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Summary[]

Goober promises Andy he will not leave the courthouse so he has to assemble a car in the Courthouse in order to work on reported issues.

Plot[]

With Barney out of town, Andy finds himself in a bit of dilemma. He will have to be out of town for a Sheriff’s convention in Mt. Pilot, and his replacement has backed out on him. With no one to man the courthouse phones Andy scours the Mayberry phone book. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Goober is on hand and offers to fill in. After much consternation and a couple of flat out refusals, Goober promises to be prompt and responsible, and Andy gives in and agrees to let Goober be his replacement.

The next morning Andy finds out that Goober never showed up (he was supposed to be there at 7:00 am sharp!). He finds Goober in the garage working on Gilly Walker’s car. Despite being up to his elbows in carburetor, Goober promises to get to the courthouse as quick as he can. A bit later, Andy calls the courthouse and there’s no answer. Instead, he finds Goober still working on Gilly Walker’s car on the street in front of the courthouse. Andy gives up and decides to ask Aunt Bee to stay. As he’s leaving for the capital, Goober shows up, tells him Gilly’s car is fixed and promises to fulfill his obligation. Andy reluctantly agrees.

A day and a half later Andy returns to Mayberry to find a small crowd huddled around the courthouse doors. He walks in the courthouse and finds Gilly Walker’s car sitting inside the courthouse in front of his desk. Unable to completely repair the car and unable to diagnose the problem, Goober explains that he began to bring parts the car into the courthouse to work on. That way, he could fix Gilly’s car and answer the phones at the same time. Before he knew it, he had taken Gilly’s car apart and put it back together in the courthouse!

Despite Andy’s rather angry demands that Goober "get this car outta here" Goober manages to get it partially taken apart (Floyd and Gilly keep distracting him). Later that day, Andy finds out that Sheriff Jackson (an old friend, Sheriff of Siler City, and Head of the Sheriff's Association) and his deputy, Joe, will be passing through. Desperate not to be the laughingstock of the Sheriff’s Association, Andy races back to the courthouse to find that Goober has put the car back together inside the office. As Andy is desperately trying to disassemble the car, Sheriff Jackson and his deputy walk in. After a few tense moments, Sheriff Jackson concludes that the car in the courthouse is an object lesson, to remind drivers to be careful lest they lose their own car. Andy plays along and saves his reputation.

Tag: Andy bids Sheriff Jackson goodbye. He leads Goober into the courthouse, takes a gun from the rack, sits down, aims at Goober, and simply says "Get it out, right now.”

Notes/Trivia[]

  • Don Knotts does not appear in this episode, despite being credited.
  • Very apparent in this episode is the practice of "covering" actor Howard McNear's footsteps due to his debilitating stroke. Floyd enters the courthouse and, after hearing him walk to Gilley Walker's car, he is shown sitting in the vehicle.
  • Eleanor Schroeder called Aunt Bee to tell her about the car in the courthouse.
  • In the episode "Borrowed Trouble" of the TV sitcom Chico and the Man, Larry Hovis guest-starred as a man who had trouble with his car.

Goofs[]

Music[]

Quotes[]

Andy: Hello, hey Wally is Goober over there? Never mind, I'll come over.

(Andy has come to Wally's Garage to get Goober)
Andy: It's Wednesday morning. You're supposed to be down at the courthouse.
Goober: I know it, Andy. I know it. I told you I'd be there. ‘Member I said I'd be there? Well, I'm goin' right down there soon as I finish workin' on Gilly Walker's carburetor.
Andy: You said you'd be there early.
Goober: Well, that's where you'll have to call me a liar on that early part. But I'll be there ‘cause I told you I'd be there and if I said I'll be there, I'll be there.
Andy: How soon?
Goober: Soon as I finish workin' on Gilly Walker's carburetor. Look at that carburetor – watch yourself, Andy, it's drippin'. It's off Gilly Walker's car. He's been troubled with the durndest noise in that car. First it was "cha-weet, cha-weet, cha-weet" and I fixed that. Then it was "pucka, pucka, pucka" like old banty rooster. I think it's all in the carburetor, so I'm takin' it all apart.

Gallery[]

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