Why did Andy stay with Helen? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mr B · 01-06-2014, 11:24 AM

She always seemed miserable, nasty, controlling and always jealous of other women that Andy had any contact with. I've noticed this even more in the last 3 seasons. Andy should have said good by Helen and moved on!

MichaelKeith · 01-06-2014, 12:09 PM

I had never thought about it much but now that you mention it, you're right. She wasn't the most congenial person. I always liked Barney's Thelma Lou much better. It's a shame that Thelma Lou didn't stay on the show after Barney left.

Marvo301 · 01-06-2014, 02:38 PM

They say love is blind so Andy must have been in love with Helen and not even noticed those charcateristics you mentioned.

Willbo · 01-06-2014, 06:31 PM

I really liked Ellie (Eleanor Donahue) in the early episodes. I thought her and Andy had great chemistry.

MichaelKeith · 01-07-2014, 12:29 PM

Good point, Willbo. Ellie and Andy did have good chemistry and Ellie was so loveable to boot. Wish she had stayed on the show too.

Fontaine · 01-08-2014, 10:08 PM

Helen would've been my LAST choice. Number one would be Nurse Peggy, followed by Ellie, then that relative of Aunt Bee (the one that jealous Helen tried to set up with Goober). Everyone always asks why Andy was so miserable those last three seasons. The answer is spelled C-R-U-M-P.

selleckfan4ever · 01-11-2014, 03:48 PM

I thought that the charecter of Andy was"off"in a few episodes and he wouldnt have behaved that way.1 episode was with Peggy when he found out her daddy had $ .The 2nd was with Ellie when he said she was giving opie icecream just so he would marry her!The 3rd was when he had to meet with the lady lawyer and got sunburned and was acting so stupid &sneaky about it.Any more ideas?Thanks he sure hd some ego in those shows!

UMfan77 · 01-20-2014, 02:27 PM

I really liked Helen and maybe it was Andy who was the grumpy one. I always thought Helen was too pretty to be on that show. I can only picture Mayberry with the homely/schoolmarm types.

selleckfan4ever · 03-30-2014, 08:39 PM

those are three great exampless when"Andy"acted out of charecter!I didnt know how to phrase it Thanks!

Yong Fang · 04-11-2014, 04:31 AM

Aneta Corsaut (how to pronounce her name? I say Core-sought) was actually hot. Also, in the 1986 reunion film, she mellowed out a lot. She is probably the least liked character on the show. She got mad a lot because she was an outsider and she had to deal with the idiots in town.

My question is why Louanne Poovie was dating an asexual Gomer. Of all the Marines on the base, maybe she liked Gomer because he never made any moves on her.

cleverfun3000 · 04-11-2014, 08:29 AM

Mayberry was a very small town. Andy knew that there was a very, very limited number of fine women available. If he had broke up with Helen, the next woman he went with would have her looks compared to Helen's and it would just look to everyone that he had down-graded.

Will Dockery · 04-13-2014, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr B

She always seemed miserable, nasty, controlling and always jealous of other women that Andy had any contact with. I've noticed this even more in the last 3 seasons. Andy should have said good by Helen and moved on!

I think maybe the jealous and controlling ways sort of appealed to Andy (as opposed to a woman who "didn't care" what he did)... plus, like other posters have mentioned, she was pretty fine looking and was probably a tiger "behind closed doors".

Samme · 04-14-2014, 10:48 AM

She was rough to begin with, but she probably got worse for the same reason the others did too, they were trying to pick up the slack of Don not being there.

Ya know, as much as most of us find fault with Helen, we might miss her if she was gone. Just like with Barney, I don't who they'd replace her with. They couldn't bring back Peggy at that point. We might miss her arguing. And she could be charming at times.

tdr · 04-14-2014, 09:36 PM

I think the writers tried too hard to produce conflict between Helen and Andy. Helen is normally a very level-headed person, but they have her going too far in the directions of jealousy or spite when anything happens that should be a minor conflict, at best. And Andy connives at that by antagonizing the situation by trying to hide something from her, or just in his choice of words or something, which then makes Helen even bitchier. Ex.: when Andy, Helen, Barney, and Thelma Lou were all it with each other that time, Andy thinks he is objectively describing the situation by saying "...when a third party..." and Helen assumes he is talking about her and she angrily says, "My name-- is Helen!" in what seems to me is just an excuse to yell at him.

But the fact is that people can be ridiculous and fly off the handle on the slightest excuse; and if one is mad at somebody, one will-- anything they bring up, or however they say it, is 'fair game' when there's a rift. But since we, the viewers, are not in the conflict ourselves, it's seen as overreacting. But I'm sure that, in our own world, we find it hard not to verbally crack somebody that we think has done it to us; and if we don't think so, then we will use anything-- like something they said or did that has nothing to do with the present conflict-- as the excuse overreaching behavior.

oldschool84 · 04-17-2014, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr B

She always seemed miserable, nasty, controlling and always jealous of other women that Andy had any contact with. I've noticed this even more in the last 3 seasons. Andy should have said good by Helen and moved on!

Yes you are right. Helen was very picky and controlling. She was my least favorite girlfriend of Andy's.

01-06-2014, 11:24 AM	#1
Mr B Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 13, 2002 Posts: 136	Why did Andy stay with Helen? She always seemed miserable, nasty, controlling and always jealous of other women that Andy had any contact with. I've noticed this even more in the last 3 seasons. Andy should have said good by Helen and moved on!

01-06-2014, 02:38 PM	#3
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,452	They say love is blind so Andy must have been in love with Helen and not even noticed those charcateristics you mentioned.
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

01-06-2014, 12:09 PM	#2
MichaelKeith Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 1,139	I had never thought about it much but now that you mention it, you're right. She wasn't the most congenial person. I always liked Barney's Thelma Lou much better. It's a shame that Thelma Lou didn't stay on the show after Barney left.

01-06-2014, 06:31 PM	#4
Willbo Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 10, 2012 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 860	I really liked Ellie (Eleanor Donahue) in the early episodes. I thought her and Andy had great chemistry.

01-07-2014, 12:29 PM	#5
MichaelKeith Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 1,139	Good point, Willbo. Ellie and Andy did have good chemistry and Ellie was so loveable to boot. Wish she had stayed on the show too.

01-08-2014, 10:08 PM	#6
Fontaine Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 16, 2013 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 160	Helen would've been my LAST choice. Number one would be Nurse Peggy, followed by Ellie, then that relative of Aunt Bee (the one that jealous Helen tried to set up with Goober). Everyone always asks why Andy was so miserable those last three seasons. The answer is spelled C-R-U-M-P.

01-11-2014, 03:48 PM	#7
selleckfan4ever Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 05, 2011 Location: Fla Posts: 68	I thought that the charecter of Andy was"off"in a few episodes and he wouldnt have behaved that way.1 episode was with Peggy when he found out her daddy had $ .The 2nd was with Ellie when he said she was giving opie icecream just so he would marry her!The 3rd was when he had to meet with the lady lawyer and got sunburned and was acting so stupid &sneaky about it.Any more ideas?Thanks he sure hd some ego in those shows!

01-20-2014, 02:27 PM	#8
UMfan77 Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 28, 2003 Posts: 1,064	I really liked Helen and maybe it was Andy who was the grumpy one. I always thought Helen was too pretty to be on that show. I can only picture Mayberry with the homely/schoolmarm types.

03-30-2014, 08:39 PM	#9
selleckfan4ever Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 05, 2011 Location: Fla Posts: 68	those are three great exampless when"Andy"acted out of charecter!I didnt know how to phrase it Thanks!

04-11-2014, 04:31 AM	#10
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	Aneta Corsaut (how to pronounce her name? I say Core-sought) was actually hot. Also, in the 1986 reunion film, she mellowed out a lot. She is probably the least liked character on the show. She got mad a lot because she was an outsider and she had to deal with the idiots in town. My question is why Louanne Poovie was dating an asexual Gomer. Of all the Marines on the base, maybe she liked Gomer because he never made any moves on her.

04-11-2014, 08:29 AM	#11
cleverfun3000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 1,685	Mayberry was a very small town. Andy knew that there was a very, very limited number of fine women available. If he had broke up with Helen, the next woman he went with would have her looks compared to Helen's and it would just look to everyone that he had down-graded.

04-14-2014, 10:48 AM	#13
Samme Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 01, 2001 Posts: 676	She was rough to begin with, but she probably got worse for the same reason the others did too, they were trying to pick up the slack of Don not being there. Ya know, as much as most of us find fault with Helen, we might miss her if she was gone. Just like with Barney, I don't who they'd replace her with. They couldn't bring back Peggy at that point. We might miss her arguing. And she could be charming at times.

04-14-2014, 09:36 PM	#14
tdr Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Posts: 1,454	I think the writers tried too hard to produce conflict between Helen and Andy. Helen is normally a very level-headed person, but they have her going too far in the directions of jealousy or spite when anything happens that should be a minor conflict, at best. And Andy connives at that by antagonizing the situation by trying to hide something from her, or just in his choice of words or something, which then makes Helen even bitchier. Ex.: when Andy, Helen, Barney, and Thelma Lou were all it with each other that time, Andy thinks he is objectively describing the situation by saying "...when a third party..." and Helen assumes he is talking about her and she angrily says, "My name-- is Helen!" in what seems to me is just an excuse to yell at him. But the fact is that people can be ridiculous and fly off the handle on the slightest excuse; and if one is mad at somebody, one will-- anything they bring up, or however they say it, is 'fair game' when there's a rift. But since we, the viewers, are not in the conflict ourselves, it's seen as overreacting. But I'm sure that, in our own world, we find it hard not to verbally crack somebody that we think has done it to us; and if we don't think so, then we will use anything-- like something they said or did that has nothing to do with the present conflict-- as the excuse overreaching behavior.