First Aired - September 26th, 1968
Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon are working Juvenile division. They are on Watch Commander duty for the night shift and field a variety of calls, including: a runaway teenager, an abandoned baby, a boy high on drugs, and a girl accused of theft.
This episode was also the final appearance of Merry Anders, who played police woman Dorothy Miller.
Just the Tropes, ma'am:
- Abusive Parents: Subverted. Danny thinks his mother doesn't care for him, however she pays for a long distance call at night to talk to him (extremely expensive at the time) and he realizes that he was wrong when talking with her.
- Always a Child to Parent: Sharon Malden shoplifted because she wants her own clothes and has no money. Her mother keeps buying her clothes which Sharon says are for little kids.
- Bottle Episode: The whole episode takes place in the watch commander office with Friday and Gannon answering calls and processing suspects.
- Cue the Rain: Bill tells Joe that he has been planning to do some gardening work on his day off tomorrow and he set aside everything to do the work and hopes it doesn't rain. It starts raining during their shift and ruins his plans.
- Hypocrite: Bill remarks how Joe has only ordered a Ham Sandwich and Coffee for the last five days, complaining about him being stuck in a routine due to being single. At the same time Bill has ordered cottage cheese and milk for the last five days due to his wife putting him on a diet.
- Parental Abandonment: The baby was found in a diner booth. The mother walked out on her baby as she felt she couldn't hold onto him at that time. By the time she comes around, her son had been found and been moved to the juvenile center. The epilogue says that she lost custody and her son was placed in a foster home.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Friday and Gannon come across as this. Friday lets Sharon Malden play with the baby after being processed, Gannon tells off Mr. Fuller about his attitude towards George, and both give Danny their food after he talks with his mother.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Sharon Malden was brought in because she was suspected of stealing money out of a woman's purse. She claims she didn't steal the money but is acting extremely suspiciously when she is busted. It turns out she didn't steal the money, but was shoplifting at the time.
