Title: Contempt: Part 1
Directed by: Noam Pitlik
Written by: Frank Dungan and Jeff Stein
Air Date: March 19, 1981
Previous: Contempt: Part 1
Next: The Doll
Guest Starring: John Dullaghan, William Windom, Maggie Brown, J.J. Barry
"Contempt: Part 2" was the 16th episode of the seventh season of Barney Miller.
Barney is still in jail after his citation for contempt for refusing to name a confidential informant. His unseen, unnamed cellmate gets steadily creepier, accusing Barney of sleeping with the cellmate's wife. Meanwhile, Barney starts getting stir crazy, wondering why someone like him who's tried to live his life in an upstanding manner is sitting in a cell.
The Salvation Army case from last week's episode also continues. Wojo investigates and eventually he and Levitt bring in Arthur Duncan, who was arrested by the 12th just six weeks ago for mugging the handicapped. Wojo continues to have a crush on pretty Lt. Holly of the Salvation Army. Harris, put in temporary charge of the 12th Precinct while Barney's in jail, finds that he likes it.
Tropes:
- And Starring: William Windom, an Emmy-winner who appears as Barney's cellmate, gets a "Special Guest Star" credit.
- Continuity Nod:
- The gang visits Barney and asks if he has a lawyer, and Harris says "The one suing me is very good." This was a nod to the ongoing story arc where Arnold Ripner is suing Harris for libel for an unflattering caricature of him in Harris's novel "Blood on the Badge".
- The thief arrested for burgling Salvation Army headquarters is Arthur Duncan, seen just six episodes before in "Movie: Part 2" when he was mugging the handicapped. Mr. Duncan, who was brought into the squad room in that episode while Harris was screening the porn film he made as part of a police op, says "What, no movie this time?"
- Wojo's fetish for prostitutes, a joke in several episodes, is mentioned again. He says he's not usually attracted to women as morally upright as Lt. Holly, then asks "You weren't ever a hooker, were you?" (She wasn't.)
- The Faceless: Once again, all we see of Barney's weird cellmate is his feet at the end of the top bunk in Barney's cell.
- Handshake Refusal: Barney offers his hand to the creepy guy in the top bunk of the cell, only to be ignored.
- Multi-Part Episode: Second part of a two-parter in which Barney is jailed after being cited for contempt of court.
- No Name Given: Barney's very creepy and mentally addled cellmate who may have murdered his wife (he keeps referring to her in the past tense and seems to think she cheated on him) is never named.
- Oddball in the Series: One of only thirteen episodes in the eight-year run of Barney Miller to show scenes outside of the squad room. This one is the second part of the two-parter that finds Barney in jail on a contempt of court charge.
- Previously on…: Clips at the beginning of the show from the previous episode reminding the viewer of Barney going to jail for contempt, as well as the Salvation Army plotline.
- Prison: Captain Barney Miller, still in a jail cell, stuck with a very weird roommate.
- Recovered Addict: Another appearance of Ray Brewer, former wino and now a soldier in the Salvation Army, who says he built a radio as part of his "recovering alcoholic program."
