The BEST episodes of The Andy Griffith Show season 1
Every episode of The Andy Griffith Show season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Andy Griffith Show season 1!
Down-home humor and an endearing cast of characters helped make The Andy Griffith Show one of the most beloved comedies in the history of TV. The show centered around widower Andy Taylor, who divided his time between raising his young son Opie, and his job as sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town, Mayberry. Andy and Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee, who serves as a surrogate mother to both father and son. Andy's nervous cousin, Barney Fife, is his deputy sheriff whose incompetence is tolerated because Mayberry is virtually crime-free.
#1 - Christmas Story
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/19/1960
Mayberry's local "Scrooge," storeowner Ben Weaver, manages to have harmless bootlegger Sam Muggins thrown into jail on Christmas -- but the Mayberry folks manage to celebrate Christmas with Sam in a most unusual way.
#2 - Bringing Up Opie
Season 1 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/22/1961
After being scolded by Aunt Bee, Opie decides to run away from home -- a plan that quickly turns into a series of eye-opening, and sometimes dangerous, adventures for Opie and a scare for both Aunt Bee and Andy.
#3 - Alcohol and Old Lace
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/30/1961
Opie comes home talking about a "flower-making machine" owned by sisters Clarabelle and Jennifer Morrison, the spinsters who run the local flower shop. Andy and Barney do a little investigating -- and discover the contraption is actually a still and the kindly sisters are in the moonshine business!
#4 - Andy Forecloses
Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/24/1961
Andy, faced with the unpleasant task of serving an eviction notice on a family who has fallen on hard times, tries desperately to come up with a way for the tenants to keep their home.
#5 - Opie's Charity
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/1960
Andy is dismayed when Opie refuses to contribute money to the school charity drive -- but there's a secret reason for Opie's apparent selfishness.
#6 - Ellie Saves a Female
Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/17/1961
Ellie Walker takes pity on a shy tomboy named Frankie Flint and is determined to give a "Cinderella" makeover to the young girl -- much to her gruff father's displeasure.
#7 - Quiet Sam
Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/1/1961
Barney is convinced that the new, mysterious farmer in town warrants further investigation. Andy finally agrees to pay a visit to the man's farm -- and finds himself drawn into a predicament he never imagined he'd find himself in.
#8 - Andy and the Gentleman Crook
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/27/1961
A notorious, nationally known con man dubbed "Gentleman Dan" becomes a hero of epic proportions to Aunt Bee, Opie and Barney when he is held for two days in the Mayberry jail.
#9 - The Manhunt
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/10/1960
Andy and his bumbling deputy, Barney Fife, offer to help track down an escaped convict, but the captain of the state police scoffs at the small-town sheriff's help.
#10 - Barney Gets His Man
Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/8/1961
Barney's reputation as a deputy soars when he inadvertently helps capture Eddie Brooke, an escaped convict. But Brooke vows to escape again and head straight back to Mayberry to exact his revenge.
#11 - Andy Saves Barney's Morale
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/20/1961
When Andy has to leave Mayberry for the day to testify in a court case held in a neighboring town, Deputy Barney Fife is left in charge of the sheriff's department -- and he proceeds to arrest everyone in Mayberry!
#12 - The New Housekeeper
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/1960
Sheriff Andy Taylor and his young son Opie are in need of a new housekeeper. Andy's Aunt Bee looks like the perfect candidate and moves in, but her presence causes friction with Opie.
#13 - Mayberry on Record
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/13/1961
A New York City record promoter arrives in Mayberry, intent on making a recording of the region's local folk music, but Andy becomes wary of the stranger and suspects he might be a con artist seeking some fast cash.
#14 - The Inspector
Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/10/1961
When a state inspector arrives in Mayberry to check the jail and courthouse, Andy and Barney are shocked to discover he's a by-the-book stickler for rules and regulations. Things look shaky until Andy is able to demonstrate the "Mayberry way" of fighting crime.
#15 - Andy, the Matchmaker
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/14/1960
When Barney's bumbling law enforcement techniques are questioned, Andy and Ellie decide to stage a fake robbery -- a scheme that turns Barney into a real hero!
#16 - Ellie Comes to Town
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/1960
When Mayberry's local pharmacist falls ill, his niece Ellie Walker steps in as a temporary replacement -- and creates turmoil with the town's resident hypochondriac.
#17 - Those Gossipin' Men
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1961
Aunt Bee, accused by Andy of being a hopeless gossip, sets out to prove that the men of Mayberry are even bigger rumormongers than the women.
#18 - The Guitar Player
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/1960
A gifted guitar player (James Best) who has self-doubts about his musical talent gets a chance at stardom -- with a little push from Andy.
#19 - Stranger in Town
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/26/1960
Ed Sawyer, a mysterious stranger, arrives in Mayberry and disrupts the lives of the townspeople because he appears to know everyone's name, intimate details about their lives, and other startling facts about them.
#20 - A Plaque for Mayberry
Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/3/1961
The Women's Historical Society is all set to throw a celebration in honor of the last living descendant of a Revolutionary War hero named Nathan Tibbs, who has been traced to Mayberry. But their excitement turns to horror when they discover that the intended honoree is the town drunk, Otis Campbell.
#21 - Andy and Opie, Housekeepers
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/13/1961
Aunt Bee must leave Mayberry to care for a sick cousin, but not before scolding Andy and Opie for their messy housekeeping habits. The two are determined to clean house before she returns -- a project that suddenly accelerates when she phones to say she'll be coming home earlier than expected!
#22 - Mayberry Goes Hollywood
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/2/1961
Lights! Camera! Chaos! A Hollywood producer chooses idyllic Mayberry as the backdrop for his next movie, and the entire town goes into a frenzy as they gear up for the anticipated glamour, fame and fortune.
#23 - A Feud is a Feud
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/1960
Andy hopes to finally bring peace to two of the county's longtime feuding families, the Carters and the Wakefields -- by arranging a duel between the two patriarchs of the quarreling clans!
#24 - The Beauty Contest
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/1961
The Mayberry town council wants to end the annual Founder's Day celebration with a beauty contest, with Andy chosen to pick the winner. The result is pandemonium as candidates of all shapes and sizes descend on the hapless "judge."
#25 - Runaway Kid
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/7/1960
Andy must intervene -- and risk breaking a promise to Opie -- when he discovers that one of Opie's young friends has run away from home.