Title: Toys
Directed by: Noam Pitlik
Written by: Wally Dalton and Shelley Zellman (story), Wally Dalton, Shelley Zellman, and Tony Sheehan (teleplay)
Air Date: December 14, 1978
Previous: The Radical
Next: The Indian
Guest Starring: Barbara Barrie, Sydney Lassick, Walter Janovitz, Zachary Berger, Gregory V. Karliss
"Toys" is the 11th episode of the fifth season of Barney Miller.
It's Christmas! Barney comes into the squad room in an unusually upbeat mood, wearing a new suit. Eventually the reason is revealed: his estranged wife Liz (Barbara Barrie) is coming in to review their finances, now that the Millers are living apart. After they go over the checks—Liz says "I see" after Barney explains one check as dinner for two, only for Barney to explain he had dinner with Inspector Luger—Liz brings up another matter. It seems that the fellow who rents them a cabin in Vermont for every Christmas has called, wondering why they haven't reserved it for this year.
Meanwhile, there are the usual two wacky cases. Levitt, temporarily wearing plain clothes, has arrested a Mr. Cummings for armed robbery; it turns out that Mr. Cummings has claustrophobia and freaks out when he's put in the cage. The second case involves a Clyde Perry, who has been arrested for burglarizing the toy company of a Mr. Mederling. Mr. Mederling in turn accuses a rival toy manufacturer, Mr. Berman, of hiring Perry to rob his factory in order to steal his trade secrets.
Last appearance of Barbara Barrie as Liz Miller. Barrie was billed as a regular when the show premiered in 1975, but Liz went Out of Focus when the Dom Com part of the series was abandoned and it became exclusively a Work Com.
Tropes:
- And Starring: Barbara Barrie gets "Special Guest Star" credit in her last appearance on the show.
- Big Damn Kiss: The kiss at the end signifies that Barney and Liz are reconciling, although she'll be an offscreen character from here on out.
- Christmas Episode: Barney reminisces about taking David to see Santa, and he and Liz wonder what to do about the cabin that they usually go to every Christmas. (This doesn't jibe well with the Season 6 revelation that Barney is Jewish. That said, it's not impossible.)
- Claustrophobia: Mr. Cummings was already freaked out because the people at the liquor store that he tried to rob threw him into a closet. When he's put in the cage he loses it and starts screaming. Levitt has to take him out for a walk.
- Continuity Nod:
- Possibly an accidental one, but in the previous episode, "The Radical", Wojo mocked Barney for wearing a ten-year-old suit. In this episode Barney is specifically said to be wearing a new suit.
- The story arc that stretched back to Season 4's "Quo Vadis?", regarding the Miller marriage being in trouble, continues here, as the Millers agree to go to the cabin again, and kiss.
- I Want My Mommy!: The comic version of this trope, as Mr. Cummings, having a full-scale meltdown in the cage due to his claustrophobia, climbs the bars and yells for them to let him out, then screams "Mommy! Daddy!".
- Shout-Out: After Messrs. Mederling and Berman agree to drop charges against each other, Barney, full of Christmas spirit, lets Kelly the burglar go too.Mr. Kelly: God bless you! God bless everyone!
Harris: [eye roll] All right, all right, let's go, Tiny Tim. - Stealth Insult: Christmas is the season for insulting Barney. First, Harris notes Barney's cheerful mood, then connects with Barney's suit. He says that buying suits makes him happy too, then says "And I buy suits all the time! Must give you a real rush!". Later, Wojo, realizing that Barney will be alone for Christmas, invites him over. Barney expresses surprise that Wojo The Casanova won't be having a babe over, but Wojo says that he's been going through some personal growth and realizing that friendship and emotional connections with others are more important than scoring with babes. He caps this off by saying "I've finally realized that sex wasn't everything—but I guess I don't have to tell you that."
