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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 3 Episode 11 - Convicts-at-Large
    9.4/10(787 votes)

    #1 - Convicts-at-Large

    S3:E11

    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
    Writers:James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

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  2. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 11 - Christmas Story
    9.2/10(920 votes)

    #2 - Christmas Story

    S1:E11

    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

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  3. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 27 - Barney's First Car
    9.2/10(638 votes)

    #3 - 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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  4. The Andy Griffith Show Season 4 Episode 2 - The Haunted House
    9.2/10(693 votes)

    #4 - The Haunted House

    S4:E2

    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

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  5. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 11 - The Pickle Story
    9.1/10(711 votes)

    #5 - 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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  6. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 16 - Man in a Hurry
    9.0/10(686 votes)

    #6 - Man in a Hurry

    S3:E16

    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
    Writers:James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Andy Griffith Show

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  7. The Andy Griffith Show Season 5 Episode 14 - Three Wishes for Opie
    9.0/10(528 votes)

    #7 - Three Wishes for Opie

    S5:E14

    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

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  8. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 20 - Barney and the Choir
    8.9/10(568 votes)

    #8 - 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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  9. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 13 - The Bank Job
    8.9/10(500 votes)

    #9 - The Bank Job

    S3:E13

    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
    Writers:James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

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  10. The Andy Griffith Show Season 4 Episode 1 - Opie the Birdman
    8.9/10(605 votes)

    #10 - 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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  11. The Andy Griffith Show Season 4 Episode 11 - Citizen's Arrest
    8.9/10(528 votes)

    #11 - Citizen's Arrest

    S4:E11

    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
    Writers:James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

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  12. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 30 - Barney Gets His Man
    8.8/10(519 votes)

    #12 - 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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  13. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 1 - Mr. McBeevee
    8.8/10(597 votes)

    #13 - Mr. McBeevee

    S3:E1

    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
    Writers:Harvey Bullock, R. Allen Saffian

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  14. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 32 - The Big House
    8.7/10(441 votes)

    #14 - The Big House

    S3:E32

    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

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  15. The Andy Griffith Show Season 4 Episode 16 - Barney's Sidecar
    8.7/10(484 votes)

    #15 - Barney's Sidecar

    S4:E16

    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:Coby Ruskin
    Writers:James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum

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  16. The Andy Griffith Show Season 4 Episode 21 - The Shoplifters
    8.7/10(465 votes)

    #16 - The Shoplifters

    S4:E21

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 2 - The Manhunt
    8.6/10(736 votes)

    #17 - The Manhunt

    S1:E2

    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
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  18. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 16 - The Manicurist
    8.6/10(567 votes)

    #18 - The Manicurist

    S2:E16

    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
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  19. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 18 - Jailbreak
    8.6/10(432 votes)

    #19 - Jailbreak

    S2:E18

    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

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  20. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 23 - Aunt Bee the Warden
    8.6/10(479 votes)

    #20 - Aunt Bee the Warden

    S2:E23

    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
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  21. The Andy Griffith Show Season 2 Episode 29 - Andy on Trial
    8.6/10(488 votes)

    #21 - Andy on Trial

    S2:E29

    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
    Writers:Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart

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  22. The Andy Griffith Show Season 3 Episode 7 - Lawman Barney
    8.6/10(408 votes)

    #22 - Lawman Barney

    S3:E7

    Barney loses his self-confidence when two unlawful bullies laugh off his attempt to run them out of town. Andy tells them Barney is actually a trigger-happy lawman out for vengeance, but the bullies quickly see through the ruse and Barney now must find the courage within himself to stand up to them.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Aaron Ruben

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  23. The Andy Griffith Show Season 5 Episode 2 - Barney's Physical
    8.6/10(412 votes)

    #23 - Barney's Physical

    S5:E2

    New height and weight requirements go into effect for all law enforcement officers, which threatens to put Barney out of a job unless Andy can figure out a way to throw around some much-needed weight.

    Director:Howard Morris
    Writer:Bob Ross

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  24. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 8 - Opie's Charity
    8.5/10(592 votes)

    #24 - Opie's Charity

    S1:E8

    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

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  25. The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 Episode 17 - Alcohol and Old Lace
    8.5/10(533 votes)

    #25 - 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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Best Episodes Summary

"Convicts-at-Large" is the best rated episode of "The Andy Griffith Show". It scored 9.4/10 based on 787 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".