The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series) Floyd's Barbershop (1967) User Reviews

last "floyd the barber episode"

[devsm-82917 · 8/10 · 21 October 2016]

Howard (the county clerk) buys Floyd's barbershop but then tells Floyd he will have raise Floyd's rent. Floyd gets mad and says he's going to quit. This is the last episode with Howard Mcnear as Floyd. His failing health precluded any future work. Mostly due to his previous stroke, Howard Mcnear's ability to remember his lines became more and more of a problem. The final scene shows his character talking with Howard (the county clerk, played by Jack Dodson) and Andy. According to Dodson Mcnear was very frustrated that he couldn't remember what to say and several takes were needed to complete the scene. He decided not to return after that.

Howard should have reported the real estate agent

[vitoscotti · 6/10 · 14 August 2022]

Howard (Jack Dodson) gets shafted by shady real estate agent Harry Walker (Dave Ketchum also Agt 13 on Get Smart). Milquetoast Howard puts up no fight. HW wouldn't pull a con on a buyer like the crusty & tough prospective renter Mr Coefield (James O'Rear).

Episode is a bit bland. No laughs except the shyster, tall tale spewing real estate agent. Aunt Bee's whining theme is continued from the previous episode. Floyd's (Howard McNear) health appears to be rapidly deteriorating. Again Andy using his superior intellect to manipulate sheep into a solution. Interesting how Detroit is mentioned repeatedly in the series. In the 60s it was a top 5 rank important US cities. Now only top 30, but 2nd in highest crime.

Outside Forces Invade Mayberry

[AudioFileZ · 7/10 · 17 January 2024]

This is an interesting episode. It kind of foreshadowed the exit of Howard McNear as Floyd the barber. The oft quoted cliche "time waits for no one" hangs in the air here. Floyd's barbershop, a Mayberry institution, is the centerpiece. When the absentee family owners of the building Floyd leases decides to sell things seem a bit in flux. Will whoever purchases the building want to continue to lease it to Floyd? Floyd is naturally worried. Fears seem to be allayed when Howard Sprague antes up and buys the building. Upon receiving the deed Howard realizes the owners likely sold the property because their insurance and land taxes had both been hiked. Howard approaches it like the gentleman he is drafting a rental agreement with modest increases. Floyd sees it differently and vacates the premises. A bit of small town chaos ensues where "the hangout" shifts from Floyd's place to Andy's courthouse. Simple taken for granted things such as haircuts become problems. Mayberry isn't ready to change in the most simple of ways. Now, none of this seems particularly entertaining. And, perhaps, it isn't meant to be? The magic of Mayberry, and particularly TAGS, is not immune from the change of the world around it. Fortunately, there's still magic in Andy's wisdom and by episode's end the Mayberry we love gets another breath of life. That said, we will soon see there is much truth to what this episode portends. To me, at least, this makes this episode rise up above the entertainment factor to the realm that no place is totally an island to the world around it.

Floyd's place is a town institution

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 17 December 2016]

Another reviewer said this was Howard McNear's last episode as Floyd the barber, and that is not true. He appeared in five more episodes, right up to the end of the seventh season. The story for this one involves Howard Sprague taking over the building where Floyd's shop is located. Howard wants to raise the rent fifteen dollars a month and Floyd refuses to pay the increase. He then decides to move his business to Mount Pilot. Of course, it is all ironed out in the end, thanks to Andy's reverse psychology and a compromise reached by the new owner and his tenant.

I rated this episode a 10 because I think it captures the essence of Mayberry perfectly. In some way the people are against progress and do not want to move into the future too rapidly. They prefer their town to be more laid back, and they need a place like Floyd's where they can shoot the breeze and play checkers. It is the center of Mayberry activity, at least for the men. They are in no hurry to force Floyd into an early retirement. I found the scenes where everything is in a state of flux to be very comical. Where the sheriff's office has become a temporary checker parlor, and where Andy's home has become a barber shop so that Aunt Bee can give Opie a haircut. A truly fun episode, and Howard McNear is great as always.

Great story telling

[mdchaney-55694 · 10/10 · 15 November 2017]

In the book "The Andy Griffith Show" by Richard Kelly, on page 44 Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague) says that this is the last episode that Howard McNear filmed. They were perhaps shown out of order as McNear appears in later episodes. However, he is noticeably impaired in many scenes in this episode and slurs his speech more than normal.

"The characters had a great falling out and then, at the end of the show, they were brought back together in the courthouse. Howard had a little difficulty with that segment. We had to change our shooting schedules a little so that his days were not quite so long as they had been. And then, finally, we had a very simple scene of reconciliation. He couldn't remember it. He went over it and over it, frustrated with himself. Seeing his despair and anxiety was the most painful experience that I've ever had. And then he didn't come back after that."

Everything about this episode is great, and as others have said here it's a testament to the writers and producers that they were able to put together this caliber of story without Barney Fife. Bringing Howard Sprague into town to play against Goober and Floyd was a great decision, and it really works well in this episode.

Floyd, the Cheapskate

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 3 January 2020]

When Howard buys the building, housing Floyd's barbershop, he takes on higher taxes. So he has to raise the rent. I wonder if that 50 dollars had been the rent for 20 years or so. Anyway, Floyd throws a fit and decides to leave. This turns the towns center of gravity off, leaving Andy to pick up the pieces. This is a decent episode, showing some of Mayberry's favorites. I really liked the byplay between Opie and Andy at the dinner table, talking about what went on at the shop. Opie is a realist and can get Andy's goat in a very short time.

THE REALTOR IS VERY UNDERHANDED!

[JSGal · 8/10 · 19 July 2021]

This episode was a good one, except I found it disturbing that Howard had just purchased the town barbershop and then the realtor told him about the increase in taxes, etc. That realtor was pretty low in character! Andy again came to the rescue of yet another situation, when using reverse psychology on Howard and Floyd, which resulted in the two friends reconciling their relationship, after their feud over the raise in Floyd's rent.