11 things you never noticed in the Andy Griffith Show episode ''Barney's Bloodhound''

It's hard to say who was a harder worker — the dog or Howard Morris.

It remains one of the most beloved episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. How could it not? The pooch is adorable.

"Barney's Bloodhound" is best known for Blue, the big dog that the deputy hopes to train as a crime-fighting canine. Blue also happens to be a keen detector of lollipops and no fan of dog whistles. Barney is frustrated with Blue until the dog comes through and saves the day.

The final scene with the jail door key earns one of the biggest laughs in the entire series. 

Let's take a closer look and sniff out some fascinating details from this episode!

Watch The Andy Griffith Show on MeTV!

Weeknights at 8 & 8:30, Sundays at 12 & 6 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

1. Andy Griffith had a dog named "Blue" in No Time for Sergeants.

 

No Time for Sergeants — a Broadway production and later 1958 film adaptation — serves an important part in The Andy Griffith Show lore. The military comedy brought Don Knotts and Andy Griffith together as actors, and essentially set the mold for Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. In the movie, Griffith's character has a dog named Blue, too! Perhaps Barney's "Bloodhound" was a nod to their past work? (Here the dog can be seen in an image from the No Time for Sergeants television series.)

Image: The Everett Collection

2. Pluto was one of the hardest working dogs in Hollywood.

 

Let's spend a little more time discussing Blue, because he is a good boy. A canine actor named Pluto portrayed the "Bloodhound" (he's actually an Otterhound). Pluto can be spotted all over classic television. He was Walter the Dog on Bonanza, in the 1963 episode "A Friend of Walter's." The same shaggy dog turned up in Elly May's menagerie on The Beverly Hillbillies ("Dash Riprock, You Cad") and memorably wagged his way onto The Dick Van Dyke Show as "The Ugliest Dog in the World." He even appeared multiply times in Mayberry, as you can see him here with Goober in "A Man's Best Friend."

3. The episode took place… in the future! (Barely.)

 

Take a closer look at the calendar hanging behind Floyd in his barbershop. It is displaying the page for February, as the month only has 28 days. The 28th falls on a Sunday, an occurrence that happened in 1965. Well, the episode aired in October 1964 — so it seemingly took place four months in the future! Either that or Floyd had not changed his calendar since February 1954.

4. The buy guy was later a good guy on Star Trek.

 

Keen-eyed classic TV viewers will recognize Arthur Batanides, who plays the escaped criminal Ralph Neal in "Barney's Bloodhound." Five years later, he would serve as the Enterprise's senior geologist on Star Trek. Here he is sporting the blue sciences division shirt in "That Which Survives." 

5. It was directed by ''Ernest T. Bass'' himself.

 

Hopefully, you watch through the credits to give the creators their due. Note the director — Howard Morris. That's right, it's the Ernest T. Bass actor himself! Morris helmed eight episodes of the series in total, giving him some of his earliest director credits. If you're keeping count, that indeed means he worked on more TAGS episodes as the director than as Ernest T. Bass, whom he only portrayed five times.

6. Howard Morris was the voice of "The Masked Singer."

 

Morris pulled triple duty in "Barney's Bloodhound"! Early in the episode, Andy and Barney listen to the radio, a broadcast from Mt. Pilot. Morris is both the voice of the WMPD radio announcer and the voice of the "Masked Singer," Leonard Blush, who croons, "Who is Sylvia…" That's right, The Andy Griffith Show had a Masked Singer long before it was a modern reality show sensation.

7. This state trooper sure looked familiar.

 

Did this state trooper look familiar? He had appeared in the exact same role just 16 episodes early, turning up as the state trooper in "Andy's Vacation."  James Seay also played a policeman on The Twilight Zone ("In His Image"), as well as the film The Asphalt Jungle.

8. The other state trooper later turned up in a memorable 'M*A*S*H' scene.

 

Next to Seay is another unnamed state trooper, played by Brad Trumbull, who later popped up as an MP in the M*A*S*H episode "The General Flipped at Dawn." You might remember that season-three premiere as the one with Harry Morgan as a general, not Potter. Trumbull can be seen next to Morgan in the trial at the end. 

9. The wanted poster is filled with more fictional North Carolina towns.

 

This bulletin from "Halron P. Spriggs" of the Central Police Bureau has some interesting details next to Ralph Neal's mugshot. It mentions the towns of "Compass City" and "Flintridge," which do not exist in North Carolina. The description explains that Flintridge is nearby Route 12. There is a Route 12 in North Carolina — but it runs through the Outer Banks.

10. This cabin was popular with outlaws.

 

Neal hides out in the Forbes cabin. Well, it wasn't always the Forbes cabin. The same structure can be seen two years earlier in "Convicts-at-Large." Only then it was known as O'Malley's cabin.

11. It was written by the creator of 'Saved by the Bell.'

 

Sam Bobrick, the creator of Saved by the Bell, wrote some of the funniest Barney episodes for The Andy Griffith Show. The Air Force veteran and journalism major penned "Barney's Bloodhound," " Barney Fife, Realtor" and the later color episodes that centered around the deputy, including "The Return of Barney Fife" and "A Visit to Barney Fife."

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Close

24 Comments

ScottTVME 47 months ago
Actually Presidents Day was not a holiday yet. The 22nd was Washington’s Birthday
JHP 50 months ago
Hats off to the Guy in #5. He was a true genius
Kenner 50 months ago
I think this is the same dog Eddie had in season 6 LITB when Eddie moves out and into a rooming house. Beav and Wally visit.
Antiggy1998 52 months ago
The dog was trained by the legendary Frank Inn. He also trained Higgins who was Betty Jo's dog on Petticoat Junction, and the same dog was the original Benji. He trained Tramp on My 3 Sons and all of the animals on the Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. Howard Morris was a very gifted guy. He could act with his eyes which is hard to do.
TheProf51 54 months ago
(#4) On The Dick Van Dyke show, (Season 3, #9, "The Big Calvada"), Arthur Batinides played one of Sheldon Leonard's bodyguards, when Sheldon played Max Calvada, a gangster looking for jokes for his nephew, a no-talent, fledgling comic. Rob, Buddy, and Sally wrote some jokes, in fear for their lives, but the nephew's delivery was horrible. Still, being the devoted bodyguard, Batinides, stonefaced, chimed in, "That kid cracks me up!". After almost 60 years, I still use that line, and it "Still cracks me UP!". The "Calvada" name also was the name of the show's production company, which likely would stand for Carl Reiner, Van Dyke, and Danny Thomas. The Prof
JHP TheProf51 50 months ago
yep AB wore many hats in the acting world. Always liked him in any show he was in:)
donsgirl79 TheProf51 26 months ago
Great job remembering all that! But I believe what Calvada's bodyguard ("Bernard") actually said was, "Kid breaks me up."
lolal 54 months ago
https://www.metv.com/lists/9-tv-shows-that-were-too-ahead-of-their-time-in-the-early-1970s
Stoney 54 months ago
Love the articles, but please get another pair of eyes to proofread before you publish. "Buy guy"?
Jeff 54 months ago
Looks to me the 28th is a Sunday, the 22nd is in red cuz it's a holiday, presidents day
BillMorse 54 months ago
The calendar in the jail cell that Andy and Barney were locked in at the end appeared to be March with the 1st on Sunday and the 31st on Tuesday. Also, all the days were marked off as if it was the end of the month.
D 54 months ago
In #3, it appears to me the 28th falls on a Sunday and not on a Saturday as described.
Kirk D 54 months ago
I thought that as well but the first two days of the week are in red signifying the weekend.
kathiejc1 54 months ago
Good website. Just run spellcheck first. Got some typos. Still love watching MeTV every day.
ncadams27 54 months ago
It seems that the TV version of No Time for Sergeants was ABC’s answer to Gomer Pyle, USMC, both debuting only a week apart. If you can’t get the Andy Griffith character, use the main source. Only lasted a year and was similar to the movie/play in name only.
stephaniestavropoulos 54 months ago
According to the article it said the dog "appeared multiply times." How many times did one have to multiply [or how many "guzinta's" to quote Jethro's math term,] did one have to do in order to make the dog appear?
Deleted 54 months ago
This comment has been removed.
stephaniestavropoulos 54 months ago
METV, you've got some 'splainin' to do! What is this weight loss reply doing on your website. There is no place for it here!
stephaniestavropoulos 54 months ago
FYI people: I FLAGGED this comment.
stephaniestavropoulos 54 months ago
Hmmmm! I wonder, if the folks over on The Waltons were giving a nod and a wink to No Time For Sergeants, by naming the Waltons donkey Blue?
hermanstein2015 54 months ago
Wowww the Saved By The Bell guy got me! How neat was that!
JimHursey 54 months ago
Guess we have a typo on #4 what is a buy guy or is it bad guy?
"Buy guy:" Somebody who buys things!
Does that mean the good guy is the “sell” guy?
Good thinking! Of course, who else could he be?!?!
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?