Mayberry R.F.D. Episode Rating Graph

Goober finally opens his new gas station in Mayberry! Everything goes fine and dandy until Howard discovers some old reltics under the gas station- DINOSAUR BONES! He is eager to recover them, but recovering them would mean tearing parts of the road around the gas station, and Goober won't allow it! Howard wants to make a mueseum with these bones, but wants to get all of them, so he sneaks to the gas station in the middle of the night. And he's caught! Gooober almost presses charges! Howard then opens the first natural science muesum ever in Mayberry, but it's a bust, because most of the bones from the dinosaur are still buried. Seeing how upset Howard is, Goober has the other bones recovered and all is once again well in Mayberry.

Millie tells Aunt Bee that she would like to go stay at a fancy hotel in Charlotte with Sam. Sam comes home and tells Millie they're going camping with Howard and Barbara Evans. Sam doesn't know that Millie hates camping. After she hears how Barbara loves fishing, hiking and camping, Millie decides she better go. Howard falls and tears a ligament in his foot while gathering firewood. Millie begins to feel out of place seeing Barbara's outdoor know-how. And it doesn't help that Sam and Barbara get along so well. No matter how hard Millie tries, she's just can't compete with Barbara. The next morning, Sam and Barbara go off fishing before Millie wakes up. Millie gets upset and tells Howard she's taking Sam's truck and going home. Back at home, Millie tells Aunt Bee how she ruined the trip. Because she's a better "indoors" person, Aunt Bee thinks Millie should host a dinner party for Sam, Howard and Barbara and show off her talents.

Goober receives a letter from his older brother Braden that he is returning to his hometown for a visit. Braden joined the Navy nearly 20 years ago and stayed in California. Goober believes he works in a factory and probably had to save up for this trip. He hopes Braden will be impressed with the fact that he owns his own gas station. In reality, Braden is a successful and important engineer in the government's space program. Goober arranges a dinner party for when Braden arrives. When Braden sees Goobers room, he decides to not tell Goober about his job. At dinner Braden receives an call from his job and the men discover he's an engineer. The waitress says that he also has calls from Washington D.C. and NASA. Sam then remembers reading about Braden and the space program. This makes Goober feel inferior, and something Emmett says makes Goober feel even worse.

Sam runs into an old war buddy named Charlie Harris. Charlie is a golf pro at one of the local clubs. He invites Sam and Millie over to the driving range for some lessons. After some time on the range, Sam remembers that they have to pick up Goober and Mike from the movies. Millie would like to stay, so Charlie offers to drive her back. Later, when Charlie brings Millie home, he tells her she's beautiful and kisses her. Goobers at the door and happens to see this, but he doesn't see her slap Charlie. Millie tells Goober not to say anything to Sam. Millie finally tells Sam what happened and he just laughs it off saying that's the same old Charlie. This makes Millie furious and she feels she's being taken for granted. Wanting to show Sam, Millie goes to ask Charlie for a date. He says that she's "Sam's girl" and he's apologizes for what he did. Millie decides to make it look to Sam as though she's going out on a date. She spends the night at a malt shop.

The group arrive in Palm Springs and then head to Selma's house. The home is large and beautiful. Howard and Goober wind up having to share a room. Millie comes back from town saying she saw Rock Hudson. By the pool, Howard gets upset when Goober gets him wet. Their bickering continues that night while they're in their bedroom trying to sleep. The next morning Goober and Howard are still getting on each other's nerves. The others notice this and hope it won't ruin the vacation. Sam rents a Dune buggy and he, Millie, Howard and Goober go riding in the desert. Goober and Howard are still not getting along. They run out of gas and fortunately another driver comes by. Sam and Millie go with the driver to get gas after Goober and Howard insist on staying behind. The two start to worry when it seems that Sam has been gone longer than it should've taken. The men start to confess things to each other and become friends again.

Sam tells housekeeper Flora that he was chosen to be part of a Farmer Exchange Project with Russia. Professor Luboff is to spend two weeks with Sam. Everyone is surprised when Professor Luboff turns out to be Professor Tanya Luboff, a woman. Tanya is very proper and reserved and tells Sam and Millie that she was the only woman picked for the exchange project. Millie thinks she might have a good time at the dance on Saturday and asks Sam to get a date for Tanya. Sam talks a reluctant Howard into taking her to the dance. That night when Howard asks Tanya to be his date, she politely turns him down. She later overhears Flora telling Sam and Howard that Tanya hasn't discovered that it's fun to be a woman. Millie talks Tanya into going to the dance and helps her get ready clothes and hair wise. She also gives Tanya advice on how to act. It's the night of the dance and Sam and Millie arrive with a beautiful looking Tanya. Tanya dances with several men and has a great time.

Mike is planning on having a birthday party with no girls invited. Sally, a new girl in town, is having a birthday party on the same day as Mike and she is inviting the boys. Many of the boys tell Sally they can't make it to her party as they are going to Mike's. As a way to entice the boys to come to her party, Sally mentions all the sports related prizes she will have. Harold finds out that Mike's prizes are nowhere near as nice. Boys start to cancel out on Mike. Mike suggests to Sam that they get better prizes, but Sam says that would just be buying friendship. Mike decides to call off his party. Goober and Howard think Mike should have entertainment at his party. Goober could do magic tricks and Howard will show travel movies. But the boys are not impressed. Sally tells Mike that she is cancelling her party because her father says that giving away those expensive prizes is just buying friendship. Mike suggests that they combine their parties.

Millie visits a dress shop in Mt. Pilot that is run by her friend Emma Whittaker. Millie tries on a new line of dresses and is introduced to their designer, Miss Rogers. Miss Rogers likes Millie's freshness and asks her to come to New York for a month to model the line for fashion magazines. Millie is excited and accepts the offer. It's been a week and Mr. Felton, the mailman, finally brings a card from Millie. She's been busy and has met a sculptor. Another week passes with no word from Millie. Sam goes to see Millie and Thornton Avery, the photographer, is not happy that Sam interrupted the photo shoot. Sam doesn't really get to talk to Millie as she is busy. Then the two go to a party that night. Sam finally gets a quiet moment with Millie. She says that while she's had fun, she can't wait to get back home.

Millie is talking on the phone with her friend Renee Miller. Millie has to work, so she asks Sam to show Renee around town so she won't be lonely. When Sam and Renee get back to Millie's house, Millie is coming down with a cold. Millie now asks Sam to take Renee to the movies that evening. Millie is a little surprised at how excited Renee is about going out with Sam. Renee asks Sam to stay a while and they talk into the evening. Millie starts to get a little jealous and comes downstairs. After Sam leaves, Renee asks Millie if her and Sam are engaged, to which Millie says no. The next day, Renee comes out to Sam's farm. Later, Renee tells Millie how nice country life is. Millie tells Aunt Bee that she regrets asking Renee to come for the visit and she can tell Renee likes Sam. Aunt Bee has a plan and tells Millie to invite Renee over to Sam's for dinner. Aunt Bee exaggerates how hard farm life is to Renee. Renee tells everyone that she's going back to New York.

Sam was experimenting growing string beans, but his crop turned out very poorly. Sam consults with his friend Ralph Barton, but Ralph has no answers. He then talks to Harry at the lawn and garden shop in town, but he's no help. Meanwhile, Millie is growing string beans in her backyard garden. Sam later sees Millie's beans and asks her what she did to get them to grow so well. Turns out Millie did nothing special but water them. Sam gets irritated when Millie sees a bucket of his tiny shriveled up beans. That night Sam and Millie are double dating with Goober and Marilyn. Sam becomes annoyed when Goober keeps complimenting Millie's beans. Mike talks to Millie about her fight with Sam and her beans. Later, Mike tells Sam that Millie talks to her beans. Ralph sees Sam talking to his beans and tells Sam something that makes him feel better. Sam apologizes to Millie and brings her some of his tomato crop. After he leaves, she compares his tomatoes to hers and hers are bigger.

Aunt Bee's friend Ella comes by and wants to hear all about Charles. Aunt Bee is planning an engagement reception. Meanwhile, Howard, Goober and Emmett are concerned that Aunt Bee may have rushed into the engagement. They don't trust Charles and will keep an eye on him at the party. It's the night of the reception and the towns people get to meet Charles. He claims he'll take good care of Aunt Bee. The next day Charles and Aunt Bee look at a farm and set the date for the wedding. Aunt Bee sees a TV show about a sea captain talking to his girlfriend. The captain says that the sea will always be a part of him. Aunt Bee starts to wonder whether Charles will some day want to return to the sea. Little things that Charles does makes Aunt Bee even more concerned. At the wedding rehearsal, Aunt Bee says she wants to postpone the wedding.

At the county fair, Howard and Goober meet Roscoe, who booked a dog act there. He's unhappy that he no longer books people. Sam, who is the emcee, announces it's time to crown Miss Farmerette who will be queen of the fair. The winner winds up being Millie. The next day, Roscoe comes to Mayberry and tells Millie he wants to make her a movie star. Roscoe convinces Millie to do a screen test, but she doesn't have the money for it. Howard has a home movie of Millie that Roscoe thinks he can use. Roscoe sends the film to producer Frank Springer in Hollywood. Millie's scared but goes to see Mr. Carr, the casting director. Millie's reading for the part of a southern girl doesn't go well. Sam, Millie and Roscoe are at a restaurant. Roscoe is depressed and Millie is relieved. Roscoe gets excited when the beautiful Cashier has a southern accent. Sam hears from Roscoe that the Cashier got the part.

The town is excited about the Baseball Class "A" Excursion. While buying his ticket, Goober complains to Sam and Andy about the contents of the box lunch that will be included. Mike is excited to be going to the game. Sam becomes upset with Mike for losing a second jacket in less then 10 days. Mike has also lost several other items lately. Sam tells him that if he loses one more thing, he can't go to the game. Mike is playing baseball with some friends and he loses his watch. Mike tells Sam what happened and Mike knows he can't go to the game. Sam feels bad about enforcing his rule. It doesn't help that many townspeople are giving him a hard time about it. Andy gives Sam an idea of how he might be able to let Mike go to the game. Sam buys a similar watch and then sets it up so Mike can find it. While watching the game, Mike finds his original watch in his baseball glove. Mike realizes what his father did for him.

Howard meets Walter Michaels, a neighbor and realizes he's a big Hollywood producer. Howard, Emmett, Goober, Sam and Mike then head off to a cowboy breakfast horse ride. A cowboy then sings a song for entertainment and Emmett recognizes him as former singing cowboy movie actor King Beaumont. King comes by with a movie script he wrote for a Western that he would like Howard to give to Walter. Howard reads the script to the others and decides to set up a meeting with King and Walter. Sam thinks Howard might be getting in over his head. The next day, Howard talks to Walter and he reluctantly agrees to have a meeting later that day. That afternoon, King comes by with his partners Jennie Mae Swanson (Jeanne Bates) and Shorty Williams and they meet Walter. The three perform a scene from the film. Walter doesn't seem impressed and he says the time might not be right for a film like that. Walter leaves and King thanks the guys for trying. King then sings Red River Valley.

Goober is at the bus stop waiting for his niece Beverly to arrive. Beverly is at Goober's gas station when she meets Tommy and they both seem to like each other. Tommy talks to Millie about Beverly. He would like to ask her to the Siler City high school dance but he's never asked a girl for a date. Tommy calls and Goober answers the phone. When Goober finds out what Tommy wants, he rudely tells him Beverly can't go out with him and hangs up. Millie and Beverly overhear the conversation and Beverly gets upset. Millie and Sam talk Goober into letting Beverly go with Tommy. It's the night of the dance and Goober gives Tommy a specific time to have Beverly home. On the way back from the dance, Tommy runs out of gas. Tommy calls but Goober doesn't believe that's what happened. When the kids get home, Goober loses his cool and chases Tommy away. Beverly stops talking to Goober. Goober finds a way to make things right.

Andy and Helen are finally getting married and Andy is having his Bachelor party. The couple will honeymoon in Florida and Goober will be acting Sheriff. Opie will be on a camping trip and Aunt Bee is planning to leave Mayberry and live with her sister out-of-state. Sam asks Aunt Bee to move onto the farm with him and Mike, but she says her plans are made. It's the day of the wedding and Barney is best man. The happy couple leave for their honeymoon. Something the Reverend says leads Aunt Bee to change her mind about Sam's offer. But farm life might take some getting used to. Meanwhile, Howard reads a postcard from Andy to Goober and Emmett. Aunt Bee decides farm life isn't for her and Sam takes her large luggage out to the car. After speaking to Mike and looking at family pictures, Aunt Bee decides to overcome her fears and stay at the farm. We see Andy singing to Helen and then Barney is there as well.

Mailman Felton delivers a bunch of birthday cards to Emmett. Emmett tells Goober and Howard that he's going to be 50. The men tease Emmett a little bit about his age. Martha wants to throw a birthday party for him, but Emmett is against it. Realizing that Emmett is getting sensitive about his age, Goober and Howard try to cheer him up. After getting directions from Emmett, a guy on a motorcycle says "Thanks Gramps". Emmett then gets a blank card from a fortune machine. Emmett now feels worse. While looking through a movie magazine, Millie mentions to Emmett that Cary Grant is in his 60s. Now Emmett doesn't feel so bad about his age. He has a spring in his step and tells Martha he now wants a party. Emmett goes wild at his party. The next morning, he is all worn out. Sam comes by and the two have a talk that puts things in perspective.

Great news comes from the Mt.Pilot Press....Millie is declared the best dressed woman in ALL of the area! Everyone is very happy about this. Soon, the woman start copying Millie's styles and clothing she wears...including miniskits! The men strongly object, and Sam must tell Millie to stop. That night, the woman who she has been getting the fashions visits....and is in completly different clothes! Millie finds out that you should wear what you want to wear in this episode.

The corn crop is coming in and Sam needs to hire someone to help him. Andy suggests using ex-prisoners from the county prison. Sam talks to Aunt Bee and she reluctantly agrees. Andy introduces Sam to Harry Davis and Charley Wilson. The men start picking corn and after a while, Sam gives them some money to run a few errands in his truck. They stop at Goober's gas station. Millie tells them that Goober's not there and they should just help themselves. They stop at Emmett's fix-it shop to pick something up for Sam. Emmett has to leave and he asks the men to watch his store. Meanwhile, Millie drops off a little more than $500 to Aunt Bee. Later, Sam and Aunt Bee find the money and car gone. Harry and Charley go to play cards with Big Louie. Andy and Sam show up and Harry and Charley say they were just trying to win the rest of the money for the pool. Big Louie gives Andy an additional $500 for the pool.

Sam tells Goober and Emmett that the high school journalism class has been assigned to interview the office holders in Mayberry. Sam meets Nancy Hughes, who is instantly attracted to him. The next day, Nancy finds Sam at the bakery and asks to interview him some more. Millie tells Sam that Nancy has a huge crush on him. Sam now tries to avoid Nancy. Goober and Emmett tease Sam about Nancy. Sam wants to tell her off but Millie and Howard think that will effect her psychologically. Howard suggests finding a younger version of Sam for her to fall for. Sam asks Emmett's nephew Pete to join him, Millie, Nancy, Howard, and Emmett at a barbecue at Myers Lake. Nancy has no interest in Pete. Howard has a direct talk with Nancy about Sam. The next day, Nancy goes to the bakery and apologizes to Sam for throwing herself at him. Nancy is now attracted to Howard. Howard tells Sam and Emmett that he told Nancy right off that he wasn't interested. It appears she is now hooking up with Pete.

Mike sees in a catalog a silver vase that he would like to get for Aunt Bee's birthday. It seems Mike accidentally ordered a copy machine from Amalgamated Copy Machine Co. There's a 10-day free home trial. Mike decides to go into business with his friend Harold and make copies for people in town. He hopes to make enough money to buy Aunt Bee's gift. Ernie Newhouser, from Amalgamated, shows up at Sam's house. Sam manages to put off Ernie and then goes to talk to Mike. Mike figures he'll fill the order and then mail it back. But he trips over the cord and damages the machine, but it still works. Mike takes the machine to Emmett's, but he can't fix it. He then tries to get a bank loan from Cyrus Tankersley with no luck. Sam finds out about the machine and gets upset. Harold tells Sam that Mike used the machine again so he could buy Aunt Bee's gift. Understanding what Mike went through, Sam tells him he'll keep the machine.

Andy and Sam think it would be a good idea to have a "Civic Youth Day". They would have some children take over as Sheriff, Head of City Council and County Clerk. But just for a few hours. Mike is chosen to be Sheriff, Arnold Bailey will be Head of City Council and Martin Barton will be County Clerk. The boys study for two weeks about their jobs. On the day, Sam, Andy and Howard quickly find out that the boys know quite a bit about the jobs. Later at a luncheon, the boys are to tell what they learned that morning. The boys don't have much to say. Sam apologizes because the men really didn't give the boys the added knowledge that they obviously wanted. The boys clearly embraced their roles with far more enthusiasm than anyone thought.

Sam's cousin, Vince, is coming to visit. He used to be a jockey but now he trains horses. The next day Vince arrives with a horse named Gingersnap. Vince says that the horse has not lived up to its potential as a race horse. He's looking to sell the horse to finance a restaurant he wants to partner in and was hoping Sam could find a buyer. Aunt Bee thinks it's a shame to turn Gingersnap into a saddle horse. Emmett tells Sam that Mr. Bowers might be interested in the horse. But Aunt Bee manages to intentionally ruin the deal. She tells Sam her intuition tells her to put the horse in a race. Sam reluctantly agrees. Aunt Bee sets things up and gets the horse into a race at Morgan Downs. The day of the race, Aunt Bee gives the Jockey a pep talk. After the race starts, Gingersnap is in last position. The horse comes from behind to win. When Vince hears the good news, he decides to keep Gingersnap.

The annual Harvest Ball is soon and the men are asking each other who they're going to take. Goober would like to take Millie Swanson, but is having a hard time asking her. Emmett writes a letter to Millie for Goober. Meanwhile, Sam would like to ask Millie to the ball as well. Goober asks Sam to rewrite Emmett's letter and Sam finds out it's to Millie. Sam has to run an errand before he can finish Goober's letter. Millie comes to Sam's office and sees the letter. She is excited because she likes Sam. Millie gets the letter in the mail but is disappointed when she sees it's from Goober. Millie's friend Dorothy is there when she reads the letter and says what a nice guy Goober is. Millie shows up to the ball with Goober. Sam is able to get a dance with Millie and Goober can see she would rather be with Sam. Goober tells Sam what he sensed and says it's OK. Goober leaves and runs into Dorothy and senses she likes him. Sam and Millie see Goober and Dorothy walking off arm in arm.

Sam receives a letter from Jackson Television Productions. Their debate program will discuss which is better, big city or small town life. They request two citizens to come to New York City. Representing New York will be writer Harding Capehart and socialite Pamela Mason. The City Council pick Emmett and Howard to defend the honor of all small towns across America. It's the night of the show and people gather at Sam's office to watch the show. The show begins with moderator Mr. Jackson introducing the panelists. Howard concedes many of the points that the city representatives make. Emmett and the folks at home start to get frustrated with Howard's reactions. Howard returns to Mayberry an outcast and admits he got carried away on his first trip to New York. Sam sent a Manhattan newspaper an apologetic poem Howard had written about Mayberry. The paper prints the poem and Sam reads it to the Council. Everyone then forgives Howard.