![]() While Liz and the squad room deal with Truman the viewer could be forgiven for nearly forgetting all about the robbery, even if the two of them are absent. In the teaser, Fish and Chano get sent out on a 1030, a bank robbery. And this whole subplot serves as a counterpoint to the meat of this episode. It plays as a sort of pint-sized version of the type of compassionate conflict resolution that is the thesis statement of the series as a whole. On top of all that are the class and racial dynamics that color (no pun intended) the jokes of the storyline. I think that we live in a world that would be too timid, perhaps rightly so, of the legal ramifications of doing something like this without at least contacting Truman’s grandparents first. This whole storyline is the type of thing that probably wouldn’t be very realistic today. He enlists the help of the pimp to help play a version of friendly proto Scared Straight to the kid as a plea bargain for leniency. “Barney Miller” has so far been a show adept at making connections between its stories, so when a new black pimp in the neighborhood gets arrested for felonious assault of a trick, Barney seizes the opportunity. Harris “books” Truman and says that he may have to face “Judge Meanie” because “Judge Goodie” is unavailable. He tries to put her at east that he’ll only give the kid a taste of what collars usually go through and Harris is game to play along. Even though everyone at the station loves her, including of course, Barney, she still has a twinge of regret that perhaps even Barney and the gang might be too rough on him. This earns one of Yemana’s famous utterances of the phrase “Very well put!” But, ever the wise and nurturing mother, Liz brought the young boy in to teach him a lesson. Liz’s collar, an eight year-old boy with a big pointy stick, attempted a mugging by pointing the stick at her and exclaiming “This is a stickup!” Liz has made a citizens arrest of a young boy by the name of Truman Jackson, played by Todd Bridges, Willis on “Different Strokes.” Even Inspector Luger shows up again, a reminder of the “good ol’ days.” Meanwhile Yemana finally gets something of a story, or at least a couple of running gags in filling jokes and a need for reading material in the can. Harris brings in a pimp by the name of Mayflower, whom Wojo books with his requisite indignation. In a lot of ways this episode is a summing up of the entire first season.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |