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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This episode is from Season 2 of "The Andy Griffith Show" and originally aired in January 1962. It is most notable for guest starring Alan Hale Jr. as the farmer. He, of course, is better known from his role of the Skipper on "Gilligan's Island" which doesn't begin for another 2 years.Hale plays Jeff Pruitt who is a farmer from the country who has come into town to find him a wife. Like a farmer in search of livestock, he thinks he can come to town and spend a few days checking out the stock, and marry a girl right away. Sheriff Andy & Barney tell him that it's not as easy as that. Jeff goes on his merry way and Opie shows up at the office a little later. He tells his "pa" that the farmer is on the corner "picking up" women. Andy asks Opie what he knows about "such things" - and Opie says "I know women are walking by and Mr. Pruitt is picking them up and tossing them around like a sack of potatoes." So Jeff is literally grabbing women as they walk by and picking them up like they are little rag dolls (granted all the women are the most petite they could find). But it is a hilarious image to see Hale, with his huge imposing stature, picking these women up like they are nothing. Andy and Barney intervene and tell he he can't do that.Barney tells Jeff Thelma Lou is having a ladies social and they can drop by later and he can meet lots of eligible girls. Well, Jeff, much to Barney's dismay, picks Thelma Lou out of the whole bunch! Barney tells him Thelma's "his girl". Jeff asks if their engaged & Barney says no. Jeff says "then she ain't yours yet." So Jeff goes about trying to win Thelma Lou. Meanwhile, Andy convinces Thelma Lou that she can dissuade Jeff's interests by trying to "change him", make him more "city-fied and respectable". He takes Jeff to buy a suit, tells him he'll have to buy a house in town and sell his farm. Then Thelma Lou has him over for dinner, and serves him "finger sandwiches" like proper people eat. Jeff's funny response is "There ain't enough food there to get skinny on!" Well, the farmer has had enough and finally leaves Barney's girl alone. He heads back to the hills and to his old gal, "Big Bertha".You should see this episode to see Hale before his Skipper role. He is the same affable guy, and even calls Barney "Little Buddy" - which of course is what he later calls Gilligan. This episode is also notable for the first time that Barney uses the phrase "Nip it - nip it in the bud!" This is when Barney is telling Thelma Lou to turn down Jeff's advances.
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