The Andy Griffith Show: Three Wishes for Opie remains a favorite episode

Opie's three wishes is a top episode

The Andy Griffith Show fans have many favorite episodes. Screen Rant chose the fourteenth episode of season five as number three in the top 10. "Three Wishes for Opie" is also tops with long-time viewers.

It aired on December 21, 1964, and is both funny and suspenseful. The episode begins with Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut) yelling at Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) because people all over Mayberry are saying the two are engaged. She believes Sheriff Taylor has told everyone about the marriage proposal except her.

Andy takes Helen home, calms her down, and asks her to listen as he explains how the rumor started. As he starts talking, the scene shifts to show the audience what led to this moment. The comedic talent of Don Knotts and the eerie music make this episode one that keeps you on the edge of your seat and must-see television.

It began with Barney Fife (Don Knotts) purchasing a fortune-telling game at a police auction and spooking Goober Pyle (George Lindsey with supernatural tales. They are in a back room in the Sheriff's office, where Barney lit an old lamp that looked like the type a genie would emerge from.

Barney's incantation

The Mayberry Deputy reads an incantation and evokes the two-hundred-year-old spirit of Count Istvan Teleky. Smoke makes a "poof" noise, and Goober backs out of the sheriff's office with a frightened look on his face as Opie Taylor (Ron Howard) comes through the door. The talented actors in this episode were talented and very expressive with their faces.

Opie's first wish is for a jackknife, and his dad, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), soon walks into the office and gives him one. Andy tells Helen that the following day, Barney tries to convince him that the psychic phenomenon is real.

Opie's second wish is for a B in arithmetic, and he achieves it. Floyd Lawson ( Howard McNear) joins Barney and Goober in the back roomthe next night, Deputy Fife wishes for a fingerprinting set and when steps out into the main office a new fingerprinting machine is on the desk.

Barney's eyes bulge, and he shakes like a leaf as he shows his wish come true to Goober and Floyd. The next day, Opie makes a third wish that Barney gets excited about and cuts the child off before he can finish saying what it was.

Barney gets a surprise

The deputy believes he knows what Opie wants and mistakenly assumes his desire is for his teacher and father to marry, leading to rumors of a wedding throughout Mayberry.

Helen and Andy go to the courthouse to confront Barney, and when Opie arrives, they try to convince him that the first two wishes were a coincidence. When they explain that they won't get married immediately, Opie says this was not his wish.

He tells them he wanted Miss Crump to continue being his teacher in the sixth grade. Helen's eyes widened as she shared that she had just been told she was being promoted to sixth-grade teacher in the coming year. Barney, with a smug look on his face, removes his fortune-telling game from the trash.

Andy and Helen get a surprise

Helen and Andy play with the wishing kit, and Helen wishes they would get married in June. Banrye comes through the door with a copy of the Mayberry Gazette that has printed an article stating the couple is possibly getting married in June.

Barney is drawn deeper into his belief that his game is real, and the ending leaves viewers wondering if it was all only a coincidence or if Detective Fife was onto something.

If you are a fan of The Andy Griffith Show, you know it's challenging to narrow down favorite episodes because they are all special in their own way. Still, Three Wishes for Opie continues to be at the top for many viewers.