'' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' is an American situation comedy created by

Aaron Ruben Aaron Ruben (March 1, 1914 – January 30, 2010) was an American television director and producer known for ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960), ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (1964), and ''Sanford and Son'' (1972). Early life Ruben was born in Chicag ...

that originally aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'', and the pilot episode was introduced as the final fourth-season episode which aired on May 18, 1964. The show ran for five seasons, with a total of 150 half-hour episodes, 30 in black-and-white and 120 in color. Despite the series' positive reception (the show remained in the Top 10 Nielsen ratings for all five seasons), Nabors quit because he desired to move to something else, 'reach for another rung on the ladder, either up or down'.Jim Nabors finished with Gomer
/ref> In 2006, CBS began releasing the show on DVD; the last season was released in November 2008. Set in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

(originally in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

), it stars

Jim Nabors James Thurston Nabors (June 12, 1930 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and comedian, widely known for his signature character, Gomer Pyle. Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica nightclub, an ...

as sweet-but-naive private

Gomer Pyle Gomer Pyle is a fictional character played by Jim Nabors and introduced in the middle of the third season of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. A naïve and gentle auto mechanic, he became a character in the January 1963 episode, ''Man in a Hurry''. ...

Frank Sutton Frank Spencer Sutton (October 23, 1923 – June 28, 1974) was an American actor best remembered for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter on the CBS television series ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''. Early life Born in Clarksville, Tennessee ...

as Gomer's hard-nosed and irritable sergeant Vince Carter, and

Ronnie Schell Ronald Ralph Schell (born December 23, 1931) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared on the May 28, 1959, episode of the TV quiz ''You Bet Your Life'', hosted by Groucho Marx. Schell demonstrated a comic barrage of beatnik jive t ...

as Pyle's best friend, Duke Slater. Though military-themed, the show never discussed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

and instead focused on the relationship between Gomer and Sergeant Carter. The series is episodic in format; self-contained plots play out before the episode concludes.

Series overview

Episodes

Pilot (1964)

''The pilot was an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. "No. overall" and "No. in season" for the pilot indicate the airing and location of the episode within the parent series.'' The pilot was shot in black-and-white.

Season 1 (1964–65)

* All episodes of the first season were shot in black and white.

Season 2 (1965–66)

* All episodes from the second season onwards were shot in color.

Season 3 (1966–67)

Season 4 (1967–68)

Season 5 (1968–69)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Lists of American sitcom episodes The Andy Griffith Show