Back to Nature (TAGS Episode)

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Episode Info

Back to Nature

  • Filmed: 127
  • Aired: 126
  • Original Air Date: 1964/05/11
  • Writer(s): Harvey Bullock
  • Director: Coby Ruskin

Plot Summary

Andy takes Opie and his gang on a camping trip. Barney, who tells the boys he's a regular pioneer when it comes to the wilderness, manages to get lost in the woods with Gomer. Andy finds them and manages to trick Barney into finding his way back to camp, where he tells the tale of how he managed to ensnare, clean, and cook a wild pheasant.

Odd Facts Known by Few

  • Actor David A. Bailey makes his third appearance in the series as Trey Bowden. He would return four seasons later in season 8 episode "Opie's First Love" as Fred Simpson.
  • Actor Keith Thibodeaux, billed as "Richard Keith" in 7 TAGS episodes, started playing drums at the age of two. He began touring the United States at the age of three and ended up in Hollywood, California, auditioning for Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's popular comedy "I Love Lucy". He landed the role of Little Ricky. While attending the University of Louisiana, Keith joined a mainstream rock band, "David and the Giants" as a drummer, singer, and songwriter. He left the band several years later but after Keith became a Christian, the band regrouped under the same name and went on to become one of the nation's top contemporary Christian bands. Keith and the band toured the world, recording more than a dozen albums before he left in 1989.
  • At the end of the episode, Barney and Gomer stride into camp with Gomer carrying the trap Barney made. Only one problem: they didn't take it with them when they got up to pursue the lake loon.

Character List

  • Andy Griffith - Andy Taylor
  • Don Knotts - Barney Fife
  • Ronny Howard - Opie Taylor
  • Jim Nabors - Gomer Pyle
  • Howard McNear - Floyd Lawson
  • Willis Bouchey - Fletcher Roberts
  • David A. Bailey - Tray Bowden
  • Richard Keith - Johnny Paul Jason
  • Dennis Rush - Howie Pruitt