Line #9 Recap/BarneyMillerS1E09


1	[floatboxright:
2	Episode: Season 1, Episode 9\
3	Title: Vigilante\
4	Directed by: Noam Pitlik\
5	Written by: Howard Albrecht and Sol Weinstein (story), Chris Hayward and Danny Arnold (teleplay)\
6	Air Date: March 20, 1975\
7	Previous: Ms. Cop\
8	Next: The Guest\
9	Guest Starring: Creator/JamesGregory, Titos Vandis, Gabe Dell, Creator/MarlaGibbs]
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11	"Vigilante" was the ninth episode of the first season of ''Series/BarneyMiller''.
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13	The 12th is getting reports of a vigilante who is attacking and seriously injuring muggers and other hoodlums committing crimes. Inspector Luger (James Gregory, the dimwitted Senator from ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'') comes in to yell at Barney for not finding a Batman roaming around his precinct. Then Luger, an old-school cop from the days when "old school" meant cracking skulls and terrorizing the populace, starts criticizing Barney for being too nice to people and actually ''talking'' to the residents of the 12th rather than having his men bash people with batons. Finally the 12th catches the vigilante, who to everyone's surprise turns out to be a kindly old man, Mr. Escobar.
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15	Meanwhile, because it's 1975 and [[ValuesDissonance people are horribly bigoted]], a crossdresser is arrested for being a crossdresser. The crossdresser, one Al Schreiber (Gabe Dell), wonders what he did wrong; Wojo says he was arrested for an "unspecified misdemeanor" while Barney, usually the liberal, enlightened one, says that it's illegal to wear a "disguise". [[note]]This is one of many times Barney has to uphold a law he may not personally like. Crossdressing was then illegal in NYC. The law against a perceived male "impersonating a female" wasn't changed until 2011.[[/note]]
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17	First appearance of Creator/JamesGregory as Inspector Luger, who would be a recurring character throughout the entire run of ''Barney Miller''. Gabe Dell, who plays Al Schreiber, was one of the "Dead End Kids" when he was a boy, with a career that dated back to the 1930s and movies like ''Film/{{Dead End\|1937}}'' and ''Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces''.
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19	----
20	!!Tropes:
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22	* TheBore: Luger's habits of telling boring stories about the old days is established in his very first appearance. As he's launching into another spiel about his old buddies Brown, Foster, and Kleiner, Barney rolls his eyes and says he has work to do.
23	* ConnectTheDeaths: Not deaths, but Barney demonstrates to the other cops that the vigilante probably lives in the 12th by showing them pins on a map marking vigilante attacks. When Wojo asks what the one pin in the East River signifies, Barney says "That's what's holding up the map."
24	* CopsNeedTheVigilante: In the end the men of the 12th can't bring themselves to arrest Mr. Escobar again.
25	* DoubleTake: All the other cops do this when they come into the squad room and meet Al.
26	* ElNinoIsSpanishForTheNino:
27	-->'''Luger''': How do you say "vigilante" in Spanish?\
28	'''Chano''': Vigilante.
29	* LetOffByTheDetective: Mr. Escobar is already facing a court date for the previous vigilante attacks. At the end of the episode Wojo brings in a mugger who apparently hurt a woman so badly that she might die. The mugger, who has a cut over his eyes, says that ''he'' was attacked. He gives a description that matches Mr. Escobar. The detectives send out an APB for a Russian suspect.
30	* ManlyTears: Inspector Luger, the ridiculous goof, bursts into tears as he remembers how he and his buddies used to beat up criminals.
31	* VigilanteMan: Mr. Escobar, a kindly, good-natured old man who regards himself as simply helping the police out and doesn't understand why he's in trouble.

Context Recap / BarneyMillerS1E09