Evies Blog

Season five of The Andy Griffith Prove goes to both extremes for me. On the one hand, it includes two of my least current episodes (”Aunt Bee’s Romance” and “Family Visit”) ; but, on the other hand, it has my all-time well-liked 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 dark & white episode and last season with Barney Fife as a regular character. Many fans probably cessation watching TAGS after this season which is sorrowful 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:

Buy,Download, Or Stream The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Fifth Season! Click Here

“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 slouch and a few pounds away from passing the unusual physical requirements for lawmen. Trivia: When producer Aaron Ruben left the explain this season, he was given a plaque with a 5 on it unprejudiced like the folks had engraved on Barney’s ogle.

“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 brand 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.

Buy,Download, Or Stream The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Fifth Season! Click Here

“Aunt Bee’s Romance”: An obsolete boyfriend of Aunt Bee’s advance and he is even more annoying than her relatives in “Family Visit.” He’s a person who is always cracking terrible jokes and is never serious. Fortunately, Andy recognizes his poor intentions. This episode includes the well-known Calvin Coolidge/Mark Twain/the weather scene between Andy and Floyd.

“Barney’s Bloodhound”: Barney tries to speak a dog named Blue in tracking down an escaped criminal. Trivia: Howard Morris (Ernest T Bass) is the bid of the radio announcer and Leonard Blush.

“Man in the Middle”: One of my all-time faves! Barney is about to wreck up with Thelma Lou, Andy tries to abet 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 angry at Andy and then gets indignant at Helen when she says she’s acting childish, Barney gets wrathful at Andy for taking Helen’s side, Andy refers to Helen as a “third party,” Barney blabs this to Helen who gets inflamed at Andy for not referring to her by name (”My name is Helen Crump, C-R-U-M-P”) …Trust me, it’s unbiased comic!

“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 disturbed 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…dreadful disappear. Trivia: First time Goober wears that goofy beanie.

“The Pageant”: Aunt Bee wants the allotment of Lady Mayberry in the Centennial Pageant but Clara, like she is in most things, is the suited actress. I like that share when Aunt Bee calls Chief Noogatuck, Nungatook.

“The Darling Baby”: The Darlings return to town with Charlene’s baby daughter Andelina hoping to gather her zigzag 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 hasten 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 manufacture him have 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 obtain everybody to sell their houses and travel into other houses.

“Goober Takes a Car Apart”: Goober is impart 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 exhaust psychology to benefit Otis win over his drinking plight. He ends up bright him out of “tough treasure” and Otis gets so excited he decides to give his business to another jail. I like the scene where they assume 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 objective cautious.

“Goober and the Art of Cherish”: 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 race impartial 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 near to town pretending to be enthusiastic 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 pleasing, 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-fashioned assault case that was never properly closed and brings serve 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 scheme of Andy and Helen’s romance so she makes up that she’s dating the butter-and-egg-man. Barney puts a gigantic 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 mask their presence from Thelma Lou and Helen.

“The Luck of Newton Monroe”: Don Rickles plays a traveling salesman who can’t seem to secure a rupture, well, build 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 find his pa an electric razor at ashooting gallery but is cheated by bent 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 execute the klutzy, stammering loser his deputy. Luckily, that didn’t last and we would glean Warren Ferguson (content) in season 6.

The fifth season of “The Andy Griffith Present” (1964-1965) is yet another admirable and very laughable year in the eight-season lifespan of this beloved television comedy series. Season #5 is presented in its complete design on the five discs that manufacture up this comely DVD state from Paramount Home Entertainment. And each of these 32 episodes looks exquisite, too. Obliging video and audio quality.

All 32 show-closing epilogues are fully intact in this DVD collection (unlike Season 3, which has a consume few missing) . And as far as I can swear, short of digging up each fresh script (somehow) and checking all shows word for word, these episodes appear to be “uncut”. I can’t behold any discernible edits, despite a disclaimer at Paramount’s webpage for this release that says: “Some episodes may be edited from their unique network versions”.

However, that same “edits” disclaimer is not included on the wait on of this Season-Five box (as it was on the S.3 box, which does occupy a few edits) . Perhaps Paramount was impartial putting a needless ‘fear of God’ into fans for no superior reason. Beats me. But these shows study glowing (and complete) to me.

The average speed time per episode here is about 25:30, with the shortest running time being approximately 24:35. So, if there are any “cuts” to these episodes, it must not add up to very distinguished total footage, that’s for clear. There are very few eps. in this dwelling that urge under 25 pudgy minutes.

Also on the subject of “edits” — Each of these thirty-two shows does gain its unique laugh track (unlike the Season-Four TAGS plot, which has a few laugh tracks missing) . I diligently checked each and every Season-Five program to sight if the laughter is expose on the soundtrack….and it is there for all episodes, which is as it should be. I like the shows better with the laughter in the background (canned or otherwise) .

Opening & Closing Credits ….. It appears to me that all of the originally-aired opening and closing titles (credits) are passe for this Season-Five DVD plot. Although it’s clear that the Main Title opening sequence was actually filmed years before this 1964-’65 season, because Opie’s much-younger age in the credits is quite noticeable. A modern display opening wasn’t created between seasons 2 and 5, so the dependable same one that was filmed in 1961 (prior to the originate of the second season) was archaic for all of those years.

The fresh whistling theme music seems to be fully intact here, on both the opening and closing portions of each episode; and the CBS-TV “Recognize” (logo) has been left intact on these Andy Griffith prints as well.

Despite the few edits and laugh-track omissions in previous releases, Paramount (in my belief) has done themselves proud with “The Andy Griffith Explain” on DVD. I know I shall like these TAGS season sets for many, many years to near.

This fifth “Andy” season (which was the last year of the series to be filmed in black-and-white) is filled with droll and enduring Mayberry antics, located within such memorable episodes as …. “Barney’s Uniform”, “Family Visit”, “Barney’s Physical”, “Three Wishes For Opie”, “Barney Fife, Realtor”, “The Case Of The Punch In The Nose”, “Goodbye, Sheriff Taylor”, “The Arrest Of The Fun Girls”, “Opie Loves Helen”, and “If I Had A Quarter-Million”.

That “Quarter-Million” episode features one of my well-liked lines of spoken dialogue from the series. After another of Barney’s frequent mishaps with his revolver, Andy asks his deputy: “You want to give me your pants? I’ll capture them to the artistic weavers”.

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Some Barney Banter:

Season Five of “The Andy Griffith Point To” marks the raze of an era — the “Barney Fife” era, that is. Sadly for “T.A.G.S.” fans, Emmy-winning actor Don Knotts, who played Mayberry’s clumsy but lovable one-bullet-carrying Deputy Fife for the first five years of the series, left the note as a regular cast member after this fifth season of the exhibit, in order to pursue a career in the movies.

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EDIT (FEBRUARY 26, 2006) — The news came objective one day after I submitted this Amazon review that Don Knotts had passed away at the age of 81. It’s quite ironic (and fitting) that this DVD region containing Don’s last season as a regular on “TAGS” would be made available to the public impartial days prior to Don’s passing. Fans of Mr. Knotts (and Barney Fife) can now savor all 159 episodes that fabricate up the first 5 unbelievable “Barney Fife years” of “The Andy Griffith Demonstrate”, the TV series that made Don a household name in the early 1960s.

Actor Andy Griffith, Knotts’ partner in fighting crime in Mayberry from 1960 to 1965, had been a very estimable friend of Don’s for many decades. Griffith, age 79, visited Don in the hospital shortly before his death.

“Don was a limited man, but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions,” Griffith told The Associated Press on Saturday (02/25/2006) .

“Don was special. I loved him very grand,” Griffith added. “We had a long and astonishing life together.”

Don Knotts was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, on July 21, 1924. During an acting career that spanned more than half-a-century, he appeared in many TV series and more than 25 motion pictures.

One of Don’s very first TV roles was when he played “Wilbur Peterson” from 1953 to 1955 on the daytime soap opera “Search For Tomorrow”.

Some of Don’s funniest television work (other than as “B. Fife” of course) came during his frequent appearances on “The Steve Allen Explain” in the slack 1950s, when he would appear in comedy sketches as “The Nervous Man”. Don was hilarious in those skits, which were objective tailor-made to suit his terrified, fidgety acting style.

Don Knotts’ death on February 24, 2006, in Los Angeles, was due to pulmonary and respiratory complications. He will forever be missed; but, thankfully, he left late his Barney Fife legacy on film, and Paramount Home Entertainment has done a bang-up job at preserving all of the Barney episodes of “TAGS” in crystal-clear clarity on DVD-Video.

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Barney Fife returned to Mayberry as a guest star in several post-Season 5 Andy Griffith episodes (which all did very well in the ratings for CBS) ; but that objective left Barney-admirers wanting to study more of the wiry lawman during those last three seasons. For me, the expose objective wasn’t the same after great ol’ “Barn” left for greener (movie) pastures. And I know a lot of other TAGS fans agree with that assessment as well.

Don Knotts won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Mayberry’s mostly-inept (but always silly) town deputy. It’s mighty he survived all those seasons on the Griffith Point To, isn’t it (what with that super-itchy trigger finger of his)? ~wink~

Over the course of those five paunchy seasons he appeared on “TAGS”, Don Knotts practically BECAME “Bernard Fife”, playing the portion so perfectly in every episode it’s no wonder he was singled out for excellence with those multiple Emmy trophies. “Barney Fife” is truly one of television’s seminal characters in the history of that medium. And, well, somehow, replacing a Barney Fife with a Deputy Warren Ferguson is kind of like replacing Charlton Heston with Pee Wee Herman in “Ben-Hur”. ~grin~

In the episode “Barney’s Uniform”, Don has to show a whole range of Barney Fife’s emotions — from humor, to infuriate, to embarrassment, to cowardliness, to tenderness, and finally courage, as he eventually stands up to his nemesis (”Fred Plummer”) in that episode.

Plummer was played by Allan Melvin, who was cast in numerous different parts on TAGS over the years, including a character in the third-year episode “Lawman Barney” who was very similar to Fred Plummer. The “Lawman” ep. was yet another time when Barney was forced to summon his inner courage to ward off a troublemaker. And, as always, Don Knotts’ performance as Deputy Fife in that “Lawman” installment is astounding to stare…as he believably goes from “archaic sister” to “steady police officer performing his duty well” in impartial 25 minutes’ time.

At the ruin of “Barney’s Uniform”, yet another facet of Barney’s character emerges — his good-sized ego — when he says this to Andy after having objective engaged in a victorious confrontation with Mr. Plummer…..

“I told him the same thing I told you — I’m a symbol of the law whether I’m wearin’ a uniform or the ol’ salt-and-pepper. He gives me complete respect or else. He got the message. You know, the bigger they are, the bigger they crumble.”

Now, in the hands of a lesser talent than that of Jesse Donald Knotts, those words I unprejudiced quoted above probably wouldn’t seem silly at all….they’d objective seem temperamental and arrogant. But coming from Don/Barney, it’s a different chronicle. Don had a truly unusual method of being able to perfectly blend the seemingly-unblendable combination of “a broad ego” and “likability”. And not many actors could have pulled that off for five consecutive years. But it seemed second nature to Mr. Knotts.

For, no matter how stuck on himself Barney Fife was, Don Knotts always allowed room for that adjective — “likable” — to come by its blueprint into that character he was portraying every week on CBS-TV. And I’ve yet to meet the person who didn’t like Bernard Fife quite a bit. A truly noteworthy character in the long history of television.

Thanks, Don, for shiny how to reflect and act like Barney Fife.

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The Season-Five DVD packaging is consistent with the earlier “TAGS” seasons produced by Paramount, which I like very great …. although the cut-and-paste photos on this box camouflage aren’t my favorites. (Andy wearing a necktie?! Egads, that’s impartial silly-looking! Andy hardly ever wore a tie. But that, of course, is unprejudiced a very minor packaging quibble however. But, IMO, the Season-One and Season-Four DVD artwork are the best ones that Paramount has done for this TV series.)

I very powerful like the innards of the fifth-season packaging however, consisting of three slim plastic cases for the five discs (with modern artwork on each of the three cases) . Episode titles are located on the befriend of each slim case, printed on a simulated “Parking Citation” pad, complete with Barney Fife’s signature and a itsy-bitsy Mayberry Sheriff’s Office motto printed at the bottom of each note that Barney hands out to the desperate law-breakers of Mayberry — “Let that be a lesson to you” has been printed on each “price”. LOL.

The represent that’s found on the case for Disc #5 is the best packaging photo in this collection, in my belief. It’s a very nice-looking shot of Andy, Helen, Aunt Bee, Barney, and Thelma Lou. That artwork should have been weak on the outer box mask, IMO. It would have looked distinguished better there than the composite photo that was chosen for the slipcase cloak. Too terrible they can’t be switched around.

The discs themselves each beget novel (albeit somewhat curious) color pictures of an assortment of “down home” items, including two things that remind us immediately of Floyd’s Barber Shop.

All episode titles are also printed on the encourage of the outer box too (with corresponding disc numbers), which is a very handy “at-a-glance” feature. Each disc contains either six or seven episodes.

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A Few More Stats Concerning This 5-Disc Boxed Set:

Video — 1.33:1 Full-Frame (as originally aired) .

Audio — Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (English only) .

“Play All” Option? — Yes.

Special Features — None.

Menus — Non-animated design; No music; Main Menu is also the Episode-Selection Menu; No Episode Sub-Menus are included. (Disc 1 has a Menu choice for “Previews”, which include a few Paramount ads for other DVDs. An option to stare the Previews or go straight to the Main Menu appears when Disc 1 is initially loaded up.)

Chaptering Available? — Yes. Five chapter stops per present, including a wreck legal after the opening titles.

Paper Enclosures — None.

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So, Mayberry fans, load up your one bullet (or load up any of these finely-produced Digital Discs into the DVD Player, steal your purchase), and indulge in the last of the Barney Fife treasures in “The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Fifth Season”.

Goodbye, Barney. We’ll miss you dearly.

~~Socks Barney in arm with balled-up fist~~
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