The Loaded Goat

< Season 3 > • < Episode 18 >

Air Date

January 28, 1963

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High Noon in Mayberry	Class Reunion

Summary

Andy and Barney devise a plan to save a dynamite-eating goat.

Sequential Episode

81

Summary[]

Andy and Barney devise a plan to save a dynamite-eating goat.

Plot[]

Cy Hudgins brings his goat, Jimmy, to town for one day, and Jimmy gets himself "loaded" on a cache of dynamite.

S3E18 - Barney the Pied Piper — Barney the Pied Piper

Faced with the menace of a goat who could go "blooie" at any moment, Andy and Barney have to figure a way of getting him out of town. Music soothes this savage goat, as he follows Barney out beyond the city limits while playing his harmonica.

Notes/Trivia[]

The construction crew's blasting engineer claims the goat could possibly explode if he falls down, after having eaten dynamite. Fresh dynamite usually needs something to set it off, like blasting caps with a lit fuse or an electrical charge. However, as dynamite ages, it becomes more unstable (especially if it is improperly stored) as the nitroglycerin used in its manufacture will seep out. So if the dynamite eaten by the goat was old, it is possible for an impact to explode the goat. Considering the storage shed seen when the goat ate the dynamite, it was definitely improperly stored and could likely be old and unstable. It should be also noted that nitroglycerin if eaten, could be deadly as it changes blood pressure. It is currently used for people suffering from cardiac disease.
A hint is given that one reason for the new highway construction is that it will take more customers by the filling station that is owned by the Mayor's brother.
This episode was voted one of the top 10 fan-favorite episodes.
According to Mayor Stoner, the location of the Mayor’s office is in the same building as The Courthouse. Makes you wonder what happened to all the bullets Barney has put into the ceiling.

Goofs[]

A continuity error is that the Mayor's office is right above the Sherriff's office on the ground floor; however, the only stairway ever seen in the courthouse is leading to the roof.