Why was Andy Taylor always sparing Barney Fife's feelings, even when Barney was usurping him?
Andy was laid back and knew that was best for Mayberry. He covered and masked Barney's ineptitude because (1) Barney was his best friend for a long time, and (2) he wanted to maintain some measure of community respect for his deputy sheriff.
Andy's been on a lot lately. The good episodes, too. Just the black and whites. The color episodes stunk (and it's not coincidence that that's when Barney left the show).
Having said that, Barney was probably clinically insane. There's no way he could pass the mental aptitude test to be a police officer in this day and age .
I think that Kly and DT would agree that (even in the first half of the 60s) Barney's behavior invited an array of lawsuits that could have amounted to millions in awards to citizens or, at least, convictions reversed on appeal. As far as clinically insane goes, probably true along with a huge, gigantic gap in his self-esteem.
I show a few of the Show's episodes in my classes.
Last edited by olivant; 05/06/1409:04 AM.
"Generosity. That was my first mistake." "Experience must be our only guide; reason may mislead us." "Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read."
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