>>>Has anyone else noticed how very controlling Helen could be and that Andy let her get away with it? I've been watching some color episodes that I taped recently and found this disturbing as I feel it is out of character for Andy. When she was first introduced to the show she was rather a humble, lady-like woman. However, even tho Andy should've been more forthright, in the episode where he had to confer with the lady attorney in Raleigh, she is downright nasty and not the least bit mindful about embarrassing Lee Drake and then very snide at the end. Again, in the episode where she wants to get Howard and the new nurse together, she is flat-out demanding and mean to Andy till he caves in. And why didn't she reveal her scrape with the law in Kansas City to Andy before he had to inadvertently discover it for himself? I feel these instances were poor mistakes made by the writers fumbling for new storylines. Just my two cents worth.<<<
Aunt Bee, you really got me thinking about this. It's true that, although we saw some signs of Helen's temper in the black and white years, we also saw a lot of her gentle and understanding side. In fact, in one of the episodes (I think it was "Man in the Middle"), Andy tells Barney that he didn't think Helen could give anybody a rough time. However, in the color years, it seems we see more of her temper and more conflicts between her and Andy. I have a theory about this. In the black and white episodes, Barney was often the source of conflict in the story line, but when he was no longer there, someone else had to be the source of conflict. (After all, without a problem or conflict, there *is* no story.) The other characters had to pick up the slack, you might say. I think this is why we see more conflict between Andy and Helen in the color years. As to why he put up with it, there may be two reasons. One is that Andy really didn't enjoy conflict. Some people will cave in just as a way of avoiding conflict. Also, Andy seemed more at ease with conflict with other men. When it came to women, he didn't like to be confrontational. He preferred to placate them. Of course, there were also differences in the writers and how they presented the characters. But those are my thoughts, anyway. Thelma Lou (Janet) _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.wbmutbb.com/