The BEST episodes of The Andy Griffith Show season 4
Every episode of The Andy Griffith Show season 4, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Andy Griffith Show season 4!
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 - Citizen's Arrest
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/16/1963
A minor argument between Barney and Gomer over a traffic ticket erupts into an all-out feud that leads to reckless driving, staged burglaries, and eventually Barney's resignation from the force. Can Andy get the two friends to make up before things really get out of hand?
#2 - Andy's Vacation
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/9/1964
Andy decides to take a vacation in the mountains and leaves Barney to guard a prisoner the state police have brought in. Inevitably, the prisoner escapes Barney's grasp and flees into the mountains -- the very same mountains Andy is vacationing in.
#3 - The Haunted House
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/1963
Barney is sent into a reputed "haunted" house to retrieve Opie's baseball and sees things that make even the skeptical Andy wonder if there really are ghosts, until Andy discovers who's really doing the haunting.
#4 - Back to Nature
Season 4 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/11/1964
While on a camping trip with Opie and his friends, Barney brags to Gomer about his outdoor skills and promptly gets them lost in the woods. When Andy finally does find them, he and Gomer hatch a plan to save Barney the embarrassment and prove to everyone what a mountain man he really is.
#5 - The Sermon for Today
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/21/1963
A visiting minister preaches the importance of relaxation and inspires Aunt Bee, Andy, and Barney to throw a Sunday afternoon band concert. When it ends up being more work than they imagined, it leaves them wondering if they'll ever have time to relax again.
#6 - Barney's Sidecar
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/27/1964
Barney buys an antique motorcycle in order to set a speed trap for speeding truckers on Highway 6. After Barney makes a complete nuisance of himself to all of Mayberry, Andy realizes that the answer may be to make the motorcycle more valuable to the town than to Barney.
#7 - Andy and Opie's Pal
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/13/1964
After becoming jealous of the attention Andy give to the new boy in town, Opie comes to Andy wrapped in bandages and tells him he and the new boy got into a vicious fight. One peek under Opie's bandages, however, tells Andy the fight may not have been as bloody, or as real, as Opie says.
#8 - Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/1963
When Ernest T. Bass is denied from joining the army, he blames Andy and threatens to break every window in Mayberry. When Andy learns the real reason for Ernest's denial, he finds a solution that benefits everyone...except Barney.
#9 - The Rumor
Season 4 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/27/1964
After Barney sees Andy and Helen kissing in a jewelery store, he becomes convinced they are secretly engaged and decides to throw a surprise engagement party, much to the chagrin of the un-engaged Andy and Helen.
#10 - Barney and the Cave Rescue
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/6/1964
The day of the town picnic, Barney watches as Andy and Helen go wandering into a cave just before the entrance collapses. He quickly rallies the town to their rescue, not realizing Andy and Helen have already found a way out.
#11 - A Black Day for Mayberry
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/11/1963
All of Mayberry turns out to welcome a truck carrying gold to Fort Knox as it passes through town. When Barney sneaks a closer look at the loot, he sees that there may not be as much to celebrate as everyone thought.
#12 - The Song Festers
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/24/1964
When Gomer replaces Barney in the Mayberry choir, Barney is heartbroken. Gomer hears about this and feigns illness so that Barney can sing on the night of the recital. But when Barney's pride gets in the way, the big performance threatens to become a big disaster.
#13 - My Fair Ernest T. Bass
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/3/1964
Andy is called to arrest Ernest T. Bass once again for disturbing one of Mrs. Wiley's socials. Sympathizing with his search for true love, Andy and Barney teach him how to act like a gentleman and bring him to Mrs. Wiley's next social. But when Ernest falls for Mrs. Wiley's niece, his true colors shine through.
#14 - Up in Barney's Room
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/2/1963
Barney has an argument with his landlady Mrs. Mendelbright and gets evicted. After moving into the courthouse and having no luck finding a new place, he decides to mend fences with Mrs. Mendelbright, only to find she has decided to sell the house and run away to get married.
#15 - A Deal is a Deal
Season 4 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/6/1964
When Opie and his friends are scammed into selling a useless skin ointment, Barney and Gomer try to help convince the company their product is more valuable than they think. When the scheme backfires, however, the whole gang learns a lesson in the art of the deal.
#16 - A Date for Gomer
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/25/1963
Thelma Lou's bachelorette cousin is coming to Mayberry for the town dance, and Barney decides to set her up with Gomer. On the big night, they all meet up at Thelma Lou's and everything seems to be going great, until Gomer suddenly disappears.
#17 - Fun Girls
Season 4 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/13/1964
Helen and Thelma Lou are horrified to see Andy and Barney escorting a couple of "fun girls" from Mount Pilot the night before the big dance. The boys know they were innocently making sure the "girls' got home alright, but it will take some fancy two-steppin' at the dance to get Helen and Thelma Lou to believe it.
#18 - The Shoplifters
Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/2/1964
Andy and Barney must find a shoplifter that's been hitting Ben Weaver's store, so Barney volunteers to dress up as a mannequin. He ends up accusing a little old lady and is ridiculed for another one of his famous blunders by everyone except Andy, who believes he might be onto something.
#19 - Aunt Bee, the Crusader
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/20/1964
Aunt Bee's friend Mr. Frisby tells her his house is about to be demolished to make way for a new highway. She decides to help her friend and campaigns to halt the county's plans, despite the fact that Andy is the one who must serve the eviction.
#20 - Opie and His Merry Men
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/30/1963
Opie and his friends decide to play Robin Hood to a friendly hobo they meet in the local woods and take food from their own cupboards to give to him. Andy decides to meet the man and ends up teaching them all a lesson in who the rich and poor really are.
#21 - Bargain Day
Season 4 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/23/1964
Aunt Bee decides to buy 150 pounds of beef at a discount from a new butcher in town. She stores in in her "discount" freezer, which immediately breaks down. With her beef about to go bad, she learns that the only one in town with a freezer bug enough to save her beef is her original butcher.
#22 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Season 4 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/18/1964
Gomer decides to join the Marines, and Andy helps out by secretly convincing the drill instructor that Gomer is the son of a decorated general. The drill instructor takes Gomer under his wing and gets him to pass his inspection with flying colors, only to find out later the truth behind Gomer's lineage. (Pilot episode for the spin-off series "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.")
#23 - Prisoner of Love
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/10/1964
While guarding a gorgeous jewel thief one night, Andy nearly falls for her seductive charms. He decides to go home and leaves Barney to guard her for the night. But when it suddenly occurs to Andy what the thief's real plans are, he realizes he may not be able to warn Barney in time.
#24 - Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/1963
Opie finally gets a good grade in math, and Andy is so proud he tells everyone in town. But when Opie's teacher tells him she made a mistake and his grade is actually an F, he goes home to tell Andy the bad news, only to find Andy has bought him a shiny new bicycle.
#25 - Barney and Thelma Lou, Phfftt
Season 4 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/4/1964
After an off-hand comment puts Barney in the doghouse with Thelma Lou, he sees her spending her free time with Gomer instead. Not wanting to hurt his friend, Gomer tries to get her to stop seeing him by falsely professing his love, but ends up engaged to her instead.