Title: Bugs
Directed by: David Swift
Written by: Larry Balmagia, Dennis Koenig, and Tony Sheehan
Air Date: September 29, 1977
Previous: Good-Bye, Mr. Fish: Part 2
Next: Corporation
Guest Starring: Mari Gorman, Robert Costanzo, Paula Shaw, Lavelle Roby
"Bugs" is the third episode of the fourth season of Barney Miller.
The 12th Precinct is dealing with an infestation of cockroaches. Wojo has to retype a report for Barney after using said report to whack a cockroach. Barney calls an exterminator, who comes in to spray the place. In the process of doing so, the exterminator finds an entirely different kind of "bug"—an electronic listening device. The detectives become paranoid that they are being listened to by Internal Affairs.
Meanwhile, the squad busts three prostitutes. Two of them are veteran streetwalkers, but the third, Roberta Kerlin, got busted on the very first day she went out hooking when the very first man who approached her turned out to be a cop. Mrs. Kerlin is eventually revealed to be a married mother of four from Connecticut who decided to walk the streets one day because her husband doesn't pay attention to her.
Tropes:
- Answers to the Name of God: Keller, the exterminator, claims that the cockroaches are scared of him alone, that he is "their god and master." Wojo then steps on one of the little pests and exclaims "God!" to which Keller says "Be right over!"
- All Women Are Lustful: Mrs. Kerlin decided to try out life as a prostitute because, it seems, her husband pays no attention to her.
- Creepy Cockroach: The squad room is infested with roaches. Wojo complains, leading Dietrich to go on one of his interminable lectures about how cockroaches are hundreds of millions of years old and they're a crucial part of maintaining the ecosystem. Then he stomps on one and says "Got that sucker!"
- Double-Meaning Title: "Bugs", being both the roaches in the squad room and the listening devices that the exterminator discovers.
- Eccentric Exterminator: Keller the exterminator goes on a weird rant about how he has "the power of life and death" over roaches, how "they live in fear" of him, how he's "their god and master."
- Housewife: Mrs. Kerlin is a suburban mother of four who got her figure back through exercise after delivering twins 18 months ago. When her husband didn't notice, she decided to go hooking. She says there's more to life than "dirty shorts".
- I Ate WHAT?!: Barney is about to grab a cup of coffee when Nick starts to recount his fondness for the cockroaches, mentioning one that each day would crawl up the leg of the table that the coffee maker is on and try to steal a sugar cube, saying it was the closest he ever had to having a pet. Upon hearing this, Barney promptly puts the coffee pot and mug down.
- Internal Affairs: The discovery of microphones in the squad room leads to a lot of discussion about Internal Affairs probably listening in on the detectives. Even Barney is addressing the ceiling directly, before Keller comes back and reports that the wires for the microphones have been chewed through by vermin, and the microphones seem to have been installed many years ago.
- Streetwalker: Three. One, Mrs. Kerlin, is a housewife who does it for kicks. The other two are irritated by amateurs driving down prices.
