Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

HeadlinesExotic Boring

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

John T. Ryan BEING A Spin off from THE ANDY GRIFFITH show, even before anyone had even heard of a "spinoff"; GOMER PYLE, U.S.M.C. successfully walked a tight rope to sitcom immortality. Going on and staying on CBS for a full 5 years was no small accomplishment.THE "TIGHTROPE" OF which we speak was that certain balance that the production team sought and managed to maintain throughout the series run. This balance was one of seeking a sort of middle of the road approach to Gomer's persona.HAVING ORIGINATED AS a stock character hillbilly and employed as an assistant mechanic & grease monkey; the character Gomer's main function was to provide the show with some of its most obvious laughs. Hence, the other supporting characters, such Barney, Floyd, Otis and even Ernest T. Bass, would seem, at least comparatively, smarter.NOW, WITH THE advent of the GOMER PYLE Series, the production team was presented with a problem of minor personality modification. This "surgery" was a necessary evil for the ultimate success of the show. If left as he appeared on ANDY GRIFFITH, his inherent stupidity would be an insurmountable obstacle to believability and success.IN RE-INVENTING Gomer's personality (or at least in adjusting it), the writers made Pyle more of an innocent and literalistic (much like Andy Griffith's characterization of 'Will Stockdale' in NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS). Added to this, they emphasized a sort "Heart of Gold" tendency of our hero. This greatly enhanced their ability to make a premise last for the full half hour.SPEAKING OF FAR-OUT characterizations, what about that of Sergeant Vince Carter. Being portrayed by an under-appreciated dramatic actor (Frank Sutton), it at first seems that this Sergeant is Gomer's eternal Drill Instructor (aka "D.I.") His involvement with the story lines, however, also required a toning down for the good Sergeant Carter's attitudes, personality and actions.WITH THE OBVIOUS blessing of the United States Department of Defense, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, those opening and closing sequences using hundreds of real marching Marines, that serve as a backdrop for Sgt. Carter's hard-boiled shouts and gesturing and Pyule's silly laugh-talking.THIS SEEMED TO be an exercise in the unbelievable; as it was the era of the Vietnam War. We don't really know how to describe this; other than "Dicotomy" and "Paradox."

AudioFileZ For those of us who were very young and just discovering the fun of watching TV comedies with our parents you couldn't ask for better shows than the Andy Griffith Show and it's spin-offs. Perhaps the best spin-off show was Gomer Pyle USMC. It's excellence is due primarily to the chemistry between Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton. The writing was good too, but these pros made that easier because they could carry the load so effectively.Of course the show's formula was lifted wholesale from the already successful Andy Griffith's comedic career. That formula started, as far as I know, with Andy's routine called "What It Was Was Football" which I still think of when I see a "big orange" soda (Crush or similar ilk)! It was honed further by the movie "No Time For Seargeants" and then refined for sitcoms in The Andy Griffith Show. American loved the formula so as long as it was changed enough to camouflage the sameness...Success was almost guaranteed.Oh yeah, the formula was basically exploiting, in a kind way, the innocence of someone who was naive and stripped of all pretension. It worked to the "nth-degree" with Jim Nabors as Gomer! He was so believable that it likely sabotaged him after his stint as Gomer. That can happen when a character is so fully inhabited by an actor who is both a great actor and is so well suited for a persona that you see this as the person's natural persona. In spite of this, I see his whole acting career as a qualified success due to the fact this show will continued to loved by millions more around the world...Especially now that it's out on DVD.Simply put, "they don't make 'em like they used to" and this is truly a gem of a series.

Brian Washington This was one of the funniest shows of the 1960's. This took the premise of putting the very innocent and naive Gomer Pyle from the Andy Griffith show and putting him into the the greatest killing machine ever. The thing that made this show great was not only his interaction with Sergeant Carter, but with other people as well. The situations that Gomer would get into as a result of his naive nature helped to make this show the classic that it was. Also, Frank Sutton created one of the classic characters in the history of television in Sergeant Carter. Not only could Carter be easily exasperated, but in a lot of instances he also could be seen as more of a big brother to Gomer as he bumbled his way through his hitch in the marines.

genius-15 Most of 60s television was repetitive and dull, but Gomer Pyle was actually full of laughs. I remember watching repeats of the Andy Griffith show, which are horrible, and then seeing this one thinking it would be worse. No way!! Jim Nabors was a naturally funny guy, and appeared to be very likeable. I loved the episode where, as a marine, Gomer encounters 3 hippies relaxing by the base, and tries to convince them to join the corps. Instead, they help him paint a military truck (which he is supposed to simply wash!) with bright flower power colors and a huge peace sign to complement them! I laughed for about ten minutes afterwards. It's too bad that Nabors was only suited for this role, afterwards his career quickly faded and his only tv appearances were on low grade variety shows.