# Gomer Pyle Remake - Your Opinion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017 "2010-08-03T15:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/1 "2010-08-03T15:24:57Z")
You know it’s coming…it’s only a matter of time. My Choice for the Gomer / Sgt. Carter combo **Matthew Lillard / Vince Vaughn** Some of my colleagues think Adam Sandler / Rob Schneider (Rob was a semi-psycho XO in Down Periscope). Whaddya think, dopers? ---
**Author:** ![History\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/2 "2010-08-03T15:57:06Z")
I just want to see the inevitable cameo by R. Lee Ermy. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/3 "2010-08-03T16:12:11Z")
> [@History\_Geek](#): > > I just want to see the inevitable cameo by R. Lee Ermy. He could play either GOmer’s dad OR Sgt. Carter’s dad…hmmmmmmmm ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/4 "2010-08-03T16:21:30Z")
With the direction Hollywood has been taking of late, I think there’d be a live-action Beetle Bailey before a Gomer Pyle movie. That said, [Josh Hopkins](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005020/) & Laurence Fishburne if we want guys from a similar geographical area to the originals. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/5 "2010-08-03T18:11:05Z")
> [@History\_Geek](#): > > I just want to see the inevitable cameo by R. Lee Ermy. Which would be sad in a way, because a Gomer Pyle movie would probably be rated PG-13. Ermey’s language might be restricted to nothing more offensive than “jackwagon.” He wouldn’t have a decent chance to bring out his Gunnery Sergeant Hartman character. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/6 "2010-08-03T18:18:17Z")
Carter _HAS_ to be Billy Bob Thornton, played as [Mr. Woodcock](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkhXwG_sWFM&feature=related) dialed up to 11. Gomer I don’t care who the hell is. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/7 "2010-08-03T19:20:12Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Carter _HAS_ to be Billy Bob Thornton, played as [Mr. Woodcock](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkhXwG_sWFM&feature=related) dialed up to 11. > > Gomer I don’t care who the hell is. BBT? Nice touch. Forgot about Mr. Woodcock. He _could_ play Gomer as well. Maybe pull a Mike Myers and bogue all of the roles? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/8 "2010-08-03T19:23:24Z")
Nobody else is thinking Jack McBrayer? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/9 "2010-08-03T19:38:18Z")
I think we need national legislation declaring it open season on these “remakes”. Anyone writing, directing, producing, acting in, or otherwise involved with or responsible for these abominations may be pelted with rotten fruit and/or water balloons at any time, without consequence. Except the fuckers talking about blaspheming against John Wayne by remaking _True Grit_. Those guys should be killed, then flogged. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/10 "2010-08-03T20:04:17Z")
Fred Ewanuick would be great as Gomer. His character Hank on _Corner Gas_ is sort of a Gomer character. Hank gets me ROFLMAO all the time. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TPpSerNJClI/hqdefault.jpg "Corner Gas - Hank drives ball picker upper") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpSerNJClI) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/11 "2010-08-03T20:14:58Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Carter _HAS_ to be Billy Bob Thornton, played as [Mr. Woodcock](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkhXwG_sWFM&feature=related) dialed up to 11. A 55-year-old Sgt. Carter? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/12 "2010-08-03T20:20:01Z")
They’re trying to remake Arthur with [Russell Brand](http://kymx.radio.com/2010/07/22/arthur-remake/) Unpossible, it is. Can’t be done. Dudley Moore and John Houseman are inimitable. Why do they do this? I would say Zack Braff for Gomer, but I think his innate intelligence would betray him. Hey, maybe Donald Faison but there might be fallout. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/13 "2010-08-03T20:23:42Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Except the fuckers talking about blaspheming against John Wayne by remaking _True Grit_. Those guys should be killed, then flogged. You want to kill (and then flog) the Coen brothers? Also, it’s not a remake of the John Wayne movie. It’s a new adaptation of the book. I really don’t have a problem w/ remakes or updates of any kind, but when it’s a new take on existing source material I think it should get even more of a pass. Ok, hijack over. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/14 "2010-08-03T20:25:07Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > They’re trying to remake Arthur with [Russell Brand](http://kymx.radio.com/2010/07/22/arthur-remake/) > > Unpossible, it is. Can’t be done. Dudley Moore and John Houseman are inimitable. > > Why do they do this? Because some people can’t even remember that it was John Gielgud that was in _Arthur_, not John Houseman. You’re kind of helping their point. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/15 "2010-08-03T20:29:15Z")
Clay Aiken should be Gomer. How many effeminate hillbillies are there who can sing opera? In the reimagining though I’d have Jane Lynch as Sgt. Carter with a special cameo by Andy Griffith as a 5 star general who ‘comes out’ in favor of _Don’t Ask Don’t Tell_, Jim Nabors as Grandpa Pyle, and George “Goober” Lindsey as a mechanic. I’d have 79 year old [Ronnie Schell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Schell)reprise the role of Duke without explanation as to the age of a new recruit. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/16 "2010-08-03T20:31:09Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Because some people can’t even remember that it was John Gielgud that was in _Arthur_, not John Houseman. You’re kind of helping their point. I meant to correct that to Gielgud but work and inserting the link allowed the edit window to close. Whatever people think the name is, the imcomparable performances remain for all to see. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/17 "2010-08-03T20:35:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Clay Aiken should be Gomer. How many effeminate hillbillies are there who can sing opera? Cletus Joe Bob Pavarotti? ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/18 "2010-08-04T04:29:06Z")
Hey, I’m with Oakminster on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/19 "2010-08-04T05:34:04Z")
Gomer has to be played by somene who can pull off an innocent and unworldly character. This would be hard to find. Gomer was by no means naive or stupid, he was just too often out of his element. For example when a car needed to be fixed he was great (though in several episodes of _Andy Griffith_ Gomer claimed only to be able to put gas in a car). Or when it involved nature Sgt Carter for all his bluster was a typical military person. He wasn’t bright but he could follow orders and get the job done. For instance too many times when the episodes revolves around outdoor things, Carter forgets Gomer is a country boy and knows how to survive off the land and deal with animals. Both characters had an innocence about them and you’d ned an actor to protray that without having them come across as stupid. Agains “Not bright” doesn’t mean stupid. Carter got taken by people as often as Gomer but with both it was brought about by unfamiliarity with the situations. Gomer having come form a relatively rural secluded area and Carter having spent all of his life someone isolated in the miliary. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017/20 "2010-08-04T11:44:32Z")
Gaaaw-lee! Ain’t that war profiteerin’? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gomer-pyle-remake-your-opinion/549017.md?page=2)