Review(s): DVD The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Final Season
A tired show by this season.
As this is my all time favorite television show, it's hard to admit that this season was running on fumes. The best characters were dead or had moved on. Andy seemed like he was in a mad mood most of the time, and Don Knotts was gone. Ken Berry being brought in at the last to be set up for Mayberry R.F.D. was not a good idea. I will probably buy this so my set will be complete, but it's kind of sad to watch.
What to do w/ a coma patient?
The Andy Griffith Show WAS and still is one of the best sitcoms tv ever produced. We all know that stars with the great Don Knotts leading the pack but seldom is the show's main star mentioned: The town of Mayberry. It serves as both stage and star. Mayberry exists as an America that even when first seen is thought of as a bygone era. It is what WE WANTED America to have been like. Most people don't know the amazing history of Andy Griffith. He was a famous stand up comedian known nation wide. Studied Shakespeare, had a huge Broadway hit with 'No Time For Sergeants' that translated well into a motion picture (with Don Knotts). He also should have won the Oscar for best actor for his mesmorizing performance in the classic "A Face In The Crowd" a movie that was way way well ahead of it's time, think Network and you'll get the idea. The movie is more relevant today than it was when it was made. Go BUY it now instead of this dvd.
When the Andy Griffith show first aired it did not have Don Knotts. But everything came together when it did and Griffith's generosity as the lead and famous comedian gave everything to Knotts. It was great for the show and the reason it is still funny to this date. But Mayberry existed in our memories as a town that never really existed and so it Had to be fimed in black & white. The show jumped the shark when color came to be and Knott's career took of and Universal made him the star of some memorable comedies. When it went to color as was the practice in those days and the show was tired. We were tired too. Slim pickens in those days with only 3 networks who told us when and what we watched a far cry from what I think is a change for the better with Tivo and shows on demand via the web.
If you really are a collector then I suggest select the good old shows and include Griffith's "A Face in the Crowd" and "No Time For Sergeants".
Easy to see why it was the Final Season
I have been a fan of the show since the original broadcasts in the 1960's, but it is all too easy to see why this was the Final Season. This is easily the least season, too in every respect. To begin with, there was only one appearance by Don Knotts as Barney Fife. There was also very real fatigue present throughout most of the episodes, all too evident in most of Andy Griffith's half-hearted and lifeless performances. The show really dried up plain-and-simple, when Don Knotts left. The wonderful chemistry between Andy and Barney was gone. Not to mention that by this time several other popular characters had either left the show or were seldom seen, which further weakened the series. At its worst, the show probably was at least as good as any other comedy series of the late 1960's, but if you are a real devotee of the show, you know the series had already gone way past its prime by the Eighth and Final Season. I plan to buy this DVD set just to make my collection complete, but for me anyway, I already have the show at its very best.
Related DVD's The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Final Season
Though I must agree with a previous review about the later seasons being a bit better, Season 1 certainly has it's merits, and is worth the price of admission. How much better does it get to see Pyle and Sgt. Carter come back from a survival course and actually gain weight? Or getting stuck on a transcontinental flight, being declared AWOL, and then becoming a hero? Character development is a consistent trait in the first season of most shows. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is no exception, but it's still fun to watch. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Alan Rafkin - Gary Nelson - John Rich - Coby Ruskin - Aaron Ruben DVD Release Date: Released the 12 December 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
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