I was talking with a newhire at work and when the topic of TAGS came up he said he and his wife always stop watching the show after the episode "Andy Saves Gomer" because he says "The show took a nose dive starting with the next episode Bargain Day."

I was thinking about this because after Andy Saves Gomer the episodes that are considered classics are a bit scarce and even that episodes that are considered good have some awfulness in them (like three wishes for Opie and The Education of Ernest T Bass being weighed down with Helen) and pretty much everything after Season 5 is unwatchable. (Dinner at 8 and Howard the Comedian are about as close to the classics as you can get) Thoughts?

I think you make a very good point, with few exceptions the shows that come after are pretty unspectacular. "Barney's Uniform", "If I had a Quarter Million", "The luck of Newton Monroe", and "Banjo Playing Deputy" being exceptions.

Let me propose that perhaps the series from about the middle of season 2 up until the middle of season 4, was simply at it's zenith, doing (nearly) everything right, and most episodes to come after the point you mention, were let downs in comparison?

Speaking of the Luck of Newton Monroe, look at the following screenshot. Do you think the guy I've pointed the red arrow at, looks familiar?

https://i.imgur.com/0H8nY7N.png

Nearly100 great episodes after "Andy Saves Gomer".

Yeah there are several, I could name more, but a couple of fun girls episodes, the second episode with Miss Lydia, the three wishes episode, the one where Barney hangs in the closet to get taller, the one with the "lake loon", the one where Goober takes the car apart, the one where Barney gets Andy and Helen to get away, or so they thought, Opie and the carnival--yes, there are a lot. And there are some really funny color episodes, even the one where Warren sleepwalks and becomes a cad.

(And by the way, I'd hardly call Andy saving Gomer a classic--I guess the writers did, since they reused it on Gomer Pyle)

I was talking with a newhire at work and when the topic of TAGS came up he said he and his wife always stop watching the show after the episode "Andy Saves Gomer" because he says "The show took a nose dive starting with the next episode Bargain Day."

I was thinking about this because after Andy Saves Gomer the episodes that are considered classics are a bit scarce and even that episodes that are considered good have some awfulness in them (like three wishes for Opie and The Education of Ernest T Bass being weighed down with Helen) and pretty much everything after Season 5 is unwatchable. (Dinner at 8 and Howard the Comedian are about as close to the classics as you can get) Thoughts?

I think there are enough good episodes after "Andy Saves Gomer" (episode
118) that I would disagree with the new hire. Obviously after season 5, all bets are off the table. The show doesn't go downhill so much as go off the side of a cliff.

As we all know TAGS and specifically the character of Andy Taylor morphed from the season 1 good old boy Andy to the season 6 Angry Andy/Tranquilized Taylor. By the time we get to the episode referred to by the new hire, we are dealing with an Andy who is much more reserved and a lot less fun to be around. So I get where he's coming from but writing off the show that early (season 4 episode 23) seems a bit too negative.

A couple of years ago I did a post referencing what I thought were the salvageable episodes from season 6-8. I came up with 22 (Howard the Comedian is on the list) so the final three season aren't a total loss. We could probably get the list to 26 so if ME TV wanted to run the later seasons they could develop some type of makeshift season of the best of the rest just to take a break from running seasons 1-5 over and over. Here's my best of the rest:



162. "Malcolm at the Crossroads"
163. "Aunt Bee, the Swinger"
176. "The Return of Barney Fife"
177. "The Legend of Barney Fife"
183. "Eat Your Heart Out"
185 "The County Clerk"
188. "The Battle of Mayberry"
197. "Politics Begin at Home"
200. "Big Fish in a Small Town"
202. "Otis the Deputy"
207. "A Visit to Barney Fife"
208. "Barney Comes to Mayberry"
211. "Floyd's Barbershop"
212. "The Statue"
216. "Howard, the Comedian"
219. "Goober's Contest"
231. "Howard and Millie"
234. "Howard's New Life"
239. "The Church Benefactors"
240. "Barney Hosts a Summit Meeting"
243. "Helen's Past"
246. "Sam for Town Council"

TAGS quality of course is in the eye of the beholder. For me the worst episodes are th first year, and some into season 2 where Andy has his "No Time For Sergeants" voice and tries to be the funnyman. I don't hate the episodes. There are some gems too in the timeframe. After that each episode into the end has something to offer (with a few stinkers).

For me the worst episodes are th first year, and some into season 2 where Andy has his "No Time For Sergeants" voice and tries to be the funnyman. I don't hate the episodes.

You certainly are in good company with that assessment. Many others feel the same way. To me (and I'll qualify this by saying that I have a personal disdain for cops in general) when he acts like "goofy Andy", I see that as a general satire against authority, and rather enjoy it.

Just as an illustration, in season 1, episode 2....where Andy mocks the hard-nosed state police officer who vows to cost Andy his job.....I actually enjoy the "looks like we caught ourselves a chicken thief" mockery....

You certainly are in good company with that assessment. Many others feel the same way. To me (and I'll qualify this by saying that I have a personal disdain for cops in general) when he acts like "goofy Andy", I see that as a general satire against authority, and rather enjoy it.

Just as an illustration, in season 1, episode 2....where Andy mocks the hard-nosed state police officer who vows to cost Andy his job.....I actually enjoy the "looks like we caught ourselves a chicken thief" mockery....

Sorry to hear it. Classic tv is pure joy for me. Little fun break.

Sorry to hear it. Classic tv is pure joy for me. Little fun break.



Ahh, well you know what they say...."it's all entertainment"

https://i.imgur.com/0GcZLVc.jpg