Title: Kidnapping
Directed by: Noam Pitlik
Written by: Danny Arnold, Reinhold Weege, and Tony Sheehan
Air Date: September 14, 1978
Previous: Inauguration
Next: The Search
Guest Starring: Beverly Sanders, Todd Susman, Barrie Youngfellow, Ralph Manza, Fred Sadoff, John O'Connell
"Kidnapping" is the first episode of the fifth season of Barney Miller.
Wojo brings in an exceptionally good-looking redheaded prostitute, one Marsha Dixon (Barrie Youngfellow), whose bright smile and friendly attitude attracts the attention of most of the men in the squad room. Her john, a Mr. Wilmore who is a visiting businessman from Arkansas, insists that it's a big misunderstanding.
However the attention of the entire 12th Precinct is drawn by a shocking report of a kidnapping. Yemana takes a phone call reporting that Mr. Siegel, the owner of Siegel's department store, was pulled out of a limo and kidnapped right in front of the store. Soon Mr. Siegel's abrasive Type A daughter Lorraine and his mild-mannered son Andrew show up at the station. Also appearing at the station is Agent Phillip Martin of the FBI, a wet-behind-the-ears rookie who is content to sit back and let the NYPD take care of what is actually a federal crime.
A local radio station receives demands from the "Manhattan Liberation Force", a left-wing group that, in addition to money, also demands that Siegel's throw open its doors and give away its merchandise. That in turn starts a riot at Siegel's, and the 12th arrests a Mr. Glansman for knocking down an old lady amidst the chaos. Finally, the MLF gives instructions to the police: a cop is to go jogging in Central Park, carrying $200,000 in ransom money, where he will be contacted with instructions. Wojo, being a young, fit athlete, is given the job.
Jack Soo returned as Yemana, after missing the last five episodes of Season 4 while he battled cancer.
Tropes:
- Brick Joke: The episode begins with Dietrich beating Harris at backgammon. After Harris is surpisingly cheerful about it, Dietrich says "I was expecting at least a 'damn'". A few minutes later Barney goes over to Harris and hears Harris hiss "DAMN!" as he's going through files.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Dietrich makes fun of Mr. Wilmore the visitor from Arkansas. When Mr. Wilmore complains after being let out of the cage, Dietrich drops into a stereotypical southern accent to say "I had you cooped up like a red-eyed razorback!".
- Continuity Nod:
- One of several references throughout the series to Siegel's department store, evidently a major business in the area.
- This was one of several episodes where Wojo expressed his disgust with prostitutes while at the same time being attracted to them. It's not even the first time Wojo wound up going home with a hooker he arrested; he also did that in Season 1 episode "The Courtesans".
- Double Entendre: Lorraine Siegel, freaking out about the terrorists demanding that the store give away all its goods, says "That's all we need!". Andrew, gazing lustfully at Marsha the beautiful hooker, says "That's all I need."
- Extra-Long Episode: The IMDb and other sources list this episode as being in two parts, but it actually aired in a single double-length block on September 14, 1978.
- FBI Agent: Whenever the feds wound up dealing with the 12th Precinct they were almost always depicted as ineffectual or incompetent. In this instance Agent Martin is a month shy of his 28th birthday and obviously out of his depth. He tells Captain Miller that he'll set up a command post downstairs, and then he'll just sit around and wait while Barney and the NYPD deals with the ransom demand.
- Like Father, Like Son: The kidnappers demand that Siegel's start giving away free merchandise, which the young Ms. Siegel protests vehemently because it's bad business. When Mr. Siegel is recovered through a ransom and learns how much it was, he yells at them for not haggling and starts listing the health problems they could have used to knock down his price.
- Old Retainer: Eddie, the elderly chauffeur who works for the Siegel family. He apologizes for being unable to stop the kidnappers, explaining that he's old and has arthritis.
- The Pollyanna: For a hooker who's just been arrested, Marsha is pretty darned cheerful, smiling at everybody and acting like she doesn't have a care in the world. This greatly irritates Wojo, who eventually feels he has to point out that she's a prostitute and she's just been arrested. Marsha is unfazed, saying "Why shouldn't I make the best of the situation and enjoy the people around me?".
- Ripped from the Headlines: The kidnapping of Mr. Siegel is obviously inspired by the infamous Real Life kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst. The real life Symbionese Liberation Army has a similar name to the terrorists in this episode, and in real life the SLA had demanded the Hearst family distribute food to the poor, much like the terrorists in this episode demand Siegel's give away its merchandise.
- Streetwalker: Marsha is a surprisingly chipper, happy one.
