A Date for Gomer

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Air Date

November 25, 1963

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Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain	Up in Barney's Room

Sequential Episode

105

Summary[]

Gomer has a date with Thelma Lou's cousin Mary Grace.

Plot[]

The big Chamber of Commerce dance is approaching, and Thelma Lou refuses to go with Barney unless he gets a date for her cousin Mary Grace Gossage, who is visiting from out of town. Both Andy and Barney are about to give up when Gomer appears. Just when all seems right, Gomer jumps up and leaves Mary Grace. After the entire evening is ruined, the four return to Thelma Lou's to find Mary Grace and Gomer dancing and having the time of their lives. Turns out the reason Gomer had left, was to find her a corsage.

Trivia/Notes[]

The first episode to air after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The state funeral was held earlier that day.
Jim Nabors said he enjoyed this particular episode because he got to dance.
Another episode where they use the "day for night" filter on the camera to mimic darkness. When the guys show up to pick up the girls for the dance, it's supposed to be night time, but you can clearly see it's mid-day with all the shadows.
Contributing to fan speculation about Thelma Lou's profession, Gomer mentions that Barney has been out with waitresses and even a registered nurse. It's possible that Thelma Lou is one of these.
The orientation of the interior of Thelma Lou's house is reversed from what it was in the episode "A Wife for Andy" where the sofa was on the opposite wall from the front door. In this episode, the sofa is now on the same wall as the front door.

Goofs[]

Gomer shows Andy and Barney the outfit he bought for the dance before knowing if Mary Grace agreed to go to the dance with him.
In the opening sequence of this episode, you can see a barber cutting hair in Floyd's Barbershop who is clearly not Howard McNear. McNear left the show early in season three due to a stroke and would not return until later in season four.