>>>In 1990, TBS aired a special 30th anniversary tribute with several cast members, including Don Knotts and Betty Lynn. At one point, they took questions from the audience, and some tall skinny goober stood up and asked Betty "if Thelma Lou ever found out about Juanita down to the diner." Betty replied that Thelma Lou was no dummy, and that she was well aware of Barney's activities. Don added that Thelma Lou was always Barney's #1 girl, and that Barney saw Juanita only occasionally, to "get a little on the side."<<<
Yes, Paul, I remember that from the special. Still, I think that was Betty's own interpretation and not necessarily the writers' intent. When you consider how upset Thelma Lou was whenever the Fun Girls came to town -- and Barney didn't even instigate or encourage those encounters! -- it seems unlikely that Thelma Lou would turn a blind eye to Barney's relationship with Juanita. I don't think that would be consistent with her character. It's true that Thel graciously overlooked many of Barney's flaws (even found them endearing and amusing), but she was not shy about calling him on the carpet when he was keeping company with another woman, even one who was clearly only looking for a "good time." Of course, that's *my own* interpretation of Thelma Lou's character! There's that old saying, "The wife (or long-time steady girlfriend, in this case) is always the last to know!" FWIW, Thelma Lou (Janet) _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
