Aunt Thede

When I turned to this episode and saw the comedic action speeded up like a cartoon or 3 stooges episode, I knew I was not going to like this. I watched about 10 minutes of it and turned it off. This is exactly what I was talkimg about in another review when I talked about Gunsmoke going downhill when Chester and the writer John Meston left. Festus is not funny at all with his Ernest T. Bass imitation and I refuse to watch these unfunny episodes. The only saving grace is watching Howard MacNear's Mayberry Floyd the Barber from the Andy Griffith Show.

I rather enjoyed this episode, and I liked more insight into Festus' amusing family - I, like other reviewers, don't mind the Festus character too much, and I like to see the Haggen clan show up every once in awhile. This aunt especially - Jeanette Nolan, a wonderful actress in anything she's in, does a great job of down home quirky and is fun to watch, at least to me. It was also nice to see a young Dyan Cannon, so lovely and good on her role.

Another commenter mentioned how tragic James Stacy's life turned out, and though that was certainly true, I cant help but think how much of that he brought on himself (read up on Google his list of self-caused legal issues), and it's a shame such a talent went so south.

Overall, I found this episode a pleasant change from such baddies and really awful people that populated so many of the episodes surrounding this one. Silly in parts maybe but, rather a relief from all the dark ones.

Doc and townsperson just have met Aunt Thede Hagen. The townsperson says: "Who was that?" Doc replies: "She;'s a Hagen, can't you tell? You know they all look alike.".... Too funny.

James Stacey ( who had a tragic end to his life) plays his usual charming rogue. Dyan Cannon, looking like something out of a Gode print ( highly unlikely in a farmgirl on the 1880's Kansas plain) and Jeanette Nolan as an annoying female version of Festus ( who is annoying enough in his own right) tell a tale not worth telling. The title should have been A Little Bit of Hagen Goes a Long Way.

The man credited as townsman is actually HapGlaudi, then sports director of WWL TV in New Orleans. He probably earned this cameo appearance because WWL is one of the highest rated cbs stations in the country. Another actor making a very brief appearance is Jenny Arness, daughter of James Arness and neice of Peter Graves. Dyan Canon went on to marry Carey Grant just a few short months after this episode aired. Howard Macnear played a storekeeper named Howard. He is most known as Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith Show. And then there is Frank Cady who played the part of Sam Drucker on Green Acres.