Andy Griffith Show (DVD)
Paramount : The Complete 4th Season
APPROX. 0 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 1963 - MPA RATING: NR
" If life starts to seem a little too fast for you, I can't think of a better way to slow down than to put in a disc of The Andy Griffith Show.
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16) "Barney's Sidecar"—Another classic episode finds Barney buying an old military motorcycle in order to better catch speeders, and makes the usual nuisance of himself.
17) "My Fair Ernest T. Bass"—Funny episode has Andy and Barney trying to teach Bass how to woo the latest object of his affections without throwing rocks, with the test being a party at Mrs. Wiley's . . . which, of course, he fails.
18) "Prisoner of Love"—Andy almost falls for a pretty jewel thief, and it almost costs Barney.
19) "Hot Rod Otis"—When town drunk Otis gets a car, it takes a bit of play-acting to convince him that he got in a fatal accident in order to keep him off the road. Some funny moments.
20) The Song Festers"—Gomer replaces Barney in the Mayberry choir, then tries his darndest to help Barney sing anyway.
21) "The Shoplifters"—Barney goes undercover as a ladies' mannequin to try to catch a shoplifter at Weaver's department store. Funny episode.
22) "Andy's Vacation"—When Andy goes to the mountains to relax, leaving Barney in charge, the prisoner he's supposed to guard ends up right in Andy's neck of the woods.
23) "Andy Saves Gomer"—When Andy puts out a fire at the filling station, a grateful Gomer, convinced Andy saved his life, drives Andy crazy when he follows him around hoping to return the favor.
24) "Bargain Day"—Aunt Bee buys 150 pounds of beef from a new butcher, but has to eat crow when her freezer breaks down and the only one who can help her out is her old butcher.
25) "Divorce Mountain Style"—Charlene turns up in Mayberry insisting she divorced her husband and now she has to marry Andy . . . unless Andy can find a mountain folklore loophole.
26) "A Deal is a Deal"—You can't con a con, as Barney and Gomer find out when they try to help Opie and his friends after they're scammed into selling a worthless ointment.
27) "Fun Girls"—In this funny episode, Thelma Lou and Helen come unglued when they see Andy and Barney with "fun girls" in Mount Pilot, and the men have to figure a way out of trouble.
28) "The Return of Malcolm Merriweather"—The very British Malcolm is on a bicycle tour of America and needs money, so Andy hires him to help Aunt Bee . . . a job he does too well.
29) "The Rumor"—Barney spreads the rumor that Andy and Helen are engaged after he sees them kissing in a jewelry store.
30) "Barney and Thelma Lou, Phfftt"—Another backfire episode, with Thelma Lou breaking off with Barney and dating Gomer to spite him.
31) "Back to Nature"—Barney brags up his survival skills, but it takes Andy and Gomer to save him from embarrassing himself in front of Opie and his friends.
32) "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."—The pilot episode for the successful spin-off show of the same name finds Andy concocting a story that helps the drill sergeant (Frank Sutton) better tolerate Gomer.
Video: "The Andy Griffith Show" was broadcast in black and white, and there's a certain amount of graininess and not as much contrast as you'd hope for, especially in outdoor scenes with sunlight. But the overall quality is decent, with the picture presented in 1.33:1.
Audio: Here too, the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is nothing spectacular, but fine.
Extras: Sorry, fans. There are no extras this time, which makes me wonder if this was the year that the show went to mid-episode commercials instead of tacked-on sponsor plugs at the end. As with previous seasons, the episodes are contained on five discs housed in three plastic keep-cases and a cardboard sleeve.
Bottom Line: If life starts to seem a little too fast for you, I can't think of a better way to slow down than to put in a disc of "The Andy Griffith Show." The theme of slowing down and relaxing was consciously incorporated into episodes, as if the writers and producers knew that the tonic they were prescribing for a nation that was bothered by Kennedy's assassination and continued tensions with the Soviet Union was a much-needed reminder of simpler times.
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