Special Sub-Topic: "Citizen's Arrest" Click Here To Play: "Citizen's Arrest"

The episode opens with Andy and Barn singing together and sorting through old files. Barney comes across some of the former sheriff's stuff and asks Andy if he should throw it out or not. What is the last name of the former sheriff?

Pinkley. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts enjoyed singing together on set; many episodes open this way. The singing that opened this episode wasn't scripted. Andy tells Barney that he was not the sheriff who took over immediately after Pinkley.

After Barney asks Andy what to do with the old sheriff's files, Andy spots a paper which is a record of the arrest of a man who drove down Main Street in a Reo Flying Cloud with the cut-out open. Who was this man?

Purcell Branch. The answer quite obviously was not "Howard Sprague", for he didn't appear until the vastly inferior color episodes came about. The cut-out happened to be a switch which bypassed the muffler. If such a switch was turned on, the car would be noisier and go faster. Al Becker was the man Andy mentioned in the episode "A Date for Gomer." The Reo Flying Cloud Purcell was driving was an actual car from the 1930s.

While finishing sorting through papers, Andy finds the custody receipt for Barney's first issued revolver. The sheet informs the duo that it has been how long since Andy swore Barney in?

10 years and 1 month. Andy then says to Barney, "I owe you a lot, Barn. I really do. We been through a lot together. You been a fine deputy. A true public servant. You can feel right proud of yourself." Barney then gets teary-eyed. Can you think of anything funnier than Barney's emotional displays?

Later on, Barney is in his squad car observing traffic. He notices Gomer walk out of a building, get into his truck, and make a U-turn. What building did Gomer walk out of?

The post office. He walks out of the post office. After he makes the U-turn, Barney quickly turns on his siren and goes after Gomer. After stopping Gomer, Barney demands he give him an explanation for making the U-turn. Gomer tries to justify his action by saying he was in an "emergency vehicle." Barney tells Gomer that he was indeed not on an emergency run.

Barney takes his ticket book out and writes Gomer a ticket for his illegal U-turn. What was the code number for this offense which Barney cites?

911. Gomer protests the ticket and draws a crowd. The 911 code number was made up. The writers never verified any numbers they gave the numerous violations with a code book. Barney tells Gomer that the law has to be upheld. He informs Gomer that if he was just an ordinary John Doe citizen, he would have to make a citizen's arrest.

Following that drama, Barney gets into his squad car and makes a U-turn. Gomer wastes no time before yelling, "Barney, stop! Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!" After Gomer demands Barney write himself a ticket, Barney does not do so until after Andy shows up.

t. After hearing Gomer yell, "Citizen's Arrest!", Barney stops his car and says, "this little black-and-white baby is a real emergency vehicle." Gomer hollers to Barney that he was not on an emergency call. The throng of people that gather around around cheer. Upon hearing the cheering, Andy goes over to investigate. He tells Barney to write himself a ticket.

How much money is Barney's fine?

$5.00. Barney explodes in fury upon arrival at the courthouse. He will not pay his five dollar fine, nor will he allow Andy to pay it. Barney takes off his badge and places it on Andy's desk. He locks himself in a cell. He tells Andy he will rather stay five days in prison rather than pay the fine. He says to Andy that "when word gets out that your deputy, and ex-best friend, has been jailed for a minor offense, you'll be the fool."

When Otis sees Barney locked in the cell, he gets confused. Otis thinks Barney is on the outside and that he is the guy locked in the cell. But Otis then notices Andy next to him, and knows that Andy would never be locked in the cell. Next Otis says, "I ain't in, and I ain't out. I'm in the ________ ____."

twilight zone & Twilight Zone. Otis paid a nod to Rod Serling's hit series in this episode with that drunken remark. There never was another nod the series again on "TAGS."

When Otis is in the cell next to Barney, what song does he begin to sing?

"I'm Sorry I Broke Your Heart Mother". The singing very much annoys Barney, to say the least. So he yells, "Pipe down, Otis!" Otis cannot resist getting Barney's goat. He taps on his cell bars and yells over and over, "Barney's in jail! Barney's in Jail!" Otis was a very comical antagonist for Barney in this episode. The next morning, Barney hands Andy his letter of resignation.

Gomer tries to get Andy and Barney back together, so he calls in a fake robbery at Wally's. When Barney finds out there was no robbery, Barney writes Gomer a boatload of tickets. He then pulls out and makes another U-turn. When Gomer starts screaming "Citizen's arrest! Citizen's arrest!" yet again, Barney ignores it and just drives on.

t. Barney ignoring Gomer's second citizen's arrest has got to be, without a doubt, one of the funniest moments in sitcom history. Jim Nabors went on to star in his own hit show, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." after appearing in well over 30 episodes of "TAGS." It is too bad Gomer couldn't have stayed on "TAGS" even longer, however. He might have made the first season or two of the unbearable color episodes worth watching.