9 Best Andy Griffith Episodes to Rewatch
When The Andy Griffith Show premiered in 1960, everyday life felt tense and uncertain. Mayberry was the opposite: calm, familiar, and reassuring.
Sheriff Andy Taylor didn’t solve problems with ego or volume — he solved them with patience, plain talk, and common sense. That slower pace (and gentle humor) is a big reason the show still holds up.
The Friendship That Defined Mayberry
Andy and Barney were the heart of the series — Don Knotts’ jittery intensity playing perfectly against Andy Griffith’s steady calm. Their friendship feels real: loyal, imperfect, and genuinely affectionate.
Where to Watch These Episodes Free
Many episodes stream free on Pluto TV and Tubi (no cable required). If you need help getting them on your TV, here’s the simplest way to watch classic TV without cable.
Best Andy Griffith Episodes
From Barney’s legendary blunders to moonshiners, mountain families, and small-town mysteries, the best episodes capture what made the series timeless: humor, heart, and quiet wisdom.
Want the full breakdown of every option for The Andy Griffith Show (including paid)? Jump to Where to Watch The Andy Griffith Show near the end of this post.
“The Pickle Story” (Season 2, Episode 11 – December 18, 1961)
It starts, as most Mayberry stories do, with good intentions and a kitchen disaster. Aunt Bee, determined to win the county fair pickle contest and finally unseat her friend Clara Johnson, proudly makes eight jars of homemade pickles. Andy and Barney taste them—and nearly choke. “They taste like kerosene,” Barney gasps, and Andy, ever the diplomat, nods in silent horror.
What follows is a comedy of conscience. Andy can’t bear to tell Aunt Bee the truth, so he quietly swaps her awful pickles with store-bought ones. She beams with pride when the judges call them a triumph. But Andy’s guilt grows heavier by the minute, because protecting her feelings also means lying to her face. When she decides to make another batch—twice as big—he realizes he’s trapped by his own decency.
“Man in a Hurry” (Season 3, Episode 16 – January 14, 1963)
A stalled car. A furious driver. That’s how the episode opens—Malcolm Tucker, a city businessman in a blue suit and tighter jaw, sputtering into Mayberry with a broken radiator and a schedule to keep. He’s the picture of postwar ambition: Briefcase, wristwatch, and an ulcer waiting to happen. He’s got to get back to the big city–and now!
But it’s Sunday, and in Mayberry that still means something. The filling station’s closed, Gomer’s at church, and Andy isn’t in any hurry to “disturb the Lord’s day.” Malcolm paces like a man trapped in another century while the Taylors and their neighbors dawdle—shelling peas, napping, singing. The tension is comic.
You can still watch many Andy Griffith Show episodes free on Pluto TV and Tubi—no sign-ups, just click and enjoy. Both are safe, legal streaming apps that make revisiting Mayberry easy as pie.
“Opie the Birdman” (Season 4, Episode 1 – September 30, 1963)
The episode opens on an ordinary afternoon: Andy warning Opie to be careful with his new slingshot, and Barney proudly showing him how to aim. It’s light and playful—until it isn’t. One thoughtless shot, one flutter of feathers, and the laughter stops. A mother bird lies still beneath the tree. Andy doesn’t shout; he doesn’t need to. His silence does the work. Opie’s guilt fills the space between them.
What follows is one of television’s most beautifully understated lessons in responsibility.
“The Rumor” (Season 5, Episode 23 – March 15, 1965)
One innocent cake delivery sparks a town-wide frenzy when Barney and Thelma Lou’s casual visit to Andy’s house is mistaken for a wedding rehearsal. Within hours, Aunt Bee’s baking, Clara’s decorating, and every woman in Mayberry is whispering that the sheriff’s finally tying the knot.
Andy’s calm unraveling beneath the whirlwind of gossip carries the whole episode. He can’t go three steps without someone winking or offering congratulations. The comedy crescendos as the whole town turns out for a wedding that doesn’t exist—complete with flowers, musicians, and a minister on standby.
“Citizen’s Arrest” (Season 4, Episode 17 – December 16, 1963)
Barney Fife is the law in Mayberry—or at least, he thinks he is. When the episode begins, he’s feeling particularly righteous, lecturing drivers on proper parking procedure with all the zeal of a one-man police academy. Then Andy makes a simple mistake: He backs his squad car into a no-parking zone. Barney gleefully seizes his chance to enforce the rules—on his boss.
“Citizen’s arrest!” he declares, waving his citation book like a flag of victory. The town square erupts. Andy, patient as ever, lets him. He doesn’t shame Barney; he lets pride run its course. By the episode’s end, the balance shifts and Barney is left with some serious egg on his face.
Classic TV fans can also find full episodes on YouTube and the Internet Archive. They’re great for discovering those older, public-domain gems that still sparkle in black and white.
“Three Wishes for Opie” (Season 5, Episode 14 – December 21, 1964)
When Barney snags a fortune-telling game at a police auction—complete with a lamp and mysterious cards—he brings it to the courthouse, eager to test its magic on the first willing soul. That ends up being Opie, who’s game for making three wishes, though Andy just rolls his eyes. Sure enough, things around Mayberry start falling into place: Opie wishes for a jackknife, and Andy brings one home; a better grade in arithmetic, and his next test shows a B.
Now everyone’s watching to see if the magic holds for Opie’s final wish, including Barney—who’s suddenly convinced he understands exactly what the boy will wish for. But as the town starts buzzing with wedding rumors and Andy can’t cross the street without a wink, the last card remains to be played.
“Barney’s Sidecar” (Season 4, Episode 16 – January 27, 1964)
Barney gets his hands on a vintage motorcycle sidecar, convinced it will revolutionize Mayberry’s traffic enforcement. He polishes it, recruits Gomer as his chauffeur, and declares himself the town’s rolling authority. Pretty soon, he’s pulling over chickens, chasing imaginary speeders, and issuing tickets to anyone brave enough to cross Main Street.
Andy and the townsfolk watch as Barney’s power trip spins out of control—until he’s left, quite literally, chasing his own runaway sidecar in front of the whole town.
“Mr. McBeevee” (Season 3, Episode 1 – October 1, 1962)
Opie starts talking about his new friend, Mr. McBeevee—a mysterious man who lives “up in the trees,” can jingle coins in his pockets, and grant magic favors like shiny keys and silver dollars. Andy, skeptical, suspects Opie’s imagination is running wild, but the evidence begins to stack up: strange sounds, tools left in the yard, and neighborly visits nobody else can confirm.
As the story builds, so does the curiosity—will Andy believe his son, or does Mr. McBeevee have a secret worth unraveling? You’ll have to watch this gem to find out.
If you’d rather skip the ads, The Andy Griffith Show is also on Paramount+ — ad-free, crystal-clear HD, and perfect for a cozy night in. You can even try it free for one week before deciding if you want to keep it.
“The Bank Job” (Season 3, Episode 13 – December 24, 1962)
Barney’s convinced the Mayberry Bank is the perfect target for a robbery, and the arrival of “suspicious strangers” sets his imagination spinning. He recruits Andy for a covert stakeout—complete with trench coats, whispered passwords, and plenty of slapstick confusion.
But when real darkness falls, and a figure actually tries the vault, even Andy’s caught off guard. Whose scheme is about to pay off, and will Mayberry’s finest stay one step ahead of the pros?
Growing Up in Mayberry
Watching Opie grow up was like watching the heart of Mayberry unfold in real time. When the series began, Ron Howard was just six—by the later seasons, he’d become a thoughtful teenager, and the stories quietly matured with him.
Instead of keeping Opie frozen as “the cute kid,” the show let him make mistakes, learn, and change—guided by Andy’s calm, patient style of fatherhood. Andy didn’t lecture. He listened, asked questions, and helped Opie find his own footing. That steady, gentle relationship is a big reason the show still feels so human. It’s the kind of parenting that still feels rare on TV.
Where to Watch The Andy Griffith Show
- Pluto TV: Free “channel” style viewing (great for random episodes).
- Tubi: Free on-demand streaming with short ads.
- YouTube & Internet Archive: Best for older clips and hard-to-find uploads.
- Paramount+: Full series in HD with no interruptions (trial available).
Wrap Up
More than sixty years later, The Andy Griffith Show still feels like a quiet exhale in a noisy world. It wasn’t built on flashy plots—it was built on kindness, character, and the kind of humor that leaves you feeling better than when you started.
That’s why these episodes hold up. Mayberry wasn’t perfect—it was aspirational. It reminds you that decency can be ordinary, laughter can be gentle, and a little front-porch wisdom still goes a long way.
Episode info: Season/episode numbers and original air dates referenced from IMDb and Wikipedia episode lists.
