Title: The Accusation
Directed by: Max Gail
Written by: Wally Dalton and Shelley Zeldman
Air Date: October 12, 1978
Previous: The Baby Broker
Next: The Prisoner
Guest Starring: Miriam Byrd-Nethery, Michael Tucci, Eugene Elman, Ruth Warshawsky, George Murdock
"The Accusation" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of Barney Miller.
A middle-aged lady, Ms. Whittaker, comes to the station to report young hooligans breaking into her mailbox. She is obviously taken with Dietrich, who exchanges witty banter with her as he takes her information. Ms. Whittaker, smitten, asks Dietrich to escort her back to her apartment.
Wojo processes a young hoodlum accused of robbing a convenience store. The 12th receives a report of an illegal casino. Yemana and Harris check it out and arrest...a rabbi named Greenblatt. Rabbi Greenblatt, it seems, received an official permit to hold a Casino Night for charity. It worked so well that four months later he is still running his one-night casino, complete with table games, slots, and valet parking.
Barney takes a call from the people he wants to talk to least: Internal Affairs. He is shocked to hear that Ms. Whittaker is accusing Dietrich of "lewd and lascivious behavior". That report brings in Lt. Scanlon of IA, the 12th Precinct's worst enemy, who is giddy with delight at the prospect of busting one of Barney's detectives.
In personal news, an inconvenient question from Wojo forces Barney to admit that he and his wife are living apart.
Tropes:
- All Women Are Lustful: Lonely housewives or single ladies were a frequent trope on Barney Miller. In this episode Ms. Whittaker coaxes Dietrich into escorting her home, then took her clothes off. When Dietrich took a pass and left, she made an unfounded sexual harassment complaint.
- Alter Kocker: An elderly rabbi with the standard Yiddish accent is arrested for running an illegal casino. All the money was for charity!
- Ask a Stupid Question...: When Rabbi Greenblatt's wife shows up to bail him out, he says "Ruth, what are you doing here?". She scornfully replies "Nothing, I just happened to be in the neighborhood."
- Character Tics: Lt. Scanlon was always moving and twitching oddly, as if he was perpetually about to burst out of his skin. When he asks if Harris remembers him, Harris says "Oh, I never forget a twitch." Scanlon then does the weird head twist that's part of his assortment of tics.
- Continuity Nod: Another reference to the running storyline about the Miller marriage being in trouble. In this episode Liz has returned to the apartment with the kids, so Barney has moved into a hotel.
- Donut Mess with a Cop: Ms. Whittaker calls Barney out on his coffee and donut breakfast.Ms. Whittaker: Oh my....and him a Captain!
Dietrich: Nutritionally, he's still a child. - The Gambling Addict: Yemana, a Running Gag. As they're going out to investigate the illegal casino Yemana asks if Harris has any money that he can borrow, and when Harris says no Yemana says "Thank God!". Later, Yemana is a little too fixated on the casino stuff that they confiscated, and Barney catches him playing the slot machine.
- Internal Affairs: The enemy, as always. Lt. Scanlon is gleeful when he comes in to the squad room, Ms. Whittaker in tow. He is later outraged when, after a heart-to-heart with Dietrich, Ms. Whittaker withdraws her bogus charge.
- Unusual Euphemism: Scanlon calls the practice of gaining sexual favors from police work as "a little afternoon ding dongs."
