At long last, I’ve finally finished ranking the Season 4 episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. This was another very strong season. I consider the first 19 episodes in my rankings to be excellent, with numbers 20 through 26 being very good. It isn’t until the last 6 episodes in my rankings for this season that we start getting into episodes that I’m not crazy about.
Episodes featuring Ernest T. Bass scored the #2 and #3 positions in my rankings, but the episode where Gomer joins the Marines is my favorite episode of Season 4. I’d say this episode stands a great chance of being named my favorite episode of all time, once I get ready to compile all of my rankings into a single list.
Some fans of the show might be surprised to see me rank “Fun Girls” all the way down at #28. Skippy and Daphne are two of the most well-known characters to appear on the show, despite only being in two or three episodes. However, I never liked those characters very much.
I have “Prisoner of Love” ranked last among the Season 4 episodes. In this episode, Andy begins to fall for a female prisoner who is inarculated…I mean incarcerated…in the Mayberry jail. There is a lot of tension in this episode – I’d go so far as to call it sexual tension – as Andy struggles with his feelings for the prisoner. The tone if this episode is way too serious for me, and the subject matter is on the borderline of being inappropriate for a family show. I always thought this script was out-of-place for the Andy Griffith Show, to the point that I’m surprised they recorded this episode at all.
Below are my complete rankings for all 32 of the Season 4 episodes.
| Rank | Ep. # | Episode Name | Synopsis |
| 1 | 4.32 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C | Gomer joins the Marines |
| 2 | 4.3 | Ernest T. Joins the Army | Halarity ensues when Ernest T. Bass decides to join the Army |
| 3 | 4.17 | My Fair Ernest T. Bass | Andy tries to teach Ernest T. some manners, and then tries to pass him off at a party as his cousin |
| 4 | 4.11 | Citizen’s Arrest | Gomer slaps Barney with a citizen’s arrest when arney makes an illegal U-turn |
| 5 | 4.16 | Barney’s Sidecar | Barney terrorizes Mayberry after buying a motorcycle with a sidecar |
| 6 | 4.13 | Barney and the Cave Rescue | Barney must rescue Andy and Helen after a cave-in…or so he believes |
| 7 | 4.2 | The Haunted House | Andy, Barney, and Gomer try to retrieve a lost baseball from a supposedly haunted house |
| 8 | 4.9 | A Date for Gomer | Andy and Barney make a blind date for Gomer with Thelma Lou’s cousin Mary Grace |
| 9 | 4.24 | Bargain Day | Aunt Bee gets stuck with a tough side of beef and a freezer that doesn’t work. Call the man! |
| 10 | 4.21 | The Shoplifters | Andy and Barney try to figure out who is robbing Ben Weaver’s store |
| 11 | 4.7 | Black Day for Mayberry | Word leaks out that a gold shipment is coming through Mayberry on the way to Fort Knox |
| 12 | 4.4 | The Sermon for Today | The townsfolk try to put on a band concert after being inspired by a visiting pastor’s sermon |
| 13 | 4.23 | Andy Saves Gomer | Gomer tries to repay Andy for “saving his life” after a small fire at the filling station |
| 14 | 4.29 | The Rumor | Barney mistakenly thinks Andy and Helen are engaged after seeing them kiss in the jewelry store |
| 15 | 4.31 | Barney and Thelma Lou, Phfftt | Thelma Lou gets angry at Barney and starts dating Gomer |
| 16 | 4.26 | A Deal is a Deal | Opie and his friends get stuck trying to sell Miracle Salve |
| 17 | 4.28 | The Return of Malcolm | Andy hires Malcolm Merryweather as a butler so Aunt Bee can become a lady of leisure |
| 18 | 4.22 | Andy’s Vacation | Andy tries to take a vacation, but can’t get any peace |
| 19 | 4.20 | The Song Festers | Barney is crushed when Gomer is selected to sing the solo at the choir concert |
| 20 | 4.25 | Divorce, Mountain Style | Charlene uses a mountain ritual to divorce Dud, and then tries to marry Andy |
| 21 | 4.19 | Hot Rod Otis | Town drunk Otis Campbell buys a car |
| 22 | 4.6 | Gomer the House Guest | Gomer moves into the Taylor home after losing his job (and apartment) at the filling station |
| 23 | 4.15 | Aunt Bee the Crusader | Aunt Bee tries to prevent Mr. Frisbee from being kicked off his land, not realizing he’s a moonshiner |
| 24 | 4.5 | Briscoe Declare for Aunt Bee | Briscoe darling kidnaps Aunt Bee after she rejects his attempts to court her |
| 25 | 4.1 | Opie the Birdman | After accidentally killing a mother bird with his slingshot, Opie cares for the baby birds |
| 26 | 4.10 | Up in Barney’s Room | Barney gets evicted from his boarding house for cooking in his room |
| 27 | 4.31 | Back to Nature | Barney and Gomer get lost in the woods during a camping trip |
| 28 | 4.27 | Fun Girls | Andy and Barney’s plan to take Helen and Thelma Lou to the dance are ruined by Skippy and Daphne |
| 29 | 4.14 | Andy and Opie’s Pal | Opie becomes jealous of his new friend Trey when he believes Andy likes Trey better than him |
| 30 | 4.8 | Opie’s Ill-Gotten Gain | Opie gets straight A’s on his report card, but only due to his teacher’s mistake |
| 31 | 4.12 | Opie and His Merry Men | While pretending to be Robin Hood and his merry men, Opie and his friends begin helping a hobo |
| 32 | 4.18 | Prisoner of Love | Captain Christopher Pike’s love interest somehow winds up in the Mayberry jail |
