This episode is from Season 2 of "The Andy Griffith Show" and originally aired December 1961. Aunt Bee makes a batch of her "famous" pickles and takes them to Andy and Barney at the sheriff's office for lunch. Problem is, they aren't famous for being delicious, but for tasting like kerosene. They are polite and tell her they are delicious. She then tells them "Good because I have 8 more quarts I made!" After she leaves Andy tries to figure out how they can get out of eating them without hurting her feelings. They devise a plan to buy "store-bought pickles" and replace them into all Aunt Bee's jars. Even Opie is on the switch-a-roo. Bee is amazed at how everyone is just devouring "her" pickles (they're really the store bought ones). So, she decides to enter hers in the County Fair against Clara who has won 11 years in a row for her pickles. Well, Andy is in a "pickle" now. He doesn't want his Aunt to unknowingly enter fraudulent pickles in the fair. He also finds out later from Clara that since her husband past away, that her pickles and winning the fair are all she has to look forward to.
In order to keep Bee from entering the fake pickles, they decide they have to eat all of them, which the do over the next few days. This forces Bee to make a new batch to enter in the contest. They are just as bad as the first batch and Clara wins the blue ribbon. Much to Andy's dismay, they learn she made a double batch this time because they liked them so much. After Bee leaves, Andy tells Barney there is only one thing left to do - learn to eat Bee's pickles - and they start taking slow, painful bites.
This isn't a favorite episode of mine. I feel it went against the usual good moral lessons that the show usually had - and this time uses deception. Even though their plan doesn't work and they learn their lesson, I didn't like that they involved Andy's young son in the plan.
In order to keep Bee from entering the fake pickles, they decide they have to eat all of them, which the do over the next few days. This forces Bee to make a new batch to enter in the contest. They are just as bad as the first batch and Clara wins the blue ribbon. Much to Andy's dismay, they learn she made a double batch this time because they liked them so much. After Bee leaves, Andy tells Barney there is only one thing left to do - learn to eat Bee's pickles - and they start taking slow, painful bites.
This isn't a favorite episode of mine. I feel it went against the usual good moral lessons that the show usually had - and this time uses deception. Even though their plan doesn't work and they learn their lesson, I didn't like that they involved Andy's young son in the plan.