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(More customer reviews)Season five of The Andy Griffith Show goes to both extremes for me. On the one hand, it includes two of my least favorite episodes ("Aunt Bee's Romance" and "Family Visit"); but, on the other hand, it has my all-time favorite TAGS episode "The Case of the Punch in the Nose" and one of my top ten "Man in the Middle." Season 5 was the final black & white episode and last season with Barney Fife as a regular character. Many fans probably stop watching TAGS after this season which is unfortunate because the color seasons are very underrated. Luckily, Season Six is going to be released on DVD May 9, so definitely check it out! Now, on to season five:
"Opie Loves Helen": Every season opened with an episode featuring Opie. In this one, Opie develops a crush on Miss Crump.
"Barney's Physical": It's Barney's fifth anniversary on Andy's force and it may be his last year as he is an inch and a few pounds away from passing the new physical requirements for lawmen. Trivia: When producer Aaron Ruben left the show this season, he was given a plaque with a 5 on it just like the folks had engraved on Barney's watch.
"Family Visit": Barney doesn't appear in this episode. Unfortunately, Aunt Bee's sister, brother-in-law, and nephews do, and they are annoying as all git-out.
"The Education of Ernest T Bass": Ernest T. Bass wants to impress his sweet Romeena by getting an education so he ends up in Helen Crump's class and begins to regard her as a mother figure.
"Aunt Bee's Romance": An old boyfriend of Aunt Bee's arrive and he is even more annoying than her relatives in "Family Visit." He's a person who is always cracking bad jokes and is never serious. Fortunately, Andy recognizes his bad intentions. This episode includes the famous Calvin Coolidge/Mark Twain/the weather scene between Andy and Floyd.
"Barney's Bloodhound": Barney tries to train a dog named Blue in tracking down an escaped criminal. Trivia: Howard Morris (Ernest T Bass) is the voice of the radio announcer and Leonard Blush.
"Man in the Middle": One of my all-time faves! Barney is about to break up with Thelma Lou, Andy tries to help Barney by agreeing with him when he says maybe he and Thelma Lou weren't meant for each other, Barney blabs this to Thelma Lou when they patch things up, Thelma Lou gets mad at Andy and then gets mad at Helen when she says she's acting childish, Barney gets mad at Andy for taking Helen's side, Andy refers to Helen as a "third party," Barney blabs this to Helen who gets mad at Andy for not referring to her by name ("My name is Helen Crump, C-R-U-M-P")...Trust me, it's just funny!
"Barney's Uniform": Bully Fred Plummer tells Barney he's going to pop him one if he catches him out of uniform, so Barney is afraid to be seen in civvies. Luckily, Barney is taking karate lessons in Mt. Pilot with Mr. Izamoto.
"Opie's Forune": Opie discovers a wallet with fifty dollars in it. After waiting a week, he believes the money is his. Then Barney reads an announcement in Lost and Found about a missing wallet. I don't care for this one because Andy automatically thinks the worst of Opie.
"Goodbye, Sheriff Taylor": Andy considers taking a job in Raleigh and leaves Barney in charge...bad move. Trivia: First time Goober wears that goofy beanie.
"The Pageant": Aunt Bee wants the part of Lady Mayberry in the Centennial Pageant but Clara, like she is in most things, is the superior actress. I like that part when Aunt Bee calls Chief Noogatuck, Nungatook.
"The Darling Baby": The Darlings return to town with Charlene's baby daughter Andelina hoping to get her hooked up to a future mate...Opie.
"Andy and Helen Have Their Day": Barney wants to give Andy and Helen the gift of Saturday where they can relax at Myer's Lake and he will run all their errands. Of course, he keeps interrupting them with trivial matters and then believes they are engaged. Howard Morris appears as the TV repairman.
"Three Wishes for Opie": Barney buys a fortune-telling kit at an auction and thinks Count Istvan Teleky is granting them wishes. Like in the previous episode, this ultimately results in Barney believing Andy and Helen are engaged.
"Otis Sues the County": Otis falls at the jail and a slick lawyer tries to make him believe that, by suing the county, he will be helping his friends Barney and Andy.
"Barney Fife, Realtor": Barney gets into a sideline realty business and tries to get everybody to sell their houses and move into other houses.
"Goober Takes a Car Apart": Goober is suppose to be in charge of the courthouse but speedster Gilly keeps hounding him to fix his car. Caught between two responsibilities, Goober takes apart and rebuilds Gilly's car in the courthouse.
"The Rehabilitation of Otis": Barney tries to use psychology to help Otis get over his drinking problem. He ends up arresting him out of "tough love" and Otis gets so mad he decides to give his business to another jail. I like the scene where they take the Rorschach test and argue over whether the card is a bat or butterfly.
"Lucky Letter": Barney thinks he's doomed at the firing range because Andy convinced him not to send a chain letter. Now Barney's not superstitious, he's just cautious.
"Goober and the Art of Love": Andy and Barney convince Goober to date Lydia Crosswaith who turns out to be a bore and sticks her head out of the car window like a dog.
"Barney Runs for Sheriff": When Andy's job in South America falls through, he runs for sheriff as a write-in. Barney is supposed to run just a token campaign, but goes overboard.
"If I Had a Quarter Million": Barney stumbles upon a suitcase with $250,000 and tries to play it off as a newly rich to entice the crook out of hiding.
"TV or Not TV": Bogus television producers come to town pretending to be interested in creating a series based on the life of the sheriff without a gun. Their main intentions have to do with the Mayberry bank. Gavin McLeod appears.
"Guest in the House": A beautiful, young, female friend of the family stays with the Taylors and, of course, Helen goes off.
"The Case of the Punch in the Nose": Best TAGS episode ever! Barney runs across a 19-year old assault case that was never properly closed and brings back all the hard feelings leading to a schism in the town and numerous nose punches. The Bobby Gribble, Emma Larch scene is classic.
"Opie's Newspaper": Opie and Howie try to widen their scope by creating a column like "Mayberry After Midnight."
"Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau": Clara gets Aunt Bee thinking she's getting in the way of Andy and Helen's romance so she makes up that she's dating the butter-and-egg-man. Barney puts a big crack in her plans when he finds out Aunt Bee's pretend beau is married.
"The Arrest of the Fun Girls": Andy and Barney arrest the fun girls and try to hide their presence from Thelma Lou and Helen.
"The Luck of Newton Monroe": Don Rickles plays a traveling salesman who can't seem to get a break, well, save for the things that he breaks himself.
"Opie Flunks Arithmetic": Opie is having problems in arithmetic and, thanks to know-it-all Barney, Andy overreacts and makes things worse.
"Opie and the Carnival": Opie hopes to win his pa an electric razor at ashooting gallery but is cheated by crooked carnies.
"Banjo-Playing Deputy": Jerry Van Dyke is an unemployed carnival musician who happens to be related to a friend of Aunt Bee, so Bee convinces Andy to make the klutzy, stammering loser his deputy. Luckily, that didn't last and we would get Warren Ferguson (sigh) in season 6.
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The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Fifth Season (1960)Hailed as "one of the greatest television shows of all time" by TV Guide, The Andy Griffith Show delighted audiences with its simple values and down-home humor. Now all 32 episodes with its landmark 5th season are available on DVD! Catch up with Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), his son Opie (Ron Howard), his bumbling deputy Barney (Don Knotts), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) and the rest of the gang in this classic collection that includes many fan-favorite episodes. This season also features memorable guest appearances by Don Rickles (Toy Story, Casino), Gavin MacLeod (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Love Boat) and Jerry Van Dyke (Coach) and some of the funniest moments in the show’s time-honored history.
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