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This presentation focuses on one of the episodes of the Andy Griffith Show, a renowned TV classic. The show ran on television from 1960 until 1968 thereby producing a total of 249 episodes. Andy Griffith performed the role of a widowed sheriff in a small community. The fictional setting is in Mayberry in North Carolina. Andy’s life is made difficult by an incompetent deputy named Barney Fife, a housekeeper and spinster aunt named Aunt Bee and Opie, a precocious son.
Andy Griffith was among the greatest performers in the history of television. He was well recognized for his portrayal of the character of Andy Taylor in the Griffith Show. The show was among the most sustained achievements of grace and subtlety in any medium. Andrew Jackson Taylor was a man of wisdom and humility, perfectly suited to law enforcement in a small town in North Carolina. He was the epitome of a peacekeeper or a person who strives hard to gather people together in a harmonious way, no matter how major or petty the disagreements have been. Andy Taylor used a bumbling deputy named Barney Fife, a widower. Overall, it was the genius character of Griffith that kept the tone of TV show sap-free. Griffith clearly understood that there was a place for sentiments in sustaining the law and bringing up a son. Andy Taylor made sure that he always creates an atmosphere of peace and serenity, during the opening of the show, there is always a whistled song that showed Opie and Andy, headed for fishing. There were also constant invaders from other towns.
In the Episode 12 of the first season of the Andy Griffith Show, tells about the stranger in the town. A stranger from New York City arrived in the town and everyone in Mayberry became naturally curious. The stranger strolled in the barbershop, called every people he saw by their name and he told them things that no other stranger must know. Hence the townsmen’s suspicions went overdrive, particularly because no one was aware who he was. As a matter of fact, Sawyer’s idea of the things going on in the town was uncanny. As an outcome, Sawyer was accused of being a spy and his friendly gestures to fit as well as settled were rejected. Andy Taylor was the only person in town who was not willing to judge Sawyer until he was sure of all the facts about the latter. Sawyer sought Andy’s help and explained how the town happened to be his hometown. Sawyer revealed that he has no family and no home. He came from the Army and befriended a man from the town. He loved the story about Mayberry so Sawyer decided to go to the hometown and settle there.
The episode picks on the barber who has poor eyesight and is terrible at cutting hair. Hence, the barber is constantly put to sleep. This episode has the typical family interactions with Opie and other gags to keep the dynamics the same. Later the stranger explains how he knows every detail about the town and the residents of the town. Mr. Sawyer explains that he was in the Army with the son of the Gas Station owner. He was jealous of his hometown and wanted to be known as someone from the same hometown as well. Mr. Sawyer continued to subscribe to the paper and learned everything about the town. When the gas station was up for sale, he took the opportunity to buy it and move in. The townspeople of Mayberry attempt to drive Ed Sawyer out of town but later, Mr. Sawyer is christened into town with a haircut by the town barber.
As for new characters, the only new, non-recurring character in the episode was Ed Sawyer. Otherwise the cast was the usual ensemble of Mayberry residents. The entire episode was told from the perspective of the town sheriff with some limited perspective shown from the deputy. There is a lot of detail provided about what is going on with the other townsfolk but it is all presented from the perspective of how they expressed their experiences to the sheriff.
The most important aspect of the story line is the way how the sheriff interacts with others as they react to the stranger entering their quaint hometown. Following typical form, after determining what the problem is, Andy, the sheriff, becomes determined to resolve the problem.
Andy then swiftly implements the problem and everything is well and good.
In conclusion, Stranger in Town is the 12th episode of the Andy Griffith’s Show’s first season. This episode is titled Stranger in Town because the entire story focused on the stranger who just comapies. The sheriff and his town deputy named Barny developed suspicions toward a stranger who visited the town. The stranger’s name is Mr. Sawyer but no one knows anything else about him. The strange thing about Mr. Sawyer is that he knows about everyone and everything that happened in the town. In this aspect of the show, it can be claimed that Sawyer simply wanted to get to know the town and the townsmen. Aside from being a stranger, Mr. Sawyer is in the town to buy a business. Basically, Ed Sawyer was a stranger to the town. A stranger is someone not known to all. Not a single person knew Sawyer. Sawyer arrived in Mayberry and caused great disruptions in the lives of the people in the tow because he claimed to know every person, their lives, their intimate details, and other facts that concern them. Later it was found out that Sawyer was a former Army. He heard stories about the town of Mayberry and the people. Thus, he loved the thought of the town, and decided to move there after leaving the military.
On the surface the storyline is mainly for amusement without trying to be overly preachy
about anything. Underneath the surface it is a story about the dangers of jumping to conclusions and judging a book by its cover. It shows attempts to instill positive morals and values through amusement. It is a story that children and adults would enjoy watching without negativity of many other shows. The episode of the Andy Griffith Show marks the first appearance of Floyd the Barber even though he was not really portrayed by Howard McNear but instead he was portrayed by Waller Baldwin.
Source
Weis, Don. '"The Andy Griffith Show" Stranger In Town (TV Episode 1960)'. IMDb. N. p., 1960. Web. 1 Jun. 2014.
