#thelma lou whitfield

[pianotuna]

Characters: Bernard “Barney” Oliver Milton P. Fife and Thelma Lou Whitfield Fife

Media: The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1966)

Played by: Don Knotts and Betty Lynn

Setting: 1960s, Mayberry

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife is as colorful a character as small-town Mayberry, NC, has ever seen, managing to carry a gun with no bullets, awkwardly catch criminals, and participate in every social opportunity in equal parts.

Thelma Lou is Barney’s long-suffering girlfriend, tolerating his erratic behavior and countering it with her own doggedness to make him give her the respect she deserves.

Barney and Thelma Lou have constant ups-and-downs in their relationship, typically due to misunderstandings that become entirely out-of-control. Though Barney steps out with waitress Juanita once in a while and Thelma Lou conspires to make Barney jealous with various men of town, the two ultimately love one another and always find their way back together after their multiple short breakups. Muddling their way through a myriad of situations (buying a broken-down car, arranging disastrous blind dates for their friends, and launching an massive unnecessary cave rescue, to name a few), Barney and Thelma Lou share a bond that is unbreakable by trouble and time, as they prove episode after episode.