Summary[]
Barney's reputation as a deputy soars when he helps capture an escaped convict. The convict vows to escape and to exact his revenge on Barney.
Plot[]
Barney spots a man that has just walked out of the Coffee Shop, & he makes the mistake
Barney 'Tackles' the Crook
of littering while standing next to a car, that is parked in front of a hydrant. As he starts to write up a ticket, the violator offers him 5 dollars to forget the whole thing, who has recently escaped from Atlanta. Alarmed at first, he's relieved to find that Barney is only citing him for littering. As Barney is writing out the ticket, the prisoner, Eddie Brooke, spots a State Trooper car nearby. When the troopers spot the prisoner, he makes a run for it and inadvertently trips over Barney. As Brooke and Barney are tangled up on the ground, the troopers capture Brooke. As Barney is being honored at a party for his bravery, the troopers come back to inform everyone that Brooke has escaped. Barney's actions make Andy suspect that something was strange about the capture. As they are searching the woods outside of town for Brooke, Andy suspects that the prisoner is inside an old barn. Rather than capture him, Andy sets things up so that Barney can do it and restore his confidence.
Notes/Trivia[]
- First appearance of a black person (in the crowd after Barney takes down Eddie Brooke).
- Andy carries a gun in this episode.
- A rare camera angle, from the ground up, is used to make Barney appear much taller after he captures Eddie Brooke for the first time.
- The episode begins with a car chase (one of few seen in the series).
- It is said Brooke is in Thatcher's Woods, however, the woods and lake look more like Myers Lake.
- When we first see Opie, he says that Barney has been teaching him the fast draw. That comes to its fruition in the episode Bringing Up Opie.
- This episode is one of the first times where Andy catches a criminal but makes Barney look like he should get the credit for doing it. In reality, though, Barney should get some credit for his bravery in this episode. Barney and the Cave Rescue used a similar theme where Barney acted bravely but still needed Andy to make it look like Barney accomplished more than he really did.
