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The Best Episodes of The Andy Griffith Show

Every episode of The Andy Griffith Show ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Andy Griffith Show!

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The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 11 - The Pickle Story
    10.0/10(715 votes)

    #1 - The Pickle Story

    S2:E11

    Andy and Barney are horrified when Aunt Bee decides to enter her prized pickles -- with a taste described as "kerosene cucumbers" -- in a county fair contest, hoping to claim first prize over the competition's perennial winner.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Harvey Bullock

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  2. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 14 - The Keeper of the Flame
    10.0/10(407 votes)

    #2 - The Keeper of the Flame

    S2:E14

    Opie joins a secret club known as The Wildcats and is subsequently suspected of being the guilty party when the barn that the club meets in catches fire and burns to the ground.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  3. The Andy Griffith Show Season 4 Episode 1 - Opie the Birdman
    10.0/10(611 votes)

    #3 - Opie the Birdman

    S4:E1

    Opie decides to raise a nest of baby birds after accidentally killing their mother with his new slingshot and ends up learning one of the hardest lessons of motherhood in the process.

    Director:Richard Crenna
    Writer:Harvey Bullock

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  4. The Andy Griffith Show Season 7 Episode 12 - Only a Rose
    10.0/10(219 votes)

    #4 - Only a Rose

    S7:E12

    Aunt Bee is totally excited about her rose that she has been growing for over a year for the annual flower show. While Opie and Arnold are playing, however,they accidently destroy it.

    Director:Lee Philips
    Writers:Arnold Margolin, Jim Parker

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  5. The Andy Griffith Show Season 7 Episode 29 - Opie's Most Unforgettable Character
    10.0/10(203 votes)

    #5 - Opie's Most Unforgettable Character

    S7:E29

    Opie has a hard time finishing one of his homework assignments.

    Director:Lee Philips
    Writers:Seaman Jacobs, Michael Morris

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  6. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 17 - Alcohol and Old Lace
    9.5/10(543 votes)

    #6 - Alcohol and Old Lace

    S1:E17

    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!

    Director:Gene Reynolds
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Andy Griffith Show

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  7. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 20 - Barney and the Choir
    9.5/10(573 votes)

    #7 - Barney and the Choir

    S2:E20

    Things hit a sour note when Barney joins the Mayberry choir -- and it's quickly determined that his singing voice isn't exactly harmonious to the other members of the group.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  8. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 22 - The Merchant of Mayberry
    9.5/10(433 votes)

    #8 - The Merchant of Mayberry

    S2:E22

    Weaver's Department Store in Mayberry has some new competition -- in the form of Bert Miller, a traveling salesman who sets up shop in the town with a little help from Andy.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon

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  9. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 27 - Barney's First Car
    9.5/10(647 votes)

    #9 - Barney's First Car

    S3:E27

    Barney learns that the car he's spent his life savings on is a lemon, and the little old lady he bought it from may have put one over on him. When Barney and Andy set out to return the car and arrest her, however, they find the hardest part may be just getting there.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

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  10. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 12 - Stranger In Town
    9.0/10(657 votes)

    #10 - Stranger In Town

    S1:E12

    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.

    Director:Don Weis
    Writer:Arthur Stander

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  11. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 15 - Those Gossipin' Men
    9.0/10(522 votes)

    #11 - Those Gossipin' Men

    S1:E15

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  12. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 20 - Andy Saves Barney's Morale
    9.0/10(481 votes)

    #12 - Andy Saves Barney's Morale

    S1:E20

    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!

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Frank Tarloff

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  13. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 21 - Andy and the Gentleman Crook
    9.0/10(452 votes)

    #13 - Andy and the Gentleman Crook

    S1:E21

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon

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  14. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 23 - Andy and Opie, Housekeepers
    9.0/10(428 votes)

    #14 - Andy and Opie, Housekeepers

    S1:E23

    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!

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Frank Tarloff

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  15. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 25 - A Plaque for Mayberry
    9.0/10(448 votes)

    #15 - A Plaque for Mayberry

    S1:E25

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon

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  16. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 27 - Ellie Saves a Female
    9.0/10(498 votes)

    #16 - Ellie Saves a Female

    S1:E27

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Frank Tarloff

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  17. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 28 - Andy Forecloses
    9.0/10(454 votes)

    #17 - Andy Forecloses

    S1:E28

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon

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  18. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 30 - Barney Gets His Man
    9.0/10(526 votes)

    #18 - Barney Gets His Man

    S1:E30

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon

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  19. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 32 - Bringing Up Opie
    9.0/10(399 votes)

    #19 - Bringing Up Opie

    S1:E32

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  20. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 1 - Opie and the Bully
    9.0/10(468 votes)

    #20 - Opie and the Bully

    S2:E1

    Sheriff Andy Taylor must decide whether to intervene or let the problem work itself out when a bully harasses his son Opie at school.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Frank Tarloff

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  21. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 2 - Barney's Replacement
    9.0/10(424 votes)

    #21 - Barney's Replacement

    S2:E2

    When a rookie policeman is sent to Mayberry for training, Barney mistakenly believes the man is his replacement and quits the police force to become a vacuum-cleaner salesman.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  22. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 4 - Mayberry Goes Bankrupt
    9.0/10(443 votes)

    #22 - Mayberry Goes Bankrupt

    S2:E4

    Will the town coffers run out of cash? It appears that way when Mayberry resident Frank Myers is stunned to discover that the township apparently owes him close to $350,000!

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  23. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 6 - Opie's Hobo Friend
    9.0/10(489 votes)

    #23 - Opie's Hobo Friend

    S2:E6

    Andy is wary when Opie becomes fascinated by a wily hobo (Buddy Ebsen) who begins to influence the boy with his carefree, conniving ways.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Harvey Bullock

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  24. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 7 - Crime-Free Mayberry
    9.0/10(429 votes)

    #24 - Crime-Free Mayberry

    S2:E7

    Two crooks masquerade as an FBI agent and a professional photographer in a scheme to honor the Mayberry Sheriff's Department for preserving the community's low crime rate -- but they actually have their eye on the town bank.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Paul Henning

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  25. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 10 - The Clubmen
    9.0/10(403 votes)

    #25 - The Clubmen

    S2:E10

    Both Andy and Barney are offered membership in an exclusive men's club, but Barney manages to alienate the entire group by trying too hard to fit in -- an endeavor that threatens his chances at joining the elite organization.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writers:Fred S. Fox, Iz Elinson

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Pickle Story" is the best rated episode of "The Andy Griffith Show". It scored 10/10 based on 715 votes. Directed by Bob Sweeney and written by Harvey Bullock, it aired on 12/18/1961. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Keeper of the Flame".