"And to think I was glad when you learned to talk." - Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) to this misbehaving son, Opie
The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete First Season DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
Mount Airy, North Carolina native Andy Griffith was a comedic monologist who got his big break in 1954 when he was cast as the lead in an episode of The U.S. Steel Hour. The show was a dramatic anthology series designed to showcase new writing, performing, and directed talent by presenting a new live production each week. Griffith was cast as a yokel drafted into the military in "No Time for Sergeants," a comedy by Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby). "Sergeants" was so well received that the following year the script was expanded and made the leap to Broadway. Griffith reprised his role, earning a Tony nomination in the process. This led to several stage, TV, and film roles for Griffith, including a movie version of "Sergeants" in 1958.
Many of Griffith's roles were a variation of the hayseed image he had perfected in his comedic monologues and in "Sergeants." His guest appearance as a conniving small-town mayor on Danny Thomas' Make Room for Daddy in 1960 was no exception. CBS and Thomas (who was also the successful TV producer of such classic series as The Dick Van Dyke Show) were so impressed by Griffith's performance that they decided to create a series around the actor. The Andy Griffith Show joined CBS' Monday night schedule on October 3 of that year.
Griffith plays Andy Taylor, the sheriff (and justice of the peace) of Mayberry, North Carolina, a sleepy little burg loosely based on the actor's home town. After his wife died, Andy was left to care for his young son, Opie (Ron Howard). He does have help, though, from his beloved Aunt Bee (Francis Bavier). She serves as a live-in housekeeper, but more importantly, she is a mother figure for both Opie and Andy. The most criminal activity seen on Mayberry's streets is public drunkenness by the town's lush, Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), but even with a lack of crime, every sheriff needs a deputy. Andy's deputy is his cousin, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), a well-meaning but incompetent rube who has the vigor and solidity of an over-caffeinated Chihuahua.
The Andy Griffith Show isn't innovative, hip, or surprising. Instead, it's sweet, old fashioned, and entertaining in a soothingly gentle way. The characters are easy to relate to and likeable. Many of the episodes in the first season teach little morals, usually conveyed through Andy chastising Opie for some flaw or attitude of which he too is guilty. A perfect example is "Opie's Charity." In this episode, Andy is amused by the plight of the town busybody. Several years ago, she announced that her husband had died while on a business trip and staged a lavish funeral. In reality, he had left her, but her pride did not allow her to publicly acknowledge this fact. When he returns to town, she has to swallow her pride and admit the truth. Andy finds humor in her situation, but is less amused when he discovers that Opie has only donated three cents to the school's charity drive. He is furious that his cheapskate son will reflect badly on his standing in the community, but Opie insists that he cannot spare any more money - he's saving it for his girlfriend. Assuming that Opie wants to buy his girlfriend a silly gift, Andy pressures his son to stop being selfish and donate more to the charity drive. Andy later learns, however, that Opie is saving up to buy the girl the warm coat her parents cannot afford. Andy, realizing that his pride is just as bad as the woman he mocked, is chastened. The episode manages to be heartwarming without being sappy. This same effective balance is found in other episodes, including "The New Housekeeper" (the premiere episode, in which Opie rejects Aunt Bee when she replaces the family's departing housekeeper) and "Andy and Opie, Housekeeper" (Andy and Opie don't want Aunt Bee to think they can live without her upon her return from caring for a sick relative).
A common plot device throughout the season is pitting the menfolk against the womenfolk. In "Those Gossipin' Men," after Andy chides Aunt Bee and the women of the town for spreading gossip, she proves that men are just as bad. Aunt Bee sometimes clashes with Andy over his parenting techniques, such as when she complains that the hanging around the jailhouse is causing Opie to misbehave in "Bringing up Opie." Andy also has a love interest and friendly rival in Ellie Walker (Father Knows Best's Elinor Donahue). They court throughout the season - Andy even proposes in "The New Doctor" when he thinks that she is falling in love with someone else - but clash just as often. Ellie decides to run for city council in "Ellie for Council," but the town becomes divided when the men (including Andy) think that it is ridiculous for a woman to serve on the council and the women think it is ridiculous for a woman not to serve.
The character of Ellie is an interesting one in that she is a somewhat independent woman. She is a pharmacist, running her uncle's drugstore when he falls ill. This being a 1960s show, however, she is only partially liberated. She is often put in her place - "Ellie for Council" basically ends with Andy deciding that the men shouldn't oppose Ellie simply because she's a woman, but implying that they should easily be able to find another reason. In "Ellie Saves a Female," she decides to do an Extreme Makeover-like transformation on a local tomboy. The woman's father protests, but Andy smoothes things over by convincing the man that she'll now be a mantrap whose boyfriends can serve as farmhands. How progressive! Donahue is a charming actress, but unfortunately her character sticks around for only one season.
Another common theme is "us vs. them," or Mayberry against the outside world. In some episodes, like "The Manhunt," the residents of the town seem like hicks to outsiders but prove, in the end, that they have homespun sophistication and wiles. Other episodes take the opposite approach, painting Mayberry's citizens as somewhat gullible rubes. A movie producer choose Mayberry as the location of his next film in "Mayberry Goes Hollywood," but the town proceeds to change everything he found charming in an attempt to look good on camera. A shoe salesman is mistaken for a talent scout in "Those Gossipin' Men." Hillbilly stereotypes abound in "A Feud is a Feud," a riff on the battle between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Still, it is hard to take any of this seriously - it's all meant in fun.
One standout episode is "Christmas Story." Rather than being yet another variation on A Christmas Carol, this episode focuses on loneliness. Ben Weaver (character actor Will Wright) is the owner of Mayberry's liquor store and the "meanest, orneriest, low-downest man" you'd ever have the displeasure of meeting. Andy's jail cells are unusually full, but with Christmas coming, he agrees to let all of the prisoners spend their holidays at home - as long as they promise to return to finish their sentences on December 26. Ben comes storming in having performed a citizen's arrest on a hapless family man (Sam Edwards) who is in possession of a bottle of moonshine. He insists that Andy incarcerate the man or he'll report Andy to the state for dereliction of duties. This will mean that Andy and Barney will miss spending the holidays with their families since prisoners need to be supervised. Andy finds a simple solution: he arrests the moonshiner's family for aiding a criminal and has Aunt Bee move their Christmas celebration into the jailhouse. They have so much fun that bitter, lonely Ben tries to get himself arrested so that he can participate.
One reason for the series' success is the easy chemistry between Griffith and Howard. Griffith has an engaging personality, and Howard is one of the most naturally talented child actors ever to grace the screen. Yes, he's cute as a button, but just about any kid can be cute. Howard moves beyond that, also showing great believability and range. For someone to be so talented so young, it should have come as no surprise that he would turn out to be an even more successful adult, starring in Happy Days, directing Oscar-winning movies like A Beautiful Mind, and producing must-see television series like Arrested Development.
Needless to say, the rest of the cast is talented, too. Bavier's Aunt Bee is tender and caring with just enough imperiousness to let you know she'll take no guff. As Barney, Knotts is peerless. Prior to The Andy Griffith Show, Knotts had appeared in "Sergeants" and in several other projects with Griffith, and they work together with great ease. His jittery, braggadocio-prone character is a brilliant comic creation. To sample Barn at his best, try "Barney Gets His Man" (Barney inadvertently captures an escaped criminal, and fears reprisal when the crook escapes again after vowing revenge) and "Andy Saves Barney's Morale" (left in charge while Andy is in Mount Pilot on business, Barney arrests the entire town).
The series is filmed using the single camera technique employed by feature films. This allows the show to venture out of the studio onto the backlot and other locations. Use of these practical locations gives the series a vivid sense of place. The only drawback is that the lack of a studio audience leads to the use of a terribly unconvincing laugh track. Still, this is a minor quibble.
The thirty-two episodes that make up season one are divided onto four discs. The discs are housed in slim, clear keepcases. The front covers each feature a different black and white publicity photo of the stars superimposed within a sheriff's star. The back covers include a list of the episodes found on the DVD. These lists are typed on coffee-stained sheets of Andy Taylor's official letterhead. Because the cases are clear, the double-sided coversheets show through to the inside of the case. The interiors include episode titles, original airdates, and plot synopses along with more publicity stills. The color scheme on the inside and outside of the cases features red, white, and blue hues. The outer edges of the DVDs are encircled by a blue ring. Within the rings are the same publicity stills found on the front covers. When removed, the DVDs reveal brief "Mayberry Fun Facts" (i.e. "Don Knotts won five Emmy Awards for his role as Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show and was named by TV Guide as one of "TV's Greatest Characters"). The four keepcases slide into a cardboard sleeve which features a full-color shot of Andy and Opie at the fishing hole. This photo is a somewhat unfortunate choice - The Andy Griffith Show is etched in viewers' memories in black and white, and the packaging should reflect this.
The DVD menus are simple. Each disc's menu features a full-color publicity still. Viewers can play all of the episodes or choose an individual one. The episodes are divided into chapters (including one immediately after the show's opening credits), but there are no scene selection menus.
