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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!

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...
Genres:ComedyFamily
Network:CBS

Best Episodes Summary

"Convicts-at-Large" is the best rated episode of "The Andy Griffith Show". It scored 9.3/10 based on 716 votes. Directed by Bob Sweeney and written by James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum, it aired on 12/10/1962. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Christmas Story".

  • Convicts-at-Large
    9.3/10716 votes
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    #1 - Convicts-at-Large

    Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 12/10/1962

    Barney and Floyd stumble upon a cabin in the woods where three dangerous female convicts are hiding out. They are taken prisoner and it's Andy to the rescue when he manages to capture two of them. But it's up to Barney to get the third using all the charm he can muster, along with his best Rudolph Valentino impression.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

  • Christmas Story
    9.1/10813 votes
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    #2 - 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.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Frank Tarloff

  • The Pickle Story
    9.1/10651 votes
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    #3 - The Pickle Story

    Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 12/18/1961

    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

  • Barney's First Car
    9.1/10581 votes
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    #4 - Barney's First Car

    Season 3 Episode 27 - Aired 4/1/1963

    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

    Writer: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

  • The Haunted House
    9.1/10634 votes
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    #5 - 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.

    Director: Earl Bellamy

    Writer: Harvey Bullock

  • Man in a Hurry
    9.0/10615 votes
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    #6 - Man in a Hurry

    Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 1/14/1963

    Malcolm Tucker, a business tycoon from Charlotte, has the unfortunate luck of having his car break down in Mayberry on a Sunday. Now he's willing to do just about anything to be on his way, including stealing Gomer's truck. Andy invites the man over for Sunday dinner to try and teach him the importance of relaxation before he does something he'll really regret.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

  • Barney and the Choir
    8.9/10517 votes
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    #7 - Barney and the Choir

    Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 2/19/1962

    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

    Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

  • The Bank Job
    8.9/10450 votes
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    #8 - The Bank Job

    Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 12/24/1962

    Barney becomes convinced the Mayberry bank is ripe for a robbery and tries to prove his point by staging a fake one. When he discovers a weak spot in the security system, he unknowing relays this information to a couple of actual robbers.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

  • Opie the Birdman
    8.9/10552 votes
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    #9 - Opie the Birdman

    Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/1963

    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

  • Citizen's Arrest
    8.9/10483 votes
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    #10 - 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?

    Director: Richard Crenna

    Writer: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

  • Three Wishes for Opie
    8.9/10474 votes
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    #11 - Three Wishes for Opie

    Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 12/21/1964

    Opie makes three wishes on a "magic lamp" Barney bought. When one of his wishes doesn't come true, Barney dismisses the whole thing. Opie learns there are many different ways for a wish to be granted.

    Director: Howard Morris

    Writer: Richard M. Powell

  • Barney Gets His Man
    8.8/10461 votes
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    #12 - 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.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon

  • The Big House
    8.8/10400 votes
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    #13 - The Big House

    Season 3 Episode 32 - Aired 5/6/1963

    Andy is told to keep two big-time bandits in his jail until detectives from Tennessee come to get them. Knowing that the bandit's friends will try to break them out, Barney spots two suspicious men outside the jail and promptly arrests them. As it turns out, they are the detectives from Tennessee, giving the bandit's real friends the opportunity they've been waiting for.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Harvey Bullock

  • Mr. McBeevee
    8.7/10547 votes
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    #14 - Mr. McBeevee

    Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 10/1/1962

    Opie tells Andy about his new friend Mr. McBeevee, who Andy believes to be a figment of Opie's imagination. But when Andy begins to suspect Opie is using his new-found friend as an excuse to lie, he decides to set the record straight and prove Mr. McBeevee doesn't really exist. Or does he?

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Harvey Bullock, R. Allen Saffian

  • The Manhunt
    8.6/10670 votes
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    #15 - 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.

    Director: Don Weis

    Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

  • The Manicurist
    8.6/10513 votes
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    #16 - The Manicurist

    Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 1/22/1962

    The men of Mayberry become infatuated with Ellen Brown (Barbara Eden), a curvaceous manicurist who sets up shop in Floyd's barbershop. But the women of Mayberry are less than enthusiastic about the situation.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

  • Jailbreak
    8.6/10391 votes
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    #17 - Jailbreak

    Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 2/5/1962

    Barney must attempt to salvage his reputation after he inadvertently allows a criminal to escape from the Mayberry jail and the state police are called in to assist in the manhunt.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Harvey Bullock

  • Andy on Trial
    8.6/10446 votes
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    #18 - Andy on Trial

    Season 2 Episode 29 - Aired 4/23/1962

    A newspaper publishing mogul is ticketed for speeding and retaliates by sending an undercover reporter to Mayberry to dig up whatever dirt she can on Andy and his department.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

  • Barney's Sidecar
    8.6/10441 votes
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    #19 - 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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

  • The Shoplifters
    8.6/10425 votes
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    #20 - 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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Opie's Charity
    8.5/10538 votes
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    #21 - 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.

    Director: Don Weis

    Writer: Arthur Stander

  • Alcohol and Old Lace
    8.5/10474 votes
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    #22 - 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!

    Director: Gene Reynolds

    Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

  • Opie's Hobo Friend
    8.5/10430 votes
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    #23 - Opie's Hobo Friend

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/13/1961

    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

  • Aunt Bee the Warden
    8.5/10437 votes
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    #24 - Aunt Bee the Warden

    Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 3/12/1962

    With the town jail full, Andy reluctantly decides to have the town drunk, Otis Campbell, incarcerated in Andy's own home. But when Aunt Bee takes charge as the "warden," Otis is soon howling to be locked up in the real jail!

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

  • Andy and Barney in the Big City
    8.5/10393 votes
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    #25 - Andy and Barney in the Big City

    Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 3/26/1962

    While on a trip to Raleigh, Andy and Barney find themselves swept into an adventure involving a jewel thief being watched by a hotel detective.

    Director: Bob Sweeney

    Writer: Harvey Bullock