Free Mayberry
Release Date: 1961-11-20Two crooks masquerade as an FBI agent and a professional photographer in a scheme to honor the Mayberry Sheriff's Department for preserving the community's low crime rate -- but they actually have their eye on the town bank.
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Episode 8 - The Perfect Female
Release Date: 1961-11-27When Thelma Lou arranges a blind date between her visiting cousin and Andy, the two lovebirds hit it off -- but a skeet-shooting competition sets Andy's romantic record straight.
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Episode 9 - Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter
Release Date: 1961-12-04Aunt Bee falls for traveling handyman Henry Wheeler, but Andy becomes convinced that Wheeler is a less-than-ideal suitor and decides to intervene.
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Episode 10 - The Clubmen
Release Date: 1961-12-11Both Andy and Barney are offered membership in an exclusive men's club, but Barney manages to alienate the entire group by trying too hard to fit in -- an endeavor that threatens his chances at joining the elite organization.
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Episode 11 - The Pickle Story
Release Date: 1961-12-18Andy and Barney are horrified when Aunt Bee decides to enter her prized pickles -- with a taste described as "kerosene cucumbers" -- in a county fair contest, hoping to claim first prize over the competition's perennial winner.
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Episode 12 - Sheriff Barney
Release Date: 1961-12-25When Barney gets an offer to become the sheriff of nearby Greendale, Andy decides to let him be the sheriff of Mayberry for a day to give him a taste of what the top law-enforcement spot entails.
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Episode 13 - The Farmer Takes a Wife
Release Date: 1962-01-01Big Jeff Pruitt (Alan Hale) comes to Mayberry, determined to find a suitable wife. Andy and Barney are more than happy to help him with his search -- until Pruitt announces his choice: Barney's girlfriend, Thelma Lou!
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Episode 14 - The Keeper of the Flame
Release Date: 1962-01-08Opie joins a secret club known as The Wildcats and is subsequently suspected of being the guilty party when the barn that the club meets in catches fire and burns to the ground.
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Episode 15 - Bailey's Bad Boy
Release Date: 1962-01-15Andy has his hands full with a rich, arrogant lawbreaker (Bill Bixby) who threatens to have his influential father make life miserable for Andy and Barney unless the charges against him are dismissed.
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Episode 16 - The Manicurist
Release Date: 1962-01-22The men of Mayberry become infatuated with Ellen Brown (Barbara Eden), a curvaceous manicurist who sets up shop in Floyd's barbershop. But the women of Mayberry are less than enthusiastic about the situation.
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Episode 17 - The Jinx
Release Date: 1962-01-29After a series of mishaps, Barney declares that Mayberry resident Henry Bennett is a "jinx." Andy sets out to prove him wrong -- but begins to believe it himself after the troubles continue.
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Episode 18 - Jailbreak
Release Date: 1962-02-05Barney must attempt to salvage his reputation after he inadvertently allows a criminal to escape from the Mayberry jail and the state police are called in to assist in the manhunt.
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Episode 19 - A Medal for Opie
Release Date: 1962-02-12Opie has his heart set on winning a medal in the annual Sheriff's Boys Day race -- so he seeks training tips from an expert in the field: legendary 50-Yard Dash champion Barney Fife!
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Episode 20 - Barney and the Choir
Release Date: 1962-02-19Things hit a sour note when Barney joins the Mayberry choir -- and it's quickly determined that his singing voice isn't exactly harmonious to the other members of the group.
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Episode 21 - Guest of Honor
Release Date: 1962-02-26As part of the Founder's Day festivities, the residents of Mayberry decide to give a key to the city to the first visitor entering the town. Unfortunately, that visitor is Sheldon Davis, a highly skilled pickpocket and petty thief.
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Episode 22 - The Merchant of Mayberry
Release Date: 1962-03-05Weaver's Department Store in Mayberry has some new competition -- in the form of Bert Miller, a traveling salesman who sets up shop in the town with a little help from Andy.
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Episode 23 - Aunt Bee the Warden
Release Date: 1962-03-12With the town jail full, Andy reluctantly decides to have the town drunk, Otis Campbell, incarcerated in Andy's own home. But when Aunt Bee takes charge as the "warden," Otis is soon howling to be locked up in the real jail!
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Episode 24 - The County Nurse
Release Date: 1962-03-19Feisty country farmer Rafe Hollister is determined to avoid getting a tetanus shot when county nurse Mary Simpson arrives in Mayberry to inoculate the citizenry.
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Episode 25 - Andy and Barney in the Big City
Release Date: 1962-03-26While on a trip to Raleigh, Andy and Barney find themselves swept into an adventure involving a jewel thief being watched by a hotel detective.
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Episode 26 - Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee
Release Date: 1962-04-02Aunt Bee invents an imaginary beau so that Andy can be free to concentrate on finding a wife for himself. But when it comes time to produce her boyfriend in person, Bee must scramble to find an actual contender.
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Episode 27 - Three's a Crowd
Release Date: 1962-04-09Andy's attempts to date county nurse Mary Simpson are constantly thwarted by an unwanted third wheel -- Barney -- who continually interferes with their courtship.
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Episode 28 - The Bookie Barber
Release Date: 1962-04-16Floyd's dreams of expanding his haircutting business seem to be coming true when semi-retired barber Bill Medwin offer to come on board. But what Floyd doesn't realize is that his new barber is actually a bookie.
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Episode 29 - Andy on Trial
Release Date: 1962-04-23A newspaper publishing mogul is ticketed for speeding and retaliates by sending an undercover reporter to Mayberry to dig up whatever dirt she can on Andy and his department.
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Episode 30 - Cousin Virgil
Release Date: 1962-04-30When Barney's awkward cousin Virgil arrives from New Jersey, Barney attempts to put him to work -- but Virgil's earnest attempts to lend a helping hand create havoc at every turn.
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Episode 31 - Deputy Otis
Release Date: 1962-05-07Can the town drunk masquerade as a respected Mayberry deputy? That's the plan when Otis Campbell receives a letter from his brother, who is planning to visit the town and observe his brother's law-enforcement talents.