GOMER PYLE, U.S.M.C. - DVD review

Although the tradition of the "rustic" or country bumpkin in American literature goes all the way back to Washington Irving and his Sketch Book (1820), the zenith of the naïve character in television came in the '60s. Maybe it was because the United States was enmeshed in an unpopular war, with a draft siphoning young men for a tour of Vietnam, that Americans found not only humor but comfort in characters whose view of the world was so pure and innocent. Maybe it was an unconscious desire to return to the relative carefree stability of the Eisenhower years. Whatever the reason, the '60s gave us not only rural comedies like "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Petticoat Junction," "Green Acres" and a TV version of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," but two shows as well that featured country boys trying to make it in the peacetime military: "No Time for Sergeants," and "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."

Ironically, Andy Griffith had a foot in both of those shows. The former was based on a film he starred in about a hillbilly who joins the Air Force, while the latter was a spin-off of his own situation comedy. What's interesting about this first-season release of "Gomer Pyle" is that it includes the supplemental material that was televised along with the pilot, which was released as an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show." Gomer, fans will remember, was the "Goll-ee" and "Shazam!" wide-eyed village idiot who worked at Wally's Filling Station. In the pilot, he gets it in his head that he's going to join the Marines. Why? Because he sees in a recruitment brochure that one of the Corps' most illustrious includes a general named Pyle. "If one Pyle can make it, I figure another one can too," he tells Andy. And so his friend drives him to the camp and hangs around, thinking the Marines are going to reject him before the first day is over.

In an introduction to the episode, Jim Nabors (Pyle) appears in front of the camera talking directly to the audience. He announces that in the series Pyle won't act as stupid as he does in the pilot (apparently the writers and CBS felt they pushed the bumpkin button a little hard) and then Nabors, an operatic-quality vocalist, actually sings part of an aria. You've really got to give credit to Paramount for finding the intro/outro and adding it to this five-disc collection, because it really gives you a contextual sense of television in 1964.

Season One follows Gomer and his fellow enlistees/recruits through boot camp. Though there's a full complement of troops at Camp Henderson in California, including "Hogan's Heroes" veteran Larry Hovis (as Larry) and veteran character actor Ronnie Schell (as Duke), it's really a two-character show. Squaring off against Gomer is his drill instructor, Sergeant Vince Carter (Frank Sutton). On "The Andy Griffith Show" Andy's reaction to Gomer's antics was part of the humor, and his eye-rolling, mouth agape responses were pretty much in line with the audience's reactions. Here, Carter is just as incredulous, but he shouts, and he shouts, and he orders Pyle to drop and give him 50 or pull more K.P. At first he thinks Pyle is putting on an act, or that he's trying to be a wise guy. But as Carter gradually comes to realize that Pyle is the real deal--a homespun, folksy character who sees nothing but the good in people--he takes on Pyle as a project, to teach him the ways of the world for his own good. Over the seasons, a special relationship developed between Carter and Pyle, though, of course, Pyle still drove him bonkers.

Here's a rundown on the first season's 30 (yep, 30!) episodes, which are housed on five single-sided discs in three clear keep-cases with a cardboard sleeve:

1) "Gomer Overcomes the Obstacle Course"--Gomer shows how eager he is to please his new sergeant when he tries extra hard to run the obstacle course.

2) "Guest in the Barracks"--When Gomer helps sneak a recruit's girlfriend into the barracks, Carter goes ballistic.

3) "Private Ralph Skunk"--Gomer adopts a pet skunk, and in true "Andy Griffith" fashion he turns it into a secret weapon for the Marines.

4) "Captain Ironpants"--In this "Pygmalion" episode, Gomer tries to transform a lady Marine into a glamorous woman. Physician, heal thyself!

5) "Gomer Learns a Bully"--When a new recruit turns out to be a bully and Gomer his favorite whipping boy, Gomer has his own way of dealing with the problem.

6) "Pay Day"--Gomer goofs off, and causes a military fiasco when he decides fair is fair, he won't accept his paycheck.

7) "Nobody Loves a Sergeant"--The harder Carter is on Gomer, the more Gomer is convinced he likes him.

8) "Gomer and the Dragon Lady"--Carter sets up Gomer with a "dragon lady" as punishment for another foul-up.

9) "Survival of the Fattest"--Carter and Gomer are paired up in a five-day wilderness survival test.

10) "A Date for the Colonel's Daughter"--Gomer escorts the Colonel's daughter to an enlisted men's dance and is pegged by the girl's mother as a "wolf."

11) "They Shall Not Pass"--Gomer and his platoon engage in war games, and Gomer has some odd ideas about how to stop the opposition.

12) "Sergeant Carter, Marine Babysitter"--Carter gives Gomer a lift en route to pick up a date, but ends up babysitting instead.

13) "The Case of the Marine Bandit"--Gomer and Carter are unwittingly used by robbers.

14) "Sergeant of the Week"--Somehow Carter gets the idea Gomer is dying, and he tries to make his last days comfortable.

15) "Grandpa Pyle's Good Luck Charm"--Shazam! Grandpa's charm ought to make Gomer a leader. Yeah, right.

16) "Dance, Marine, Dance"--Carter and Gomer signed up for dance lessons and now Carter wants out.

17) "Sergeant Carter's Farewell to His Troops"--Carter's men are hoping a sexy female Marine can convince the Sergeant not to quit the Corps.

18) "The Feudin' Pyles"--Gomer becomes friends with another country boy, only to learn that, back home, their families are feudin'.

19) "Love Letters to the Sarge"--Carter has a secret admirer. Unfortunately, it's Gomer.

20) "Sergeant Carter Gets a 'Dear John' Letter"--Can it get any worse? Yep. The other man is Gomer.

21) "Daughter of the Sarge"--Carter's adopted Korean daughter becomes engaged to a Marine, and he's furious thinking it could be Gomer.

22) "Officer Candidate Gomer Pyle"--Both Carter and Gomer take the Officer Training Exam.

23) "Old Man Carter"--Carter starts to feel ancient after the platoon throws him a party.

24) "Gomer Makes the Honor Guard"--Carter tries to keep Gomer from becoming one of the platoon's four honor guards.

25) "My Buddy-War Hero"--Gomer tries to keep Carter and an old wartime buddy from knocking each other's blocks off.

26) "Double Date with the Sarge"--It gets worse, when Sarge's date orders a meal he can't afford.

27) "The Jet Set"--Gomer is supposed to go downtown for an errand, but ends up on a flight to Rome.

28) "Sergeant of the Guard"--Gomer tries to stop a gang of thieves who've been robbing a Marine warehouse.

29) "Gomer Dates a Movie Star"--Gomer has to choose between the Colonel's daughter and a movie star (yeah, right).

30) "Gomer the M.P."--Shades of "Citizen's Arrest," Gomer takes the M.P. business a little too seriously.

Video:
The video (1.33:1 aspect ratio) is actually pretty decent. The season is filmed in black and white, and black and white can be pretty forgiving. There's very little grain and good contrast and brightness.

Audio:
The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo, but it sounds pretty average, as if it could be Mono. Some older tracks have pop and hiss, but this is fairly clean. Others sound faraway or muddled, but that's also not the case here. In other words, it's not bad. You don't get much of a sense of stereo, though, because it's all dialogue except for background and theme music, and there's very little in the way of Foley effects.

Extras:
Jim Nabors appears on the intro/outro to the pilot, as well as providing audio intros to several of the episodes. It's good to have the star onboard, but frankly he doesn't have as much to say as I'd have hoped. Much of it is description of what happens rather than any insight into what was going on in their heads as they filmed an episode. Nabors is also featured on a clip from his variety show (which, of course, has nothing to do with this sitcom), and an appearance on "The David Frost Show" that's entertaining enough. One strange bit of ephemera is a clip from "The Lucy Show," an episode titled "Lucy Gets Caught in the Draft." Why it's here, other than the fact that Paramount is releasing all the CBS titles, including Lucille Ball's shows, is a mystery. The best extra, beyond a doubt, is the pilot episode from "The Andy Griffith Show."

Bottom Line:
Its first season, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." finished number three in the Nielsen's behind "Bonanza" and "Bewitched." During its six-year run (we won't count the aborted seventh season) the show finished number two twice and three another time. There was something endearing about goofy Gomer that made him a favorite in the '60s. Now, the folksy, aw-shucks humor can wear a little thin, but the scripts are still as generally strong as "The Andy Griffith Show," the show it spun off of. In fact, nine of the shows' veteran writers were involved with "Andy Griffith," and a number of them worked on the Emmy-winning "Dick Van Dyke Show." It's a surprisingly solid comedy.