Andy Griffith Show (DVD)

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If Frank Capra had ever worked in television, I'm guessing he would have produced something along the lines of "The Andy Griffith Show," a folksy, feel-good, homespun situation comedy that offered an idealized portrait of American small-town life and reveled in family values long before the Republicans co-opted them for political gain.

Andy Taylor (Griffith) was the sheriff in the town of Mayberry, N.C., near the big city of Raleigh, while his deputy was Cousin Barney Fife (Don Knotts). A widower, Andy lived with his seven-year-old son, Opie (cute-as-a-button Ronny Howard), and the Aunt who raised him, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), who's now raising another generation of Taylor men. But the minor characters were as endearing as the stars in this prolonged fable about the benefits of country life. Even the town drunk, Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), was lovable, and one of the characters went on to star in his own series and spawn a new word in the lexicon of derogatory terms for country folk: Gomer (Jim Nabors), who brought a little bit of Mayberry to the United States Marine Corps. Knotts, meanwhile, would graduate to a film career that would rival Howard's—who, of course, would go on to "Happy Days," and even happier ones as a respected director.

"Andy Griffith" was a fixture on Monday nights, and it finished in the Top-10 shows every year of its run. The second season saw it ranked #7, the second highest sitcom after "Hazel." In the show's final season it ranked #1, with nearly a third of the nation tuning in to watch one of television's most beloved series—one that has thrived in reruns as well.

What made the show work as well as it did was the believable relationships that the characters displayed. We had no problem whatsoever believing that Andy and Barney were real law enforcement officers who were fond of each other, or that Opie was Andy's son, that Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear) really was a small-town barber, Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson) was a small-town clerk, and Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn) was a small-town girl who had a big enough heart to date the bumbling Barney. Andy, who never carried a gun unless he was after escaped criminals, was a living and breathing Norman Rockwell figure, a Yoda-wise father-figure to the entire town, and someone who always could figure out how to help someone solve a problem or behave the right way.

But be advised that this was North Carolina in the fifties, and so Andy and a number of others on the show light up cigarettes or pipes.

The 31 episodes from Season Two include one that was ranked the all-time favorite by fans in a TVLand poll: "The Pickle Story," were Aunt Bee's kerosene-tasting cukes put the men in her life in a real pickle. Tell her how awful her pickles are, or find a way to get rid of them. There are other classic episodes as well, and, best of all, plenty of episodes this season that were never overexposed in syndication.

Here's the rundown:

1) "Opie and the Bully"—When a bully hits Opie up for his milk money, Andy uses one of his stories to inspire his son to take a stand.

2) "Barney's Replacement"—When the state's attorney's office sends a man to Mayberry to learn law enforcement as a "free" deputy, Barney feels threatened.

3) "Andy and the Woman Speeder"—Beauty brings out the beast in everyone as Andy's case crumbles.

4) "Mayberry Goes Bankrupt"—In one of many feel-good, little-man-against-the-system plots, a resident who's evicted gets to turn the tables on the town when he discovers a bond his granddaddy bought.

5) "Barney on the Rebound"—One fight with Thelma Lou and Barney is ripe for the plucking—only it's a con-artist who's pulling his feathers.

6) "Opie's Hobo Friend"—In this frequently syndicated episode, Buddy Ebsen makes an appearance as a hobo who starts to have an influence on young Opie.

7) "Crime-Free Mayberry"—When an FBI man comes to Mayberry and announces that it's the most crime-free city in the U.S., the whole town wants to celebrate—except Andy, whose suspicions help him catch a few cons.

8) "The Perfect Female"—This one ought to be titled "The Perfect Male," because it's a real feminist episode in 1961 where Andy is man enough to settle for second in the battle of the sexes.

9) "Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter"—Veteran character actor Edgar Buchanan guests as a drifter/handyman who charms Aunt Bee but raises Andy's suspicions.

10) "The Clubmen"—Andy and Barney are invited to join an exclusive club, but of course Barney screws things up by trying too hard to fit in and impress everyone.

11) "The Pickle Story"—Somewhere in Oregon there's a fellow who's got a jar of kerosene-tasting pickles, handed to him as an "award" for safe driving in North Carolina—and all because Aunt Bee doesn't know how to can diddly.

12) "Sheriff Barney"—Barney has to deal with moonshiners and all sorts of things when Andy gives him a taste of "sheriffin'" so that he can decide whether to accept the offer of a job in nearby Greendale.

13) "The Farmer Takes a Wife"—"Gilligan's Island" skipper Alan Hale, Jr. guests as a man who comes to Mayberry to find a suitable wife, and complicates matters when he decides Barney's girl is the one for him.