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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Rankin Bass and Grinch aside as well (tho the ol' Grinch and this Andy Griffith episode borrowed considerably from our man Ebenezer), this episode of the sheriff of Mayberry has to be one of the strongest Christmas episodes of the season around.Oh, and a little boy trying to find the true meaning of Christmas with a pitiful twig of a tree is also excluded. Poor old Charlie Brown.But I digress.The Andy Griffith Christmas episode is strong. Six adults and three children find themselves compelled to spend Christmas in the jailhouse, and they make do.When I first saw this episode, I thought at first Ben Weaver, the Scrooge of our tale, wanted Sam Muggins and his family to have to stay in the jail cell. I was totally confused by the singing at the window thru the bars.It is from that moment on the episode takes its remarkable twist.When Andy finds out what Ben is up to, the duo return with a suitcase of Ben's belongings, his having been arrested for throwing trashcans on the street."Oh, Ben," Aunt Bea and Elly say with dismay.So he opens the suitcase, to have it searched for contraband, and lo and behold, what do we find in here? A catcher's mitt old Ben obviously mistook for a pillow (here, Opie), a pair of roller skates he must have thought was his electric razor (the Muggins boy takes them) and a baby doll? For the Muggins girl.A bottle of perfume for one of the women, Ben must have thought was after shave.The barely ten second moment could have been blown, had it not been for old Ben himself. The guff actor maintains his unpleasantness and the gradual air lets the others know there has been a change of heart.The Grinch's heart grew three times that day.As it progresses, it only gets better. Ben hands one of the women (Elly or Mrs. Muggins) a present, then snatches it back and gives it to the other woman, quickly producing the second present for the first woman.Then Barney gets his present. Even tho he emerged in an outlandish Santa Claus outfit, this must stand as one of the few, if not the only, episode that Don Knotts lost to someone else. Barney could have sat this episode out completely.As Ben turns to be 'led to the prison' Elly and Aunt Bea hand him first a dinner, then a glass of egg nog.Merry Christmas.It is all so effective and believable, there is even some of the liquid dripping from the cup, as tho we are really watching these people in a slice of Christmas history.The ending joke with Ben drinking Sam Muggins moonshine is amusing.Yet it is fun to ponder this solid, rich episode and envision Andy and Ben heading to the department store and picking up the gifts, either Andy telling Ben what each person would like, or they still play along and Ben gives the wink as he picks up the roller skates "I probably will mistake these for an electric razor." Likewise it is fun to ponder Ben now sitting in the cell with his dinner, looking out at the two families enjoying themselves and his gifts as he eats his food.Do any of them speak to him, or do they leave him alone? Does Aunt Bea try to chat with him? Not romantically, but just as another senior citizen.Or do they leave him be, to sleep on the cot and listen to the merriment, and finally he reaches for the jug of whiskey.Jingle bells, Ben, jingle bells.
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