Girl Shy

The whole idea of Andy using the only squad car for personal use is intriguing. Warren is left to pursue his duties as deputy by foot? The episode has some funny moments. Especially for a Warren (Jack Burns) fan like myself. But, the writing is weak. Lots of flat awkward buildup leading to the comical payoffs. Warren is made out to be socially defective. Then, most of the single men of Mayberry are all socially inept with females. And have very little interest in females except for now gone Barney. Helen (Aneta Corsaut) is great standing up for herself. Andy's attitude is puzzling to the point of telling Helen to get the chip off her shoulders. Strange episode indeed. Nice showcase for Jack Burns. Not enough "huh? Huh's?"

If, and it's a big if, you can accept Warren is a sleepwalker with benefits, it has a moment or two. Once again, Helen turns out to be a virago. She is so self centered. It isn't that she shouldn't be angry about Warren's actions, it's that she will not let Andy try to get to the bottom of it. Pretty far fetched and another simple sitcom plot.

It seems from the reviews that nobody likes Warren, but I honestly don't mind him. Sometimes he's a little too much, but so was Barney. I love Don Knotts and most of the time he's funny; but once in a while they took the stupidity a little too far and it just became embarrassing.

This episode, unfortunately, just didn't work for me at all. The premise of sleep walking and becoming a completely different person is just too silly, and the way it was handled was ridiculous. If I were Helen, being chased by an overly amorous acquaintance, I would have slapped him, which probably would have woken him up and solved everything right off the bat. Helen, unfortunately, tends to over-react and then she gets mad and unreasonable and won't listen to anybody. Just not a very good episode.

Although it was apparent that the Warren character didn't fit the show from the get go, this one actually worked, and worked well. Warren's uncomfortableness around women is something that many of us share, as is his passion for the movies. His bonding with Goober while watching these on TV was very realistic and entertaining. And when this was combined with sleepwalking, the results were hysterical , especially in his final scene with Aunt Bee. Now this is a particular character that I would have liked to have seen more of.