DrPhilmreview

This episode is crammed full of missed opportunities and disappointments. Having Andy and Helen return to Mayberry should be a great episode. Instead it's one of the worst and is a great illustration of why Griffith was bored with the show.

Andy and Helen return to Mayberry for Andy Junior's baptism. Good so far. The natural choice of the godfather is Barney who I assume was also Opie's godfather. But he's never mentioned, not even to say he couldn't make it. Perhaps Don Knotts just wasn't available. But its a crime not to mention him. I kind of like the idea he's busy working undercover in Raleigh and can't be reached.

The godmother is NEVER mentioned. It could have been an opportunity for Thelma Lou to reunite with her old friend Helen. (Then if Barney DID show up at the end, they might have reunited the way they did in the "Return to Mayberry" movie). But without bringing back Thelma Lou, they could have had a very touching scene where Andy and Helen ask Aunt Bee to be the godmother, as she was for Andy and for Opie. When I think how good that scene could have been, I think Franscis Bavier was robbed of an Emmy nomination.

Instead we get this childish episode where Goober (who did NOT "introduce Andy to Helen", she was Opie's new teacher) Emmett and Howard get all upset that Sam was named godfather.

Five minutes of that and you can understand why Andy left town.

Sgt. Turk (Lee Marvin) is an absolute d*ck to Saunders (Vic Morrow) and the squad (Kirby, Billy, Little John, Doc) as they escort him to a bridge he's supposed to blow up. To add injury to insult, I think more squad members get wounded in this episode than just about any other.

There's a lot of action in this but because Turk is so off putting (for seemingly little reason) the episode falls a bit flat. Lee Marvin is a good actor but the script doesn't give him much to do other than play everything one note throughout. Adding more shades to his character would have made this a much better story.