The Gas Man
Directed By: Barry Levinson
Story By: Henry Bromell and Tom Fontana
Teleplay By: Henry Bromell
Victor Helms (Bruno Kirby), just out of prison for manslaughter, vows to get revenge on Pembleton, the man who arrested him.
This episode contains examples of:
- Continuity Nod: Things are still tense between Bayliss and Pembleton due to the shooting involving Bayliss' cousin that Pembleton was investigating.
- Disco Dan: Danny (Richard Edson), Victor's friend, dresses in a 70's-style jacket, and the music he plays in his car is all from the disco era, from Blondie ("Heart of Glass", "Call Me") to Gloria Gaynor ("I Will Survive") to Earth, Wind & Fire ("Boogie Wonderland"). Victor doesn't think much of this.
- The Dog Bites Back: After Victor has been ordering Danny around all episode, when he orders Danny to help him set a trap for Pembleton, Danny refuses, saying it's time for him to take responsibility for his own life.
- Mistaken for Cheating: When Victor and Danny follow Pembleton to a hotel, they think he's meeting up with another woman. Turns out the "other woman" is his wife Mary, because they're trying to have a child (which becomes important the following season).
- Never My Fault: Victor doesn't accept any responsibility for the accident that caused him to be arrested (he was a plumber's assistant who didn't have any experience with gas heaters, but figured he could learn - however, he ended up causing a gas leak that killed the family that lived in the house), and he blames his wife's suicide and his son's estrangement all on Pembleton.
- Pet the Dog: Victor does take a moment outside his usual ordering around, and belittling, Danny, to thank him for being a friend to him.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The case Bayliss and Pembleton are investigating (and which Victor inserts himself into) of a gypsy matriarch whose head was cut off was inspired by the murder of Sister Myra, a Baltimore gypsy matriarch.
- You're Not My Father: Victor's son, Junior, isn't very happy to see him, and when Victor tells him not to disrespect him since he's Junior's father, Junior snaps, "I have no father."
