In the episode where Barney get's caught cooking in his room and thrown out of his boarding house, he has to go live in the back room of the courthouse.

Thelma Lou comes to visit him at the courthouse, at night, and Andy arrives to discover the two of them and Barney is all covered with lipstick.

HELLO? Thelma Lou has a house!! Seems like she could cover him with lipstick at her own house at least as well as she could at the court house


https://i.imgur.com/OmlXyJ8.jpg

In the episode where Barney get's caught cooking in his room and thrown out of his boarding house, he has to go live in the back room of the courthouse.

Thelma Lou comes to visit him at the courthouse, at night, and Andy arrives to discover the two of them and Barney is all covered with lipstick.

HELLO? Thelma Lou has a house!! Seems like she could cover him with lipstick at her own house at least as well as she could at the court house


https://i.imgur.com/OmlXyJ8.jpg

Good point. One of the oddities of the Mayberry universe was the fact that single women all seemed to live in houses. Thelma Lou, Helen, Peggy, Mary and I think even Ellie resided in a house. Why would they need all that space? And keep in mind that with the exception of Thelma Lou, these women were new in town.

Another girlfriend issue for Barney, he was obviously gun shy with respect to marriage, he had a girlfriend who was no spring chicken, why would he get everyone (especially his girlfriend) excited about the prospect of Andy getting married? He had to know whatever goes around comes around, and he wanted no part of that topic coming around to him!

In the episode where Barney get's caught cooking in his room and thrown out of his boarding house, he has to go live in the back room of the courthouse.

Thelma Lou comes to visit him at the courthouse, at night, and Andy arrives to discover the two of them and Barney is all covered with lipstick.

HELLO? Thelma Lou has a house!! Seems like she could cover him with lipstick at her own house at least as well as she could at the court house


https://i.imgur.com/OmlXyJ8.jpg

When this episode aired, had it been established that Thelma Lou lived in a house alone? I always thought it was farfetched for a young woman of that era to be living in house alone unless maybe she inherited the home. We never knew what type of work Thel did, but most women's jobs at that time were lowing paying.

When this episode aired, had it been established that Thelma Lou lived in a house alone? I always thought it was farfetched for a young woman of that era to be living in house alone unless maybe she inherited the home. We never knew what type of work Thel did, but most women's jobs at that time were lowing paying.

Absolutely established, Thelma Lou's home was featured in many episodes prior to the episode discussed in Jim's post.

When this episode aired, had it been established that Thelma Lou lived in a house alone? .

I recall in particular from the season 3 , episode 16 "Man in a Hurry", the three way dialog on Andy's front porch:


Barney Fife: You know what I think I'm gonna do?
Sheriff Andy Taylor: What?
Barney Fife: I'm gonna go home, have me a little nap, then go over to Thelma Lou's and watch a little TV... Yeah, I believe that's what I'll do. Go home, have a nap, then over to Thelma Lou's for TV... Yep, that's the plan, go home, little nap...
Malcolm Tucker: For the love of Mike, do it! Do it! JUST DO IT!
Barney Fife: What's the hurry?

While The episode where Barney get's booted from his room didn't come along until season 4, episode 9

I'll admit that I too often wondered about Thelma Lou's means to affording a house.

Another aspect of the general plot that makes little sense to me is Barney and Andy's reluctance for Skippy and Daphne.

I mean I can understand Andy not wanting to make Daphne into Opie's replacement mom, but that gal obviously adores Andy. What's the use of living at the lake if you don't take a swim once in a while?

Andy probably thought the fun girls would have been detrimental to his re-election campaign. ;)

In the episode where Barney get's caught cooking in his room and thrown out of his boarding house, he has to go live in the back room of the courthouse.

Thelma Lou comes to visit him at the courthouse, at night, and Andy arrives to discover the two of them and Barney is all covered with lipstick.

HELLO? Thelma Lou has a house!! Seems like she could cover him with lipstick at her own house at least as well as she could at the court house


https://i.imgur.com/OmlXyJ8.jpg


Maybe Thelma Lou RENTED her house and her landlord/landlady had it written in the lease that she could be thrown out if she had any men other than her male relatives linger on the premises for any reason. Some leases for unmarried women WERE that restrictive back then (and it wasn't easy for a single woman to check in solo into a hotel either).

I'll admit that I too often wondered about Thelma Lou's means to affording a house.

House rent in the South might have been really low back in 1960?

Even by 1978 and into the 80s, when I was out on my own, rental prices were amazingly low compared to nowadays.

What was Thelma Lou's job, by the way?

House rent in the South might have been really low back in 1960?

Even by 1978 and into the 80s, when I was out on my own, rental prices were amazingly low compared to nowadays.

What was Thelma Lou's job, by the way?

Thelma Lou as a character was really a bit of an enigma. She's a single woman living in a house all by herself, she has no last name that I'm aware of and no visible means of support. She wanted to get married, she and Barney had gone to school together so at this point she had known him for almost 20 years, it didn't make any sense that she wasn't pushing him pretty hard to pop the question.

Thelma Lou as a character was really a bit of an enigma. She's a single woman living in a house all by herself, she has no last name that I'm aware of and no visible means of support. She wanted to get married, she and Barney had gone to school together so at this point she had known him for almost 20 years, it didn't make any sense that she wasn't pushing him pretty hard to pop the question.

Inherited the house and money from her parents, I suppose?

Another aspect of the general plot that makes little sense to me is Barney and Andy's reluctance for Skippy and Daphne.

I mean I can understand Andy not wanting to make Daphne into Opie's replacement mom, but that gal obviously adores Andy. What's the use of living at the lake if you don't take a swim once in a while?I don't like the fun girls, especially Daphne if she is the one with the low voice. That alone is a big turn-off, I wouldn't want to be with someone who sounds that awful.

What was Thelma Lou's job, by the way?

I believe Man in the Middle is the only episode where an occupation for Thelma Lou is mentioned. When Barney is trying to get her and Helen to reconcile, she says, "I have to get back to the office".

, especially Daphne if she is the one with the low voice. That alone is a big turn-off,.


Who listens? :winkgrin

In the episode where Barney get's caught cooking in his room and thrown out of his boarding house, he has to go live in the back room of the courthouse.

Thelma Lou comes to visit him at the courthouse, at night, and Andy arrives to discover the two of them and Barney is all covered with lipstick.

HELLO? Thelma Lou has a house!! Seems like she could cover him with lipstick at her own house at least as well as she could at the court house


https://i.imgur.com/OmlXyJ8.jpg
One has to remember the time period. Barney moving in with Thelma Lou, even temporary, wouldn’t have been appropriate in those days. Remember the camping trip to the log cabin? Guys and girls didn’t share bedrooms.

One has to remember the time period. Barney moving in with Thelma Lou, even temporary, wouldn’t have been appropriate in those days.

I always thought that even back in the silent film era, when the villain came to collect the mortgage, and the lady couldn't pay...the "on camera" act of the villain tying the gal to a railroad track was an euphemism for something far more sinister?

https://i.imgur.com/M6Blr2Q.gif

I thought Barney stayed in the back room of the police station after he lost his home?

I don't like the fun girls, especially Daphne if she is the one with the low voice. That alone is a big turn-off, I wouldn't want to be with someone who sounds that awful.

Joan Carson, I think was her name?

Just caught her on an excellent Twilight Zone episode where she uses a normal voice, but is still a "gangster moll" type.

Another miscue in the script, in the episode "Mr McBeevee" where Opie is taking his paw out to meet Mr McBeevee, but McBeevee drives away seconds before they arrive on scene, McBeevee is shown climbing into the cab of his truck with his full tool belt on, and just driving away. Long handled tools and all.

Anyone who has ever worn one of these in full trim understands how unlikely that is. Sitting on those "12 extra hands" would have been a pain in the....

Another miscue in the script, in the episode "Mr McBeevee" where Opie is taking his paw out to meet Mr McBeevee, but McBeevee drives away seconds before they arrive on scene


Andy was rather stupid in this episode. He should have seen some tell-tale signs that someone had been working in the area, such as tree limbs on the ground. I doubt Mr. McBeevee would have bothered to clean up the area if he was planning to come back later.

Good point. One of the oddities of the Mayberry universe was the fact that single women all seemed to live in houses. Thelma Lou, Helen, Peggy, Mary and I think even Ellie resided in a house.

Also Lydia Crosswaithe lived in a house. And apparently she moved from Mt. Pilot to Mayberry at some point between Barney Mends a Broken Heart and Goober and the Art of Love.

Andy was rather stupid in this episode. He should have seen some tell-tale signs that someone had been working in the area, such as tree limbs on the ground. I doubt Mr. McBeevee would have bothered to clean up the area if he was planning to come back later.


You're absolutely right about that.

Plus, I'm surprised that Emma Brand never reported a tree-top peeping Tom while McBeevee was out there traipsing around in the woods.

There is episode where Aunt Bea's sister and brother in law come to visit. Was it their children or grandchildren that visited. I got the impression it was their children which I thought was odd. The children were closer to Opies age than to Andy.

There is episode where Aunt Bea's sister and brother in law come to visit. Was it their children or grandchildren that visited. I got the impression it was their children which I thought was odd. The children were closer to Opies age than to Andy.

The three boys that came with them was their children. In the early part of the episode where Andy talks about hopping a Pullman to see them, Aunt Bea describes Nora as her baby sister and the episode implies she's closer to Andy's age than she is Bea's to the point of trying to set Andy up with a friend of hers who drives the delivery truck.

One thing that I thought was odd about the episode and others that feature members of the Taylor clan (like Andy's Great-Grandfather Seth Taylor in the Statue and Aunt Bea's Cousin Bradford in the episode of the same name) is how they are 1) all paternal relatives with no mention of Opie's mothers family 2) either wanted nothing to do with the family in Mayberry for various reasons or were up to no good like Seth Taylor sending the railroad to Mount Pilot or Cousin Bradford being a bum who rides in Boxcars instead of owning plantations. It honestly makes one wonder if there was an autobiographical element to it given around the time of this episode Griffith told his own family to not invite him or his parents to family reunions because they did nothing for him until he was famous. It's very interesting to say the least.

Thelma Lou was fine! So was Helen. Beautiful women with nice bodies. But Thelma Lou wasn’t a bia-tch like Helen. To be fair, Helen was sometimes a ball breaker but Thelma Lou was never this.

I wonder if Helen ever learned how to cook leg of lamb, Andy's favorite dish.