The Manhunt

"But Barney I'm your mother!"

―Barney's mother

Summary

Andy and his bumbling deputy, Barney Fife, offer to help track down an escaped convict, but the Captain of the State Police scoffs at the small-town sheriff's help.

Plot

While fishing, Andy and Opie discover that their boat has a hole in it.

Later, the State Police decide to use Mayberry as a headquarters to search for an escaped criminal. They don’t enlist Andy and Barney's help because they aren't important enough. Andy decides he can't let himself become a "laughingstock" to the town and decides he and Barney should go out and search on their own.

Andy has Barney staked out on one of the back roads that Andy claimed wasn't even marked. While barney is out there, he stops Cal, frisks him, then Stops Mayor Pike & even frisks him, but the best is when he even frisks his Mama, while he is on a back road as a roadblock when Dirksen, the escapee, "gets the drop on him" and ties him up. Andy comes by later and frees Barney.

They realize that Dirksen probably will stop at Emma Brand's house for one of the fresh baked pies she usually has in her window. They go to her house and since Emma, the town hypochondriac, says her sciatica is "just fine", Andy suspects that Dirksen is in her house. Andy tells Emma that if she sees the criminal, she shouldn't tell him about Andy's boat down by the lake.

Andy calls the State Police and tells them where they can pick up their criminal. When the State Police arrive, they think Andy's letting Dirksen get away. However, the hole in the boat makes it sink and he swims right to them.

Notes

The music that would soon become known as Barney's theme, "The Manhunt", is played as the state police arrive in Mayberry.
This episode marks the first mention of Barney's pocket bullet and the first time that Barney accidentally shoots his gun in his holster.
Barney's Mother makes her only appearance in this episode. Her only line is "But Barney, I'm your mother!"
Andy wears a gun in this episode.
Otis Campbell (Hal Smith) makes his first appearance in this episode as well as Mayor Pike (Dick Elliott).
In this episode Emma Watson lives by the lake. A few episodes later (in 104 Ellie Comes to Town) she lives in town.
The Taylor's boat is named Gertrude.
Otis is in town choir, in later episodes where the choir is shown Otis is not present.
Andy calls Barney "cousin" again. The first time was in The New Housekeeper.

Goofs

Dirksen's mug shot number is 74582. His prison uniform number is 26043.

Quotes

Barney Fife: <trying to sound cool while signing off> "Uh...uh, Mayberry unit number one...uh, over and, uh, and Roger...Roger and...out, out and under...out...10...10-40. 40... Uh, bye!"

Andy Taylor: "Mayberry to headquarters...Mayberry to headquarters! Captain, you might as well answer, 'cause I'm gonna keep callin' till you do!"