8.2/10742 votes#1 - The New Housekeeper
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/1960
Sheriff Andy Taylor and his young son Opie are in need of a new housekeeper. Andy's Aunt Bee looks like the perfect candidate and moves in, but her presence causes friction with Opie.
Director: Sheldon Leonard
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
8.6/10675 votes#2 - 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
7.7/10632 votes#3 - The Guitar Player
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/1960
A gifted guitar player (James Best) who has self-doubts about his musical talent gets a chance at stardom -- with a little push from Andy.
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
8.1/10539 votes#4 - Ellie Comes to Town
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/1960
When Mayberry's local pharmacist falls ill, his niece Ellie Walker steps in as a temporary replacement -- and creates turmoil with the town's resident hypochondriac.
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
7.7/10496 votes#5 - Irresistible Andy
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/1960
It's the annual church picnic, and when Andy invites Ellie to the event, he begins to suspect that she has marriage on her mind -- so he hastily arranges for three of Mayberry's most eligible bachelors to lavish attention on her.
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Frank Tarloff
7.6/10475 votes#6 - Runaway Kid
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/7/1960
Andy must intervene -- and risk breaking a promise to Opie -- when he discovers that one of Opie's young friends has run away from home.
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Arthur Stander
7.8/10432 votes#7 - Andy the Matchmaker
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/14/1960
When Barney's bumbling law enforcement techniques are questioned, Andy and Ellie decide to stage a fake robbery -- a scheme that turns Barney into a real hero!
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Arthur Stander
8.5/10540 votes#8 - 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
8.0/10509 votes#9 - A Feud is a Feud
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/1960
Andy hopes to finally bring peace to two of the county's longtime feuding families, the Carters and the Wakefields -- by arranging a duel between the two patriarchs of the quarreling clans!
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Frank Tarloff
7.4/10471 votes#10 - Ellie for Council
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/1960
It's a battle of the sexes when Ellie Walker decides to become the very first woman to run for a seat on the Mayberry city council -- and the town's horrified menfolk decide to sabotage her newfound political career.
Director: Bob Sweeney
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
9.1/10824 votes#11 - 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
8.2/10586 votes#12 - Stranger In Town
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/26/1960
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
7.7/10456 votes#13 - Mayberry Goes Hollywood
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/2/1961
Lights! Camera! Chaos! A Hollywood producer chooses idyllic Mayberry as the backdrop for his next movie, and the entire town goes into a frenzy as they gear up for the anticipated glamour, fame and fortune.
Director: Bob Sweeney
Writer: Benedict Freedman, John Fenton Murray
7.8/10409 votes#14 - The Horse Trader
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/9/1961
Andy performs some slick dealing with an antique dealer to get rid of the town's old worthless cannon. But when young Opie later mimics his father's shady deal to obtain a pair of roller skates, Andy has second thoughts about his own wheeling and dealing.
Director: Bob Sweeney
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
8.2/10468 votes#15 - Those Gossipin' Men
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1961
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
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
7.7/10427 votes#16 - The Beauty Contest
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/1961
The Mayberry town council wants to end the annual Founder's Day celebration with a beauty contest, with Andy chosen to pick the winner. The result is pandemonium as candidates of all shapes and sizes descend on the hapless "judge."
Director: Bob Sweeney
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
8.5/10476 votes#17 - 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
7.6/10433 votes#18 - Andy, the Marriage Counselor
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/6/1961
Mayberry newcomers Fred and Jeannie Boone are constantly causing domestic disturbances with their fighting, so Andy decides to play marriage counselor to the bickering couple -- with disastrous results.
Director: Gene Reynolds
Writer: Frank Tarloff
8.1/10449 votes#19 - Mayberry on Record
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/13/1961
A New York City record promoter arrives in Mayberry, intent on making a recording of the region's local folk music, but Andy becomes wary of the stranger and suspects he might be a con artist seeking some fast cash.
Director: Gene Reynolds
Writer: Benedict Freedman, John Fenton Murray
8.2/10434 votes#20 - Andy Saves Barney's Morale
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/20/1961
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
7.9/10410 votes#21 - Andy and the Gentleman Crook
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/27/1961
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
Writer: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon
8.0/10379 votes#22 - Cyrano Andy
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 3/6/1961
Andy makes an earnest attempt at matchmaking to help Barney win the heart of his girlfriend, Thelma Lou. Things go fine at first -- until barney misinterprets Andy's efforts and thinks he's trying to steal her away!
Director: Bob Sweeney
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
7.8/10388 votes#23 - Andy and Opie, Housekeepers
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/13/1961
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
7.5/10370 votes#24 - The New Doctor
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/27/1961
Andy must make a hasty, ill-advised marriage proposal to Ellie Walker after he becomes convinced that the new, handsome young doctor in town is trying to steal his girl.
Director: Bob Sweeney
Writer: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart
8.2/10406 votes#25 - A Plaque for Mayberry
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 4/3/1961
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
Writer: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon
The Best Episodes of The Andy Griffith Show Season 1
Every episode of The Andy Griffith Show Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Andy Griffith Show Season 1!
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
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"The New Housekeeper" is the best rated episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" season 1. It scored 8.2/10 based on 742 votes. Directed by Sheldon Leonard and written by Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart, it aired on 10/3/1960. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "The Manhunt".