S7 E18, "A Visit to Barney Fife". One of my favorite all-time episodes. Barney's desk always totally cracks me up. It's so ridiculously high to work on. Andy- This is where you sit? Barney- Well, I never was one to sit much. That's why I took this place. It suits me better. Andy- Gee, that's just the right height isn't it?
Barney- Boy, you're not kiddin'. Yeah. Great for readin'.

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The truly sad thing is, there really are companies that pull stunts like that on their "junior" employees. I guess the thing is that by not allowing the employee to get "too comfortable", that somehow boosts their productivity?

S7 E18, "A Visit to Barney Fife". One of my favorite all-time episodes. Barney's desk always totally cracks me up. It's so ridiculously high to work on. Andy- This is where you sit? Barney- Well, I never was one to sit much. That's why I took this place. It suits me better. Andy- Gee, that's just the right height isn't it?
Barney- Boy, you're not kiddin'. Yeah. Great for readin'.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/95/ff/0d/95ff0dd210f5f2c48846070cb1568309.png

Great episode, almost seems like a back door pilot for a new series:

"The Don Knotts Show"

S7 E18, "A Visit to Barney Fife". One of my favorite all-time episodes. Barney's desk always totally cracks me up. It's so ridiculously high to work on. Andy- This is where you sit? Barney- Well, I never was one to sit much. That's why I took this place. It suits me better. Andy- Gee, that's just the right height isn't it?
Barney- Boy, you're not kiddin'. Yeah. Great for readin'.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/95/ff/0d/95ff0dd210f5f2c48846070cb1568309.png

Poor barney always being portrayed as poor college kid and that room must have been murder in the summer time without any A/C

I make it a point to watch this episode a couple times a year. So hilariously funny with so many classic lines.

And how about when Andy goes to that newspaper publisher's office to arrest him for failing to pay a speeding ticket. Andy sits down in that real low chair in front of the publisher's desk. That cracks me up.

I love this episode too. Great point that it seems like a back door pilot. It feels like it was done with great care and thought. But Don's movie career was going well at this time. And in the episode Barney clearly needed a friend. Barney was leading a pathetic life in Raleigh, although he was deluding himself that his life was good. I was trying to think what that "desk" was and a Mayberry book pointed out it was a shelf from like an inside pay phone and that became Barney's "desk". That makes sense about how they would treat him. Good enough for Barney. Actually sad, but still a very funny episode.

I think Barney would have have soon wanted to come back to Mayberry, but Don's career was going well, so... Yet it is in character that Barney's delusions were real to him. There was a great point in that later Cheers episode where Diane returns. She says she wanted to return sooner, but she waited too long and then it was too late. She was too embarrassed. That is a good explanation because that's true to life too.

And how about when Andy goes to that newspaper publisher's office to arrest him for failing to pay a speeding ticket. Andy sits down in that real low chair in front of the publisher's desk. That cracks me up.

Goes all that way to arrest the publisher but doesn't arrest the darlings for kidnapping aunt B and he does nothing when fred plummer threaten to beat up Barney.

Goes all that way to arrest the publisher but doesn't arrest the darlings for kidnapping aunt B and he does nothing when fred plummer threaten to beat up Barney.

The classic Christmas episode with Ben was on yesterday, and I the opening scene Andy decided to release several prisoners for the Christmas holidays.

Love it how Andy uses his power as Sheriff to do whatever he sees fit.

I love this episode too. Great point that it seems like a back door pilot. It feels like it was done with great care and thought. But Don's movie career was going well at this time. And in the episode Barney clearly needed a friend. Barney was leading a pathetic life in Raleigh, although he was deluding himself that his life was good. I was trying to think what that "desk" was and a Mayberry book pointed out it was a shelf from like an inside pay phone and that became Barney's "desk". That makes sense about how they would treat him. Good enough for Barney. Actually sad, but still a very funny episode.

I think Barney would have have soon wanted to come back to Mayberry, but Don's career was going well, so... Yet it is in character that Barney's delusions were real to him. There was a great point in that later Cheers episode where Diane returns. She says she wanted to return sooner, but she waited too long and then it was too late. She was too embarrassed. That is a good explanation because that's true to life too.

I don't think this was a back door pilot. The episode was essentially a recycled concept think "Andy and Barney in the Big City" and "If I Had a Quarter-Million", episodes that also featured Barney unwittingly helping bad guys get away with a crime only to be saved by Andy's intervention. The very next episode had Barney and Andy back in Mayberry, if there was some thought to spinning off Barney into his own series the two Barney episodes would have been linked with Barney rebounding on his own rather than having Andy save the day.

With respect to Don's film career, the jury was still very much out, his first Universal film had done well, but there was no evidence with his first Universal film or the soon to be released Reluctant Astronaut that he was on his way to a big time film career.

I don't think this was a back door pilot. The episode was essentially a recycled concept think "Andy and Barney in the Big City" and "If I Had a Quarter-Million", episodes that also featured Barney unwittingly helping bad guys get away with a crime only to be saved by Andy's intervention. The very next episode had Barney and Andy back in Mayberry, if there was some thought to spinning off Barney into his own series the two Barney episodes would have been linked with Barney rebounding on his own rather than having Andy save the day.

With respect to Don's film career, the jury was still very much out, his first Universal film had done well, but there was no evidence with his first Universal film or the soon to be released Reluctant Astronaut that he was on his way to a big time film career.

Oh, I agree it wasn't a pilot. Just that it was cast and done as well as a solid pilot. Don's first three movies at Universal made money and he was on solid ground. The last two bombed and his starring days were over. Don's was never gonna have a genuinely big time movie career. But he dreamed of a movie career and Universal let him call the shots about everything. No other studio made him an offer like that. He didn't even want another TV show, Otherwise he would have stayed with TAGS. His movies were like the "Ma and Pa Kettle" films to Unversal. Low Budget, but solid money makers.Variety used to call them movies made for "Hicks in the Sticks." They didn't even get reviewed by magazines like Time and Newsweek. But all five were fun, Don gave them everything he had, and they are often fondly remembered. Sweet, funny movies.