The Andy Griffith Show – The Complete Third Season
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Show: B
After covering the first season and missing the second, we
are back to looking at The Andy Griffith Show because The Complete
Third Season comes with an interesting extra and the show got better. The show was also a huge hit spin-off, with
this season marking the debut of Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, soon to be spun-off
himself famously (and infamously) in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and into pop
culture icon status more so than anyone on the show. 32 more episodes comprise this season, contained over 5 DVDs and
include:
1) Mr.
McBeevee
2) Andy’s
Rich Girlfriend
3) Andy
& The New Mayor
4) Andy
& Opie, Bachelors
5) The Cow
Thief
6) Barney
Mends A Broken Heart
7) Lawman
Barney
8) The Mayberry
Band
9) Floyd,
The Gay Deceiver
10) Opie’s Rival
11) Convicts-At-Large
12) The Bed Jacket
13) The Bank Job
14) One-Punch Opie
15) Barney & The Governor
16) Man In A Hurry
17) High Noon In Mayberry
18) The Loaded Goat
19) Class Reunion
20) Rafe Hollister Sings
21) Opie & The Spoiled Kid
22) The Great Filling Station Robbery
23) Andy Discovers America
24) Aunt Bee’s Medicine Man
25) The Darlings Are Coming
26) Andy’s English Valet
27) Barney’s First Car
28) The Rivals
29) A Wife For Andy
30) Dogs, Dogs, Dogs
31) Mountain Wedding
32) The Big House
Another thing that changed since the beginning is the
Andy/Opie relationship, which is one of the healthiest and sadly, one of the
only positive father/son relationships in TV history minus dysfunction, hate,
self-hate and idiotic complications that have particularly befallen such
relationships on TV since the 1980s. Ron Howard became one of the most natural
child actors quickly and continued to grow before switching to directing for
good. Above all the other progressing
storylines, it is the most enduring.
The full frame monochrome image is somewhat varied
throughout, with the earliest shows looking a bit softer than the later
shows. It looks like the show was
generally shot on 35mm film, but some of it looks almost like 16mm in the early
episodes, yet that could just be the age of the materials used. The stocks involved could also be a
factor. Still not as crisp and clear as
The Honeymooners set Paramount issued of the 39 original filmed shows,
which were shot five years prior to this, while some shows have artifacts on
end credits or out of nowhere. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono feels small, but only at times in this case. And now the extras.
Paramount has been rightly criticized for lack of extras
on too many of their titles, but that has changed in some unexpected
cases. In what has to be one of the
best extras a major company had issued to date, they have gone deeper into the
archive and have the specially filmed advertisements the cast did for various
products from General Foods. Jello
pudding and Sanka coffee are especially prominent, but Post Toasties Corn
Flakes, Dream Whip and Baker’s Chocolate Chips also surface in the surprisingly
effective and witty spots. For fans, it
is also a nice change to see old advertisements in such mint condition, on par
with the best prints of the show here. The
Andy Griffith Show - Complete Third Season is one of the most collectible
Classic TV sets to date as a result of those ads and some of the best shows the
series ever produced.
- Nicholas Sheffo
