Title: Possession
Directed by: Bruce Bilson
Written by: Tom Reeder and Roland Kibbee
Air Date: November 19, 1981
Previous: The Car
Next: Stress Analyzer
Guest Starring: Allan Miller, Kenneth Tigar, Susan Peretz, Phil Rubenstein
"Possession" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of Barney Miller.
Wojo has arrested Stefan Kopeknie (Kenneth Tigar) for destroying a Nativity display. Mr. Kopeknie previously was arrested by the 12th five years ago in "Werewolf" when he claimed he was a werewolf. The good news is, Mr. Kopeknie is no longer a werewolf. The bad news is, he is now possessed by a demon. Mr. Kopeknie starts growling and hanging upside down in his cell, screaming for a priest. Barney summons an NYPD chaplain, Father Clement.
The other case involves a married couple domestic assault, but it's the wife assaulting the husband. Norma Griswold, a hefty woman, resents her husband Roy for pressuring her to wear too-tight clothing in an effort to live up to his first wife, Cynthia. When Roy gave Norma a "personalized" coffee mug with Cynthia's name on it, she used said mug to bash him in the head.
In personal news, Harris has bought a painting from an artist named Andrew Catt, not because he likes it, but because Mr. Catt has had a heart attack and is said to be dying, which might make the painting more valuable.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: Harris makes such a big show out of his painting, telling Barney "You have to see it in just the right light." It seems like Harris the pretentious snob has made another extravagant purchase. Nope, he's trying to flip the painting for a profit.
- Continuity Nod:
- Levitt is wearing the same arm cast and neck brace that he wore after getting injured while saving a child in the previous episode.
- The return of Mr. Kopeknie, suffering yet another supernatural problem.
- Dead Artists Are Better: Harris makes a big show of revealing to everyone the abstract painting he bought, only to eventually admit that he bought it because he heard Catt was in the hospital after a heart attack. He's much disappointed to find out at the end that Mr. Catt is feeling much better and will be going home.
- Demonic Possession: Mr. Kopeknie says he was possessed by a demon after meeting Satan ("Belial") on the subway.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The last of several episodes in which Kenneth Tigar played such a character, having earlier played Kopeknie as a werewolf, and also having played different characters who were visited by a succubus, psychic, or Jesus. In this one, Mr. Kopeknie's ability to hang upside down in the cage leads Barney to summon a priest.
- Pun: Dietrich, ever eager to display his wealth of knowledge, mentions a (Real Life) Connecticut murder case in which demonic possession was used as a defense. He then grins broadly and says, "You know what they say, Captain: possession is nine-tenths of the law."
- Worth It: So, says Norma, even after she's been arrested for whacking her husband with a mug.
