Title: Advancement
Directed by: Danny Arnold
Written by: Frank Dungan and Jeff Stein
Air Date: November 5, 1981
Previous: Paternity
Next: The Car
Guest Starring: James Gregory, Martin Garner, Mario Roccuzo, Anna Berner, Howard Honig
"Advancement" is the second episode of the eighth season of Barney Miller.
An Ed Brotsky is in the squad room to report a robbery of his brand-new store, "Ed's House of Mugs". It's Harris's case, so when Mr. Brotsky IDs a suspect, Harris has to go out and get him—which causes Harris to miss a meeting with his publisher. This results in a nasty confrontation between Harris and Barney, who is growing tired of Harris neglecting his police work for his literary career.
The other case involves Ira and Miriam Bruckner, who run a delicatessen. They report that a Mr. Yager has been calling them and issuing violent threats. Why? Because Mr. Yager won $10,000 in the lottery, but Mr. Bruckner, who sold him the ticket, forgot to register it.
Meanwhile, Inspector Luger has been officially notified that he is facing mandatory retirement as of next year. Luger whines and moans to Barney about how he's going to be a pathetic old man in retirement, living alone. He catches Barney by surprise when he says that he's going to fix that problem by getting a mail order to bride. Worse, he wants Barney to pick a candidate (from a magazine) and write the letter for him.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Once again the Running Gag with Luger and Officer Levitt's name, as Luger calls him "Laverne."
- And Starring: James Gregory gets his usual Special Guest Star credit.
- Continuity Nod:
- Luger complains that Fish, who has been retired for a few years, doesn't return his calls.
- Barney, startled by the news that Luger is seeking a mail-order bride, asks what happened to his old girlfriends, Grace the cashier in Bensonhurst and Agnes his once fiancee. It turns out that Agnes dumped him, so he called Grace and found out she was dead.
- Lottery Ticket: Mr. Yager is breathing fire and murder because Mr. Bruckner's forgetfulness cost him ten grand on a winning lottery ticket. He wanted to use the money to put his aged mother in retirement. The case is dropped when Mr. Bruckner agrees to write Mr. Yager a check for a portion of the money.
- Mail-Order Bride: Inspector Luger has found the solution to the problem of being a lonely old man in retirement. He hands Barney a magazine called "Lotus Blossom Quarterly" and tells him to pick a woman. This was the start of a Season 8 arc in which Luger sought a mail-order bride and made Barney deeply uncomfortable by involving him in the search.
- Reluctant Retiree: Luger, The Eeyore, is even more maudlin and self-pitying than usual, because he has been notified that he will be retired from the NYPD on May 25, 1982. (Five days after the air date of the series finale of Barney Miller.)
- Unreveal Angle: Wojo is reading a lurid true crime magazine about a serial killer who is mailing people body parts. Naturally the gory crime scene photos are not shown to the camera.
