Thursday, July 05, 2012

Rest in Peace, Andy



"The Manhunt" is pretty much the perfect Andy Griffith Show episode. It opens with a wonderful scene between Andy and Opie and quickly turns into a showcase for the best comedy team in the history of laughing. Andy wasn't just a great straight man to Don Knotts' amazing talent, he was a formidable comedian on his own. I miss you, Sheriff.

5 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

This episode certainly sets up a lot of concepts and themes that will be important to the run of the series. Andy's loving relationship with Opie, Barney's sense of duty that outweighs his actually competence, Otis letting himself out of the cell routinely, and most importantly Andy's homespun sense.

A manhunt in the second episode was probably done to showcase the kind of excitement you might see in something like Dragnet, only in a rural community instead of the big city. Barney is concerned about being labeled a "hick town", and its not an unreasonable thing to assume. At the time, a Southern town probably wouldn't be too highly regarded.

Showcasing Andy's unique blend of wisdom and trickery against the more traditional savvy of the state police doubtless cemented the series in the minds of the viewing public.

Ken O said...

July 18th Turner Classic has an Andy Griffith movie night. Starting with "A Face in the Crowd". Than "No Time for Sergeants". There are two more after that, but honestly I wasn't familar with the other two.

Michael May said...

Ken, I don't know why Google kept throwing your comments in the spam folder, but I'm sorry about that. I rescued the first one.

Thanks for letting me know about the marathon. I haven't heard of Hearts of the West or Onionhead either, but the two you mentioned are great. A Face in the Crowd shows what a great, dramatic actor he actually was and No Time for Sergeants will appeal to any fans of The Andy Griffith Show.

Michael May said...

Erik, you nailed it. The first episode of the series does a lot with his relationship with Opie and explains why Aunt Bee lives with them, but in most ways that count "Manhunt" is the real pilot in that it showcases all of the most important elements of the show. For me, anyway.

Wings1295 said...

Great episode, indeed. Awesome show, period. He will be missed!!!

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