An episode that is all too relevant to too many today ... the story of someone being arrested simply because of their skin color and the mere assumption that they're going to cause trouble.
That's the frightening situation Eddie goes through when he is the unwilling target of a game of "Good Cop, Bad Cop."
Tropes seen in this episode:
- Actually, That's My Son: Carl telling Evans and his rookie partner, Carmichael, who they pulled over and why he has a direct interest in the incident.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Carl, when he talks to Carmichael about the incident, asks him point blank why he became a police officer, acknowledging the dangers and lack of recognition that go along with being on the force. Carmichael is honest: He wanted to make a difference and be a community leader and protect his fellow citizens from the bad guys. Carl agrees that these are the right reasons, but informs Carmichael that he needs to realize that his partner Evans is "one of the bad guys." Carmichael lowers his head in remorse afterwards.
- Artistic License – Pharmacology: When Steve takes laughing gas during his appointment, he becomes wildly hyperactive. Nitrous oxide is supposed to relax the patient, and while they may feel loopy from the high, they shouldn't be able to exert as much energy as Steve does.
- The Bad Guys Are Cops: Chillingly so in a series where the father figure is a police officer ... and is outraged to learn that fellow lawmen on the force are harassing Black teenagers (including his son).
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: While high on laughing gas, Steve realizes the irony of his dentist being named Dr. Smiley, but not for the reason that you think.Dr. Smiley: Is something funny?
Steve: Well, I was just thinking... your name is Doc Smiley... but you never smile! - Blatant Lies: The superior officer claims Eddie ran a stop sign when he made the traffic stop, and that Eddie was being disrespectful, and that he fit the description of a carjacker. Carl debunks each one.
- The Cameo: Musical group Shai appears during the cold open to serenade Laura in an Imagine Spot.
- Crying Wolf: What Carl initially believes when a shaken Eddie explains his ordeal involving being pulled over, hassled and arrested for a minor traffic violation just because he's Black. A couple of nights earlier, Carl had scolded Eddie for coming home after curfew and – thanks to Waldo's loose lips – mooned a meter maid ... so this time, it must be an excuse to cover up more juvenile behavior, right? Harriette and Estelle, who are in the room when Eddie comes home, immediately side with Eddie and are upset if not outraged that Carl is being so stubborn.
- Dark Secret: Carl reveals to Eddie that he also was a victim of racial profiling when he was a teenager.
- The Dentist Episode: You are reading this correctly. And yes, this was a show with Urkel as a primary character, so what would any episode be without him raising hijinks? It happens in the subplot, where Richie is scared to go to the dentist. Urkel offers to take him to show there's nothing to be scared of. And then, when Urkel realizes he needs to have a cavity filled and has to be sedated, the gas has an adverse effect on him ... causing him to go wild and raise havoc at the office! A bit of comedy relief, as only Jaleel White could offer, in an otherwise very dark, dramatic episode.
- Dirty Cop: The superior officer is a prime example, showing no remorse for profiling Eddie.
- Driving While Black: Eddie is stopped for a minor traffic violation (failure to signal) while driving through a white neighborhood.
- Heel Realization: Rookie police officer Carmichael, during the entire confrontation between Carl and Evans. He doesn't say much, but his facial expressions say it all.
- Imagine Spot: While watching a Shai music video, Laura imagines the group dropping by the house to sing for her. It devolves into a total nightmare when all four of them suddenly turn into Steve!
- Ironic Name: Dr. Smiley, the dentist. Although he is professional as can be.
- Mood Whiplash: The main plot (the nightmarish time Eddie was harassed and racially profiled by a racist police officer and his rookie partner during a traffic stop) and the subplot (Urkel raises cain at the dentist, which was strictly slapstick comedy).
- Oh, Crap!: When Evans realizes what he's in for as Carl angrily (to put it nicely) tells him what he thinks of him and that he will be investigated.
- Papa Wolf: Evans scoffs at Carl's initial question – whether he stopped a 1977 Dodge Monaco driven by a Black teenager – with a taunt on him being the force's activist. Carl corrects this wrong assumption: "No, I'm a father on the force" ... this just beginning the verbal beatdown he gives Evans.
- Mama Wolf: Harriette and Estelle are in the living room with Carl (who was already upset that Eddie is long late for his curfew) when they hear Eddie explain his ordeal and Carl refuse to believe him. Harriette and Estelle immediately know something bad happened and believe him, and are ready to give Carl the silent treatment until he at least checks out the story.
- Smug Snake: Evans, all the way. His rookie partner, Carmichael, can only watch meekly as he gets the professional lesson of a lifetime.
- The Tooth Hurts: Literally for Urkel – when Richie has had his turn in the dentist's chair – when he begins complaining of a toothache.
- A Very Special Episode: This episode deals with racial profiling, with Eddie getting wrongly arrested by a racist cop.
- Where da White Women At?: Not stated directly as such, but Evans definitely implies this when he tells Carl that there would be no other reason for Black teenagers to be in a white neighborhood other than they're "looking for trouble."
