The Andy Griffith Show stars picked their favorite episodes of the series

Do you agree with the cast? Which is your favorite?

On October 3, 1985, Mayberry celebrated a milestone. The Andy Griffith Show Silver Anniversary Special aired on TBS, looking back at the beloved sitcom on its 25th birthday.

Don Knotts hosted the special. "What made The Andy Griffith Show such a hit was the characters," the Barney Fife actor declared in his introduction. "These are real people who cared about each other."

Knotts then presented the series "best episodes," as chosen by the members of the cast. It gave fans a fascinating glimpse into the actors' favorites, were not necessarily showcases for their particular characters.

With The Andy Griffith Show celebrating its 60th anniversary, let's look back at the favorite episodes of the stars themselves. Which is your favorite?

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1. Andy Griffith: "Barney's First Car"

 

We begin with the man himself, the eponymous star of the show. To underline his longtime friendship with Don Knotts, Griffith picked an episode the truly showcased the comedic skills of his sidekick. The deputy has $300 burning a hole in his pockets, which he spends on a 1954 Ford sedan. The used car is a lemon, purchased from the widow "Hubcaps" Lesh (Ellen Corby from The Waltons). Griffith was not alone in cherishing this tale — the Writer's Guild of America granted the writers, Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum, an award for best writing in a comedy or variety series.

2. Don Knotts: "The Pickle Story"

 

"['The Pickle Story'] shows just how much Andy and Barney are willing to go through to protect Aunt Bee's feelings," Knotts explained. In this case, that means ingesting her disgusting pickles. Fans agree with Knotts. The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club voted this episode as its all-time favorite.

3. Frances Bavier: "Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee"

 

Here is another episode about food and the sacrifices of friendship. Aunt Bee believes that she is holding back Andy's love life, so she attempts to kindle a romance of her own in the hopes she can move out. She pretends to fall for the rather insufferable local dry cleaner, H. Fred Goss. But she can not keep up the charade.

4. Jim Nabors: "Citizen's Arrest"

 

Nabor's Gomer character features prominently in this tale, but it too remains largely a showcase for Don Knott's comedic skills. Barney slaps Gomer with a $5 traffic ticket. Leaving the scene, Barney executes a U-turn, prompting Gomer to pull a citizen's arrest. A stickler for the law, Barney jails himself and quits his job. Gomer stages a phony robbery at the gas station to get Barney back in the game…

5. George Lindsey: "Dinner at Eight"

 

What about Goober? Remember, the other Pyle did not become a prominent cast member until the color years. So it makes sense that Lindsey would select a later episode. With Opie and Aunt Bee out of the house, Andy looks forward to some welcome alone time. Of course, this being a small town, the sheriff ends up committed to three separate suppers… all of them spaghetti. Oh, and each home chef claims oregano to be the secret ingredient.

6. Ron Howard: "The Ball Game"

 

The reason Howard holds this moment from the show so close to his heart may surprise you. It's because it's based on a similar situation that happened to him and his dad. The episode centers on Andy Taylor serving as an umpire for Opie's championship baseball game. Andy has reservations about serving as an umpire and showing favoritism, so he decides to play fair. However, the town turns against its own sheriff when he calls out his son at home plate, forcing the Mayberry Giants to lose. "That had happened to me and my dad," Howard told Larry King in 2013. "He called me out at home on a ball game that was on my birthday. I couldn't believe he called me out!"

SEE MORE: The color seasons of 'The Andy Griffith Show' are great and here's why

 

11 reasons you need to see seasons six, seven and eight of this classic sitcom. Stay tuned to MeTV for more news celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Andy Griffith Show! READ MORE

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102 Comments

DavidStamper12 24 months ago
My favorite is "Barney and the Governor"...Lots of good scenes with the best being the ending, A plastered Mayor Stoner falling flat on his face...
Nala92129 28 months ago
My dear late sister loved the episode she called "Goober's Beard," wherein Goober grows a beard and becomes a pompous pseudo-intellectual.
PilotTom 43 months ago
WFOX MeTv channel 30.2 in Jacksonville Florida refuses to show Andy or Month of Mayberry while the rest of the USA enjoy watching this great show ! They will not answer emails or text as to why !!!!!
Peddlerslicense 43 months ago
Three wishes for Opie, Family Visit was hysterical, Malcolm Merriweather, the 3 Convicts.
LH Peddlerslicense 42 months ago
I loved Convicts at large! When Barney and Rita Shaw were dancing the tango together it was a scream!
Nala92129 LH 28 months ago
Who wears high heels in prison? Reta Shaw was always wonderful.
frenchman71 Nala92129 28 months ago
When I think back to this episode, you're right. She did have a low 2" heel on.
JimRowley 47 months ago
One of my favorites.Convicts at Large.They kept calling Barney Al and so did Floyd.
LH JamesRo81380793 42 months ago
“Oh no don’t do that! If you do it’s goodbye Al!”
Eladrasined 48 months ago
It's so hard to pick a favorite but Three Wishes for Opie, The Gold Shipment, The episode where he got engaged to Melissa, all hilarious every time I see them.
LH Eladrasined 42 months ago
Also, “The Haunted House” was wonderful.
barbara1226 48 months ago
Though Andy Griffith was the star of the show, the show's with Don Knott's as Barney Fife were the funniest. After Barney left, the show's were cute but there were no more gut-wrenching laughs.
Beachel 49 months ago
What was the favorites of Hal Smith and Hope Summers?
KathyMcKinny 49 months ago
One of my favorites is 'Ellie saves a female' the first makeover in Mayberry!!
JBec55 KathyMcKinny 43 months ago
I love that episode. Although I think Helen Crump WAS better suited for Andy, I am puzzled why the chemistry just wasn’t there between Ellie Walker & Andy...
LH JBec55 42 months ago
I actually liked Joanna Moore the best... nurse Peggy. She was prettier than all of them… Just more appealing overall I thought.
JoeBloghe LH 39 months ago
The producers thought that Joanna Moore was too ""sophisticated and pretty"" to be Andy's love interest--and didnt think she fit the bill as Andy's Girlfriend---blame it on the producers---they surely missed it on this one
PamHeatherly KathyMcKinny 30 months ago
I like one too
Nala92129 KathyMcKinny 28 months ago
That episode was unbelievably sexist!
Inkwell765 JBec55 28 months ago
I think what happened is Andy evolved away from his original dumb hayseed character, ending the hilarious fights between them.
daniel 50 months ago
There are so many classic episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show that it's difficult to choose one favorite. However, my favorite would have to be Opie, the Birdman". In it, Opie carelessly (and accidentally) shoots a mother songbird with his sling shot. Despite an obvious temptation, Andy decides against giving Opie the spanking and instead opens the window so Opie can hear the little birds chirping for their dead mother. Opie later raises the little birds until the day he has to sadly release them. This episode has always been my favorite. It seems Ronny Howard, Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, and Frances Bavier gave it their fullest measure.
Nala92129 daniel 28 months ago
My favorite episode.
BurnJika 50 months ago
I have so many favorites ~ it would take too long to list here! All the shows with Ernest T. Bass are classics. I feel the same way about the Darlings. Barneys First Car, the motorcycle (Mayberry addition to their “rolling stock”, The Pickle Story, Aunt Bee as “The Warden” and the new ph
gennia 50 months ago
I STILL laugh at the episode where Aunt Bee goes to the Darlings and when Mr Darling says I can take a lot of things, but I ain’t going to be beat to death with a spoon. It is hilarious. I’m laughing, just typing it out. GREAT SHOW, even today.
Wackydoglady 52 months ago
The Pickle episode has always been my favorite. Every scene and actor is a gem, but Don Knotts will always be the funniest on the show.
frenchman71 53 months ago
The color seasons, which were the last 3 seasons, pale in comparison to the b & w episodes. The writing was weak and the episodes were lame. There may have been about 5 or 6 episodes that were worthy but it even showed that Andy himself was getting tired.
Tww 53 months ago
I love this show. I have no absolute favorite episode,but the one that contains perhaps my favorite Barney dialogue is Dogs, Dogs, Dogs,in which Barney explains the social differences of dogs and giraffes
CarolKelley Tww 48 months ago
Boy! Giraffes are selfish! Another one with great dialogue was Opie's Charity. "Only half a boy? I'd sure like to see that!" and "Horatio who?" "Horatio is not the only poor boy."
PamHeatherly CarolKelley 30 months ago
Boy those giraffes!
Frankfurter 55 months ago
My favorite has to be the one where the state prisoners are there and Barney explained the two rules here at the rock. Gomer keeps dropping the gun off the roof and Andy has to keep re catching them!
GordARebelato 55 months ago
The Pickle Story and Barney's First Car are two of my favourite episodes.
joenic27 55 months ago
Sermon for Today and Man in a Hurry are my two favorites. Not easy to pick favorites from this show, with so many great episodes to choose from. Favorite color episode is The Battle of Mayberry.
wanderer2575 joenic27 48 months ago
"Man in a Hurry" is absolutely one of my favorites and i watch it every time it's on. It infuriates me that the tag scene keeps getting cut (at least when I see it on TV Land): In the porch scene, where Andy shows Mr. Tucker how he peeled an apple without breaking the skin, the latter sarcastically says "congratulations!" But in the tag scene after he decides to stay the night, Mr. Tucker is shown sleeping on the front porch -- and the camera slowly zooms in and we see him holding a knife and a a half-peeled apple. Perfect ending to a great episode.
LH wanderer2575 42 months ago
That really was a great episode. I watch that every time it’s on too.
FrankCollins 55 months ago
How can you leave out the great musical episodes of the Darlings, who were actually a real musical group that was fantastic?
LH FrankCollins 42 months ago
“There is a time for us to wander... when time was young and so were we… “
I actually have that clip on my phone. I love it.
PamHeatherly FrankCollins 30 months ago
The Darlings were the best! The horse trough one especially
FrankCollins 55 months ago
The only good one chosen was the classic "Citizen's Arrest". There were so many great episodes, side-spittingly funny, and they only chose one. Give me a break. Where is the loaded goat? There are so many more. Then there are the truly heartwarming episodes.
PamHeatherly FrankCollins 30 months ago
Loved the accompanying music to The Loaded Goat
Nala92129 FrankCollins 28 months ago
I loved the first part of Citizens Arrest, but HATED the ending! Barney could be a bully and "Ange" should have torn up the tickets Barney wrote for Gomer.
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