The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Third Season
by Bob Sweeney, Charles Irving
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Donald Lawton, Frances Bavier, Ron HowardDirector: Bob Sweeney, Charles Irving
Brand: Paramount
Writer: Aaron Ruben
Writer: Bill Freedman
Writer: Everett Greenbaum
Writer: Harvey Bullock
Writer: Henry Sharp
Writer: James Fritzell
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 808 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-16
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Third Season
Movie Review: "GO TAKE A NAP! GO TO THELMA LOU'S FOR T.V.! JUST DO IT! DO IT!" :-)
Summary: 5 Stars
.....And then, on your way home from Thelma Lou's, stop by Weaver's Department Store and pick up a copy of this "Andy Griffith Show" DVD set! Just do it! (Weaver's probably sells DVDs nowadays, wouldn't ya think?) :-)
Paramount's TV-On-DVD division has delivered yet another excellent full-season TV-show boxed set with the August 16, 2005, arrival of "The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Third Season". There are a few minutes of footage missing from a very few episodes, but I would not let that setback stop you from enjoying the greatness that is "Andy Season #3" -- because this is truly an outstanding season of programming in the history of this beloved TV series.
This handsome-looking 5-Disc DVD collection gathers together all 32 "T.A.G.S." episodes from the series' third (of eight) CBS-TV campaigns. Episodes 64 through 95 are here, which aired during the 1962-1963 television season.
Like the earlier Paramount "Andy" DVD seasonal releases, this third-season installment sports excellent video quality; and very good audio quality as well. For TV shows in this elderly age bracket, I don't see how these episodes could possibly look or sound any better. I couldn't be more pleased with these DVD transfers.
The third season of "Andy" introduces several new, recurring characters into the cast -- including "Gomer Pyle" (played by Jim Nabors) and two new girlfriends for Sheriff Andy Taylor -- "Peggy McMillan" (portrayed by the ultra-fetching Joanna Moore) and "Helen Crump" (Aneta Corsaut).
"Helen" first appeared in Episode 86 ("Andy Discovers America"; first aired on March 4, 1963), and she would remain a major part of the show's cast for the rest of the series' 5-plus years on the air.
Some of my favorite shows from this third "TAGS" season include .... "Floyd, The Gay Deceiver", "Convicts-At-Large", "The Bed Jacket", "Barney's First Car", "High Noon In Mayberry", "The Big House", "Lawman Barney", and "Mr. McBeevee".
Plus, there's "Man In A Hurry" (Episode #79; aired on January 14, 1963), which is one of the very best installments in the entire series, and is the episode which spawned the humorous dialogue I've used as my title for this review (one of many hilarious moments in that ep.).
"Man In A Hurry" features all the easy-going, low-key, carefree elements that made Mayberry, North Carolina, such a great place to visit each and every week.
"Hurry" has "Malcolm Tucker" (played wonderfully by Robert Emhardt) being forced to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon and evening in the sleepy little village of Mayberry after his car breaks down just outside of town. This does not please the enterprising Mr. Tucker in the least. You see, Mr. Tucker is definitely a "man in a hurry" when he comes across the kind folks of Mayberry. He has no time for homemade ice cream, or Sunday afternoon naps, or unbroken apple peelings.
But -- after spending a day with Andy, Opie, Barney, and Aunt Bee -- Mr. Tucker, too, discovers that Mayberry's laid-back way of life can be very appealing. This episode's very touching and poignant "epilogue" (which is often cut out of syndicated TV prints of the show) really drives home the program's message. The musical score that accompanies this epilogue also enhances the mood and tender feeling of this scene. It's been a 'classic' episode since it first aired in early 1963; and it shall continue to be one of my personal favorites for all time.
"Man In A Hurry" offers up a fabulous mix of laugh-out-loud scenes as well as bittersweet moments. Mr. Tucker's excited exasperation provides a fall-down-funny moment when he discovers there's simply no way on this Earth that he's going to be able to get a telephone call through Mayberry's solitary (and perpetually-tied-up) party-line switchboard........
Mr. Tucker (after he slams the phone down in frustration) -- "Outrageous! Sheer idiocy! I can't believe this is happening to me! A public utility being tied up like this! You people are living in another world! This is the 20th century, don't you realize that?! The whole world is living in a desperate space age! Men are orbiting the Earth, international television has been developed -- and here, a whole town is standing still because two old women's feet fall asleep!!"
Barney Fife (completely unfazed by the 'Tucker tirade' he's just witnessed) -- "I wonder what causes that?"
~Big ol' LOL!~
This third "Andy Griffith Show" campaign is a black-and-white season (like the first two years), and features many of the widely-circulated "public domain" episodes that have popped up on a wide variety of other VHS and DVD releases of "The Andy Griffith Show" over the years. But this Paramount boxed set tops all of those "P.D." versions of these episodes (by a mile)! These restored prints look just fantastic on these DVDs.
Plus, unlike many of the far-inferior "public domain" video releases of some of these eps., this Paramount complete-season set contains the originally-aired opening and closing "Fishin' Hole" theme music, which has been been restored and utilized for all of the shows within this DVD collection. This set also contains (for the most part) full-length, uncut shows (approx. 24 to 26 minutes per episode).*
* = Regarding "Full-Length" episodes --- Unfortunately, there are two episodes in this 32-show DVD set that are missing the closing epilogue scenes ("The Darlings Are Coming" and "Barney Mends A Broken Heart"). The "Darlings" show has a DVD run time of a little less than 22.5 minutes. So it's been cut here by about three minutes. "Barney Mends" runs 24:34. Besides the epilogue on "Darlings", some other bits and pieces of the episode are absent too (particularly during the scene in the jail cell).
I'm pretty sure that the epilogue is the only portion missing on "Barney Mends" (when Barney's big mouth gets him in trouble again when he says in front of Peggy -- "Andy really didn't care nothin' about that girl").
I also noticed that the video quality of the "Darlings" episode is not quite as good as the other shows in this set. It's considerably "darker" than the other episodes; although it still IS a fairly-good DVD transfer of this ep. overall, quite "clean"-looking with very little grain or other video distractions, which I was pleased to note (since this show was obviously taken from a different source than other programs in this collection). But the very dark video does become quite noticeable during the nighttime "shinnying down the rope" scene.
So, it would appear (for some reason) that Paramount was unable to locate a full-length, 25-minute print of that episode to place on this DVD set. Although, oddly enough, that particular program IS intact, sporting a run time of 25-plus minutes, on some of the lesser-quality "public domain" DVDs that have been marketed in recent years; which begs the question -- why didn't Paramount tap one of those prints for this seasonal boxed set?
~shrugs unknowingly~
But, anyway, at least the folks at Paramount Home Video give buyers a warning about the edits on this set, with these words printed in four different places on the packaging .... "Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions". (Although, since it's obvious that some shows have been edited, I'm curious as to why Paramount has utilized the words "may be", instead of the more appropriate "have been" in this instance.)
~additional shrug~
Even though the "Darlings" episode has been trimmed, I'm glad to see that two of the most humorous scenes remain intact on the DVD. Those being:
Briscoe's admonition to "the boys" -- "Now let's try 'Slimy River Bottom', and this time make it per-ty!"
And the exchange between Andy and hotel clerk John Masters --
ANDY -- "I warned them earlier today on a '907'."
JOHN (fully aware immediately of what Official Mayberry Police Code "#907" indicated) -- "Dippin' a hat in a horse trough."
ANDY -- "Right."
~ LOL! ~
While I hate edited, chopped-up TV shows as much as the next "Andy" fan, I for one am more than willing to give Paramount the benefit of the "editing" doubt with regard to this TAGS set. Based on past reputation for releasing full-length programs (with excellent PQ) whenever humanly possible, I'm confident that Paramount has done all it can do to provide DVD buyers with the best product that could be obtained. And "unedited" whenever practicable.
I also am most certainly not of the "Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater" mindset when it comes to purchasing TV-On-DVD products that contain a very few minutes cut out of them -- meaning: I'm certainly not willing to deprive myself of the 808 minutes of superb programming that reside on the five Digital Discs in this "TAGS" Season-Three set (not even counting the approx. 28 minutes of "Sponsor Spots") -- just because the total 32-episode running time is supposed to be approx. 813 minutes.
Now, if a whole bunch of these shows were taken from inferior syndicated (and truncated) versions (which is definitely not the case with this TAGS set), then I'd be upset indeed. But when only about 0.6% (or even less) of the original network content is absent, and the episodes look THIS sensational overall (as is the case with this Andy #3 set from Paramount), then IMO those missing 5 minutes of footage (out of 813) are literally akin to a drop in the proverbial bucket, and just flat-out not worth the mental torture that would most assuredly be brought on by NOT purchasing this boxed set just because 0.6% of the original content has been omitted (and the angst of knowing I decided to intentionally forego the pleasure of owning these many, many terrific "Andy" entries simply due to two missing epilogues and/or a missing line of dialogue in one or two shows).**
** = That's just my own opinion, of course. But, at the same time, I can also certainly respect another person's decision to stand by his/her "Edited Episodes = No Sale!" principles.
DVD BONUS FEATURES -- Just like the second-season Andy Griffith Show set, this third-season set includes many "Original Sponsor Spots", each of which lasts about one minute. These are vintage commercial advertisements featuring the show's cast members plugging various products, like Sanka Coffee, Post brand breakfast cereals, and a new product for Season 3 -- Jell-O Puddings.
There are 29 "Sponsor Spots" scattered throughout the five discs, with only three episodes lacking a unique commercial ad (one of which is "The Darlings Are Coming", giving another indication that Paramount just could not unearth the original film print of that episode).
Picture quality is very good, too, for these ads. These very clever and well-written commercial spots are really fun to watch, as Andy, Opie, et al, stay in "character" to pitch the different sponsor's products. It's just exactly the type of vintage, hard-to-find, rarely-seen stuff that I love to see included on DVD sets like this. Hats off to Paramount for making these ads available here.
One especially funny commercial spot is the one that's attached to the episode "Lawman Barney", which features Deputy Fife having his pistol confiscated yet again by Sheriff Taylor after Barney shoots up the Taylor's kitchen, resulting in some leaky pipes.
Another humorous "Jell-O Pudding" ad (for the "McBeevee" episode) has Opie's make-believe horse sticking his (real) head in through Andy's kitchen window. That one had me tickled too.
Even "Mr. Tucker" and the "Mendlebright Sisters" (the gabby, telephone-happy old ladies who have all that trouble with their feet) from the "Man In A Hurry" episode get in on the act in one of the commercials for Sanka Coffee (in the "nice-to-hold new jar", too!). "Out-stand-ingly good coffee". :-)
To watch any of the 29 "Sponsor Spots", a Sub-Menu must be accessed, where each of that disc's "Spots" can be played. Each ad can be watched individually, or you can view all of them consecutively via a handy "Play All" option that is also available.
Some additional info about this DVD
VIDEO -- Standard TV Ratio (Full Frame; 1.33:1). B&W.
AUDIO -- Dolby Digital (2.0 Mono). English only.
MENUS -- Non-animated. Without music. No Episode Sub-Menus are included; the Main Menu also serves as an "Episode Selection" Menu. .... There is one Sub-Menu (for each disc's "Sponsor Spots"). ... Six Paramount DVD ads come up automatically when you load up Disc #1 (only). To bypass these ads, press "Forward Chapter Advance" (or "Skip") on your remote six times consecutively.
Oddly enough, these very same Paramount ads also can be accessed from Disc One's Main Menu, via a separate Menu choice (marked "Previews"). This redundancy regarding these DVD Previews sort of makes me wonder if Paramount, at some point during the creation of these DVDs, had the idea of eliminating the semi-annoying "automatic load-up ads" on Disc 1 for this boxed set, and just have the customer browse the ads at their leisure via the Main Menu (which, of course, I'm sure is the preferred method if you were to ask virtually any DVD buyer).
But, for some reason, Paramount placed the ads on the Main Menu AND decided to stick them onto the front of Disc 1 as part of the load-up procedure, too. This repetition will probably serve to tick off even more people who can't stand such "forced" material on any DVD product, because by placing the very same advertisements on the Menu itself, it makes having them also a part of the initial disc load-up seem completely unnecessary.
The six TV DVD Previews, btw, last a tad more than six minutes total, and are the exact same ads that are also on the second-season DVD boxed set of "TAGS" (except they're shown in a slightly-different order than on the Season-Two set).
"PLAY ALL EPISODES" OPTION? -- Yes.
CHAPTER BREAKS INCLUDED? -- Yes; Five Chapter Stops per program.
PACKAGING -- The five discs come packaged inside three individual "Slim" clear plastic cases, with Discs 1 and 2 being held in the first case; Discs 3 and 4 go into the second case; and the third case houses just a single disc (#5). .... Each disc is single-sided, with artwork. There's an outer cardboard slipcase box that comfortably holds the three slim disc cases. The slipcase is identical in design (and lettering on the box) to the two previously-released Andy Griffith sets. I like the uniformity of this packaging that Paramount has maintained here. Season Three looks right at home next to Seasons 1 and 2.
A common "Wally's Filling Station" theme has been used for the inner packaging here, with a reasonable facsimile of an automobile tire adorning each of the discs, plus images of wrenches and other tools printed on the inside and back of the three slim cases.
Episode information is included on the back of each of the three slim cases (in the guise of a "Wally's Filling Station" invoice), with more detailed summaries available on the inside of the cases (underneath each disc itself). There are either 6 or 7 episodes on each disc.
Something new that I like very much about this Season-Three set is the fact that there is a complete episode list on the back of the outer box. This handy at-a-glance program listing also tells you what episodes are located on what discs.
A final closing "gush".......
Season 3 of "The Andy Griffith Show" is yet another winning season in the eight-year history of this charming rural sitcom. "T.A.G.S." is truly a one-of-a-kind TV series that we'll almost certainly never see the likes of ever again.
And via these superior-quality DVDs, it seems as though these 32 third-season shows are all brand-new once again. This is a great season of a treasured TV show ... a great DVD set (despite the five minutes or so of edits) ... and a great bargain, to boot.
Summary of The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Third Season
The widowed father of a young boy works as sheriff in the southern town of Mayberry.Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: NR
Release Date: 1-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD
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