Title: The Brother
Directed by: Noam Pitlik
Written by: Wally Dalton and Shelley Zellman
Air Date: October 4, 1979
Previous: Vacation
Next: The Slave
Guest Starring: James Gregory, John Christie Ewing, Gary Imhoff, Elise Caitlin
"The Brother" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of Barney Miller.
The eponymous "brother" is Brother Thomas Kelvin, of a Catholic monastery in upstate New York. Brother Thomas reports that one of his new recruits, a Joseph Hutton, disappeared after the new class of would-be monks stopped in New York City to stay the night. Brother Thomas fears that Joseph has been snatched away by his parents or "deprogrammers", but when Joseph is finally found, he's at a hotel in the company of a hooker.
That's the only wacky case. In other developments, it's finally time for Dietrich to dress as a woman for mugging detail. Harris gleefully anticipates getting a look at Dietrich in a dress, while Dietrich really gets into the spirit of things, asking Barney what kind of color flatters him best.
Meanwhile, Wojo has a little argument with Barney as Wojo feels that Barney inserts himself into cases too much, rather than let the detectives do the work. And Inspector Luger is back again to regale Barney with boring stories about his old cronies, but this time with a twist: Brownie, the old crony who was in an institution in a vegetative state, has died.
Tropes:
- And Starring: James Gregory gets his usual "Special Guest Star" credit.
- Bait-and-Switch: Luger reveals that Brownie had some last words.Luger: And he said something just before he died.
Barney: [gently] What was that?
Luger: Who the hell knows, Barney? You couldn't understand a word he said. - Berserk Button: Brother Thomas's reaction to being called "Father" is always to yell, with agitation, "I am not a father!". He has an inferiority complex about monks supposedly being inferior to priests.
- Blind Without 'Em: Dietrich suggests that maybe if he takes his glasses off he'll look more feminine. He does so, then says "Captain, that still you?".
- Continuity Nod: Dietrich tells Harris that he feels bad about not being able to go on mugging detail when he remembers "how lovely you looked." That is a reference to Season 5 episode "The Search", when Harris dressed up for mugging detail and everyone was stunned by what an Attractive Bent-Gender he was.
- Disguised in Drag: It's Dietrich's turn to dress up as a woman for mugging detail. The result is so ghastly that Barney refuses to send him out, which hurts Dietrich's feelings. Barney eventually offers to send Dietrich out on mugging detail at night some time.
- Like a Son to Me: Luger, being even more maudlin than usual, wants to leave Barney all of his possessions. This makes Barney uncomfortable but Luger insists, saying that he has no offspring and "I always thought of you as more than just an underling."
- Running Gag: The occasional gag wherein the detectives of the 12th have to dress up as women. Dietrich is easily the ugliest of them all.
- Streetwalker: Thomas is found in the company of a friendly streetwalker. She wishes him well as he goes.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: So, how exactly was Harris able to tell at a glance that Brother Thomas is a monk and not a priest? Because a monk's collar has less white space than a priest's does.
- Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: Will Thomas go to the monastery and become a monk, or not? Wojo picks up on his nonverbal hesitation and delays him long enough to miss the train upstate, but it's unclear as to whether Thomas will change his mind completely, or just sow some more wild oats.
