Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.: Season Three

There are certain television series that were like comfort food. Just as we fondly remember a special dish that grandma made we recall these shows with a warm and fuzzy feeling. For many people of my generation such a series was Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. Although many of us watching as kids back then were too young to realize it the world was changing around us. For the adults the USS Maddox and the Gulf of Tonkin were recent events that caused a nation to split on the subject of the Viet Nam war. The older people backed the involvement of the United States while young adults and teens openly protested against it. Often the brunt of the opposition was against the military and the men serving in it. One television series managed to lighten the mood of a nation and it was Gomer Pyle. Like many series it came about as a spin off of another popular show, in this case the Andy Griffith Show or as most people called it, Mayberry. The original series depicted life in a quirky small town in North Carolina. Many people enjoyed the down home humor and respite from the turbulent images shown each night on the news. One of the characters left Mayberry to join the United States Marine Corp, Gomer Pyle. He had worked as the town’s auto mechanic and although very simple of mind he had a depth to his heart that few could rival. While many young men were protesting the war by avoiding the military draft here is a rural man seeking to serve his country. Of course there was no mention of Viet Nam in this series, it was a family comedy and politics were kept as far away as possible. Paramount has released the third season of this classic show to DVD and many of my generation are glad about it. This is a piece of childhood on a shiny set of discs.

Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) is a sweet, innocent almost child like young man. His small town ethic guides him in every endeavor. He is always looking to help his friends and is fiercely loyal to them. He looks at his drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter (Frank Sutton) as a friend even though by the nature of the relationship Carter is typically mean to Pyle. Pyle is so good natured that nothing the Sergeant can do to him can convince him that they are not best friends. It is not as if Gomer was without real friends on the base. His affable personality made for some string friendships. One of the best was with Private First Class Duke Slater (Ronnie Schell). He was the complete opposite of Pyle; brash, confident and every bit the ladies man. He was usually just waiting for the next leave so he could go to the local hot spot to meet women. Carter usually rides the men calling them out for bragging about more prowess with the ladies than is actually there. Pyle’s likeable nature did attract his fair share of young women. Usually the one referred to as his girl friend was a guest staring actress instead of a steady part. One possible exception was Allison McKay who played a local waitress in at least a couple of episodes per season, this on included.

Most of the characters in the series never seemed to realize one important fact about Pyle’s personality, he is incapable of lying. For him the truth is all there is and deception is foreign to his make up. This is the basis for several episodes in this third season. In the first episode of the season Gomer goes on a tour of movie star homes and meets a pretty young actress. He doesn’t realize who she is at first and she is impressed by how natural he is around her. She invites him and his friends to a barbeque but no one on the base believes Pyle. In another episode later on in the season Pyle sees what appears to be a flying saucer. Naturally no one believes him and Carter goes so far as to send Pyle to a psychiatrist. Basically it is just a case where Pyle’s fellow Marines have never met someone as untouched by the usual worldly self interest; Pyle always puts others first and lying just is something that never comes to his mind.

When you hear the trademark high pitched, almost annoying voice that Nabors uses in the persona of Pyle you would never guess that he was an incredibly talented baritone. Executive producer Andy Griffith, a bit of a singer himself, realized this and made sure there were always a few episodes that featured Narbors’s voice. In one episode a night club owner is so impressed with Pyle’s singing voice that he wants him to perform every night. This does not sit well with the by the rules Carter. One recurring character was known for her lack of singing voice, LouAnn Poovie (Elizabeth MacRae). At one point both Carter and Pyle vide for her attention. In another Gomer has to help out when she takes a job in a record store he sets up but loses her singing job. Back in those days of the mid sixties alcohol abuse was more of a punch line that a social issue. In the parent series of Mayberry the town drunk was funny, not a person in need. Here two episodes dealt with drinking to excess. In one a woman accuses Gomer of making her husband an alcoholic. Then there is the time when Carter tries to get back at Gomer by injecting a large quantity of vodka into Pyle’s prize Watermelon.

Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton formed one of the best known comedy teams of the time with this series. Nabors had that wide grin and goofy face that just made people laugh. He also had a couple of trademark sayings that widely spread to common usage; ‘Golly’ and ‘Shame, shame, shame’. He was able to project innocence with his eyes that sold his character to the nation. No matter what you though about current events this man could make you forget for a little while and have a laugh. Every funny man needs a good straight man and Nabors couldn’t have found one better than Sutton. He gave a contrast to the trusting country bumpkin as the cynical and loud Carter. Every episode had Carter risking a stroke screaming and Pyle just standing there grinning. It was the same every episode but we laughed every time.

Paramount does it usual good job of giving us cherish memories on DVD. The series is somewhat dated but the basic premise and humor still holds up well. The video is in full screen and it does so signs of its age. Some scenes are grainy but the colors held up well. Considering most of us first viewed this series on a TV that had a bunch of knobs for color correction this is better than you remember it. The audio is a fairly flat Dolby mono. There are no extras to the set which is unfortunate. This is perfect for the whole family.

Posted 11/23/07