Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain - S4-E8
Continuity mistake: Andy reads the inside cover of Barney's old schoolbook which has Barney's name "Bernard P. Fife" written out many times in it, but in two previous episodes Barney's middle name is either Oliver or Milton.
Continuity mistake: In this episode, during the scenes at Thelma Lou's house the front door is right beside a wall perpendicular to it, but in earlier and later episodes the front door is beside the dining room at the opposite side of the parlor.
My Fair Ernest T. Bass - S4-E17
Revealing mistake: At the start, when Ernest T. throws the rock at Mrs. Wiley's window and it breaks, the area around the hole flutters in the breeze - it's obviously not a glass window used for the stunt.
Continuity mistake: While Aunt Bee and the party guests are gathered in the parlor, when Gomer hoots like an owl in the shot facing him note Floyd's eyeglasses - black with thick straight temples, but in the shot from behind Gomer and all following shots Floyd's wearing different eyeglasses - lighter color with curved tips.
Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain - S4-E8
Continuity mistake: When Opie's surprised by the bike, his first closeup is a flipped shot - note the bell's on the wrong side of the handlebar, etc.
Visible crew/equipment: When Opie's up on the ladder feeding the birds, in the overhead shot of Andy and Barney the mic's cable running up under Barney's pant leg is visible.
Aunt Bee the Crusader - S4-E15
Revealing mistake: Toward the end of the show the rooster, Bo, is drunk. If you look closely you can see the two strings pulling the rooster's neck sideways.
Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain - S4-E8
Continuity mistake: When Barney is "reciting" the preamble to the Constitution, he messes up his hair. When they show him in close-ups it is messed up, but when it goes back to him and Andy in the scene it is combed. It does that a couple of times.
A Black Day for Mayberry - S4-E7
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the show, two men walk into the courthouse. (As a sidenote, one of the men is Rance Howard, which is Ronnie Howard's real dad). Barney is the only one there, as Andy is out. The two men sit down to wait for Andy. Rance Howard is not wearing a hat, and he is in a light-colored suit. When Opie walks through the door looking for Andy, you can see that Rance is not sitting there any more, and now it's a man with a dark suit and wearing a hat. (00:01:55)
Visible crew/equipment: Just as the first shot opens of Andy walking down the block we can see the moving reflection of a crew member wearing a short sleeve, button down shirt, who's presumably sitting on the camera dolly as it rolls along keeping pace with Andy.
Continuity mistake: At the start, when Andy stops at Wally's station Gomer is telling Jason about his Trout bait, then someone pulls up behind Jason's car and they're bumper to bumper in the wideshot, but in the exterior shot facing Jason there's no car behind him, but that car is back again before he pulls away.
Visible crew/equipment: While Aunt Bee, Andy, Barney, and Gomer are on the porch talking about the band, just as Andy says, "We're talking about gettin' up a band concert by tonight," the chalk T-mark is visible on the floor by Andy's feet. (00:12:25)
Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army - S4-E3
Visible crew/equipment: When the two men are carrying the window pane past Barney and Andy, we can see the reflection of a few crew members' legs.
Revealing mistake: When Andy, Barney, Gomer, and the kids are at the campsite in the woods, during the daytime scenes the only shadows that should be seen are the ones being cast by the sun, but there are shadows being cast in different directions due to the set lighting.
A Black Day for Mayberry - S4-E7
Plot hole: There is no reason for a gold truck from Denver to Fort Knox to be going through Mayberry.
Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army - S4-E3
Revealing mistake: When Barney picks Andy up and they get back to the courthouse, they find Ernest T out of the jail cell again and breaking more windows, and in the shot of Ernest T leaping in the air we see it's actually a flipped shot - note the backwards "snack bar" in the window (that store is later when Ernest T tries to break the new glass for the courthouse).
Continuity mistake: Otis is in the jail and can't sleep. He ask Andy for some water. Andy gets up, unlocks the door and then closes it again (clearly leaving the key in the lock). He comes back a few seconds later and the key is gone and back on the wall. (00:05:05)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the show, Barney and Andy are sitting inside a 1964 Ford patrol car. When they are shown up close inside, you can tell it is not the likeness of the same car. The back glass windows look more like a 1960 model possibly. It is definitely not a 1964.
Character mistake: Barney complains about Andy escorting the Apricot Queen around Mayberry many years prior. Barney had hoped to be her escort. He remembers the date, telling Andy it was "June 23, 1952, a Saturday afternoon." June 23, 1952, was a Monday.
My Fair Ernest T. Bass - S4-E17
Other mistake: Barney says, "I brought the car to drive you over to Mrs. Wiley's," but later when Andy, Barney, Ernest T., and Ramona leave Mrs. Wiley's we see that they're at the house that's actually next door to Andy - though to hide this fact there's a station wagon in the driveway, and they've removed the trellis beside the door.
Answer: It was a joke. They were supposed to be dumb hillbillies.
Both. According to later interviews with both Andy and the Dillards band (the real name of the band that played the parts of the Darling children, of which Charlene (Maggie Peterson - Mancuso was also a member) the reason the Darling boys never had any lines was because they would've had to have been paid if they spoke. In return for appearing without lines or pay, Andy promised to get as much of their music onto the show as possible which, he did. This obviously gave them a lot of exposure.