This is the SADDEST Episode of Andy Griffith EVER!

Here's why “The Return of Barney Fife” from season six is the saddest episode of The Andy Griffith Show.
Try Frndly TV here: try.frndlytv.com/?ref=davesun...
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @jdsundstrom
BE PART OF MY COMMUNITY!
FACEBOOK dsremembers
TWITTER / jdsundstrom
KZbin / jdsundstrom
Product and service links listed are affiliate links which support this channel help me continue to create content.
This video is not intended for children under the age of 14. Quite frankly, kids...I'm just some random old dude talking about nostalgic TV and movie stuff from a really long time ago and I highly doubt that it is going to interest you.
#classictv #thegoodstuff #davesundstrom

[@tonystephens6858]

Once Don Knotts left the show and the episodes were made in color, it just wasn't the same.

[@jdsundstrom]

Agreed.

[@tonimusgrave9530]

Agree 100%

[@notmyrealname6150]

True. It lost its small town feeling.

[@brendawilliams3197]

I agree. I did not like the color seasons.

[@drbonesshow1]

Some of the Knotts episodes in color were better stories.

[@tealelliott3870]

Personally, I think the episode where Opie kills the mama bird is the saddest episode. I never make it through that one dry eyed. The reunion episode is more cathartic than sad - bullies get theirs in the end. Just one gal's thought...

[@jdsundstrom]

Another very sad episode for sure!

[@jstnxprsn]

I agree 💯 %. The bird episode was heartbreaking.

[@0045551]

I agree the bird episode was by far the saddest one. I've only watched it once. I will never watch again.

[@PoesRaven73]

But aren’t the trees nice and full?

[@douglassmith1466]

"Next time I go tiger hunting I'm going to take my tweezers." lol

[@scottgetty5547]

Saddest episode is when Opie and the other kid work as delivery boys for the grocery store....When Opie quits when he heard the boy was working because his dad was sick....Andy starts to yell at him for quitting his job...then Opie explains why....Ron Howard man oh mighty...gets me bawling every time that episode is on....my 2nd is the Christmas Episode where Ben Weaver wants to get arrested...the look he has when Aunt Bea gives him a plate.

[@brendawilliams3197]

I agree.

[@kevinstogner9477]

Lot's of great episodes but every Ernest T. Bass episode is a riot !! ...all he ever wanted was a uniform. Ha.

[@scottgetty5547]

No he wanted his diploma in an episode....I want to write my sent tence...

[@notmyrealname6150]

Did Barney expect Thelma Lou to wait for him after he moved away to Raleigh? She had to get on with her life. However, Thelma Lou's marriage was short and she and Barney would tie the knot in "Return to Mayberry" in 1986.

[@jdsundstrom]

Yep. Her marriage didn't last. She was, after all, destined to be with Barney.

[@glenn_r_frank_author]

@@jdsundstrom do you think the writers of "Return To Mayberry" wrote in that divorce BECAUSE fans were not happy that she married someone else in this episode? Or maybe more practically did it because they could not get back the actor for her husband?

[@notmyrealname6150]

@@user-we3me3dg1yYep. Thelma Lou was fine.

[@chrissullivan5752]

Thelma Lou. Got married to Ernest T bass !!

[@paulacunningham20]

Maybe Thelma Lou's husband died.

[@juliedixson335]

Barney got what he deserved you can’t wait forever He didn’t even think about taking her with him

[@cjsansoo7]

Great advice about cherishing loved ones. You never know when your last visit may truly be your last.

[@dwayneeutsey8162]

That was a sad episode. I'm not a fan of the color shows, either, but I do like this episode. Overall, one of the many things I love about Don Knotts is how he could make you laugh one second at his buffoonish behavior and then break your heart the next, sometimes literally in the same scene.

[@jdsundstrom]

Agreed. The look on Barney's face as Thelma Lou introduces her husband...

[@davidlavallee6715]

Judy8

[@kerridillon3120]

Betty Linn said in an interview that she was very upset when she first read the script for this episode. She told the producers/ head person in charge that Thelma Lou would never do this to Barney. They replied something to the effect that:"Yes she would if she wants to keep her job!" Betty was very saddened by his episode & having to leave Mayberry.

[@vanmoody]

One funny scene was when Barney realizes Thelma Lou is married he is drinking punch and acting like he is getting drunk. Andy points out to him that there isn't any alcohol in the punch. lol

[@vanmoody]

@@jdsundstromWhen they made the Return to Mayberry movie in 86 or so I thought it was strange that Thelma Lou's husband had been killed in an accident not long after they were married. Why didn't she call Barney and let him know?

[@NotMe-st8qc]

I always thought the saddest episode was “Opies Charity”. He was scolded by Andy for not putting money in the church collection plate because he was saving money to buy Charlotte a coat because hers was looking thread worn and her family was poor.

[@Irished58]

Good work. My great uncle did lighting on Andy G. He told us that Andy was the nicest man to the workers on the show. Yeah this is a sad one.

[@jdsundstrom]

How cool is that?!!? Thanks for sharing.

[@thrashpondopons8348]

Will never forget when I came back from my 1st semester of College! Called up the young lady whom you could say was the one 'I always thought I'd end up together with someday'... & she told me she was getting married! (To someone else, I should point out!) So ya... I can relate!

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing, Bob. Of course, you won the lottery with Mrs. Thrash. 🙂

[@thrashpondopons8348]

@@jdsundstrom Most Definitely!

[@tracyroth-myers5574]

Aww ❤

[@thrashpondopons8348]

@@tracyroth-myers5574 Thanks Miss Tracy... but definitely for the best!

[@only257]

@@jdsundstromwell it ain’t the movie monster a go go 😅

[@Kennywoodbine]

One of my fav episodes was wen aunt bea was getting drunk off that elixir..lol

[@user-rz5qb1co4q]

Yep. I was just thinking about the Lineman episode the other day. 'Mr. McBeevy' All about having trust and belief in your kids 😢

[@figmo397]

I was glad that Thelma Lou had found love elsewhere. Like you, I thought Barney was stringing her along and had basically dumped her when he moved to Raleigh and didn't either propose or visit her frequently.

[@robertdiotalevi285]

But in the reunion she does get back to Barney.

[@kinglord7707]

Another sad Barney Fife color episode was when he return to Mayberry the same time his high school sweetheart who became a Hollywood actress returned home for her world movie premiere.She took Barney to the premiere and they made national news together and Barney regained feelings for her only to get heartbroken again when she left back to Hollywood the next morning without saying goodbye to him.He return to Raleigh only to find he suddenly became a eye candy to the ladies at his job all because his high school sweetheart is a Big Movie Star.😢😢😢

[@robertjolly3021]

Thanks for bringing that one back. Your probably right on saddest episode, although the one with Buddy Epson when he made believe he stole Aunt Bees's pocket book to let Opie think he was a bad person could be a close 2nd. Thanks 👍👍

[@jdsundstrom]

You're right. That one is super sad as well!

[@kevinstogner9477]

I always thought Thelma Lou was above Barney's pay-grade. Such a sweetie.

[@jdsundstrom]

She definitely was!

[@williamwelch7]

Thanks Dave. I'm glad the episode exists as well. On a side note, it was both nice and sad to see Phyllis Coates in the 'frndly' ad. She was my favorite Lois, and the same age as my mother, wish she could have made it to 100. She was the last of The Adventures of Superman, hard to believe they're all gone now.

[@dangeroreilly2028]

I liked her better too, but we are in the minority

[@jdsundstrom]

She's my favorite Lois as well.

[@markw208]

I agree, Phyllis Coates was my favorite & I enjoy her in other TV shows. Her Lois had more spunk & I like spunk 😉. Sorry Lou

[@MrMarshEnglishClass]

I feel like the class reunion episode in Season 3 is saddest because of the way it ends, seeing all those people you used to know as kids get older. The tears on my pillow do bespeak the pain that is in my heart.

[@Brother_D_therail]

Yes, I agree with you, that episode always stuck with me as quite melancholy.

[@susann.1618]

The thought of being intimate with Barney Fife is stomach-churning. 😱

[@scottgetty5547]

Haha...she didn't have a clue who he was...the bartender...haha

[@dalanandrews166]

Loved your commentary on this one. It reflects what truly makes the Andy Griffith show timeless. SO many episodes had some life lesson connected to them. As the world's values have diminished, watching Andy Griffith has the great power to take you back to a magical time when life was simpler.

[@Yourmama874]

Barney and Andy were 2 of the best characters ever on the small screen, what a duo

[@winterwhitechocolate]

I agree completely with you about liking the black and white episodes better. I don't know what happened when the show went color. Just not the same.

[@jdsundstrom]

The network threw a ton of money at Andy to do the final 3 seasons...but his heart wasn't in it.

[@jaymike3302]

​@@jdsundstromI love the color episodes.

[@joegongora2200]

I also love the color episodes but, the black and white episodes leaves things to one’s imagination. There’s something about movies filmed in black and white.

[@LKaramazov]

I couldn’t agree more, but this is somewhat typical. Remember how MASH started taking itself too seriously, especially after Wayne Rogers left, it was all downhill.

[@richardthomas754]

I’m not sure but when Barney left the show went to color. It wasn’t color that made the storyline slow down it was the lack of Barney. Am I right? Did Barney leaving and color start at the same time?

[@dskyyksd]

"Hark! How the sailor's cry joyously echoes nigh."

[@ub1953]

Thelma Lou was never "in Barney's pocket"

[@jdsundstrom]

Very true

[@scottgetty5547]

haha

[@corybowman9583]

Calm down Karen.

[@JTRocks1]

'sigh', The spirit was already gone then. 😞

[@dk60ish]

I'll never forget the episode when Thelma Lou learned that Barney said he had her "wrapped around my little finger!", & she taught him a lesson, but one that went right out of his other ear!

[@mathiasringle6972]

She didn't overhear it, that darn Gomer ratted Barney out!

[@jdsundstrom]

Love that episode! Yep, Gomer has some very loose lips.

[@waldoparsnip1025]

When she kissed Gomer when he gave her a ride to Mount Pilot .

[@deborahharp1756]

Barney irritated me so much! He thou 6:25 ght he was sooo smart, if it wasn't for Andy covering for him he would not have made it as a deputy!!

[@tonym9635]

That episode definitely pulled at the heartstrings! I knew something wasn't quite right, and you're spot on about the black and white capturing a certain feel the color episodes lacked. The Andy Griffith Show is simply the best. Pluto TV reruns are a lifesaver for reliving Mayberry magic!

[@batman5224]

One of the darker elements of the show that I didn’t recognize when I was younger is that the show heavily implies that Barney was cheating on Thelma Lou with Juanita. I used to think it was an innocent infatuation, but several episodes suggest that they may have been intimate. If true, Thelma Lou was right to leave him.

[@jdsundstrom]

Yep. Barney had a thing for Juanita.

[@vickieleggett386]

Yeah, his two-timing always aggravated me. The old “one girl to fool around with, one girl to marry” theory 🙄

[@NCMemoryMakers]

Did you ever watch the show? First, where is it ever implied that they were "intimate"? I don't remember any sexual innuendo in any episode, between anybody. Second, Thelma Lou did not leave him. Barney left Mayberry.

[@ElevenElevenSaturday]

@@NCMemoryMakerslol, maybe not “INTIMATE”, but I do think during this time frame, dating, hand holding and a kiss would be a betrayal to the woman he considers to be “his girl”. But it was never clear if Barney even got that far. It sounds like he would call her and stop by the diner, maybe have some flirtation, but nothing transpired. Lol…for some reason, I think Juanita played along and boosted his ego, but it sounds like she knew what he was about, and she knew that Thelma Lou was in the picture, so she didn’t take him seriously. And am I speculating? Yes I am…lol

[@NCMemoryMakers]

@@ElevenElevenSaturday Not arguing the point that Barney wasn't exactly being faithful to Thelma Lou. That is a given. But seriously...To imply a sexual innuendo into a show that always steered clear of that, is not appropriate. There was no hint of that, even between Andy/Barney and their actual girlfriends. Not everything has to be dirty, Sir. I'm pretty thankful for shows that aren't. There are too few of them today.

[@mrBILL-sr2cu]

I prefer the black and white episodes, but since MeTV runs two episodes weekdays (meaning they run through all B&W episodes fairly quick and restart from the beginning) I'd settle for some color episodes just to have a change!

[@jdsundstrom]

The Sundance Channel plays the later seasons. Not sure why MeTV choose to play them only very rarely.

[@wb3381]

I agree 5 seasons go rather quickly, showing 2 episodes a day

[@pastholay]

Pluto tv has a live channel of TAGS

[@LarryGonzalez00]

TV Land runs 6 episodes a day, 5 days a week. I think they might run a few late night/early morning. The afternoon 6 pack is always the black and whites.

[@mikel5582]

Wow, great video Dave, with some wonderful words of wisdom. There were so many emotional scenes throughout AGS. This one is memorable because Don Knotts was such a great actor. You *_felt_* his pain just from his body language. And your assessment of the bigger picture was very insightful. Some of the saddest scenes are times when Andy doubts Opie and Little Ronnie Howard melts your heart. That kid could act. Honorable mention to Francis Beavier in the scene where she didn't get the birthday present she had hoped for but swallowed the pain and carried on. That's the best "serious" AGS episode, i.m.o.

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing. Love your perspectives!

[@tj921able]

Thank you for sharing this. You made an excellent point about holding on to those you love.

[@scottmcgraw3749]

This was a great show. A really thoughtful and good take on this episode, Dave. Good job!

[@bruce8808]

Barney was afraid of commitment with Thelma Lou. She was the one who was willing to put 💯 of herself into a relationship and when she realized Barneys future plans didn't include her she had to move on with her life. Fortunately when The Return to Mayberry Movie came out there was a ending for those 2 even though it took about 2 decades. 😊

[@jdsundstrom]

I was happy to see them finally tie the knot in the TV movie.

[@markw208]

Dave, I like your comment about not wasting time and opportunities. You never know when someone else is counting on you and hoping you will make the right decision. I still watch The Andy Griffith Show a few times a week. It’s still head and shoulders above most other shows. I’ll have to watch this episode, but I will have to be emotionally prepared

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing!

[@rexoates4484]

Don’t forget the woman that Barney gave the police escort across the street to the post office after she smiled at him.

[@williamlangan5902]

It was indeed sad. Another sad episode was when Barney returned from the big city and you can see he misses Mayberry although he acts like he’s got it made!

[@jdsundstrom]

The best episodes from the final three seasons were whenever Don Knotts made an appearance.

[@wb3381]

​@jdsundstrom I love the legend of Barney but I wish they would have referred back to black and white episodes of Barney's victories

[@jamessilva7991]

@@wb3381 would have.

[@phylliswurm9473]

Totally agree with you and black and white shows my favorite. It was a surprising twist with Thelmz Lou, but sometimes a gal can't wait forever for ❤, sorry Barney. Good video.

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing!

[@greydovegardens7688]

I think it is strange how many of the shows during that period had the main character as a widow or widower.

[@kathyhuse9743]

The single parents were all widowed because d-i-v-o-r-c-e was a no no, something not wished fir or wanted by lead characters

[@gayleepling7995]

I’ve NEVER seen this episode, and I’ve watched most of the over and over again!

[@jdsundstrom]

You can watch it for free right here: pluto.tv/on-demand/series/the-andy-griffith-show/season/6/episode/the-return-of-barney-fife-1966-6-17?

[@bluemouse5039]

I always thought the episode where Aunt Bea thought she was in the way of Andy getting remarried and started dating this repulsively boring town businessman to possibly marry so she could move out, and at the end when Opie asked her if she loves the man she is going to marry, Aunt Bea turns away to say yes, then Andy senses something is wrong by her voice and asks her again, she turns toward him with tears in her eyes and tries to lie again , it is a tear jerker scene about family love

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing.

[@stevengreco7132]

Yes I though it was sad also. I as a little boy. Thought it was sad that he had to leave. I was a big fan of Barney Fife. Aka Don Knotts!

[@libertygiveme1987]

@stevengreco -Yeah, it was NEVER the same after Don't Knott's left. Andy even said in a interview that Barney was the "Heart Of The Show"!!!!

[@marcdewey1242]

After The Andy Griffith show Betty Lynn played on some Family Affair episodes as Bill Davis secretary.

[@carseye1219]

Also played Steve Douglas's secretary on My Three Sons

[@marlenepearson3936]

Barney strung Thelma Lou along too long. I guess he thought she'd always wait for him. I'm glad she got married. But I'm also glad they had Return to Mayberry if only for Barney and Thelma Lou to finally get married. 🎉 ❤

[@MrLangDog]

I'm surprised more people didn't feel feel exactly as I did when I first saw that episode....Barney got exactly what he deserved.

[@jdsundstrom]

He definitely did!

[@markbrusberg9808]

I remember watching the show as a kid and thinking to myself "Barney - are you f'ing kidding me? Look at Thelma Lou, then look in the mirror." He should have put a ring on that finger when when he had the chance. IIRC, he ends up hooking up with another woman at the party and all is right with the universe, but still .. It is just a TV show after all, but a lot of fans like me were shaking their heads.

[@nathanbarger3449]

Barney was a jerk to a lot of people. So he never understood why people looked down their noses at him at times.

[@user-ul9bo8nu4w]

Every episode after Barney left is nearly unwatchable. Remember Opie and his pal convincing Goober that a dog could talk? Stupidest half hour in TV history ! And any episode with "Howard Sprague" in it was as painful as stepping on a Lego in your bare feet. How about Howard's "swinging" party where all the guys danced with Helen Crump until she was worn out? What a knee slapper that one was !!! They even made an entire show about Howard catching a carp at the lake ??!! Just awful !! Compare those episodes to B&W ones like "The Fun Girls" or any one with Ernest T. Bass. Color + Barney leaving + Howard Sprague and Emmett the Fix it Guy = the beginning of the end.

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing.

[@thehappyhermit01]

Yeah, Howard was one of my least favorite characters on the show. Floyd was one of my favs.

[@Ronadams5272]

I sent her a birthday card on her last birthday before she passed, she lived in Mayberry…. Mt Airy, NC

[@brendafuller907]

Barney was very insecure, had low self esteem & was very socially awkward.

[@joegongora2200]

Thanks, Dave for talking about this episode about Barney and Thelma Lou when he had many chances in tying the not. I’ve always liked Don Knotts when he appeared in movies with Tim Conway. Since this was a High School Reunion Sheriff Andy Taylor connected towards the end with his High School sweetheart a girl by the name of Sharon. When the reunion movie took place in 1986 towards the end Barney and Thelma Lou tied the knot.

[@auvet1986]

One of the biggest heartbreaks in my entire life

[@tracyroth-myers5574]

I really liked this episode very much. Just goes to show life is very short.

[@mikesilva3868]

😊

[@jdsundstrom]

Time, truly is, fleeting.

[@tanyahardy5065]

Another episode I found sad was the "Loaded Goat" episode. It was the final scene with Barney and Andy leading the goat over a hill. Watching it after both actors had died, I felt like we were really saying good-bye as they "walked into the sunset."

[@sekenamcmurren2217]

💔Barney strung Thelma Lou far to long.. Good for her for finding love.😒💞

[@j-marie4006]

Sad but life lesson learned...we all make that mistake at one time or another.

[@lynnpoole7830]

Betty Lynn was a real BABE!

[@heleneneiman7820]

She seemed to be a " babe " only in comparison to the other women on the show....who else was there, Aunt Bee? Clara ? Emmet's wife ? If she was on Charley's Angels, she would not be picked out as the ' BABE "

[@glenandrews2839]

Yes she was. I fell in love with her when I was 14. She was so pretty! I was a truck driver 2000- 2018. I went to MT. AIRY, NC a few times but never got to meet her.( she lived there till she died in 2021) Betty Lynn. A lovely woman!!

[@lynnpoole7830]

@@glenandrews2839 I live in central NC and regret I never went to one of the Mayberry Days get togethers where I could of met Betty Lynn.

[@glenandrews2839]

@@lynnpoole7830 I was a truck driver and mostly I was at the trk stp.outside of town off I77. They had a lot of mayberry collectables which I have. I did drop my trlr and drive into town for a haircut at Floyd's barber shop!! There really is a Floyd's barber shop. Very beautiful town, lots of wonderful people. Just like my home town, Clinton, Tn

[@patmelton43]

She was lovely and Barney did not deserve her.

[@Sun-nq9ip]

I always loved how Thelma Lou looked at Barney. Eyes of love.

[@santor318]

another sad one was when the lady who so cheerfully volunteered to help out with the beauty contest won, everyone was upset because their family member didn't win and they all left her all alone without saying anything to her

[@jdsundstrom]

Yikes! I don't remember that one...but it does sound sad. 🙁

[@architypeone8646]

Let's face it, Barney had some serious psychological issues. He was a ball of anxiety...an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. All of that made for great comedy, and the Barney Fife character is one of the greatest in TV history, but Thelma Lou dodged a bullet by not ending up with Barney.

[@RobPento]

2:38 Sums it up well. I agree. Sorry, i don't feel sorry for him.

[@ttuny1412]

I've only seen this episode once and still remember Barney's heartbreak when he finds out Thelma Lou is married. I did feel it was Barney's fault for the way he treated her during the previous seasons and leaving Mayberry without a thought for her or keeping in touch.

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for sharing!

[@benitanichols8136]

The saddest episode is the one in which Opie accidently killed a mother bird.

[@deeceea9488]

Barney Fife was a great character but, let's face it, he was a jerk. Totally oblivious to his own incompetence, he was a whiny braggart, completely self centered, reliant on Andy for pretty much everything (even most of his meals), and incapable of even the simplest act of kindness without making it about him. Don Knotts was brilliant. I would imagine he got tired of playing the boob constantly.

[@jdsundstrom]

Yep. Don Knotts was brilliant. Despite all of those horrible character traits, he somehow made us care about the character.

[@patmelton43]

Barney was a jerk.

[@philfierro4356]

Yeah Barney Blew It…So Thelma Nipped It Nipped At The Bub ! 😂

[@tanyahardy5065]

Nipped it IN THE BUD.

[@dwade6322]

The point of this episode was 'Sometimes you don't get a 2nd chance'..Or in Barney's case a 100th chance.😮

[@GhostofMrsMuir1443]

Watched Andy Griffith every day with my mom during the last month of her life. I’m not sure she enjoyed it; she was very sick.

[@NotData]

Let's not forget the cop out ending where another woman at the reunion none of us ever heard of says she had a crush on Barney for many years.

[@jdsundstrom]

You're right. A total cop-out. I don't think the writers could come up with a fitting way to end the episode...but, that wasn't it.

[@dstrau7987]

One observation is that this wasn't their 20th high school reunion since they graduated in '48 according to the sign, and the episode aired in early '66. I remember thinking that detail was a bit odd.

[@jdsundstrom]

The show was quite loose with certain timelines.

[@44macymoo]

I agree that is a sad episode for Barney.

[@docadams7099]

Funny that, in 1963, they did a high school reunion episode for the class of 1945, which included Andy and Barney. Did they graduate TWICE from Mayberry Union High?

[@jdsundstrom]

I think the writers on the show believed that viewers had short memories. Additionally, I don't think they could have ever imagined how long the show would play in reruns.

[@only257]

Great episode 😊

[@myrtleborodziuk7163]

I loved the show the timing was always spot on especially for Barney.

[@megnakamura7652]

Another sad aspect of this episode is when Barney admits to Andy that his job isn’t really as great as he makes it out to be. You can tell that he really regrets taking the job and leaving Mayberry.

[@zorro149]

Even in black and white, Thelma Lou was a looker. Betty Lynn was one pretty lady.

[@SV-DEDICATED]

Thanks Dave.

[@broncobilly4029]

I agree with others. "Opie the Birdman" was the saddest show. I can still hear those little baby birds (Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod) just chirping away, calling for their mother, who will never return. Darn that Opie! Darn him!

[@Rukey1982]

Barney was so self-absorbed. Hilarious character, but I was not sad at all. Happy for Thelma Lou!!!

[@libertygiveme1987]

😢Yes, it was a sad one, but I don't believe it was the saddest. When Opie ran away from home because of his Grades. That was a REAL TEAR JERKER too!!!!

[@mymix1880]

Great video. Thank you. It was sad. Melanie

[@jdsundstrom]

You're very welcome. 🙂

[@donnicholas7552]

It was a very sad episode, but Barney was to blame for the outcome. I never much liked the color episodes either. It was always a treat when Don Knotts made a guest appearance though.

[@starclone4]

This episode was a hard one to handle.... But, That`s why we should never that anyone for granted !!!! 😔

[@allenfurlanhair3803]

Also , the Mr. Mcbeeve one where Andy says I believe in Opie, almost always makes me cry. I think that was the hallmark episode of the series….

[@bryantlane8646]

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE..,HE LOST A DIAMOND..NOT IN THE ROUGH BUT A BRILLIANT DIAMOND FROM HEAVEN TO MAYBERRY AMEN.DR.BRYANT LANE.

[@TheNedH]

I love the continuity issues with the show. I don't even see them as flaws -- I just love noticing them. In the [FANTASTIC] episode "Class Reunion", Thelma Lou is not among their classmates. What's more, in another episode, Barney states that he and Thelma Lou met at a funeral. I really don't blame the show. Writers back then didn't worry much about these things and had no idea that we'd still be watching the show and analyzing it 60 years later.

[@myronbedner989]

The Guy Thelma Lou got married to looked like the guy that played Burke the guy that ran the freight office on Gunsmoke. Just my thoughts. I mean I could be wrong.

[@Awaywrdson]

Thelma Lou was the prettiest one in Mayberry !! Was always surprised her and Barney never married before it went off air. And the reruns never show the colored episodes only black and white.

[@ddog5858]

Thelma Lou was so beautiful!

[@1939otto]

I only watch the shows that are black and white. That's the ones I like, but my wife likes the ones in color also, so I have to do something else until the finale. Then it's time to start over and I'm happy.

[@jdsundstrom]

I'm with you. The black and white ones are better. That said, there are a few of the color episodes, like "The Return of Barney Fife", that I enjoy.

[@jonnyquatromusic]

In “Andy and Opie’s Pal” Barney reveals that he’s known Juanita since at least 1952, and we all know he didn’t meet Thelma Lou until 1960. So Barney’s true love was Juanita, but for some reason he didn’t feel he could be with her, so he tried (unsuccessfully) to fill the void with other women, such as Miss Rosemary, Hilda Mae, Thelma Lou, etc. but he kept going back to Juanita. I think Thelma Lou knew about Juanita (heck, even Opie knew about Juanita) and turned a blind eye to it due to her love for Barney, prompting him to think he had her “in his hip pocket.” Finally, enough was enough. Barney wouldn’t or couldn’t forget Juanita and commit to Thelma Lou, so she moved on.

[@willswalkingwest7267]

Thelma Lou was the prettiest girl in Mayberry.

[@jdsundstrom]

Much prettier than Helen Crump for sure!

[@johnbeechy]

speaking of Sad, i just found out David Soul passed away a few days ago (in London). Starsky & Hutch seasons 1 -4 r available on youtube and i just finished them, a couple of days before David's passing. // thanks for dropping the use of color does not always play well

[@jameshale6401]

Liking black and white epps more then color is equal to liking the show without barney

[@TaDarling1]

I never regarded that particular episode as being all that sad. I thought it was poetic justice for Thelma Lou. I was in grade school when this episode aired and I remember thinking that it was crazy of Barney to assume that after years of not seeing or even keeping in contact with Thelma Lou, that she'd be chomping at the bit to settle down with him.

[@zoperxplex]

Didn't Barney leave Mayberry to work for the state police?

[@jdsundstrom]

Yep. Up in Raleigh, NC.

[@only257]

@@jdsundstromcool😊

[@marcdewey1242]

Even after moving on to his big job in Raleigh, producers still presented Barney as a bumbling moron ,being mistreated and disrespected by his fellow police officers.

[@ElevenElevenSaturday]

@@marcdewey1242Well, you knew that wouldn’t change. There are plenty people who move up in the world but they are still kind-of bumbled. People can get promoted to better jobs but the personality doesn’t change. I think Barney had enough aptitude to function and be gainfully employed, even in a “big-time city”, but he still lacked in other areas of life…which is probably why he was incapable of finding a wife to settle down with. He knew Thelma Lou was his best bet, but he was holding off for something better.

[@larrygray3765]

But in that episode, Barney found a former classmate, Nettie Albright, that really liked him. So I think that really lifted Barney's spirits after he found out that Thelma Lou was married.

[@ThePracticalMiss]

I always thought it would have been so great for Barney and Thelma Lou to get married and have a son that acted just like him, what a hoot that would have been, it could have went in a direction that could have lasted and been tons of fun to watch, what a shame it had to end that way. And I never did consider the Andy Griffith Reunion shows as even a part of the series so to me Barney and Thelma Lou getting married when they were old was a bust.

[@markcarter9118]

i disagree that he was a jerk to her. the character was unique and over and over he showed his affectionate toward her

[@jackkircher1755]

Betty Lynn was the last adult cast member of the show to pass and thatcwas quite recently.

[@jdsundstrom]

It was tough to see her leave us.

[@andrewpotok2661]

Very

[@lindamichael7903]

Barney said he had Thelma Lou in his hip pocket she must of gotten out

[@kc0lif]

the color episodes seemed like showed other people than andy more. barney learned his lesson.