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8 minor goofs and tiny errors from 'Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'
Looks like Gomer's not the only lovable goof in the series!
From Gomer's very first day in the marines, his wide grin quickly gets him labeled as a goofball by Sergeant Carter, who's used to a much more serious attitude from his troops. As the series wore on, the two formed an unlikely friendship, and audiences came to cherish the actors' onscreen chemistry.
If you were enthralled by all the back and forth between Gomer and Carter on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., then it's likely you were laughing too hard to notice some of these other little goofs from the show. These tiny errors are often easy to overlook, even though some of them include major character details, so go ahead and get ready to stand at attention as you scroll through these minor inconsistencies and mistakes below.
1. They couldn't figure out how old to make Sgt. Carter.
Throughout the first season of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., the timeline of Carter's life gets a little confusing. At one point, they say Carter was born in 1929, which some fans have pointed out would've made him too young to have served in World War II. There's also confusion over how long Carter has served, varying betwen 14 and 18 years, depending on the episode.
2. They got the Ma and Pa Kettle movie title wrong.
When Gomer goes to the movies in "Gomer and the Dragon Lady," there's a shot of the theater displaying the movie title as Ma and Pa Kettle in Hawaii. The movie was actually called Ma and Pa Kettle in Waikiki. Close enough, right?
3. These hands change mid-karate chop.
For the episode "My Buddy, the War Hero," Carter's friend Jimbo prepares to chop a chair in half karate-style. Just before he hits the chair, he's clearly got his right hand at the ready, but when they show the follow-through, suddenly it swaps, and he's chopping with his left hand.
4. Carter travels 1,300 miles twice in one day.
In "Where There's a Will," Gomer goes off to parachute training. He leaves Camp Henderson behind in Southern California and jaunts off to Sand Point, which is actually located in Seattle, Washington. The distance between the two camps is approximately 1,300 miles, yet in the episode, Carter manages to make it to Sand Point and back to Camp Henderson twice in one day. This means that even though Gomer was the one up in the plane preparing to jump, Carter must've been the one really flying!
5. The views of the barracks are frequently conflicting.
Throughout the series, any time that the troops are inside the barracks, if you look out the front door, there is another row of barracks seemingly located right across the way. However, in other shots taken outside the barracks, there is clearly no row of barracks across from Gomer's. During the end credits, you can see the rows of barracks that face each other, so it seems a case of inconsistencies between two frequently used sets. Either way, it makes it hard to get your bearings!
6. The damage to Whipple's car was suspect in yet another way.
"The Borrowed Car" sees Carter up in arms with Mr. Whipple, who insists Carter's done hundreds of dollars worth of damage to his car. Carter claims it was only a scratch. When he goes to survey the damage, the entire back fender of Whipple's car is damaged from the collision. In the episode, Carter's upset because Whipple is trying to pin damage the sergeant didn't do on him, but we're upset because the damage Carter couldn't have possibly done to Whipple's car. The scene shows a heavy dent on top of the trunk, so unless Carter's car dropped down from the sky directly onto Whipple's, this damage seems extra unlikely.
7. The soldiers are seen wearing street shoes.
There's one stray shot in "Gomer Captures a Submarine" that shows the Marines not wearing their military-issued boots. As they're climbing down the sub into the raft, if you look closely, you can see that Gomer's shoe is flat, while the military boots have a short heel. Maybe these flat shoes made it easier to descend the rope ladder?
8. The credits list the wrong name for this guest star.
Finally, in the fifth season, the episode "Proxy Poppas" featured Warren Berlinger as a guest star. Throughout the episode, he's called Kenny Johnson, sometimes Ken. Yet when the credits roll, his character name flies by and it's listed instead as "Tony." Maybe whoever put the credits together just misheard?
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