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The Andy Griffith Show's seventh season (1966-67) was the beginning of
the end for the venerable family comedy (Griffith brought it to a close with the
next season), but the gentle humor and likable characters that helped make it
one of the most popular series on television are still in fine form. Chief among
the season's plusses is a two-episode return visit from Don Knotts as Barney
Fife--in "A Visit to Barney Fife," Andy helps his former deputy find his footing
at his new precinct in Raleigh, North Carolina, while in "Barney Comes to
Mayberry," Barney reunites with his old flame, Irene Flogg, now a glamorous
movie star. The latter episode, among the most popular of the series, won Knotts
his fifth Emmy for portraying Barney. Otherwise, it's business as usual in
Mayberry, with series regulars Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee), George Lindsey
(Goober), Hal Smith (Otis), and a very grown-up Ron Howard (Opie) delivering
their usual warm and funny performances. The show's new face, Jack Dodson (later
Mickey Malph on Happy Days) fares considerably better as a Barney
substitute than the ill-fated Jack Burns; as mother-dominated town clerk Howard
Sprague, Dodson gets some very funny moments, especially in "Howard the
Comedian," where he embarrasses the citizens of Mayberry with his TV standup
debut. Also on hand: Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump, Denver Pyle and the Dillards
as the hillbilly collective known as the Darling Family, and an ailing Howard
McNear as Floyd the barber; McNear had suffered a stroke and lost much of his
mobility, but Griffith made arrangements that allowed him to continue on the
show in a more relaxed capacity. Though perhaps not up to par with its earlier,
black-and-white episodes, the seventh season of The Andy Griffith Show
still has plenty of what made the show an enduring classic: low-key charm and
homespun humor. The five-disc set has no supplemental features. --Paul Gaita
Season 7 (1966-1967)
30 episodes
| Production # |
Broadcast # |
Airdate |
Title |
| 190 |
190 |
September 12, 1966 |
Opie's Girlfriend |
| Opie's friendship with an
athletically superior girl blossoms when she follows the advice of an older
female and adopts the clinging vine approach. |
| 191 |
192 |
September 26, 1966 |
The Barbershop Quartet |
The Mayberry barbershop quartet
loses its tenor when Howard can't go to the singing contest so Andy drafts a
prisoner with a beautiful voice.
- Hamilton Camp guest stars as Jeff Nelson.
- George Lindsey does not appear in this episode.
|
| 192 |
191 |
September 19, 1966 |
The Lodge |
| Goober blackballs Howard when he
applies for membership in the Mayberry men's lodge. |
| 193 |
195 |
October 17, 1966 |
The Darling Fortune |
Andy and the town of Mayberry
undergo a trying experience when the hillbilly
Darling family comes into a fortune of $300 and shows up in town looking
for brides for the boys.
- Ron Howard does not appear in this episode.
|
| 194 |
194 |
October 10, 1966 |
Aunt Bee's Crowning Glory |
A visiting pastor's message,
("Be yourself") causes Aunt Bee to don a blonde wig, upsetting Andy and the
rest of Mayberry.
- George Lindsey does not appear in this episode.
|
| 195 |
193 |
October 3, 1966 |
The Ball Game |
| Andy is concerned about the
appearance of favoritism when he decides to umpire a crucial junior baseball
game for Opie, but ends up angering the town when one of his decisions loses
the game for Mayberry. |
| 196 |
203 |
December 19, 1966 |
Goober Makes History |
| After growing a beard,
inarticulate
Goober suddenly becomes a verbose philosopher, and shares his new-found
"wisdom" with all his friends. |
| 197 |
198 |
November 14, 1966 |
The Senior Play |
Helen Crump and her teenaged
students find themselves at odds with the crotchety old school principal
over the content of a play, but eventually convince him that today's
youngsters are not that different from his own generation's.
- Frances Bavier does not appear in this episode.
|
| 198 |
200 |
November 28, 1966 |
Big Fish in a Small Town |
Fishing season begins, and the
town's sportsmen are all eager for a chance to catch "Old Sam", the biggest
fish in the lake. Howard, a non-fisherman, tags along and antagonizes
everybody by catching him.
- Frances Bavier does not appear in this episode.
|
| 199 |
196 |
October 31, 1966 |
Mind Over Matter |
| Goober's injuries cause his
friends to convince him he has a severe case of whiplash and he promptly
becomes a helpless invalid. |
| 200 |
197 |
November 7, 1966 |
Politics Begin at Home |
|
Aunt Bee runs against Howard for
the office of town councilman. |
| 201 |
204 |
December 26, 1966 |
A New Doctor in Town |
| Nobody in Mayberry wants to be
the first to see if the town's new doctor is qualified, until Andy shows his
faith in the young doctor by letting him remove Opie's tonsils.
|
| 202 |
199 |
November 21, 1966 |
Opie Finds a Baby |
| Opie and his friend Arnold find
an abandoned baby. They run into trouble when they innocently try to find it
some new parents.
|
| 203 |
201 |
December 5, 1966 |
Only a Rose |
Opie accidentally ruins Aunt
Bee's prize rose entry on the eve of the Annual Mayberry Flower Show.
- George Lindsey does not appear in this episode.
|
| 204 |
202 |
December 12, 1966 |
Otis the Deputy |
Otis and Howard bunglingly
attempt to rescue Andy who has been taken prisoner by a pair of desperate
bank-robbers.
- This episode was Otis's last series appearance.
- Andy Griffith is the only actor to appear in this
episode.
|
| 205 |
205 |
January 2, 1967 |
Don't Miss a Good Bet |
| Andy and four of his
level-headed friends and relatives are taken in by a con man's
get-rich-quick scheme. |
| 206 |
206 |
January 9, 1967 |
Dinner at Eight |
| Andy looks forward to spending
an evening alone in the house. However, due to Goober's error, he has a
filling evening when he must eat three spaghetti dinners cooked by
thoughtful friends. |
| 207 |
209 |
January 30, 1967 |
Andy's Old Girlfriend |
Andy's perennial romance with
Helen is jolted a bit when Andy's high school sweetheart moves back to town.
- Frances Bavier does not appear in this episode.
|
| 208 |
212 |
February 20, 1967 |
The Statue |
| Andy and Aunt Bee learn their
ancestor was the state's biggest swindler, just before the town of Mayberry
unveils his statue as a hero. |
| 209 |
210 |
February 6, 1967 |
Aunt Bee's Restaurant |
Aunt Bee has a brief fling as
co-owner of a Chinese restaurant in Mayberry, but her superstitions stand in
the way of her success.
- Ron Howard does not appear in this episode.
|
| 210 |
211 |
February 13, 1967 |
Floyd's Barbershop |
Floyd decides to give up his
Mayberry barbershop when Howard buys the building and raises the rent $15 a
month.
- Harry Walker, who was played by David Ketchum, is best
known as Agent 13 on
Get
Smart.
|
| 211 |
207 |
January 16, 1967 |
A Visit to Barney Fife |
Andy visits
Barney, now with the Raleigh police department, and makes a hero out of
his bumbling former deputy when he assists him in solving a string of
supermarket robberies.
-
Don Knotts guest stars in this
episode.
- Frances Bavier, Ron Howard and George Lindsey do not
appear in this episode.
|
| 212 |
208 |
January 23, 1967 |
Barney Comes to Mayberry |
| Detective Barney Fife pays a
visit to his old hometown. At the same time, a now-famous movie star who
used to date Barney has returned to Mayberry for a motion picture premiere,
and Barney is her escort.
|
| 213 |
213 |
February 27, 1967 |
Helen, the Authoress |
| Helen writes a children's book
that is accepted for publication and Andy faces the disquieting prospect of
being the fiance of a celebrity.
|
| 214 |
214 |
March 6, 1967 |
Goodbye Dolly |
| Andy and Opie face the difficult
problem of helping an old milk-wagon horse find contentment in retirement. |
| 215 |
215 |
March 13, 1967 |
Opie's Piano Lesson |
| Opie insists on studying piano
until he finds out that football practice and piano practice are
incompatible.
|
| 216 |
216 |
March 20, 1967 |
Howard, the Comedian |
| Howard Sprague becomes a
comedian and appears on television with jokes about his hometown, and
inadvertently rubs his friends the wrong way with his routine. |
| 217 |
217 |
March 27, 1967 |
Big Brother |
| Howard volunteers to become the
Big Brother of a high school boy, which brings a reward he didn't expect.
|
| 218 |
218 |
April 3, 1967 |
Opie's Most Unforgettable Character |
| Opie has trouble coming up with
a subject for his writing assignment, and Andy gets distressed when Opie
eventually chooses someone else as the subject. |
| 219 |
219 |
April 10, 1967 |
Goober's Contest |
| Goober faces disaster when a
printing error awards
Floyd a large cash prize in his filling station contest.
|
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