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Usually The Dick Van Dyke show revolved around comic takes to ordinary situations - Sally trying to snag a husband, Buddy's problems with his income tax, or Laura (Oh Rob!) putting a dent in the new car and trying to hide it.
This episode was one of a handful that was completely different. The Petries, Buddy, and Sally have been invited to the Catskills to work on a new idea for a show that their boss Alan Brady has. But they get to the motel and there have been no rooms reserved in their names. Apparently Mel forgot to make the reservations. However there is one cabin by the lake that is available, with the problem being that it has a reputation of being haunted. It seems that the guest staying there disappeared one night and the cabin has been haunted ever since.
Rob and Buddy agree not to tell the girls, and Rob himself dismisses the idea of there being any such thing as ghosts. However soon all four begin to see strange things - a fire in the fireplace starts and stops spontaneously, doors open and close by themselves, lights turn on and off, and a scary mustached man keeps appearing in the mirror. And then, one by one, members of the group disappear into thin air until only Rob is left.
When I was a kid I thought that this might be a bad dream that one of the four was having, but I will tell you it turns out to be something other than that. It's a fine example of ensemble comedy and shows that you don't need excessive blood and gore to be scary, even in 1964 as the production code is unraveling.
This episode was one of a handful that was completely different. The Petries, Buddy, and Sally have been invited to the Catskills to work on a new idea for a show that their boss Alan Brady has. But they get to the motel and there have been no rooms reserved in their names. Apparently Mel forgot to make the reservations. However there is one cabin by the lake that is available, with the problem being that it has a reputation of being haunted. It seems that the guest staying there disappeared one night and the cabin has been haunted ever since.
Rob and Buddy agree not to tell the girls, and Rob himself dismisses the idea of there being any such thing as ghosts. However soon all four begin to see strange things - a fire in the fireplace starts and stops spontaneously, doors open and close by themselves, lights turn on and off, and a scary mustached man keeps appearing in the mirror. And then, one by one, members of the group disappear into thin air until only Rob is left.
When I was a kid I thought that this might be a bad dream that one of the four was having, but I will tell you it turns out to be something other than that. It's a fine example of ensemble comedy and shows that you don't need excessive blood and gore to be scary, even in 1964 as the production code is unraveling.
Opie and his friend are goofing around with their baseball when Opie bunts the ball and it ends up crashing through the window of the "old Renshaw place" - a house that's obviously been deserted for years and that has had time to have various folk stories crop up about it being haunted. When the two boys go to the front door of the run down place, they hear something inside wailing like a banshee and run away. The boys go to the courthouse and ask Andy to retrieve the baseball.
At the courthouse, Barney chides the boys for believing old superstitious tales. Wanting to have a bit of fun with Barney, Andy suggests that Barney go get the baseball for the boys. Not really able to back down, Barney takes Gomer to the Renshaw place and they also hear the waling from inside.
So finally, Andy accompanies Barney and Gomer to the old house, they find the baseball quickly, but Andy wants to look around. They encounter secret panels, a painting of "old Man Renshaw" where the eyes move to follow you, and an axe that floats in midair. What goes on here? Watch and find out.
Gomer(Jim Nabors) and Barney(Don Knotts) were a great comedy team, and this episode is a fine example of how well they worked together. Seasons three and four of The Andy Griffith Show, when they were both still in the cast, is probably peak Andy Griffith Show.
At the courthouse, Barney chides the boys for believing old superstitious tales. Wanting to have a bit of fun with Barney, Andy suggests that Barney go get the baseball for the boys. Not really able to back down, Barney takes Gomer to the Renshaw place and they also hear the waling from inside.
So finally, Andy accompanies Barney and Gomer to the old house, they find the baseball quickly, but Andy wants to look around. They encounter secret panels, a painting of "old Man Renshaw" where the eyes move to follow you, and an axe that floats in midair. What goes on here? Watch and find out.
Gomer(Jim Nabors) and Barney(Don Knotts) were a great comedy team, and this episode is a fine example of how well they worked together. Seasons three and four of The Andy Griffith Show, when they were both still in the cast, is probably peak Andy Griffith Show.
... because one elected official - Mayor Stoner- has no authority over a different elected official - Sheriff Andy Taylor - especially when one was elected by the town of Mayberry (the mayor) and the other (the sheriff) was elected by the county. But if the show's purpose is just to make the new mayor into an arrogant jerk so that the cast had at least one chronic antagonist then I'd say that they succeeded brilliantly.
As for the plot, Mayor Stoner doesn't like the informal way that Andy runs his office. He doesn't like his record keeping, nor the fact that he is unarmed, nor that he lets a moonshiner out on parole for three days to harvest his crops. The Mayor demands that the moonshiner stay in jail and finish his sentence. Andy lets him out anyways, reasoning that the prisoner is so poor all he really has going for him is his word, and if he acts like that is no good then he's really taken everything from the man.
To be fair, the Mayor doesn't directly threaten Andy's job - over which he has no control. Instead he talks about reports he's having sent to the capitol, and talks about sending an unfavorable report to Raleigh concerning the sheriff's office if Andy doesn't start doing things differently.
The catalyst for this change was the death of actor Dick Elliott, in 1961, who had played Mayor Pike as a somewhat irascible fellow, but not as nearly as negative a character as Mayor Stoner would be.
As for the plot, Mayor Stoner doesn't like the informal way that Andy runs his office. He doesn't like his record keeping, nor the fact that he is unarmed, nor that he lets a moonshiner out on parole for three days to harvest his crops. The Mayor demands that the moonshiner stay in jail and finish his sentence. Andy lets him out anyways, reasoning that the prisoner is so poor all he really has going for him is his word, and if he acts like that is no good then he's really taken everything from the man.
To be fair, the Mayor doesn't directly threaten Andy's job - over which he has no control. Instead he talks about reports he's having sent to the capitol, and talks about sending an unfavorable report to Raleigh concerning the sheriff's office if Andy doesn't start doing things differently.
The catalyst for this change was the death of actor Dick Elliott, in 1961, who had played Mayor Pike as a somewhat irascible fellow, but not as nearly as negative a character as Mayor Stoner would be.