Latest / Nip It in the Bud! / Episode 3: The Manhunt

Transcript

Episode 3: The Manhunt · Nip It in the Bud!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Down in Mayberry, things are just grand.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's the friendliest little podcast in the land.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Nip It in the Bud.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_03: Hi everybody, welcome back to Nip It in the Bud, our Andy Griffith retrospective podcast.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_03: I'm Paul.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm Tim.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_03: And Tim, we're talking about already we're on to episode two, Manhunt.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I can't wait to talk about this one, Paul.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Lots of good elements, lots of good fun.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of great character actors showed up in this one, and some of them, like Bert Mustin, will be around for a long time in the whole series.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_03: So looking forward to talking about them.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh if if anybody doesn't know that name, Bert Mustin, he is the fellow who plays I think Judd Fletcher.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Fletcher is his name.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think sometimes in the show he's also known as Bert.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: But he's a guy who looked old forever.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: And he was, you know, had some great roles on All in the Family, and was on many movies and TV series.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, and even on the tonight's show with Johnny Carson, he just is somebody, like you said, he was old forever, and yeah, just thought he'd always be around.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Great, great character actor.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, like you're saying, I think there were a lot of firsts in this episode as far as the um side players, some of the characters from the town who showed up uh like Otis Campbell.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Otis's debut.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I guess we should talk a little bit about the premise of this one.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: Well, they open it uh in Franklin, Franklin Canyon Reservoir in Los Angeles, which obviously on the show is not Los Angeles, but that's where they were in real life, and they're fishing.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: They're fishing, and Andy is using some of their ham sandwich as bait.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And they hope he's asking him, why are we doing that?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because it looks like part of our lunch.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think this this was actually a great bit of writing there to kind of give us a little more clue into Andy's character, that he's he's kind of trying to feel think like a fish, right?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: He's saying maybe these fish are getting tired of worms and bugs and everything else.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they'd like a little bit of ham.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And we see that a little bit later in the episode, because the the part uh or or how this is setting up the rest of the story is the rest of the story is about the manhunt where there's an escaped convict from the state prison.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: What was cool about this is uh and or uh Opie thinks Andy is just so smart when he puts his his uh bait in the water and almost immediately catches a fish with the ham.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_03: I think the two big kind of recurring thought themes that were set up right there was one, Opie complimenting Andy constantly about how smart he was, and then there's a leak in the boat, which turns out to be a very important, very important part of the story that that boat has holes in it.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it all seems very innocuous at the beginning.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, oh, that's kind of funny, you know, they get it, row back to shore because the boat is leaking, and that's the end of fishing for the day.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: But that's uh it's actually at that time, and I thought it was interesting uh that Andy does the labor of actually pulling the boat off into the woods or off onto the side, and there's no stunt man, there's no help for him.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Opie's actually pushing on one end and he's pulling on the other end.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Kinda cool to see.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_03: And then Barney shows up in the police car, and Barney is very still very formal in the second episode, calling Andy Sheriff.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Calling him sheriff.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: But oh, I mean this this was classic.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: This was actually my favorite part of the whole episode where he where he comes speeding up and screeching on the brakes and yelling out, sheriff, sheriff, sheriff, and and the whole thing uh about it's big, it's big, Andy.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Or no, he he doesn't even call him Andy, does he?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_03: What is it?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: Won't say, just keep saying it's big.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's big.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And and it's so comedic, so classic uh Barney Fife.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: It seems to me almost from the beginning, Don Knotts really understood that character of Barney Fife.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: He did, and and yeah, this is the second straight episode where there's the reference to them being cousins because Andy said called him his cousin, and uh kind of you know, was you know complimenting us, you know, how well he's doing as a deputy.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_03: And uh so that's two weeks in a row that we uh hear about cu the their cousins, something that has kind of dropped off, you know, in later years.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I think I can't remember a time when they mention it again.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_03: We know there's a roadblock and the state police are coming to town.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then I I mean that's that was another part that just really tickled me was how when the uh state police guys come into town, they they are coming in force.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: They've got a escort, they're like three squad cars, three or four squad cars, and they're all marching up there uh looking very official and very authoritative, you might say.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_03: You know, Barty kind of is in a panic telling people get off the streets and causing mass panic.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: But then we see Otis is in the cell, and and uh, you know, I guess Barney's a little concerned that if Andy lets Otis out, or Otis lets himself out, that uh there's you know it's gonna look bad when the state police get there and see an empty jail.
• 7:06
  unknown: Yeah.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Barney is so much about appearances, wanting things to look uh very official, very uh uh up and up and coming, up to date, I guess you'd say.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: But that whole bit with Otis was uh pretty comical because that's the first time we see anybody in the cells, and he lets himself out, and there's no talk about it.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he just says, Andy, can I go now?
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: And and he says, Yeah.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so you see him go over to the wall and get the keys and let himself out.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I just cracked up watching that because where else, right?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_03: Where else would he have the show?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_03: You know what was what I got a kick out of too was because you know Barney kind of wanted Otis to stay that Otis said he had choir practice.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_03: I I just can't picture Otis singing.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_03: Can't either.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: I can't either.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_03: And this kind of started another um the first for uh something that was recurring was how many bullets that Barty carries with him.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, because like you're saying, he he's getting in a panic because he knows the state troopers are coming and he's looking, where's where are my arms?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: And he can't uh can't locate a a bullet.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: And Andy says old gets out uh a box of bullets from his desk and says, Well, you better load up, Barney.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, he lets them load the entire gun.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't believe it.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I didn't remember that uh he ever let him load all the way up, but he he said there might be some shooting, so you better load up.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And and he does, and before you know it, we have another first with Barney's first accidental firing of the gun inside the courthouse.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, that poor floor and ceiling and everything else that Barney's done damaged.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh, yeah, yeah.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: So uh lots of lots of firsts just in that kind of open or one of the opening scenes, I guess it wasn't the opening scene, but early on in the episode, we see Otis Campbell, we see Barney loading his gun, and accidentally shooting off his gun.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: So you can't beat that for a scene.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, the state police captain Ken Lynch, uh one of the all-time great character actors, and the the thing I always remember about Ken is that his voice, he has one of the best authoritative gravelly voices.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_03: And he was in a um a reference to an All in the Family again.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_03: He played a policeman in All in the Family uh uh when Archie got uh got arrested for trying to pick Mike and Lionel up at a protest, and he ended up getting arrested.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_03: And that that voice on him is just incredible.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: I totally agree, Paul.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Totally agree.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: He's the classic character.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: If if I think of anybody from that era as an authority figure, it would be Ken Lynch.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I mean he plays the part of the hilt in this episode when all the state troopers come in and they're just taking over the courthouse, barely acknowledging the fact that Andy and Barney are there.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna set their stuff up, they're going to do this and do that, and there's Ken Lynch as Captain Barker, the the guy who's in charge of the whole uh situation.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I I I didn't actually look, but I I'm quite sure he appears in later episodes too, as other uh authority figure type characters too, doesn't he?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_03: And he was always uh always angry about something, but what's interesting in this episode is he kind of turns that around and actually it's kind of pleasant.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but for a long time he's angry, especially when he, along with the rest of the state police, literally take over Andy's office.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: And he really doesn't want any interference from Andy and Barney.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: He said, You guys can just kind of attend to your local affairs while we do our thing, more or less.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: And uh that that didn't sit too well with uh Andy and Barney.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think Andy was probably taken a little aback, but uh Barney didn't care for it.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: And and the word gets around town, too, right?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_03: It does.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_03: And and Andy um was kind of, you know, as we s we talked about the last couple weeks, is he's you know just making all the jokes.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: He's really plays dumb.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um we know he's not dumb, and I think Opie him you know praising him as the smartest guy around was uh good, but it's so interesting when you look like looking back, knowing thinking, wow, Andy really uh you know, was was the whole comedy act for the most part.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and we we got a glimpse of that when the state troopers come in and they get out their map, which is magnetic, right?
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And they've got uh little magnetic uh I think they called them buttons, but we would think of them as as pins.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: And Andy's just kind of not awestruck, but uh kind of interested in that.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: He's curious about their map and he makes a couple comments about it, and and then he says, Well, yeah, maybe you better get back to your briefing here to Captain Barker.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, that was that was fun.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: That was a fun little comic bit where like Ken Lynch's character is exasperated, like, we gotta get down to work here, and you're playing around with our buttons on the map.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_03: And he Andy uh is telling him, you know, this you're blocking all the main roads, but there's tons of uh these side roads.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, you you should be looking there, but Captain doesn't want to hear anything about that.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, because he's the authority, he's the authority figure, and they've got their procedures, right?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he's he's putting the uh uh the magnetic cars onto the map, and so we're gonna have a roadblock here and here and here and here.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it was like he's he's got it all laid out, all planned.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: He doesn't want to hear an uh thing from the local yokels.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: But that it's it's an instance where kind of going back to the opening with the ham sandwich trying to catch the fish, that he's thinking more like a criminal, I guess in this case, trying to think, well, I wouldn't come in by the main road.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, he makes some joke about that, that uh, well, I wouldn't expect to catch this criminal on the uh main roads unless he's coming in on the bus.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_03: And and you know, we get a visit from Aunt B and Opie that is really embarrassing for uh it's embarrassing to watch it because Aunt B has a roast in the oven and she wants Andy to come home.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_03: She's because he gets I guess he gets real mean when he which is hard to believe, but he gets really mean when he's hungry.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'd we'd call it hangry now, I guess.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we would.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: But at that time, uh she's she's saying, Oh, you boys don't want to be around Andy.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a bear backing into a beehive or something.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: That if he doesn't dinner on time.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it's embarrassing, it's kind of cringe worthy for us watching it, but it's also funny.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_03: It is very funny.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_03: And and Barney actually loses all of his remaining bullets with another another uh misfire.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: He didn't have them long.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't yeah, he didn't get to keep them long.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: I guess, yeah, that's when he does the misfire, wasn't it?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: When Ant Aunt B and Opie came into the courthouse.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: He's all wound up.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: But that's that's so great, too, that uh Barney has kind of that escalation of first there's the excitement and and then just kind of the over over-the-top uh response that Barney has to it.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_03: You know, an odd part of this one uh is that they're sitting in the squad car since they're kind of left out of this whole manhunt, and and the townspeople all gather around.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_03: They're not you know, especially um Bert Mustin gets one of the you know, I guess the most talking lines, but uh townspeople very critical.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not used to seeing that.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Very unusual that they would be critical, and they're well, they're wondering why uh the Mayberry team is not part of the roadblock, and Andy tries to come up with reasons, but it's bothering him, right?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's not happy about it at that point because they're sitting in the squad car listening on the radio because that's their only option, but he wants to take some action now.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: He wants to prove that yeah, the local guys can do their part too.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: And Opie defends Andy in front of all those locals, which is you know, it kind of shows his feistiness.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Right, and it harkens back to being in the fishing boat.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: That hey, my my paw's the best sheriff in the town, in the state, in the you know, in the world, whatever.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, Opie's gonna defend his dad to the last.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's behind him a thousand percent.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: And and then they decide they Andy makes a decision, you know, we're we're getting in charge, gives Barney his bullets back.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_03: I thought a very uh uh surprising scene that you don't see much of is Andy puts on a gun belt.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, I noticed that too, now that you say it.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: That that was very unusual.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't remember that that was part of it, but yeah, he was taking it pretty seriously himself.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: Usually, like if he had to grab a gun, he'd grab something from the the gun rack, uh, you know, a long gun.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_03: But he uh he put on the he put on the holster, you know, and the whole belt.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_03: And uh and then they start pulling over people and kind of have their own roadblock, but how about uh Barney uh frisking his mother?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know that we ever saw his mother again that I can remember.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't remember that either.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: That that bit just kind of floored me.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um because he he uh starts well he he one of the per people he pulled over was the mayor.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, uh you know the mayor doesn't have any lines, but you can tell he's really put out by Barney pulling him over, even though he knows obviously who he is.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you don't see his mother at first, but then she turns around and says, But Barney, I'm your mother.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I couldn't help but think that if Andy and Barney are cousins, then Andy would be related to Barney's mother, too.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_03: It's just interesting that this mother just I think it just kind of fit in for the that he'd basically frisk his own mother.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, that the mayor, now there's several mayors that have been on the show.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: This in these early seasons, the mayor plays a bigger role where he's kind of you know giving Andy uh hard time in some episodes.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: But this mayor, Dick Elliott, he wasn't one of my favorites, uh, even though he didn't say anything in this one.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: I like the you know the uh the future mayor, but uh it just just I guess he had to have a boss, so they have a mayor in there.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so yeah, we're getting to know some more of the townspeople, like uh Bert Musta and the mayor, and we see Emma Brand again in this episode.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, who appeared uh last time because Barney handcuffed her and brought her into the jail uh for jaywalking, but this time she has uh a much more important role in the plot.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: And he also pulls over um Cal, who another another long career, Norman Levitt, who was in film and TV, uh in uh just about everything, and lived to be in his uh uh early 90s, uh just like Bert Mustin.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: So he uh he was really good.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: But but yeah, Barney kind of or I don't know if he stumbled upon the convict or the convict stumbles upon him.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, Barney I think is taking a break right from uh his his uh checkpoint.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I I hesitate to call it a roadblock because it was just him out on this uh old country road, but you see the convict uh kind of moving down the hill.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um Surreptitiously, you might say, trying to sneak up behind Barney.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Barney's uh there wiping his brow, and and before you know it, he's he's taken Barney's gun.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: He's got him the next thing you see is Barney all tied up.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, one uh other trivy item with uh the actor Frank Gerstel played Derkson that convict.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um he he passed away only at the age of 54, but he had an extensive film and television career.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_03: And one of the uh not trivial items is in the classic film DOA for Dead on Arrival, he played the doctor in that uh film.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I just thought that was interesting that he looked so familiar and um and well he sure looked like a tough convict in this episode.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he was totally believable.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and and the next time we see him is in this in this episode is uh when Andy has the brainwave that uh once he unties Barney and uh Barney's up and around again, that uh he says yeah, it'd be hard for any convict to go by Emma Brand's house without smelling the pies that she puts out every day.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: And that kind of leads them into the scene where uh they go visit Emma uh with the intent of letting her know to be on the lookout.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but as it turns out, Andy gets suspicious when he talks to her.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_03: You know what's interesting too is like in the lead up to that, when he tells he has to tell the state police captain that they had the convict, but he uh he you know he never told the captain that that when he got away that he had now had Barney's gun.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I thought that was and he made a big joke about the whole thing, like laughing and like it was all funny, and the the captain, of course, was done with him.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_03: Right and didn't want to have anything to do with him.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: Andy says something like, Well, we made contact with the criminal, and and uh Ken Lynch, the captain, gets all excited.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, have you got him?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, no, we kind of made uncontact with him.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: And and uh the captain's all disgusted with him.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but but that's where the uh the captain 10-4s him and just kind of puts an end to the conversation, and Andy's a little put out by that.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't like getting 10-4 that way.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: But they go they go to visit Emma, and Andy has a suspicion that the convict's in the house, and then we actually see Well, she acts so nervous.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_03: You could tell something's wrong, and then when he asks her, how's your sciatica?
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_03: and she says, Fine, he knows that's that's not normal for Emma.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because normally you get the sense she would just go on and on about how how bad her sciatica is and all this and that.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: Just anything you would talk to her about sounded like she she would have a lot more to say about it.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: But no, she doesn't.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_03: What's so funny is that when Andy says to her, you know, just if he does come around, don't tell him that my boat's down there.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_03: And and you and her eyes were she's she's like rolling her eyes, trying to let him know there's somebody here, and and she just gets so disgusted that like that he's so stupid for telling all that.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_03: And and the and and uh the convict loved it.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_03: He was like, Oh, your sheriff's really helpful.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, isn't that great?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, oh what a uh another classic scene.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and and just by the way, before I forget, I wanted to mention that two things that uh this episode actually this episode um won a Writers Guild award for best comedy writing for a TV series.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and understandable.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this episode had everything.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um but the other little tidbit of trivia I picked up was that uh Andy Griffith and the creative team, the writers, and a few other people, really wanted this to be the first episode.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, really?
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: Because of the way it showcased Barney Fife and Don Knox.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but uh the network overruled them.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted the more homey um episode that we talked about last week with the new housekeeper.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: They thought that would be more family friendly and uh better way to start.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, for pure comic credibility or whatever you want to call it, uh this episode really had it all.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: And and people recognized it, I think.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_03: You know, because what's what's fun about this one is when he's telling Emma about that boat and then made such a big deal about it having those holes in it, you know.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_03: In your mind, you're thinking, how smart he is, you know, really like he's you know, the guy's not gonna get away.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_03: He's laying the trap for him, right?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_03: And then he lets the captain know, but that the the the captain um you know, he he once he hears he's got him, he brings the whole force.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: He does.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: But he has to pick up Opie to uh how do I get there?
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_03: He can't explain it to him.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_03: Go pick up my son.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_03: Do we have enough time?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah, you have enough time.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: That was great.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: So the next thing we see is all of the uh state troopers uh just kind of barreling down the road and coming to a screeching stop where Andy and Barney are watching the convict in the boat.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_03: And and he's in the boat, and he's I guess you could say he's getting away.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not sure where he could go, how big that little lake is that they would have to worry about.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_03: It's not a motored boat, and uh that wants them to pull out the rifles and kill the guy.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, incredible.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_03: What threat is he on the boat?
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_03: There's nobody around.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_03: He doesn't even know he has a gun at that point because they Andy never told him.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_03: Miracle.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but you don't, you know, yeah, he wants him shot.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh the captain asks one of the uh other officers there if he could get him with a high-powered scope, and and he's got it pointed down that direction, and Andy just points the gun down and then he says, There's no need for that.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: He's gonna have to come back.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's where the captain kind of lays into Andy about being incompetent and a fool.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_03: Calls him a fool.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, calls him a fool.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_03: And he's gonna throw, he's gonna go when he gets back to the Capitol, he's gonna have Andy thrown out.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_03: Thrown out, yeah.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: And Andy doesn't respond, but at that point, Opie jumps in Oh Pa, you know, or up to the biggest thing.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_03: The boat's sinking, and uh you're right, and Opie's kind of saying, You did that, uh, your you know, uh intentionally, basically.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_03: You let him ride, you know, get in it.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: And and so, I mean, that's that was great writing, actually, opinion.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: That that they had to get Opie there, and one of the reasons why was well somebody had to get the captain there.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_01: He could have had well, maybe Aunt B would know how to get there, but Opie had just been there that morning going fishing, so he knew the way.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: And uh that that was really fun.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_03: And and when altogether the captain sends everybody down to to grab the convict as he's sinking in the lake, uh the audience claps.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: You notice as they go to commercial, and you know, there's no audience on this show since it's not filmed in front of a live audience.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's a one-camera show.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I thought that was interesting that in these this is something else that goes away when you look at newer seasons of the show.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_03: You never hear a pause and things that don't really fit in because there's no audience.
• 32:12
  unknown: Right.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_03: We're the audience.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_03: Watch it on television, we're the audience.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, but we're laughing right along with uh everybody and you know, cheering for him at the end.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I I mean the final scene was fantastic too.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: What a turnaround by the captain.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he goes saying, I'm gonna get you drummed out as sheriff to complimenting Andy.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Pleasure working with him, he says.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I get him a citation.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, Andy really what's he really wants.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: He yeah, he says, Oh, you don't need to do that.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_01: But uh I wouldn't mind getting one of those maps.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: With those sticky buttons.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: With the sticky buttons, yeah.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I uh I came across a little tidbit about that too, Paul, that that that very map makes an appearance later in the show.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: It it actually is on the wall in the courthouse.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, his so his gifts or his reward.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, um Barney then goes up to the convict sitting in the car and really lets him kind of talk really tough to him.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_03: Twirling his pistol and everything, and uh then he ends up hurting his finger by doing that.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh another, I mean, what a great way to end it with some physical comedy from Don Knott's getting his fingers all balled up in his weapon, and Andy's trying to get him get it out of his hand.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: Barney's just struggling.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I think to myself, I couldn't do that.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, i Don Knodz was just pure genius in being able to do uh a physical comedy like that.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: That and what episode.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: What a great episode!
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, a lot of fun.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, great.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um nice to see I love when he indie outsmarts those you know big shots like that.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_03: And with uh, you know, you know, he's not as dumb as they think he is.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: He's not dumb at all.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: Also, next time the episode is the guitar player with James Best, I believe is his name, as the really awesome guitar player.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, good.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_03: So that's it's kind of a different, totally different turn from a manhunt to it, you know.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_03: That's what's so great about the show that uh you have that kind of homespun stories, and then you still have there's still law enforcement.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's just good from all directions, it seems like.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I will be looking forward to talking with you about the guitar player next week.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_03: I agree, and we just, as Barney would say, we just need to nip it in the bud, Tim.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_03: Well, lots of luck to you and yours, Paul.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_03: You too, and thanks everybody for listening.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_03: See you next week.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode of Nip It in the Bud, you might also like our other show.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: G, our old LaSalle, ran great.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: An all in the family podcast, available wherever you listen to your podcasts.