Dinner at Eight

This is a fun episode where Andy not only loses his autonomy when Goober takes it upon himself to move in for two days, but Goober's incompetence forces a series of dinners which Andy feels he is obligated to attend. There's more, but speaking in too much detail will derail the plot. It's pretty good for a change.

I can't believe so many reviewers loved this episode. Some said it was the best episode of the last 3 color episodes, and one even said it was the best episode of all 8 seasons. OK they must have been watching a different episode from this one that i watched because I really thought it was one of the worst. Definitely in the bottom five or worse. Andy was over acing I guess to make up for the loss of Barney Fife - right? I watched it solely for the ridiculousness, I guess.

For the TAGS snobs who believe the color episodes are blasphemous... you may never appreciate the sheer genius of this episode. There is a reason Andy went out number one in the ratings (one of only three shows to end their run number one in the ratings in television history) and this episode in the final season illustrates why: the magic was still there. I won't bore you with a rehashing of the details but the previous poster is wrong... Howard and his mother didn't "forget"... she said "If Andrew thinks we invited him to dinner then we will serve him dinner. Now go!" It was a very funny scene. I will say if you have ever eaten too much spaghetti then this episode will make a ton of sense. Enjoy!

My main reason for writing the review is to agree with a couple of others that this is one of the better color episodes. There are several good color episodes, despite what many people are led to believe. While the BEST episodes are from the first five (B&W) years, several of the color years are equally as good as some of the B&W ones... this is one of those better ones.

As others have said, confusion (and ill timing) over a phone message from an unwanted house guest with only the best of intentions leads to some pretty funny dialogue. Goober is at his finest, kindhearted self with his intentions, but his bumbling demeanor leads to some confused friends and one very, very full Andy.

BUT... this is not from Season eight. It is (as you can see from the episode guide) the 17th episode of season seven. Not a big deal, but if you're looking for it on Netflix or in your DVD collection, you'll need to find in the right season.

The reviewer who scored this episode a 2 misses the mark. If one stops analyzing and simply recognizes the humor, this TAGS episode proves to be one of the funniest in the entire series. Lighten up, Francis.