Every time Barney begins to act authoritatively, he forgets reality. When two big time criminals are housed in the jail, he can't sit back. He has to reveal to these men what an idiot he can be. Not only that, he deputizes Gomer who looks like he finished tenth in an IQ contest. Anyway, to be serious, if someone were to act like Barney in this situation, he would be fired in minutes.
6 Reviews
Keystone Cops
greggaver27 March 2019
This is a good episode proves if Andy wasn't around Barney could never keep prisoners locked up. There are 2 robbers the State police leave at the jail while looking for 2 others. Barney make Gomer a deputy & this just adds to the comedy of errors & goof ups! Andy puts Gomer on roof as a lookout position & he drops his gun & it breaks not a big surprise. So Andy tells Barney to stay with Gomer in hopes this will keep them out of trouble. Well 2 state police come back in hopes the prisoners friends will try to break them out. So they take position next to jail & Barney sees them, thinks they are the other robbers & arrest them. Barney won't listen to them when they try to explain who they are. As Barney puts them in a cell there friends take Barney's gun & puts him in the cell too. Surprise! Surprise! Well Andy saves the day again & arrest all 4 as they try to escape,as Andy walks in with them he says great plan Barney we got them all! This is so the state police think Barney is a smart cop & looks like the hero. Seeing George Kennedy early in his career was like so many other actors on the show who became famous stars.
Hilarious episode to end solid season 3
vitoscotti30 April 2022
Barney & Gomer form a true classic comedy team. One is dumber than the other. Neither should be 10 miles from a sheriff's office. The writers really triumph nailing their strong points in non-stop comedy. George Kennedy and Billy Halop are familiar faces to classic TV viewers. Never understood the jail keys hanging that inmates could reach them. One of Don Knotts' best Barney Fife episodes. Keeping prisoners from escaping isn't one of his strong suits. Curious the title? Is "Big House" mentioned? Barney refers to the jail as "The Rock" . One of the best epilogues so far. I rated season 3 an 8.2 out of 10. Slightly better than season 2's 8.
Wonderful Gomer Pyle Goofiness
chashans24 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
This is an absolutely terrific episode filled with many funny moments as well as great performances from the regular cast and all the guest actors.
One of those great performances comes from actor Jim Nabors as acting-deputy, Gomer Pyle. Gomer's bumbling as a deputy manages to out-do Barney's bumbling. Well... almost out-does him anyway. When you take a moment to consider all the bumbling deputy goofiness, you start questioning Sheriff Taylor's patterns of decision making.
IMO, the Gomer Pyle character was so much better as well as so much more endearing, here on The Andy Griffith Show than how he was written (and performed, frankly) on Nabors' own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle U. S. M. C..
One of my favorite silly images of all TAGS episodes, is the sight Andy and Barney see when they are standing outside the Courthouse and look up to the building's roofline. There they see Gomer's legs jutting out from over the roof as Gomer (apparently) enjoys a nice lie down for an afternoon's nap. Then, after Barney yells up to the slumbering Gomer, rousing him awake, Gomer's deputy's rifle comes flying off the roof, falling to Andy and Barney's feet.
There is the glaring "goofy" moment when Barney, who one moment is standing up on the roof of the courthouse, suddenly shows up, impossibly, in the alley behind the two FBI agents he mistakes as being crooks. Perhaps he borrowed a transporter from Star Trek's USS Enterprise! Afterall, Captain Kirk and crew "borrowed" the town of Mayberry on several episodes of that series.
Another goofy moment comes toward the end of the episode when the four crooks are outside, escaping the jail. They come running out of the jail and Sheriff Taylor discovers them and yells for them to stop. Then Gomer's rifle falls from the roof (again!) followed by a bunch of big Christmas decoration lightbulbs that smash on the sidewalk, sounding like a machine gun rattling off a round of bullets. The goofy part is that as this incredible commotion is occuring, a citizen of Mayberry can be seen, reflected in the window behind Andy, casually taking a nice, pleasant stroll along the sidewalk across the street from the courthouse. He's not the least bit interested in or concerned by all the incredible action that's taking place right there and then!
This "citizen" might be an extra on the set. Or he might be a member of the show's film crew. Whoever he is, he's not paying attention to the filming on the set. Regardless, this man's reflection in the window is obvious and an instant distraction. There would have been no way at the time for anyone on the set to see that this refection had occured and that it was on film right over Andy Griffith's shoulder. So, just an interesting (again IMO) goofy moment.
Oh. Just one more thing. Another reviewer of this episode, vitoscotti, writes that they are curious regarding the episode title. They write that Barney mentions, "The Rock", which pertains to the infamous prison, Alcatraz. Then they wonder if "The Big House" is ever mentioned. Yes, Barney does indeed say it. He does so toward the end of the opening scene. So prior to Gomer's initial debut in his deputy uniform.
A very memorable and very excellent episode of The Andy Griffith Show. 10/10.
One of those great performances comes from actor Jim Nabors as acting-deputy, Gomer Pyle. Gomer's bumbling as a deputy manages to out-do Barney's bumbling. Well... almost out-does him anyway. When you take a moment to consider all the bumbling deputy goofiness, you start questioning Sheriff Taylor's patterns of decision making.
IMO, the Gomer Pyle character was so much better as well as so much more endearing, here on The Andy Griffith Show than how he was written (and performed, frankly) on Nabors' own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle U. S. M. C..
One of my favorite silly images of all TAGS episodes, is the sight Andy and Barney see when they are standing outside the Courthouse and look up to the building's roofline. There they see Gomer's legs jutting out from over the roof as Gomer (apparently) enjoys a nice lie down for an afternoon's nap. Then, after Barney yells up to the slumbering Gomer, rousing him awake, Gomer's deputy's rifle comes flying off the roof, falling to Andy and Barney's feet.
There is the glaring "goofy" moment when Barney, who one moment is standing up on the roof of the courthouse, suddenly shows up, impossibly, in the alley behind the two FBI agents he mistakes as being crooks. Perhaps he borrowed a transporter from Star Trek's USS Enterprise! Afterall, Captain Kirk and crew "borrowed" the town of Mayberry on several episodes of that series.
Another goofy moment comes toward the end of the episode when the four crooks are outside, escaping the jail. They come running out of the jail and Sheriff Taylor discovers them and yells for them to stop. Then Gomer's rifle falls from the roof (again!) followed by a bunch of big Christmas decoration lightbulbs that smash on the sidewalk, sounding like a machine gun rattling off a round of bullets. The goofy part is that as this incredible commotion is occuring, a citizen of Mayberry can be seen, reflected in the window behind Andy, casually taking a nice, pleasant stroll along the sidewalk across the street from the courthouse. He's not the least bit interested in or concerned by all the incredible action that's taking place right there and then!
This "citizen" might be an extra on the set. Or he might be a member of the show's film crew. Whoever he is, he's not paying attention to the filming on the set. Regardless, this man's reflection in the window is obvious and an instant distraction. There would have been no way at the time for anyone on the set to see that this refection had occured and that it was on film right over Andy Griffith's shoulder. So, just an interesting (again IMO) goofy moment.
Oh. Just one more thing. Another reviewer of this episode, vitoscotti, writes that they are curious regarding the episode title. They write that Barney mentions, "The Rock", which pertains to the infamous prison, Alcatraz. Then they wonder if "The Big House" is ever mentioned. Yes, Barney does indeed say it. He does so toward the end of the opening scene. So prior to Gomer's initial debut in his deputy uniform.
A very memorable and very excellent episode of The Andy Griffith Show. 10/10.
Bonehead Barney, the Bumbling Buffoon
pmike-1131212 July 2023
I generally enjoy the Barney Fife character on TAGS, but there are times Don Knotts' wonderful portrayal goes too far (he makes the writer's over-the-top idiocy too realistic!). This is one of those episodes where I'd love to see Andy knock Barney around and call him out for his stupidity. Or simply fire the nitwit and be done with it!
I generally enjoy the Barney Fife character on TAGS, but there are times Don Knotts' wonderful portrayal goes too far (he makes the writer's over-the-top idiocy too realistic!). This is one of those episodes where I'd love to see Andy knock Barney around and call him out for his stupidity. Or simply fire the nitwit and be done with it!
I generally enjoy the Barney Fife character on TAGS, but there are times Don Knotts' wonderful portrayal goes too far (he makes the writer's over-the-top idiocy too realistic!). This is one of those episodes where I'd love to see Andy knock Barney around and call him out for his stupidity. Or simply fire the nitwit and be done with it!
BARNEY IS PATHETIC!
JSGal24 May 2021
I am beginning to get weary of watching Barney mess up every time there are actual criminals involved! Every time Andy has to step in and spare Barney's reputation. In real life his job would have been terminated shortly after he was hired. I much more enjoy the episodes that feature Andy and his romantic interests, or just his family.
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