The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete First Season (1960)

Great family fun

Our family loves the Andy Griffith show. It is a refreshing, wholesome family show and truely funny.
It is my 10 and 12 year olds favorite. November 19, 2008

this is a classic

All Andy Griffith fans should get this video. It is classic Andy and family and friends. November 5, 2008

Andy Griffith Complete First Season

Great humor - clean, funny and very real. I love all the characters. I only found Andy Griffiths in the last few years as I come from South AFrica and we didn't have it there. I love it and watch it over and over again. October 26, 2008

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete First Season

ABSOLUTE CLASSIC!!! There might not be a better show in the history of television than the Andy Griffith Show. The entire cast was phenomenal, the writing outstanding, the directing impeccable. It's simply amazing the perfection the show attained; sure, there were some glitches, there was an occasional lapse in continuity, yet the show is timeless. It captured its time perfectly & we can't help but to look back at it nostalgically wishing things were still this simple & problems so easily solved. Sheriff Andy Taylor seemed to be able to solve almost any problem & yet he was human also, making mistakes & sometimes even being taught a valuable lesson by his own young son, Opie.

The show's cast was one of the most capable ever assembled, in particular the casting of Don Knotts who would win five Emmy Awards in five seasons for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Ron Howard & Frances Bavier were excellent also. Other famous supporting characters included Otis Campbell, the town drunk (portrayed by Hal Smith, appeared in a total of 32 episodes), the only one who appeared in the first season; Gomer Pyle (portrayed by Jim Nabors, appeared in only 23 episodes); & Ernest T. Bass (portrayed by Hal Morris, appeared in only 8 episodes). Hal Morris would also direct several episodes. There were many more characters that had semi-regular roles but these were the most famous & popular. In particular, the character Ernest T. Bass's fame goes way beyond his eight appearances.

The first season of The Andy Griffith Show has 32 episodes, MANY of them are classics of the series, in fact, the first eleven episodes are highlights of the entire series. It's not until "Stranger in Town" that the individual episodes dip below the five star level. The episode "Opie's Charity" is one of the absolute best. There are way too many outstanding episodes to mention, there's not a bad one in the bunch.

There aren't any bonus features which is a shame considering the historical importance of the series. There are four discs in the set each stored in its own slim case. Each case has an episode listing on the disc with a synopsis. Good family entertainment doesn't come any better than this. September 8, 2008

The Greatest Television Comedy Ever Produced

Many mainstream television critics assert that "Seinfeld" is the best comedy program ever produced. While "Seinfeld" had its funny moments, it featured a cast of some of the most unlikeable and least redeemable characters in television history. Celebrating a program about four utter narcissists who look upon other people as mere objects to be used and discarded is more than passing strange, no matter how popular it was (and still is).

No, the greatest television comedy ever produced is "The Andy Griffith Show." Even though it is set in a rural, Southern small town in the early 1960's, the writing is so good that it is essentially timeless. In addition, rather than laughing at the characters, one laughs and even empathizes with them. We recognize our own failures, foibles and follies in the cavalcade of characters -- Sheriff Andy Taylor, Aunt Bea, Floyd Lawson, Gomer Pyle, and all of the rest. Even the egocentric blowhard Barney Fife earns our grudging love, because -- deep down -- he is a basically decent and good human being.

There is a reason why "The Andy Griffith Show" remains so enormously popular long after its original exhibition, and other comedies before and since have been forgotten. The producers of the program respected the audience and put together a quality product that appealed to the better angels of our nature. Even when "Seinfeld" has become painfully outdated and unfunny, new audiences will appreciate and enjoy "The Andy Griffith Show." July 19, 2008

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