Nelson, Gary

Get Smart - Season 1

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete First Season

Down-home humor and an endearing cast of characters helped make "The Andy Griffith Show" one of the most beloved comedies in the history of television. Introduced as a spinoff of "The Danny Thomas Show" in 1960 "The Andy Griffith Show" ran for eight seasons in prime time.Widower Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) divides his time between raising his young son Opie (Ron Howard) and his job as sheriff (and Justice of the Peace) of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry. Andy and Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) who serves as a surrogate mother to both father and son. Andy's nervous cousin Barney Fife (Don Knotts) is his deputy sheriff -- whose utter incompetence is tolerated because Mayberry is virtually crime-free.So wet your whistle grab your fishing pole and take a trip back to Mayberry with this four-disc set containing the premiere season of the classic hit series!SPECIAL FEATURES:Full Screen FormatDolby Digital: English MonoSystem Requirements: Runnning Time 915 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 097360537246 Manufacturer No: 053724

Since its network debut in 1960, The Andy Griffith Show has been a viewer favorite thanks to its folksy, nostalgic charm and memorable cast, both of which shine in this set featuring the series' debut season. Originally spun off from an episode of Make Room for Daddy (both series shared producers Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas), The Andy Griffith Show centered around the lives of small-town sheriff Andy Taylor (the marvelously dry Griffith), his son Opie (Ron Howard), cousin and deputy Barney Fife (multiple Emmy winner Don Knotts), and the other gentle eccentrics of Mayberry (which was based on Griffith's real hometown). But while other "rural" programs poked fun at its characters (The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies), The Andy Griffith Show never stooped to stereotypes, preferring instead to draw its humor from the fine writing and cast, which counted Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee, Howard McNear as Floyd the Barber, and Hal Campbell as Mayberry's benevolent drunk, Otis, among the first season ensemble. All 32 episodes (including the epilogues, which are rarely aired in syndication) are compiled on this four-disc set, which regrettably lacks any supplemental features. --Paul Gaita

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Second Season

Down-home humor and an endearing cast of characters helped to make The Andy Griffith Show one of the most beloved comedies in the history of television. Introduced as a spinoff from The Danny Thomas Show in 1960 The Andy Griffith Show ran for eight seasons in prime time. Widower Andy Taylor divides his time between raising his young son Opie and his job as sheriff (and Justice of the Peace) of the sleepy North Carolina town Mayberry. Andy and Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee who serves as a surrogate mother to both father and son. Andy's nervous cousin Barney Fife is his deputy sheriff whose utter incompetence is tolerated because Mayberry is virtually crime-free.System Requirements:Running Time 782 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 097360698541 Manufacturer No: 069854

The Andy Griffith Show returns on DVD with its complete second season, a five-disc collector's set of 31 episodes more memorable than one of Aunt Bee's "kerosene cucumbers." Set in the small town of Mayberry, the television series (1960-1968) followed the hilarious antics of widower Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), his son Opie (Ron Howard), and Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts). It has achieved cult status as one of television's most beloved sitcoms for its stellar cast, pristine comedy, and nostalgic charm. By season two, the series found its tone and tenor, proved by such classic episodes as "The Pickle Story," "The Manicurist," and "Barney and the Choir." After viewers endure (or skip) Paramount's half dozen promotional trailers at the beginning of disc one, they can bask in 13 hours of restored, uninterrupted, black and white television magic. The season's parade of guest stars includes Barbara Eden, Buddy Ebsen, Alan Hale Jr., Bill Bixby, and Sterling Holloway. Whereas the first season's DVD set was without bonus material, this collection features sponsor spots, original commercial advertisements (linked to individual episodes) where the show's cast members promote brands such as "Sanka" coffee and "Post" breakfast cereals--a guaranteed smile. (All ages) --Lynn Gibson

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Third Season

The widowed father of a young boy works as sheriff in the southern town of Mayberry.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: NR
Release Date: 1-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD

The Andy Griffith Show hit its stride during its third season (1962-63), admirably restored in this five-disc, 32-episode boxed set. Andy Griffith perfects his levelheaded Sheriff Andy Taylor; Don Knotts is unsurpassed as the comically neurotic Barney Fife; and Ron Howard continues his legendary run as earnest Opie. The season opens with the endearing episode "Mr. McBeevee," Opie's friend in the trees who Andy believes to be a figment of his son's imagination. From there, every disc contains renowned classics, such as "Floyd, the Gay Deceiver" starring the dashing Howard McNear; "Andy and Opie, Bachelors" offering some of the season's greatest quips; and "The Darlings Are Coming," that crazy clan of mountain musicians including the overtly flirtatious Charlene. The season is acclaimed for introducing several new, recurring characters into the cast including Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), "Miss Peggy" (Joanna Moore), and Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut). Except for two episodes missing closing epilogue scenes (which Paramount discloses), the set contains 13 hours of full-length, uncut, black-and-white magic. Also included is the originally aired "Fishin' Hole" theme music throughout the collection, as well as more than two dozen "Sponsor Spots," vintage commercial advertisements featuring the show's cast. Don't miss the season highlight, "Man In A Hurry," a touching story where Malcolm Tucker delivers the now-famous summation of Mayberry, "Outrageous… a whole town is standing still because two old women's feet fall asleep," precisely the reason why this beloved sitcom remains a timeless treasure. (All ages) --Lynn Gibson

Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.: The Fourth Season

Gomer Pyle a naive country boy leaves his home in Mayberry NC to join the U.S. Marine corps. His perpetual wide-eyed innocence frequently gets on the nerves of his tough loudmouthed sergeant. A successful spin-off from THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.System Requirements:Running Time: 749 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361327242 Manufacturer No: 132724

In a representative moment from Gomer Pyle's fourth season, Gomer, on a weekend pass, enthusiastically anticipates a glass blowing demonstration. Not for him the local bar or burlesque club favored by his barracks mates. "Sounds like a 'don't miss,'" he proclaims. And between a visit from Aunt Bea, a trip to Washington, D.C., a commanding guest star turn by Carol Burnett, and a return to Mayberry, so is Gomer Pyle's fourth season. Far from lagging in its penultimate season, this series had not lost a step (it was the No. 3-rated show that year), thanks to Jim Nabors' indelible embodiment of sweet and simple Gomer, who, to quote Sgt. Carter (Frank Sutton), has "a soft heart and a soft head." Gomer may still be "a lunkhead" at times, but he can always be counted on to do the right thing. In "Gomer and the Privileged Character," he pulls all-nighters to make up for the work he misses during the day while rehearsing for a concert. In "Gomer, the Good Samaritan," he is compelled to come to the aid of distressed strangers while en-route to pick up a general. The showcase for this season is the four-episode story arc that packs Gomer and Sgt. Carter to our nation's capitol for a concert to be attended by the President of the United States. The stirring Capra-esque climax finds Gomer, hoarse from stage fright, taking inspiration from the Lincoln Memorial, and regaining his voice while reading aloud the Gettysburg Address. Another standout episode features a welcome appearance by Frances Bavier as Aunt Bea, who insists on helping Gomer with barracks duty (anyone who's ever fantasized about what Bea would look like in fatigues, here's your chance). Carol Burnett is hard-driving "Corporal Carol," whom the unwitting Gomer sweeps off her feet, causing a rift with his girlfriend, Lou-Ann Poovie (Elizabeth MacRae; she of the honey-dripping voice). Gomer endearingly wears his heart on sleeve, and in the episode, "The Better Man," he declares his love for Lou-Ann to her initially disapproving father. By the fourth season, the great Ronnie Shell is gone, but a pre-M*A*S*H William Christopher appears as a fellow private, while Roy Stuart makes a fine straight man for Sutton as Cpl. Boyle. Too bad that Andy, Opie, and Goober are out of town when Gomer visits Mayberry (nitpick: Wouldn't someone have written him that Floyd had retired and Emmett had set up shop?), but keep your eyes open as Gomer gets on the bus out of town. With nary a topical reference (you'd never know the Vietnam War was raging) these episodes hold up well. There is no one like Gomer left in prime time, and he is dearly missed. As a grateful panhandler whom Gomer helps out in one episode observes, "I'm glad there's a few kind people left in this world." Or at least on DVD. --Donald Liebenson

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Fourth Season

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW premiered in 1960 and featuring one of the most beloved television fathers of all time quickly charmed its way into the hearts of audiences. Set in the fictitious environs of Mayberry North Carolina the series chronicles daily life in that peaceful Southern hamlet through the gently humorous eyes of town sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith). A widower raising his young son Opie (a pre-HAPPY DAYS Ron Howard) with the help of his live-in spinster aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) Andy capably navigates single parenthood with the same goodhearted wisdom that he brought to his law enforcement duties--that is when he wasn't being hampered by the fidgety bug-eyed antics of his bungling deputy sheriff Barney Fife (Don Knotts).This collection presents all 32 episodes of the series' eventful fourth season which introduced goofy gas-station attendant Goober Pyle (George Lindsey) as a replacement for his cousin Gomer (Jim Nabors) who went on to anchor his own spinoff series with GOMER PYLE U.S.M.C. The collection also includes the fan-favorite episodes "Opie the Birdman" and "Citizen's Arrest" as well as the TV Guide-listed classics "Barney's Sidecar" and "The Haunted House"--wholesome throwbacks to a simpler time.System Requirements:Running Time 801 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097360473544

Goober fans, rejoice--the arrival of George Lindsay's popular character is just one of the homespun joys of The Andy Griffith Show's fourth season, which has been compiled on this five-disc set. Lindsay as Goober Pyle, cousin to Jim Nabors's Gomer, makes his debut in one of the season's funniest episodes, "Fun Girls," which is also the only time Gomer and Goober appeared together on screen. By season's end, Gomer would depart for his own series (season 4's final episode, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," would serve as the pilot for that program), but before then, he enjoyed some fine episodes, including "Andy Saves Gomer" (from a fire at the filing station) and "Citizen's Arrest" (a knockout showcase for Nabors and Don Knotts, who is topnotch, as always, as Barney Fife). Other supporting characters get a spotlight or two in season 4, including Howard Morris's Ernest T. Bass ("Hot Rod Otis, "Otis T. Bass Joins the Army") and Denver Pyle and Maggie Peterson's Briscoe and Charlene Darling ("Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee"), but of course, the crux of the show remains Andy and son Opie (Ron Howard), who do stand-out work in the well-loved "Opie the Birdman," which addresses serious topics--death and responsibility--in the series' typically warm and humane manner. No supplemental features accompany the 32 black-and-white episodes, but that won't detract one bit from spending some quality time with the good people of Mayberry. --Paul Gaita

Get Smart Again

F Troop - The Complete Second Season

Go west...and go loco. Yes Captain Parmenter and his buffoons in blue are ready again to untame the wilderness in TV's wackiest Western spoof. Wrangler Jane still pines after Parmenter the Hekawis still plot after profits and Sergeant O'Rourke and Corporal Agarn have more get-rich-quick schemes up their regimental sleeves. A plains-load of comic guest stars joins the fun including Phil Harris as a 147-year-old Indian chief Harvey Korman as a Prussian balloonist Paul Lynde as a singing Mountie Milton Berle as a flim-flam medicine man and Vincent Price as a spooky Transylvanian count. Enlist now for a second comedy tour: the out-of-its-mind and ahead-of-its-time 31-episode final season of F Troop!Running Time: 784 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 085391130307 Manufacturer No: 113030

Yes, you are seeing double in F Troop's second, and final, season. In "The Singing Mountie," Larry Storch appears as Corporal Agarn and his cousin, a French fur trapper. In "Did Your Father Come from Ireland?" Forrest Tucker brogues it up as Sgt. O'Rourke's visiting Irish father. In "Wilton the Kid," Ken Berry gets into the act portraying klutzy, clueless Capt. Parmenter and his look-alike, a vicious bank robber. And in "One Russian Is Coming! Only One Russian Is Coming!" Storch again doubles up as Agarn's Cossack cousin. It's a sure indication that F Troop had indeed jumped the stagecoach (particularly the 1967 episode "That's Show Biz," featuring a frontier rock group, the Bedbugs, and a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Tambourine Man" that makes William Shatner's sound like the Byrds), but the show is so unabashedly old-school funny, and its ensemble of crack character actors so likeable, that one willingly takes the leap. During its brief run, F Troop spawned its share of catch-phrases (Agarn's "Who says I'm dumb" and "I'm warning you, Dobbs"), but this season's "Bye Bye Balloon" contains perhaps the series' most classic quotable, as the Hekawis' Chief Wild Eagle (Frank DeKova) gazes upon the mysterious flying object in the sky and proclaims, "It is balloon" (it plays better than it reads).

For a frontier outpost, Fort Courage sure saw its share of visiting show-business luminaries, including Paul Lynde as "The Singing Mountie," Harvey Korman as a Prussian balloonist in "Bye Bye Balloon," Milton Berle as sham medicine man Wise Owl in "The Great Troop Robbery," Sterling "Winnie the Pooh" Holloway as a bespectacled sheriff in "Wilton the Kid," and Vincent Price as a suspicious Count in "V Is for Vampire." One regrets the show's switch from black and white to color and the replacement of F Troop's original rousing theme song with an instrumental rendition (the original, with vocals, obligingly plays over each disc's menus), but the commercial-break freeze frames are fun. Tucker, as the entrepreneurial O'Rourke, and Storch, as his wildly emotional sidekick, are one of TV's great comedy teams, and Berry displays Astaire-like grace performing the bulk of the physical comedy. Those who dismiss F Troop as a mindlessly silly sitcom are directed to the near-half-hour series retrospective, in which military personnel salute this series' spoofing of military protocol and life as a morale builder during the Vietnam War. --Donald Liebenson

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Fifth Season

This Boxset Contains All The Episodes From The Andy Griffith Show - The Fifth Season.Episodes Include: Barney's Bloodhound Family Visit Aunt Bee's Romance Barney's Physical Opie Loves Helen The Education of Ernest T. Bass Man in the Middle Barney's Uniform Opie's Fortune Goodbye Sheriff Taylor The Pageant The Darling Baby Andy and Helen Have Their Day Otis Sues the County Three Wishes for Opie Barney Fife Realtor Goober Takes a Car Apart The Rehabilitation of Otis The Lucky Letter Goober and the Art of Love Barney Runs for Sheriff If I Had a Quarter Million TV or Not TV Guest in the House The Case of the Punch in the Nose Opie's Newspaper Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau The Arrest of the Fun Girls The Luck of Newton Monroe Opie Flunks Arithmetic 31 Opie and the Carnival 32: Banjo-Playing DeputySystem Requirements:Running Time: 814 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: G UPC: 097360274745 Manufacturer No: 027474

When did Mayberry turn into Potterville? In The Andy Griffith Show's fifth season, Opie (Ronny Howard) buys silk stockings for an older woman, and publishes all of Mayberry's gossip in a scandal sheet. Sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith) is accused of gross malfeasance. A former beau of Aunt Bee's tries to shake Andy down for $400. Bee herself (Frances Bavier) is a victim of a carny purse-snatching ring. And recidivists Otis (Hal Smith) and Ernest T. (Howard Morris) continue their drinking and rock-throwing unabated. As Bee wails in "Banjo-Playing Deputy," "What's this world coming to?" Not to worry. This is, after all, Mayberry, and Andy still has the patience, understanding and country smarts to restore calm and order. In "TV or Not TV," he sees through bank robbers (led by Gavin MacLeod) posing as a Hollywood film crew. In "Opie and the Carnival," he takes aim at two crooked barkers who have rigged a sharpshooting game. As the sheriff of Mayberry, much of his time is spent bailing out his hapless deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts). In "Barney's Uniform," Andy recruits a judo instructor to stand in when Barney is threatened by a disgruntled citizen.

Season 5 marked two notable lasts for this beloved series, which never fell below the Top Seven in the ratings. This was the last season in black and white. More devastating, it was multi-Emmy-winner Knotts' last season as Barney Fife. By the penultimate episode, "Opie and the Carnival," he is just gone, an unceremonious departure for an iconic character so integral to the show's success. That "Banjo-Playing Deputy" in the season finale is Jerry Van Dyke, who might have been a worthy replacement for Knotts. Instead, he reportedly turned down the role to star in his own sitcom, My Mother, the Car. The rest is TV infamy. By this time, though, The Andy Griffith Show's best years were behind it. But this season contains at least two classics, "Goodbye Sheriff Taylor," in which Barney is sheriff for a day while Andy interviews for a job in Raleigh, and "The Case of the Punch in the Nose," in which Barney reopens an unresolved 1946 case involving Floyd the Barber and Charley Foley. And with episodes featuring the late Howard Morris' Ernest T. ("The Education of Ernest T."), the Darling family ("The Darling Baby"), Mt. Pilot "fun girls" Skippy and Daphne ("The Arrest of the Fun Girls"), and a guest star turn by Don Rickles ("The Luck of Newton Monroe"), Andy Griffith Show devotees are advised to take the Fifth. --Donald Liebenson

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Second Season

Gomer Pyle a naive country boy leaves his home in Mayberry NC to join the U.S. Marine corps. His perpetual wide-eyed innocence frequently gets on the nerves of his tough loudmouthed sergeant. A successful spin-off from THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.System Requirements:Running Time: 761 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361225845 Manufacturer No: 122584

Thanks (but no thanks) to Full Metal Jacket, the name of "Gomer Pyle" is associated with a demented, suicidal screw-up. That's not the Gomer (Jim Nabors) we know and love! Sure, our Gomer may be, in the mentoring words of his bellowing Sgt. Carter (Frank Sutton), a "lunkhead," "yo-yo," "knucklehead," and "meatball," who invariably "pulls some beauts." But his heart is always in the right place, as in the episode "PFC Gomer Pyle," in which the newly promoted Private First Class unwittingly cancels Carter's Hawaiian furlough thinking it is a request for a permanent transfer. Our Gomer is unfailingly honest. In "Gomer and the Phone Company," he is arrested for trying to put back ill-gotten money he received from a malfunctioning pay phone. And, our Gomer is forthright, as in "Gomer and the Beast," in which he stands up to a feared, abusive sergeant (guest star Michael Conrad) who takes his waitress girlfriend for granted.

Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, was one of the "surprise, surprise, surprise" hits of its day. In this second season (its first in color), it ranked second to Bonanza in the Nielsen ratings. That Nabors and Sutton were never even nominated for Emmys is a TV Land injustice. Nabors, especially, finds new music in what could have been a one-note bumpkin character (he even demonstrates his unexpected baritone singing voice in "Arrivederci, Gomer"). Providing expert support are Ted Bessell (That Girl) and Ronnie Schell (who demonstrates his standup comedy chops in "Duke Slater, Nightclub Comic") as Gomer's Marine buddies. Look sharp for two future M*A*S*H stars, Jamie Farr in "Gomer Pyle, P.O.W." and, in a couple of episodes, William Christopher. Making welcome visits from Mayberry are George Lindsay in the mistaken-identity episode, "A Visit from Cousin Goober," and Ron Howard in "Opie Joins the Marines," in which Carter bonds with the runaway Opie and, movingly, hints at a less than nurturing relationship with his own father. "The world has changed a lot since I was a kid," he remarks when Andy (Andy Griffith) arrives to retrieve his son, and puts a reassuring arm around the boy's shoulder. Television has changed, too, in the more than 40 years since these still funny episodes were first broadcast. Prime time could use another Gomer, with his boundless optimism, unwavering character and try, try again attitude. --Donald Liebenson