TAGS Trivia (The Andy Griffith Show)

[Darrell KSR]

Next question. Let's stay in the area of "pretend."

One character on the show was involved in a letter writing campaign with a potential love interest. The potential love interest sort of unexpectedly arrived in Mayberry by sending a letter saying they were coming. The Mayberry character went to Andy for help, and he allowed this character to pretend to be a rich retired person living in the biggest house in Mayberry--a house that Andy knew was temporarily vacant while the owners were on vacation, because he was looking after the house for them while they were away.

Who was the Mayberry character?

What role did Andy play in the fiction when the potential love interest arrived and met the character (and Andy?)

Was the fiction ever discovered by the potential love interest, and if so, how?

[badrose]

You got me on this one. Does not ring a bell.

[Darrell KSR]

I would let it sit a little longer, but not sure that I'll be looking tomorrow here, between my son's "graduation" and the SEC tournament, so I'll spill the beans.

The character was Floyd. He had been writing to a Lonely Hearts Club to a "rich widow" that turned out to be a con artist. She arrived in a convertible, and was just going to stay a day, but managed to invite herself for a week or two, which is when Floyd knew he had to spill the beans.

In the meantime, Andy was there in civilian clothes, and pretended to be Floyd's son. Aunt Bee was there as well, and she pretended (not very well) to be a maid. Had some funny moments where "the help" sat down next to the rich widow, like she was family, rather than "help," etc. Oh and Opie made an appearance, calling Andy "Pa," like he generally did, and the widow wanted to know why he called Andy "Pa." Andy said it wasn't "Pa," but "Paul," as that was his given name, Andy Paul (or Paul Andrew, I don't remember which one. Hey, wouldn't it have been cool if it had been Paul Andrews?)

Anyway, Floyd, who was enamored with her, couldn't bring himself to tell her that he was a fraud, so he asked Andy to do it.

Andy sat her down and told her that there was a time for plain talk and plain facts. He told her that he was the Sheriff. She started laughing, and asked what gave her away, not realizing that he was confessing about Floyd. She said that it might've been that he learned it was a rental car she was in, and not a car she owned. She said she was only going to take Floyd for a few hundred, and how did he know she wasn't going to pay it back? In the end, she said he didn't really have any proof that she was really going to con Floyd, and he admitted that he didn't, and let her go.

As she left, old Floyd asked how she took the news that he was a fraud, saying he couldn't bear to break her heart. Andy tried to tell him that she was the con artist, but Floyd kept on, and Andy realized that Floyd was better not knowing, so he kept that secret to himself--like he did many times on TAGS.

Just a good old show. I saw this one fairly recently, and thought it was a good one.

[Darrell KSR]

I'll ask another one. If someone answers, ask your own question, or I'll be back to ask another one. As long as there's some interest, we'll keep the thread going.

(And don't ever hold me to exact facts. I think I remember pretty close, but this is for enjoyment of the show, not some trivia contest. We're all just enjoying remembering the show, the characters, the writing, and the time.)

Here's the next question.

There was a fairly rare crime spree in Mayberry, where cattle was being stolen. The Mayor (the slick Mayor Stoner) thought his hick police force needed help, so they brought a man in from the state capitol, who used newfangled crime techniques like making a plaster cast of the boot prints to try to identify the suspects. (Led to one of the funny Barney moments where he doesn't have a great command of vocabulary when he did not know what a "moulage" was.)

Anyway, the expert from the capitol thought that there were 3 men involved in the cattle rustling because there were 3 sets of prints. Andy didn't buy the scientific evidence (which even showed how much somebody weighed), and thought only one person was involved.

Question: How many people were involved, 1 or 3? And how was the culprit(s) apprehended?

[badrose]

I use the "I didn't want to make a big moulage out of it" thing all the time. Most don't get it.

One, using four shoes on the cows, but the bull at the end didn't take too kind to that.

[Darrell KSR]

I use the "I didn't want to make a big moulage out of it" thing all the time. Most don't get it.

One, using four shoes on the cows, but the bull at the end didn't take too kind to that.

Correct! And love the use of the phrase.

Next question....

We've already talked about a love interest at the Mayberry diner, Juanita. There was another waitress that initially set her eyes on Andy, but eventually she and Goober became an item.

Who was the waitress? And what other job did she do in Mayberry that caused a little disruption?

[Darrell KSR]

Bad question, as it came from the color versions, which was not as popular. I think I'll try to stick to the first 5 seasons, which were the ones with Don Knotts, anyway.

In any event, here's a hint--a pic of the waitress with Andy Taylor at the diner. Does this ring a bell?

tags.jpg

Correct! And love the use of the phrase.

Next question....

We've already talked about a love interest at the Mayberry diner, Juanita. There was another waitress that initially set her eyes on Andy, but eventually she and Goober became an item.

Who was the waitress? And what other job did she do in Mayberry that caused a little disruption?

[Darrell KSR]

OK, that's long enough--the answer is.....

"Flora."

Goober had eyes for Flora, and Flora had eyes for Andy. But eventually she saw the good in Goober and they ended up becoming boyfriend-girlfriend later. In fact, when Goober went on vacation from the filling station in a subsequent show, Flora filled in for him pumping gas. Those old dogs in Mayberry went hog wild over Flora pumping gas and washing their windows, and business boomed at the station.

I'll throw out another question and let it sit. I may just entertain myself but hopefully some are enjoying reliving these moments.

Bad question, as it came from the color versions, which was not as popular. I think I'll try to stick to the first 5 seasons, which were the ones with Don Knotts, anyway.

In any event, here's a hint--a pic of the waitress with Andy Taylor at the diner. Does this ring a bell?

tags.jpg

[Darrell KSR]

Next question --

Weapons were constantly part of TAGS, but rarely was one ever used to truly injure someone or something. Can't count how many times a weapon was used when nothing happened, whether it was Barney and Andy being shot at, or them shooting at somebody else.

This is an open ended trivia question--name an occasion when a weapon was used, when some damage was done to someone or something, and how it happened. I know I can't remember all of them, but I can remember several. I have a couple of ones that I think are sorta "hidden," too, that I have in mind I hope somebody gets.

Who used a weapon, and what/who did it injure/damage when the weapon was so used?

Open for answers.

[kingcat]

Hope I did all the right things..

I recall Opie's "Design by Barney" slingshot and his substitute nurturing of some motherless babies.

[Darrell KSR]

Hope I did all the right things..

I recall Opie's "Design by Barney" slingshot and his substitute nurturing of some motherless babies.

Excellent! That was one of the hidden ones, great memory. Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod were the baby birds Opie raised.

My favorite memory of that one was Barney explaining the birds talking to each other. Opie asks Andy something about how they will know, and Andy says, "Winkin will tell Blinkin, Blinkin will tell Nod, Nod will tell Barney, and Barney will tell you."

[Darrell KSR]

Going to give a few more, as this open-ended question began with a bang (so to speak), as Kingcat got the Queen bee of answers, but there were a few more that I thought of. And I'm sure there are more.

* Andy didn't often use a gun. But he shot a robber named Luke Comstock and rendered him "game." He ended up being thankful for it, and returned to Mayberry after serving a stint in prison, and then getting out and learning a trade before opening a chain of electronic stores. I'm butchering the fine details on this one, but it's something like this.

* Andy also borrowed Warren's gun once when someone was escaping, and he shot the car tire, giving it a flat and having it lose control.

* At first I was thinking that Gomer had an incident with a rifle, but he just dropped it off the top of the jail when they were expecting a breakout. He dropped a bunch of Christmas lights when they started to get away, and the popping noise must've sounded like gunfire, so they stopped and threw their hands up, thinking it was a machine gun. But that wasn't a weapon, unless you want to call Christmas lights a weapon.

There were probably more, but Kingcat got the big one. Kudos to him. I'll think of another question and ask it and hopefully get a good one.

Next question --

Weapons were constantly part of TAGS, but rarely was one ever used to truly injure someone or something. Can't count how many times a weapon was used when nothing happened, whether it was Barney and Andy being shot at, or them shooting at somebody else.

This is an open ended trivia question--name an occasion when a weapon was used, when some damage was done to someone or something, and how it happened. I know I can't remember all of them, but I can remember several. I have a couple of ones that I think are sorta "hidden," too, that I have in mind I hope somebody gets.

Who used a weapon, and what/who did it injure/damage when the weapon was so used?

Open for answers.

Hope I did all the right things..

I recall Opie's "Design by Barney" slingshot and his substitute nurturing of some motherless babies.

[Darrell KSR]

How about this one. A machine gun was REALLY used once (although not fired) by Barney Fife in protection of something coming through Mayberry.

What in the world would be coming through Mayberry that would cause Barney to need a machine gun, anyway?

[kingcat]

I can't believe I don't recall that episode Darrell. Barney with a machine gun should stand out.

[badrose]

An armored car full of gold or money...? As I recall it was a decoy and Barney got trapped in it.

[Darrell KSR]

Badrose with the good memory!

An armored car full of $7 million (in those dollars) worth of gold. The truck was supposed to stop at the filling station to gas up, then Barney was going to switch places with the G-men to give them a break. They tossed him the machine gun--which he dropped--and they eventually made a clumsy exchange.

It had several humorous moments. Gomer couldn't figure out where the gas tank was, so he started pouring gas in through a gun port, splashing Barney with gasoline as he was inside with the "gold." Barney couldn't help himself, so he peeked under the covers where the gold was supposed to be--discovered it was sand, and not gold, and starting yelling for help. When they saw Barney was going to blow their cover, they kidnapped him and Andy had to track them down in the squad car.

Andy had to stop Barney from trying to shoot at the armored car, and when Andy explained it was all a decoy, Gomer issued his famous, "Shazam." Andy repeated it with a half-hearted "Shazam" in return.

An armored car full of gold or money...? As I recall it was a decoy and Barney got trapped in it.

[badrose]

What animal did Barney deem "selfish?"

[Darrell KSR]

Looking out for # 1, running around getting hit by lightning--perhaps the best TAGS episode ever.

Giraffes! Those selfish beasts, not anything at all like dogs, who look out for one another. Even the trembly one .

Thanks for that great question--what a tremendous episode. You brought a smile to my face just thinking of that one. Dogs, dogs, dogs!

What animal did Barney deem "selfish?"

[Darrell KSR]

I'll follow your lead, badrose, and ask an animal question.

On one occasion, an animal presented an explosive situation down at the jail. What animal was it, and why was the episode so explosive?

[badrose]

Either a cow or a goat ate some dynamite. I don't remember much detail other than that.

[Darrell KSR]

Either a cow or a goat ate some dynamite. I don't remember much detail other than that.

Funny show. It was a loaded goat, and I don't mean Otis. Otis came in with the goat locked away in the jail. They had placed the cot mattress on the wall to keep the goat from hitting something hard. When Otis came in, he tried to get "on" the bed, and kept falling on the ground because the mattress was on the wall. He thought he was falling onto the wall.

Also funny moment when Otis first met the loaded goat. Otis was sloshed, and thought the goal was his Uncle (Ned?)

Funny stuff if you don't take it too real.

[Darrell KSR]

Here's another animal question.

Barney found a mutt in one episode that he was convinced he could train to track down criminals. In fact, a criminal escaped from prison, and Barney insisted on using the dog to help in the search.

Turned out, the mutt actually helped capture the crook.

How did he capture the crook, and what was the mutt's name?

[Darrell KSR]

It's summertime, and we're slow and easy. I know there are some TAGS fans out there that know that answer. Plus I think this answer is kinda neat for Kentucky Wildcat fans, in a way.

I'd throw it out on twitter, but somebody would answer it not here, and rather have it answered here!

[badrose]

I don't recall but I could watch it on Netflix.

[Darrell KSR]

Ok, I could continue to torture you, or go ahead and give it up.

The dog's name was "Blue," and he was loveable, but pretty useless. On the other hand, he did not like the silent dog whistle that Barney used to train him, and he would growl and attack whoever blew the whistle. In fact, knowing that, Andy managed to capture the criminal when he told the criminal to blow the whistle real hard so the dog would come. He knocked over the criminal and they captured him when he had the drop on them otherwise.

I have another animal question that I'll add later.

[Darrell KSR]

The same dog (I ran across this accidentally; I did not know this) played in 3 other episodes of TAGS show.

In one episode--a color version, which isn't as popular and I realize not as many saw them--Goober became convinced his pet--this dog--could do something that was going to make Goober famous and wealthy.

What did Goober believe the dog could do?

[badrose]

OK, a 2-parter

Ernest T Bass had some preconceived ideas about Army life. He spoke of three activities twice. What were they?

What plans did he have for his teeth?

[Darrell KSR]

I am drawing a blank on the first one. I know he loved their u-knee-form. And felt like it would attract girls, including his sweet Rowena.

I think I know the 2nd one--he planned on getting a gold tooth, and then knocking out teeth on either side to make it stand out. At least, that's what he planned once--you may have something else in mind.

That's what I love about the show. You have all kind of neat little tidbits like this.

Great, great questions.

By the way, my colorized episode question was that Goober thought the dog could talk. Was going to make him famous. One of Opie's friends pulled a trick on him by hiding a small walkie talkie under the dog's collar, and lurking just out of Goober's easy eyesight, engaged in conversation with him. Not nearly as good of a question, and I'm basically going to stick to the good black and white episodes for any future questions I ask (mostly, at least), as those were, by far, the better episodes.

OK, a 2-parter

Ernest T Bass had some preconceived ideas about Army life. He spoke of three activities twice. What were they?

What plans did he have for his teeth?

[blueboss]

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[Darrell KSR]

LOL....that is great.

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