Customer Reviews

Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. - The Final Season

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just loved this show and its great to be able to finish off all 5 seasons on dvd!

There are 30 Episodes for Season 5. It really contains some great episodes: My Two favorite season 5 episodes are: Car For Sale and Come Blow Your Top!

Come Blow Your Top had it all. By the fifth season Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton had perfected their roles as Gomer and Sgt Carter respectvely. This storyline exemplified what the entire series was about. Well respected and tough as nails Sgt Carter trying his best to maintain a top notch platoon while the often clumsy but good natured Gomer seemed to always find a way to make waves and get under the Sergeants skin. This episode featured Alan Melvin as Sgt Hacker who put in one of his best performances of the series as he enlisted the help of Gomer to make Sgt Carter blow his top and win a bet at the same time.

121 Car For Sale 9/27/1968
122 Corporal Duke 9/4/1968
123 The Booty Prize 10/11/1968
124 The Return of Monroe 10/18/1968
125 Just Move Your Lips, Sergeant 10/25/1968
126 All You Need is One Good Break 11/8/1968
127 A Marriage of Convenience 11/15/1968
128 A Star is Not Born 11/22/1968
129 Come Blow Your Top 11/29/1968
130 A Little Chicken Soup Wouldn't Hurt 12/6/1968
131 Gomer, the Perfect MP 12/13/1968
132 The Wild Bull Returns 12/20/1968
133 Hit and Write 12/27/1968
134 Two on the Bench 1/3/1969
135 A Tattoo For Gomer 1/10/1969
136 Win-A-Date 1/17/1969
137 Marriage, Sgt. Carter Style 1/24/1969
138 To Save a Life 1/31/1969
139 Dynamite Diner 2/7/1969
140 Freddy's Friendly Computer 2/14/1969
141 Gomer Maneuvers 2/21/1969
142 Gomer Tends A Sick Cat 2/27/1969
143 I'm Always Chasing Gomers 3/7/1969
144 The Short Voyage Home 3/14/1969
145 Proxy Poppa 3/21/1969
146 Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow 4/4/1969
147 Flower Power 3/28/1969
148 Show Time With Sgt. Carol 4/18/1969
149 My Fair Sister 4/25/1969
150 Goodbye Camp Handerson, Hello Sergeant Carter 5/2/1969

So long Gomer, it was great 5 years!

As A Die-hard Andy Griffith Show fan,Gomer Pyle,USMC just completes the wonderful experience of great comedy that sort of ties in both shows...Frank Sutton is just fantastic and I feel often overlooked as one of the great character actors of his time..When you have seen these episodes as often as I have,the characters,actors and story lines really are funny.If your a great fan of Mayberry,this series really belongs with that collection.In a way its like having 13 seasons of a time period that all ties together for lots of laughs and memories....I AM alittle upset that some of these episodes have been edited and some of Jim Nabors musical numbers have been ommited.Also,I feel there should have been more commentary from Jim Nabors and maybe some of the surviving cast members.It would be great to hear about the filming of some of these episodes from the actual actors and writers....Great shame that the series ended when it did without any conclusion..Unfortunately,though the show was in the top 20 for its entire run,times were changing for television and like many light-rural comedies of the time,all were canceled to make room for more political and social commentary-like shows that would take tv into the 70s

It is with some relief that I can report at least two episodes from Gomer Pyle fifth season that are plot reliant on songs appear on the DVD set unchanged. The extended musical number between Carol Burnett and Nabors is there and "Blowing In The Wind" miraculosly survived in the hippie episode. I still don't approve of what CBS/Par did to this series, but the episodes I was worried about came through largely unscathed.

(I was also relieved that earlier the climax to the Washington two-parter "Impossible Dream" is there).

Jim Nabours,cast as the lead in "Gomer Pyle",played the role he will always be most remembered for,and found a place in television history as a result.Even though he had a successful career as a recording artist also(a very fine tenor),he just could not entirely get out from under the shadow of the character he made so famous.Eventually Mr Nabours "retired" from show business settling in Hawaii where I believe he still runs a very successful macadamia nut plantation.
Frank Sutton who came to create his best known role in this series as Gomers'short tempered Sgt.Carter,also found himself typecast much the same as Nabours did.He went on to appear on Nabours' post Gomer television show(a clip from which appears in the season one set)and did various dinner theatre also.Unfortunately he passed away at the age of only 50 in 1974.
No one could ever see two other actors in the roles of Gomer Pyle and Sgt.Carter.Both men were perfect in them and played extremely well off of each other,as the chemistry between them is very apparent in each in every episode.
Season five of this series continues where season four left off,with lots of laughs supplied by Gomer's innane but well intentioned boners and Sgt.Carter's apoplectic reactions to each.Like the Honeymooners where Ralph would yell at Alice,deep down he loved her;so we find a similar situation in this series.For example,there is one ep here where Carter may finally get his wish to see Gomer leave.At first he is ecstatic but by the end of the ep he has sneakily changed the transfer papers and secured Gomer back in his platoon.Even though Gomer has given Carter everthing short of a stay in the local mental hospital,Carter also realises Gomer is always well intentioned and has even unexpectedly come though for him many times.With all his bravado Carter does NOT want Gomer to leave.Besides that,one gets the impression that he thinks"who else could possibly look after a "knucklehead like Pyle?" ",but himself.
And the character of Gomer as we all know IS a bumbler but one with a heart of gold who would give his all to help a friend or stranger in need.He is also as devoted to Sgt.Carter as a dog is to his master and is essentially a GOOD person,inside and out.Therefore with both characters essentially good and well intentioned people and that both basically like one another(Carter begrudgingly so!),it is no surprise TV audiences responded in kind to the show and made it the success it was.Five years was a good run for any show then or now.
This season has alot of great moments.For example,Ronnie Schell returns this last season as Corporal Slater, and replaces Corporal Boyle as Carter's right hand man(Schell had tried his hand at a series which failed during Pyle's 4th season run).Another involves a return appearance by Carol Burnett in her counter-Carter role as a sergeant,this time looking to fill a spot in a talent show.It's a tug of war with Pyle caught in the hilarious middle.Burnett and Nabours do a wonderful unforgettable number together here that lasts over 5 minutes,and it leaves you wanting more.There is also an ep near the end of the series where Gomer is told to paint a truck used for a command post.Along comes three hippies;a blatant sign of the times which was a rarity during this series run.If you look closely you will see one of hippies is none other than a young Rob Reiner!
All in all Season Five of Gomer Pyle is yet another winner of a season and is sure to please all of its' fans.Unlike previous seasons where certain scenes and music have been cut and/or altered,this season appears to have everything intact.And also like previous years this series offers up totally wholesome,FAMILY entertainment.It is written well and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.I urge you to get this final season of Gomer Pyle USMC,and watch the passing of one of the funniest and well liked/rated shows from the 1960s.

This spinoff of the "Andy Griffith Show" (another classic) is a classic all to itself. I know Jim Nabors gets most of the spotlight in portraying Gomer Pyle as well he should. But, I want everyone to know that that show would have never been anything close to what it was without the excellent acting of Frank Sutton as Sgt. Carter. I hope somehow that members of Mr. Sutton's family get to read this because when I was a kid watching this show on TV, I laughed so hard at his portrayal of Sgt. Carter, and still do to this day. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate the professionalism he exemplified in his acting, wanting everything to be perfect. Thanks.
These two guys played characters that were 180 degrees from each other and that made the show. I wish that it could have run for much more than the 5 seasons that it did. As with the "Andy Griffith Show," "Gomer Pyle" is an excellent choice to add to anyone's video library of classic comedy DVD's.

This final season of Gomer Pyle is a wonderful, clean family show for all ages. Even though this show was made in the 1960's, it's timeless. Families today enjoy it as much as they did over 30 years ago. Jim Nabors and the late, great Frank Sutton are a hit as Gomer and Sgt. Carter. This is a testimony to the fact that comedies can be clean and wholesome and still be popular and enjoyed for generations. Highly recommended!!!!

I ordered the full series..5 seasons. The first 3 were hilarious! But the 4th season it started to not be as funny cause they kind of "citified" Gomer. What made the show so funny was that this country boy was trying to live in the city environment...and staying with his country mentality and upbringing. "you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy" kind of thing. But the 4th season..they started taking the country out of Gomer and it just wasn't that funny. Just another city boy in the city. They also have Sgt Carter's constant yelling at Gomer get more to the violent side and so constant..I was muting it most of the time. It just got out of hand. The 5th season...they kind of flipped the mentality of Gomer and Sgt. Carter and made Gomer the "smart" one and Sgt Carter the "dumb" one (for lack of better wording). I didn't like the 5th season.

Gomer Pyle USMC is a very funny show, even though I didn't grow up watching it. I watched a couple episodes when I was younger. I am only 21, so it was on the air before I was born. I got all 5 seasons now, so I am happy.

I'm very surprised how consistent this show was right until the end. It isn't my favorite show ever but some that I would place higher like All in the Family had real consistency problems with scripts. Not so with Gomer Pyle. In fact the real strength of this show is how diverse the stories are and how much variety there was overall (singing, trips, courtcases, car purchases).. it does have a few that I consider clunkers; sorry but the Larry Storch episode is just too over the top for my tastes, but overall VERY well made.

Still looking at this show for it was it had a very strong core cast, in fact IMO Sgt. Carter is the main draw, although it takes Gomers unwavering admiration for him to really show the full picture. I am just wild about Lou-Ann Poovey also.. the casting for her is just perfect because it really took a stroke of luck to pair Pyle with a suitable other half (I know she was in other seasons but I didn't review those series). I look at them as a very early forerunner of the 'Woody and Kelly' Cheers pairing -- masterful stuff; two peas in a pod as it were.

I love the artwork, the transfer, and even the little things some other shows missed - like chapter stops.. enough that as a package for what they are charging for this it simply is not to be missed. As sad as I am to know how close to the end Sutton was even while filming this it fills me with warmth to know his name will live on and on, as will that of Private 1st Class Gomer Pyle.

A very fitting end.

ps, I must add I LOVE Sgt. Carter's devilish laugh:)

Like all die hard Gomer Pyle fans I was so relieved when I first found out that the DVD version was FINALLY being produced. However, I did not expect Paramount to butcher some of the classic scenes as they did. You can't have your cake and eat it too, right?

Nonetheless they have restored my faith, albeit it slightly, with the final season being mostly intact. The Carol Burnett/Nabors duet is fantastic episode which shows the strength and amazing chemistry the two shared on stage together, and the Marine chorus episode where Sergeant Carter can't hold a note left me in stitches once again. It was truly evident that Frank Sutton and Jim Nabors had perfected their respective roles by this time and every episode in this season demonstrates that.

All in all, I have to say that I'm not whole-heartedly impressed with the direction the production of the DVD's has taken but at least they made the last season bearable and I'm much more inclinced to rewatch the entire series over again. In the words of General Cortez... VIVA GOMER PYLE!