Episode 53: The Clown + Chinatown + Hunger Strike

Weird. We Welcome to the Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller podcast. I'm your host, Mike White. Joining me, of course, is the rookie mister christ Isssue. I prefer to be referred to as Bingo the Clown, or conversely, Mike, that's what happens Chinatown, Mike's Chinatown.

Yeah, poaiting for a Chinatown. I was waiting for it too, and there was no goddamn Chinatown reference. A lot of a lot of I was gonna say, more Chinese actors in one episode than there have been in a while, but no Chinatown. Yeah. Yeah.

We did get a reference to Libyan death squads, which I was kind of unfamiliar with. And nuking the whales. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of nuclear stuff in this episode. While this run of episodes, because we were talking about four episodes of the original Barney Miller, because we're talking about a two parter.

First off, we're talking about The Clown, which originally aired Thursday, January twenty first, nineteen eighty two Must see TV here. After that, we are talking about Chinatown Part one, which aired February fourth, nineteen eighty two. Chinatown Part two, which came out February eleventh, nineteen eighty two. And we're gonna wrap this episode with Hunger Strike, which came out February eighteenth, nineteen eighty two. You know, I actually once went on a hunger strike.

I went for about eight hours without eating. I had a snack before bed woke up, broke the broke my strike with some breakfast. I hope that my message got across was. That some I think they have a term for that now. It's called intermittent fasting.

Oh, yes, you're right, go fast intermittent? Yes? Is that like when I belch? Is that called burpies. Piece?

Oh my god? This first episode The Clown feels like a very familiar episode. We have some very familiar faces, including the one and only Walter Okowitz, one of my favorite people since he was on Twin Peaks. He is back. He is not.

Singing about rubber plants this episode, but he is playing a very well upbeat I guess he's a clown. He's a street clown. Is this is this joker? Is this joker? Is that what?

This is? This origin story? Yes? Okay, oh yeah, that's. Just he gets beaten up by some some toughs yes, yeah, actually gets beaten up by JJ Berry, who's back as Arthur Duncan.

So I was kind of hoping that it would be like when Arthur Duncan met the character that Olkawood's played before, but no, it's not. And we get the return of Michael Tucci, who is not playing a teenager in this one, Thank goodness. Michael Tucci, Michael al Laimo and Jed Mills, I believe, are the three cons that have been released in a very interesting plot by Philip Bruns, who's here as Gordon Kaiser. He's the Kaiser, He's the wrath of God. He's the one who's letting these guys out because they're guilty of minor crimes.

And then we've got the return of our Platt, who we saw as a gun nut survivalist living in the underground along with a whole bunch of homeless people. I think he and his wife. But he's back in this one, and what is his story. He's like a law enforcement guy from Kentucky or something or Texas. Yeah, from New Mexico.

New Mexico, thank you. And he's trying to get Levitt to. Join, because anybody to join, well. But and then there's the there's this. The main plot of this episode is the Levitt story of and this is a carry over from another episode which is even more surprising, which is Levitt is not getting the Medal of Honor or Medal of Valor for saving the life of the child a couple episodes back when he like broke his arm jumping out.

Was he jumping out of a building or jumping out of a window or something. Yeah, he was on a I want to say it was a piece of wood. And he ended up doing this amazing flip in all these things because you only hear about it, you never see it, but right, and then we see the aftermath and then we see those weirdos that he was getting to give him testimonials a couple episodes ago. Yeah, but so now he's not getting the Medal of Valor just because it would seas yeah, understandably. So uh and I can't help but wonder if the title of the episode is in reference to Levitt as it is much in reference to the actual clown in the episode, because where he gets to in this episode is a pretty dark spot compared to where the Levit of old used to get to because he's fucking pissed in this episode and rightfully so.

Right oh yeah, so. He is ready to quit the whole shebang. And I don't blame him, no me, neither me neither. I think he's well within his rights to be that angry. Uh who is it that's one of them's coming up to this guy, to this Howard Platt Andrew Landry character and uh trying to get himself talked into uh joining with the New Mexico Police Force and he uh was it?

Was it Dietrich that's doing that? Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, Dietrick's in rare form and probably probably in all four of these, but especially in the China Towns app episodes, we get a lot of good trick. Yeah, he's good here. I mean I also like Barney here. I mean I like Barney here because Barney knows, I mean, Barney's a smart and so he knows how to manipulate the situation to his his liking, and he does here.

I mean, he totally plays everybody in the precinct because he goes, hey see what he goes like hey see like like see, I am pretty good at my job. And I like that. I mean again, like that you know, this is these are the kind of the twilight you know, twilight moments of this show. Really, this is the you know, this is the end of the show. We're in the final moments of the show here with these last you know, several hours of programming and getting to see Barney really like continue to be the level headed character that he's always been.

Is. I mean, I appreciate it because it's not that he hasn't grown as a character. It's just he really has been the constant. He is the stalwart of the twelfth Precinct. He's I mean, he's the guy that all these people look up to.

They Levitt wants to work up there with them because of Barney, that's why, and because the camaraderie he feels between all the other people. But it kind of starts with Barney first of four of. Yeah, I think if anybody else was captain, he wouldn't be trying as hard to be part of the group. Right, But I like that we get to see Barney once again, like using his you know, his brain and his ability to talk situations, you know, talk not talk himself out of a situation, but talk a situation down off of a cliff as. He's got a very good a brain of brain and yeah, this, you know, to quote doctor Strange, we are in the endgame.

Now. This is you know, the one thing that we're going to be doing, especially in the fourth one, that we're going to talk about. It feels like they're setting us up for kind of a straight ahead path. I'm sure we'll take a few detours as we go along, but it really feels like, Okay, we're halfway through this seat. Well, we're more than halfway through this season, and we are ready to start to wrap the sucker up.

Yeah, I mean, this is the halfway point right here of the season. Season's twenty two episodes long. We've had a couple, you know, two parters, one of them we're talking about here, and yeah, I mean the show is it is in its waning moments, which is I mean, for me, it's it's you know, for me, it's sad. But at the same time, like this, these episodes, I don't know these episodes in particular, and this one, the the the clown episode, it does feel a little old hat, but I mean the show at this point, like I'm not sure what ground we can be treading that doesn't feel like old hat at this point, really, like, is that even a complaint anymore that this feels like old hat? Like I don't think so.

No. Right now, it's we're kind of more comfort food for me. You know. It's like, Okay, yeah, I've seen this kind of thing before. I've seen this you know, particular criminal.

This is the same one that was a Wojo was saving and from drowning, and you know he's been on here. I want to say this is probably his third appeal East. It is. It is his third time, it sure is, so. Yeah, and he's back as the same person each time.

I'm actually surprised because it feels like we've seen Philip Bruns on here before, because he's got one of those faces, one of those just amazing faces. And I want to say that he's been on here a few times before this as well, but his character, I'm surprised we haven't seen this wardener or prison official that just lets all the criminals go. I'm like, Okay, of course we saw him in the Kentucky Rye episode of Twilight's eighty five. And when we talk about night Court, we should probably start plugging our Night Court show already. When we come back after Bernie Miller and talk about night Court, we'll see him there.

Okay, I just looked him up. He's been in five episodes over the years, starting in season three, three, five, seven, and eight, so it looks like he's been in a few episodes in Oh. Well, of course he was in the stellar Wojo's Girl Part one and two. Speaking of two parts. Oh, speaking of the speaking of the the best, the best episodes of this show.

I don't know. I kind of like. Ye oh no, said literally, no, what you know? Did you ever you ever notice? You think that was maybe like a pilot or a show.

Sorry, I'm I've been reading the Barney Miller Facebook page a lot lately, and I'm just like, really, okay. It's not that bad. Have you watched it? Have you know my world? And keep me safe from the trouble and pain.

That's all I'm gonna say. That's all I'm gonna say, because boy, it doesn't you know we've been doing this now, you and I for what when did we do the culcheck show, the show that started this show? Like what boy hoys? Sixteen? Yeah?

I think so. I was gonna say twenty seventeen, but you're probably right. Uh, We've seen some fan bases really, Yeah, I have a fun time with one another. The Barney Miller fan group and the fan base, like they love the show, they love it out of bash and at least they get along with each other. That's true.

I'm not seeing a lot of infight a and I'm definitely not seeing a lot of political stuff popping up over there. So yeah, it seems like a pretty good fan base. They're they're not. There's no civil war on the Barnie Miller facebook page, because folks, there was a civil war on the Colchak facebook page. And no, I'm not kidding.

Who would you recast to be Barney Miller? Oh my god, obviously right now if you're asking me, it would be Nick Offerman. Duh oh for me, it would just we we'll go back to the original. Man, why don't we check in with Barney Miller all these years? Oh my god, give me that show?

Yes, son of Barney Miller? Oh man, yeah, for really years afterwards? I know, let's really piss the fans off, like oh yeah, yeah, you know, man, what would that be? Yeah? And you got nax Gaale and you got Barney and they're just like the show opens and they're just standing over Harris's grave and they're just like, oh, you remember, remember Harris?

And then and they would pour a bottle of wine and then they'd say he'd probably he'd probably complain about the vindor. Yeah right, God, what a show, what a what a weird show that nobody asked for. But I would totally be there for it. Man, Oh I I know they'd open up a bottle of wine and then Warjow would go to decant it and he'd be like, that's what that's what he would want. Whoa Joe?

Just pour the wine? Yeah exactly, Oh my god, because that's and that's the thing you know with this show, now that the cast is set and we're at the end like it, every episode does kind of bum me out a little bit because I know that the I know that this is you know, at one point this was an inkling of an idea that you had and you were like, who wants to be on the cold chacting? And I was like, I'll do it. And now we've been doing this and now we're almost through our second show and it's like, man, it's a shame. And I know you know it might still happen, we might get to talk to Max Scale and how Lindon, But these guys have I have become like part of my life in a way that I never really thought a cop show from the seventies and eighties would.

But getting to see someone you know good to go back to the episode more specifically, getting to see the way an idealized way that the police could work, and the way that the police can work, and the humanity. I think Plex The description of Barney Miller on Plex is something to the effect of, like, Barney Miller is the kind of cop you'd love to run into, And it's like, yeah, he is, because he's such a metered and genuine human being. And I'm not saying that there aren't cops out there like that, far from it. I just haven't had the best interactions with police anymore than I think you have, Mike. Like it's a job like anything else.

Let's be honest here, they're terrible podcasters out there. Boy, don't we know that fact to be true? Now for fuck's sake, But you're in one. But at the end of the day, like the LEADLeadership style and skill that Barney has is one of the things I really love about the show, and it's you know, Howl Linden and Max Gale, guys who were still working by the way in twenty twenty four. On top of everything else.

Yeah, yeah, this one does feel very familiar. There's definitely a lot of stuff going on. You know, I list off so many plots, and then you added in the main story of you know, the whole thing with Levitt, So it's just there's it's a whole cavalcade of people coming in and leaving the precinct. This one really does a good job of the thing that we've talked about before, which is everything's in the precinct. You know, we'll talk about and outside of the precinct.

One very quickly here shocking ity in the precinct, and you get to hear about all of these crimes. You hear about the guys who were you know, taking over the restaurant you had, cutting in line and destroying stuff. You hear about the crimes against the clown as well as the other clown and the one that had the dog, and so you hear about these guys like mister Sprinkles or whatever it is, and it's just like Okay, so we hear about all of these things outside of the precinct, and we've talked about, oh geez, is it too limiting to just be in the precinct. No? No, I think they do a fantastic job here, really painting the world outside of the four walls of well more than four walls, but many walls of the twelfth Precinct.

And I completely agree with you. And like you said, with the next episode, I'm I'm I'm always shocked with this show when we get outside of the precinct because everything has felt so self contained for so long. And I'm not complaining about it. It's far from a bad thing. I mean, at this point with the show, like Barney Miller, this is kind of you know, this is the coffee house of the Friends thing, but like Friends, they it'd be like if Friends never left the coffee house, which is like a fucking strange concept.

They don't make shows like this anymore literally, right, Like the kind of shows that are made like this now are what, like, is anything shot in front of a live studio audience anymore other than like the Drew Barrymore show or like, No, I don't think anything's still in from I mean Big Bang Theory and Two and a half Men definitely weren't. Like they don't make stuff like this anymore. So it's just it's bizarre, Like some of the stuff in the is just bizarre to me to think about, Like, yeah, like this show's always been about the precinct never leaving, and that's how you can do a single location show. I'm I will say, I've been constantly impressed by how far Barney Miller has gotten with just being in the precinct.

I don't know about you, but man, they've really taken it about the limit. I think at this point. I mean, yeah, I think we're almost at the limit now, you know, given where we're gonna be headed with the next two episodes. But yeah, I don't know. I'm still surprised.

We've never seen the first floor of the precinct. Still still still yeah, just. The outside, just when Barney was coming in and talking with those other officers, freezing. Don't get that anymore. Yeah, I love that freeze fram of im just a you know, we've.

Talked every single time we have a two parter, We're like, is this really necessary? And some of them I mentioned, well, Joe's Girl not really necessary Chinatown Part one and Part two. I'm not sure if this was a necessary one or not. It feels like they could have. I don't know, maybe it just was me, but it felt like this episode, both of these episodes went really quickly, and it really felt like they could have taken the part two and added it to part one and just made this whole thing in half an hour.

I totally agree, And I think for me, yeah, the every time, like you said, every time we do these two parters, that is kind of my big question, and I know it's your question as well as like, are we getting a story that needs fucking forty minutes of time? No? Like, no, no, we don't check in with them enough in the in the main storyline. So the main storyline is there's a witness to a crime in Chinatown who doesn't want to talk because I'm assuming tryads. I mean, it's it's never they never explain it as much as it's just like hinted that there's some sort of outside interference that could have something negative that could happen to the witness.

So Latin someone said, Steve Landisburg, Dietrich, and Harris are tasked with going essentially and sitting with this guy in a room until he testifies. That is a pretty good setup. However, the episode doesn't go back to them enough. It's like it forgets about them after they leave at the end of the first episode. Yeah, and just even just the premise of them, Like I like that they take this guy off, you know, off prem and put him in this apartment slash hotel room, but it feels more like they're baby sitting a witness rather than trying to get testimony.

Out of the ros guy. The way that they're holding him against his will in the it just doesn't. See I even misunderstood I mist even understood it because I thought that they were holding him as a witness. But you're right, No, they are trying to get his testimony, which is super fucking strange. Right, Oh yeah, it's so bizarre that they're that that's what they're going for him, Like oh okay, Like when they go back to him, they're just like, Okay, we're gonna go through this again.

We're gonna do that, and keep talking about this. I'm like, you guys never got that confession out of him, or not confession, but the naming names you know, No, they didn't. They just they're there too. They're supposed to be with him for a month in this place, and they say in the episode a little over a week and man, oh man, dude, things go downhill quickly for a little over a week. Yeah, Harris, And yeah, what the I feel like this whole episode existed so we could get the gag of Harris coming out with his hair all grown up.

God, Yes, amazing, Yes, I love it. That feels like it was the sole reason behind this episode. Was that, right. That's what it feels like. Yeah, Yeah, and it's Yeah, it's a strange one for me because really, when I think about the first part of the Chinatown episode, so I watched it last night, and I am hard pressed to remember a lot of stuff that was going on it.

So there's you know, the story about mister Ling, who is the person who worked at the restaurant. I think he's a waiter and witnessed this killing go down in the restaurant and he doesn't want to name names because he's afraid of retribution. Then you've got miss Caroline Fitzjames, who's played by Joanna Barnes, beautiful, elegant, older lady who Now, what's her crime against her? I don't remember what her crime? Oh boy, I mean she's she didn't commit a crime.

I should know. She's just in the precinct. She's a victim. Yeah, yeah, and yeah, I can't remember why she's there either. It's like, what's so weird?

It is like this episode it's almost like this episode is missing five minutes at the beginning because we have Barney coming in and mister Ling is already there, right, he's already, He's already there, and and they're like, hey, we got this thing going on. It's like whoa, whoa, whoa, Like we're we're we're after a hot start already here. Like the episode just the episode just picks up. And I'm not saying that Barney Miller is a show that you know, takes its time. It doesn't.

It's a twenty five minute episode, twenty five minute long show. But yeah, this show just this episode just goes and I again with them with the mister Ling stuff, I'm not super interested in it. And then when we have Detective Scanlon come in for what's a uh yeah, I think that this might be this might be up there for me, Like, well, Does's Girl was a bad two parter. This is unnecessary, is what this is? Yeah, exactly, because only a little bit of time needs to pass between the two episodes, because it really feels like it's like the they go to the at the very end of the first part, they're like, Okay, we're gonna go to this hotel or apartment, sorry, and that's what will be.

And then when we rejoin, they are literally opening up the door for the very first time because they're like, oh, didn't this place come with lights? But then when you go back to the precinct, I don't know how much time passes before she comes back and says, hey, Lieutenant Scanlon is bothering me. He's stopping by my house like he's stalking her, and you could see just how awful. I mean, we already knew Scanlon was awful, but he's only usually awful to Barney and the guys in the precinct, but here, because yeah, he shows up and he's just like, oh, Wojo, Hey, you know this suit was filed against you for this, forgetting this woman pregnant. Basically, they're just to humiliate Wojo and make him say that's sterile, that's the only reason he's there.

And he even admits so he goes like I just wanted to hear you say it. I know what fuck, Like, yeah, he really he's I mean, you know, I will say I like Scanlon for the villain that he is in the show, because he is a welcome kind of presence as a reoccurring villain and George Murdoch's great. I actually kind of wish he was in the show more. Frankly, yeah, yeah. Again, because we've seen him a handful of times.

But he's one of those characters where he is so just unlikable that you can't help but just be like, oh I hate him, and I can't wait for him to get his come up, and and I guess this is the last time we're gonna see him. I mean, he makes that threat, you know, it feels like we're gonna see him in the final episode at least. That's why May maybe right, Like yeah, it's it's weird because yeah, by the end of this two part episode, like he's he's in a really kind of like bad spot. I mean, Barney essentially decides to save his ass by not doing anything and not reporting him to Internal Affairs, which he just department, Yeah, his own department, which he totally deserves, but he doesn't do it. So yeah, yeah, total creep.

And then when Bernie says like, hey, you know we had that, because he fucking freaks out, Scanaling like it's almost like a Fred Flintstone when Fred Flinston would uh, you know, stub his toe or something. He'd start doing that whole line of words that sound like swear words, but aren't you know, the whole rab and he like basically does that in Bernie's office. He's just freaking the fuck out. And then Bernie's yeah, of course, he's like, well heay, you know what you said in that office stays in the office, and He's just like I despise you. And I'm like, oh my god, dude, Like what a reaction.

But I mean also telling us how he really feels. He's a great villain. I mean, he is a great villain, and he really kind of replaced the Luger in that villain roll. Yeah. Well, and I think it's because James Gregory is just too lovable to really be that forever.

I don't know. Detective Scanlon comes back one more time, that is, it comes back at the end of the three parter that ends the series, and that's it. When I think of James Gregory in this, I had to like pick up a magazine. This is just doing like smack in his hand with a paper and I don't know if it's like the racing form or what he's got in his hand, but he's always, yeah, always seems to have that and it's like his prop when he comes in. It's like between that and the hat, you know.

And don't you just love how racist Detective Scanlon is. Oh my, hey, Harris, how are things down in funky town? Oh? Hot? Yeah?

God, he hits he hits him back with it at least. So yeah, I'm surprised he didn't like Ching Chong ching mister Ling. No right, Cord Jesus Christ. Yeah. I will say though, in terms of Scanling getting his come up, and I do appreciate that we finally get to see him kind of taking down a peg or two.

Uh, But man, Leonard Stone violent, you're turning violent. He's just like I love him as an actor. He's he plays Harry so fantastically like he's just I don't know, I I love I obviously love him and Charlie in the Chocolate fact or Willy Wonka. No notice is Charlie in the Chocolate factory? Right?

Yeah, yeah, I think so. Thanks Tim Burton for making it so we have to distinguish them from one another now you But I. Think the hit I think Burton's was the book title in that. The other one was the Change Ship because of having well, I think they wanted to put Charlie front and center, but really, I mean, who steals the show in that that? Right?

Well? Yeah, well yes, Leonardstone as Violet Borregot's father in Willy Wonka is so good at playing that Harry kind of just put upon far and then here when he's like I have a rotarian, they're like I have a cabricor nobody cares like I I love him just screaming and yelling and getting into it with the I R S guy and wild West Waffles. Really you thought that was a good idea? What the hell? Yeah?

Yeah, that whole thing of the R I R S and the guy that plays the I R S agent and we've seen him before and he's fucking fantastic, and just him like, yeah, well, you know, we locked up this whole store took everything and I didn't make those payment plans. And you know, like Bernie trying to talk sense into an IRS agent is talking. To a wall, just like Private Slovac. Maybe that's what it reminded me of. It's like, look at how bureaucratic the government is.

You are just a number. They do not care. Have a nice day. Fuck you, like and and and I mean that happens here in this in this episode, the exact same thing in this two parter are like, we see that exact same thing and the IRS shows up. Leonardstone is like, that's my story.

He's like, I don't care, it's ours now. Fuck you, doesn't matter. It's like, man, fucking the government. Just and that's the thing. I mean.

Scanlon is kind of the stand in for the government, right, Like he's you know in internal affairs, so you know, he's kind of a stand in for the governing body for the police and so but yeah, when he comes to Wojo with Wojo's desk man, what an asshole. Yeah, it's like that's that's one of the like the most like not angering moments in the show. But him just like going for the gusto. I don't get it. It kind of comes out of nowhere.

But I don't know why he's like so hot to trot to get Wojo to say he's sterile, like fis, like what for what reason? Just to humiliate the guy? Yeah, I don't know why. Though he's never had an issue with Wojo, though it's never really been Wojo that he's had a problem with. It's been more Barney than anything else.

Barney's always the one who has his goat, Like Barney always has his goat. I don't get it, Like, I don't know why he has such a bone to pick with Wojo Howitz. I guess it's just the twelfth precinct. Broadly, it's probably what it is. Yeah, I don't think he likes anybody that's in that bullpen.

No, no, no, for sure, But yeah, I don't know what, Like he just comes in so hot at wo jehoa. It's just like what are you? What are you doing? Like what is the I don't understand the point, I guess because again, like it's it's so it's so amiable with Harris, even though he's doing the funky Town line. But yeah, it's so weird, but it makes you just hate the guy.

That much more that he just comes in so hot after Howitz, especially again oojehoits is? I mean him and Harris and Barney are kind of the pillars that hold the show up. I mean, so is Steve Landersberg. But those three have been here since the beginning, so you know, you don't want to see the one of the three main characters have one of the villainous characters showing up out of nowhere and just going after him. It's very strange.

I remembered what the woman is there for. She's there because of she was at her furrier and somebody snatched a brooch or necklace off of her neck. Yes, I can make a brooch a pterodactyl. Yeah, yeah, I I love that. Wo Jahowitz is like asking her all these questions, like what do you do?

I sleep around. We sleep around, that's all we do. It's just like all right, the socialites, all right. And I love that this is like early eighties too, because it's right at kind of the beginning of this starting to be a real thing in New York City with these kind of yuppie She's old money, though it would seem given you know, the scan the scanlon of it all but you know, coming from your career, really. She is a classy broad, right I guess so.

Yeah, and then part two, like I said, yeah, we start kind of, you know with the whole hotel room owning two beds. I guess they sleep in shifts? Is that what they're doing here supposedly? Yeah, I believe. Yeah, And then yeah, the whole thing of you know, it's like it's like we finally get to see when Harris and Dietrich were living together, because they had that whole story arc that we never we just heard about it, of course, like we were talking about with the previous episode with the clown, but we never got to see it.

And here we get to see that dynamic and can Dietrich play and as clarinet I'm naked? I'm sorry it is a hotel because I forgot at the beginning it says hot in the window over and over again. I was kind of hoping they would complain about that light that just is shining in the window the entire time. I mean, I wish that it was a shittier place. But I don't know if it's the twenty twenty four talking, but I'm just like, yeah, no, this looks kind of like a nice place.

A pretty big living room here, a big bedroom as well. Oh I didn't think it was nearly as bad as they make it out to be. No, I didn't. I didn't either. I do like Landisburg just being like I'm naked, hears I was like, oh, come on, like I do.

I do think that the better spin off version of this show would have been Harris and I'll feature together, like talk about an odd couple, and you know, I think they respect one another immensely, but I don't think that they know how to interact with each other, which is the funny part exactly. Yeah. I like that. I like that they have that respect, that grudging respect. But yeah, they definitely they are working on two completely different planes.

I love when Harris is about the storm out of the apartment and they're like, and he goes wearing that, and then he immediately comes back in because it's just like, I can't go out in public wearing this awful outfit. It has it looks so much better. That's right, it's Harris. He's got an image to hold. Oh yeah, yeah, I just I don't I don't think so that.

I don't think this episode justifies its existence. I just don't think this story needed two episodes like this does the stakes of the story never reach what I was expecting. And that's kind of a shame. Yeah, yeah, because really, like they could have just taken out the people that they put in the cage. The Leonard Stone though I love him, could have taken him out, you know, and just not had that storyline.

There's a guy hanging well, there's multiple guys hanging in the cage in the second part of this, and we never get their story. They're just, you know, two actors just hanging around, an old guy with a big old beard and another guy who's just doing the typical hanging out to the bars of the cage thing. I don't think they talk with them at all. We never hear about them. So I'm like, all right, how how easy would that have been to just leave them in there?

In the first part. Too, Phil Diskin playing Gillis otherwise known as a man in jail cell Yes, doesn't get a single line at all. Yeah. It's again like, that's that's why I say this about this two parter is the second part of the two parter should have just been the first part that should have just been the whole first part of the parter is just that, just them going to the room and driving each other crazy, because yeah, you know what perfect, Like that stuff works fine, Like that stuff works great. Everything else kind of scenes, and by kind of scenes, I mean is thoroughly unnecessary.

And the Joanna Barnes stuff is fine. But to what end is my question? Like, to what end? And I don't know to what end frankly, because Scanlon is now gone quote unquote. I mean there's nine episodes, eight episodes before the end of the show at this point, so he'll come back in the last episode, so maybe they'll bring that back up the next time they see him.

But you could have gotten away with a one parter of this with the Scanlon stuff and the Chinatown stuff and that's it. And I don't think you would have needed anything else. And yeah, they could have started the episode with them opening up the door, and like, I can't believe we're on this assignment. I can't believe we had to get this guy. That's how easy it is explain it there in the room.

Don't you have to explain why we get there? Like it's yeah, it's I don't know we've talked about this before, you've already mentioned it. I will reinforce it and reiterate it. I am having a hard time finding any two parters in this show that have really justified their existent Yeah, and I mean it's a it's a it's a function of what the kind of show is. Like, Yeah, the TV show Star Trek the Next Generation.

They know that's an old show. That's an old show. Come on, old guy, come all. Right, all right. They would do two parters.

One part at the end of the series is the season, and the next part as the beginning of the season, and that you well, some were stronger than others. Of course, Best at Both Worlds is one of the best ones ever. But then you get some of the other ones. You have any two parters of any show ever fight exactly. That's where you need a two parter.

And then some of them. I was just like, okay, all right, Spock looks like he's in trouble here, and I know, like, yeah, he was a legacy character, but when he was working to make peace with the Romulans and stuff, I was just like, okay, this this works. You know, it's not fantastic. You know, when you when you start with best of both worlds, it's hard to go up from there. But you know, like maybe if they did two partners for season finalees, but maybe they didn't have the knowledge that they were going to continue on.

I don't know, like none of these you know, when we end the last season this season, we are going to know that we're ending, right But with the other ones, you know, the previous ones, like season seven, you know that ended kind of with the cliffhanger, with the whole uh lawsuit stuff, and I was just like, Okay, you know, we ever going to get back to that. And then they finally make a reference to the lawsuit in the next episode, the last one we're going to talk about today hunger strike, you know, because that's where we get kind of a crisis of faith of Bernie, and Harris is right there with him, like, hey man, I was going through some bad stuff too. I've got writers, I've got you know, I had the laws suit, and I was just like, oh, we're finally going to acknowledge that this season.

Thank you. Yeah, I'm glad that they acknowledged. I'm glad they acknowledged it because it I mean, that was that was a thing that like, last season we talked about it so much, and the season before we talked about it so much, and they kind of forgot about it. That's what it feels like, like I don't understand why. Really, yeah, this one the final one we're going to talk about today, Hunger Strike.

I really like this, and I was before you even brought it up when we're talking about the clown episode, I was just like, Okay, we're in the endgame now, because it really feels like this is the one that's setting us up because we've got the whole exam thing and a chance for a promotion for Bernie. But then what I really like is when he's like, I don't know, I'm not gonna do it. I've tried it before and it doesn't work, and blah blah blah. And then I like all the guys in the precinct going, you know what, if you don't move up, we don't move up, You're holding us down. I'm like, whoa, Okay, And I know that's a little bit of a psychological, you know, tact that they're doing.

Once they kind of figure out that this is going to at least in my opinion, and please tell me if you have a different opinion. But it feels like once they realize that that's the chink in his armor, is that he so wants to help out every fucking other person that when they make it seem like he's being selfish by doing this, it's like his achilles heel. No, that's it, okay, Barney Miller is It's it's the it's the age old question of who comforts the person who comforts everybody else? Right, you know, Barney is the kind of person and the kind of character who stands on his morals to the end. I gues like, and yeah, I like that they have to have this, like like no, you need to do this?

What the fuck? Like I love that they have that moment with him because he needed it, like he he he needed it and and and the show needs it because you know, look, this isn't the Simpsons. This hasn't been running for thirty eight years or whatever the Simpsons is at, and I guess thirty four, whatever the fuck it. There needs to be an reasonable reason why things haven't changed. And now the show has backed itself into a corner and it's like, no, we're actually going to embrace some of it and allow things to maybe change, and it's like, whoa six episodes left though, But that's you know what they say, better late, as cheech Marin says in Ghostbusters too, better late than never, I guess.

So, you know, I don't know. I'm glad that we're finally revisiting it, but like you said, kind of surprised that we're back here again. That guy doesn't want to eat Mike. Yeah. Yeah, Larry Glman back in the precinctle character.

Fucking love Gary Larry Kellman Man. I love that his IMDb pictures him in this giant heart costume with just that little goofy face sticking out, and he just plays anger so well. He gets so upset about things you're talking about. Leonard Stone doing a great job with that. I think he's right up there with Gelman with the way that he gets unhinged.

And he's got that great list of demands he wants to get rid of, you know, nuclear weapons in Europe and they're talking all about mutual arm destruction. And also he wants his cleaning deposit back because goddamned he left that apartment clean. And hey, speaking of I don't know if it was intentional. But speaking of Star Trek the Next Generation Stanley Campbell, because it is baby, that's a fifth episode of that, the fifth episode of that great first season of Star Trek the Next Generation that everybody loves so much. I don't know, everybody loves it so much, and yet everybody always tells me to skip it.

I don't understand. Yeah, yeah, they really fell off after about midway through the second season. They just never recovered. He's great too. I mean, I actually think this is a great episode of Barney Miller, and I think it is great.

It's a great episode because the you know, the paranoid with proof character is Larry Gilman, which is great, and then we actually have a storyline with Barney, and it feels like the storylines with Barney really are the ones that I care about at this point, Like, give the guy his own season one more time so that we can, you know, walk out on a high note. I will point out. I will point out because those of you who have been listening this whole time, and you know who you are, they mentioned Barbara Berry's character in this episode. It was so fucking crazy. I was like, no, don't do it.

We're not gonna get to see her, but you can mention her. I guess, like, fine, fine, cheat show, cheat, cheat just a little bit. What's Missus Miller up to right now? She's just hanging out, Like. Doesn't she come back in the finale?

I don't, Maybe she does. I feel like at this point I wouldn't be surprised if she did or didn't, because this show has handled her character so poorly that I wouldn't put it past this show if she wasn't coming back. But I guess it would make sense if she did. I kind of want to just be surprised. Yeah, yeah, no, I'm not gonna look it up now.

Yeah, I kinda don't. I kind of don't want to know, but I guess we'll find. I mean, I, well, I did look it up. I won't tell you if you don't want to know. I leave it a surprise.

Yeah, let's leave it a surprise. Oh. It's funny when they mention her on the show. Oh yeah, because it's like, what's she up to in another show? Like Yeah, the spinoff Missus Miller that we never got to see.

Yeah, starring Kate Mulgrew. It's The CoP's Wife starring Kate mulgrew. Yea, love's the mystery. Yeah yeah, good god heaven. Well.

I mean again, similarly to our Columbo show, at least columb when Colombo does it. And I would totally advocate if you're a fan of this show to listen to our Columbo show The Shabby Detective, not the Shaggy Detective or the Shaggy Da or the Shaggy Dogs starring Robert Downey Junior. Yes, that's a real thing. With Colombo. I never believe he has a family.

Know he does, only because the show has a show called Missus Colombo where his wife actually existed, but I never really believe it. They're used as like a device for him to catch criminal. We know that Missus Miller is a real person. We actually saw Barney has children, Like yeah, I think they mentioned the children in this episode, don't they? Doesn't Levitt say like how are the Millers?

Like how are somebody says something about like his family even in this episode. It's it's strange because they're the issue we had with Wojo's Girl, which comes up all the time now is not that we don't care about their lives outside of the precinct, but that's not the point of this show. That's a different kind of show. That's a show that's a more modern take on this kind of show. When I said earlier, they don't make these kinds of shows anymore, it's because if you were to do a show about a profession, most of the show would take place I guess at the profession.

But even shows like that now don't do that. I mean, like Grey's Anatomy and all these things, they're going all sorts of places. Like I saw a preview for Grey's Anatomy for the thirtieth season of that show, and I was like, is this a hospital show? At this point? They're like we have to go to the convenience store to get ice, and then there's a robbery at the convenience store, Like what the fuck show is that?

This is not what I was expecting. And Barney Miller is so specifically this kind of thing that yeah, to mention his outside life for Wojo's Girls, Like, no, just we don't. It's so kind of pure in its purpose that we don't need anything like that, which is almost like Chinatown hurts even more because it takes up space in a season where these kinds of episodes are so fucking good because this episode when you actually are talking about long term payoff storylines from this show, which is Barney getting a promotion finally, that is something that we've kind of been waiting on since season one for real, like, and now we're here and stead of getting more episodes like this one, we got Chinatown, which does nothing and just kind of feels like, you know, we're gonna have fun right before we actually have a real conversation.

It's like, can we just get to the can we get to the real stuff? Maybe even just a little quicker. This episode, Hunger Strike, won the Writer's Guild Award for Episodic Episodic Comedy, which I feel is very appropriate because this does it's the most solid one that we've talked about. It is so about the guys in the precinct rather than the extra stuff like the Gelman stuff. It's a good diversion.

The stuff with the psycho patient. I think that's really well done. I really like how they solve that and I like that. You know, we talked about Wojo and how he's the crusader, and in this one, it's really Dietrich that's the crusader who goes out and finds the Joseph Albrackian is the character name, finds him and brings him in and it seems like it's not gonna work that he doesn't, you know, can't communicate with the woman, and then they finally have this connection. Yeah, she's not all there, but like that, Stanley Cammell was not going to investigate and didn't do his due diligence and just thought this woman was pure crazy.

I mean, thank god he kind of cleaned up his act before he ended up having Adrian Monk as his patient all those years. I know. Right, That's the other thing I think when I think of Larry Gelman. Yes, oh he's so good. Yeah, he's yeah, he's he's great.

I mean, look again, like you said, we didn't need him in this episode, but he's a welcome edition. I think this is one of the better episodes we've seen this season. For sure, Yeah, hundred percent. Yeah. And like I said, it just it's it's setting us up for everything that's about to come, I think.

So I'm sure again we'll have distractions, but I mean moments in this like when Harris is having that conversation with Barney, I mean it feels like he's really bonding, and I love how he's given him the as sage. Yeah, like what is going on here? It's look good. The way he's looking off into space, just like contemplating his own future while he's talking with Barney. I'm just like, oh, that's so nice.

And then yeah, just the way that they're just like, Barney, you know, you're keeping us down here. So it's so good. I really yeah, solid, solid fucking episode. Yeah, And again, like it makes those two parters really kind of stick out that much more because you can get so much done in a twenty five minute episode that you don't need two episodes to do like this, If anything, you could have gotten two episodes out of this storyline, Like I don't know, it feels like they were just like, we just want to have a name of an episode of this show called Chinatown because that's the thing that people associate with cops. It's like, yeah, well even though I was like six years prior or more than that, so.

Yeah, fucking early eighties already, guys, come on, like the ship has sailed on that reference. And frankly, like we've kind of posited where is the twelfth prese sainct and I don't usually think of Chinatown. I think of where the Twelfth Precinct is, because, like you said, the two Asian actors that we have in here are two of the few Asian actors that we've ever had on this show. I always picture being because they talk about how they arrested Gellman at Washington Square Park. I always think of it being more in like the West Village than because I'm I'm trying to remember exactly where Chinatown is in New York, but I want to say, for me, the Twelfth Precinct is farther west and it's kind of out of their jurisdiction to go into Chinatown, but you know, I'm sure resources are tight and they're going to have to do whatever they need to do.

And this feels like a favor for the DA as well, who we never hear about the DA. So that was kind of an interesting call as well. And I am still surprised we didn't get a forget it, Barney, it's Chinatown. I know, I still want to, and it would have been the perfect way to end this because they bring in the other guy to cook this time, and he's just like I didn't see anything having Dietrich or Harris. It would have to be Dietrich.

It would almost trick to be Dietrich. Yeah. Well, and there was the moment in the Hunger Strike episode where the woman talks to Dietrich and like, I half expected her to what hair whatever, her like whatever she said to him to be something along the lines again once once again referring back to him being a fucking alien. I was half expecting it. I was like, oh God, why is she talking directly to Dietrich, what's the reasoning here?

So oh but that was so touching though, when you find out that all she kept saying was it's a lovely day. And I'm like, oh, wow, that's great. Yeah. And I like her interactions with Harris with the flowers, like yeah, this is a yeah, this is a great I mean again, like, there are some really great episodes of this show that are just self contained little moments of the show, and this is one of them. Like, yes, it traffics in some of the stuff that I guess you'd need to see other episodes of this show to understand some of the stuff with Barney specifically, But no, I really like this episode and there's also a great interaction between Harris and Levitt in this episode.

Yeah, come along a little Levitt and he's like fucking mocking him. It's like, I'm gonna forget that. I get that, I'm gonna forget that. Yeah. Yeah, it's I don't know.

Richard had him is listening, and I know he's probably smirking because he brings it up every time we have him on that he was gonna be right about Levitt in the end, and he was. Levitt has endeared himself and look, you know when he sticks up for himself early on in the first episode that we were talking about, like it feels earned at that moment, and you as the audience and the rest of the precinct are on his side, even if Barney's kind of orchestrating it a little bit. But like again, like I don't know, I'm I'm on board with where this show is going. And this these the first and the last episode we talked about, are great. The two parter once again, kind of I don't know, two parters in this show not really the yeah, not really the best.

Yeah, well when one of when one of the worst hours of television on this shows behalf is Wojo's girl. Yeah, and that's a two part episode. Yeah, I would be inclined to agree with you. It might be the show's kryptonite. Now three part episode that remains to be ce.

Oh, my god, three part episode, My God. And I wanted to I wanted to mention to your point though about the the two part episode thing. One of my favorite shows, the vintage television show The X Files, they would do the same thing with two parts a lot of the times, like they would use them as cliffhangers. And it is weird that they're being used as this kind of storytelling device because sitcoms and two part episodes just like they just they that. That doesn't make sense, that doesn't mix in my mind.

But you know, maybe I just expect that more from narratively driven television. I want to say that it was fairly common in when I was growing up. I mean especially I think about like Happy Days and you know, the jumping the Shark episode, I want to say might have been a two part of it. It feels like there were a couple of cliffhangers and Happy Days, which is kind of my frame of reference for all life itself. Well, Sunday and Monday were Happy days exactly.

Tuesday and Wednesday were happy days, all of them. Yeah, what a day every day? God, I love American Style, folks. If anybody ever asks you where Happy Days was an off shoot from, it's love American Style. It might even win you a trivia question at your local trivia night.

So there you go. You're welcome. That shows two part episodes, best I can remember from Happy Days, I think you're right. I think the Jump the Shark thing is a two part episode. Yeah, I don't.

I don't even know if two part episodes within the season of a show or a thing that I'm I'm down with again. I know why they're like that when they're being made net like now at this time, like when when Barney Miller is coming out, But in this day and eight in in current modern tell that's not really a thing the way it used to be. Like Game of Thrones didn't really have two part episodes. You have like a cliffhanger at the end of the season, but I guess you could call that a two part episode like It's it's so weird now the conventions of storytelling, especially with television, have changed so dramatically in terms of the expectations of the audience. Is that having a two part episode in the middle of a season of a show would be a little weird now, and the fact that it wasn't, you know, in the seventies and eighties, is kind of strange, because again, when you would ask someone what kind of show would a two part episode be, and I doubt they would say a sitcom with cops, so and this show has had plenty on top of everything else.

I remember when I would watch television in the seventies and eighties, and every once in a while, I'd be like, it's about time for them to wrap up, like what's going on? And then they would be like, yeah, to be continued. Oh okay. I just was looking up Happy Days episodes. There were tons of two parts.

Once they get into like season five, it's like two part or two part or two. I'm like, really, Hollywood, Hollywood Part two, Hollywood Part three, Phonsie and Leather Tuscadero Part one, Phonsie the Rock Entrepreneur Part one. I'm like, Jesus Christ, guys, it's. Just a wild and I mean, now we have the ability to tell one hour long TV shows so we don't even need the two parter. I mean that's you know, a TV show like This is Us, right, like AAA show that is broadly about a a family and generational and then the generations of a family.

That's an hour long TV show. However, Modern Family, a television show also about generational family members, is only thirty minutes. Maybe they have two part episodes on that show. I'm sure that they do, but the expectations are different, and I don't know, Like with Barney Miller, I've never been able to see the need for it because they've never justified it. I think, wasn't Barney's in jail a two part five episode?

Was that a two part or US? That might be the only one where I'm like, I could see that because of the stakes of that. But come on, we all know Barney's not going to jail. And they make a reference to that in this one. They're like, well, it's been a while since you've been in jail.

I know, which is also fantastic. Season ten of Happy Days, first episode title a woman not under the influence scunning. Can you imagine they're making a Cassavetti's reference on here? I love it well they're making a Polanski reference in this show, So yeah, I mean to be, I gotta assume that's what it's in reference to, right, even if it is six or four years on or whatever it is. Yeah, man o, man, I mean we mentioned Jumping the Shark, and it looks like Happy Days one on for at least ten seasons.

That was probably three or four seasons too much. I mean once once Richie left the show, it was just like, really, you know, when we started adding those other characters, I almost would be curious because that woman not under the Influence episode September twenty eighth, nineteen eighty two, it's like almost parallel with what we're talking about with these episodes. I can't even believe Happy Days was on that long, Like yeah, and that's and that was And that was another thing I was curious because again, as we come towards the end of the show, do you feel like Barney has outstayed It's welcome? No? Yeah, I either think me either at all.

A couple of times like where we've said okay, yeah, Like even when we talked about the Climb, we're like, yeah, it's a fairly typical episode, but it's still a good episode. You know, I still laughed quite a few times. Yeah, it's it's still it's still worthy of a watch. But yeah, then you get to the two parters and it's like, maybe not so much, Maybe skip those, maybe check. I mean, but that's the thing.

I mean, when you have an episode twenty two in a season with twenty one other episodes, like that's just shit, that's not even a thing anymore. Like there are few shows like that anymore. It's really a specific kind of show that has that many episodes. It's literally only sitcoms now, like everything else is pretty much like what eight to fifteen if that like most narrative TV shows, I mean you talked about Star Trek, I mentioned the X Files. Those are hour long shows that had twenty five long episode seasons.

Like that's fucking wild to me, Like you can't binge watch that shit. There's like, I don't know, ten episodes of season eight episode eight seasons of Game of Thrones, so it's like eighty episodes. X Files hit that in like four at four seasons, and there's six more like they just it's not it's so different now that it's hard to compare it. But yeah, everything about the way TV shows are made is so drastically different compared to what we're watching with Barney Miller. But when they hit those like stilm contemporary conventions, the show, I mean, the show justifies its existence through the level of comedy and the way that they treat the characters.

But I also think the fact that we do get some contemporary storyteller devices does help this show kind of have some staying power, as it were. I totally agree. I'm really excited to come back next month and talk with you about the next three episodes that we're going to cover, because the first one has me very intrigued. It's called Arrival, and it's going to be when Luger's mail order bride arrives. What the hell is that going to be?

Like? Boy, I can't wait to find out. Oh boy, So that's going to be a rival. Obituary and Inquiry, which are the next three episodes of Barney Miller that we're going to talk about here on the Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller. Until then, Chris, what are you working on these days?

Audiodversions over at weirdingwymedia dot com. That's where you can find this show and so many other things that I work on. The year of twenty twenty four has been a trying one for me, and my output has not been what I would like for it to be. But my hope is that twenty twenty five will be a better year with more output because I'm known for being a workhorse, and this horse has not been working as hard as he normally does. But yeah, hit me, hit me harder.

I'm careful, I might like, uh, but yeah. You can find everything I work on at Weirdingwaymedia dot com. And if you are a fan of what we do and you want to help us out financially, patreon dot com, slash Projection booth or pre patreon dot com, slash father Alone or patreon dot com, slash culture cast or ways you can help us out financially. And hey, if you can't like, rate and review the show where you get it, which should be iTunes. If it isn't, go to iTunes and like rate review the show please because it helps us.

And you know what, don't just do it for us, do it for all the content creators that you watch, because you know what, that's how we find more people and it costs you nothing, and we immensely appreciate. What about you, Mike, do it for Johnny, do it for the Gipper, do it for this one's for John As I like to say. I didn't. I didn't think I was going to be making a Julie Brown reference tonight, but I did. So there is that, yeah, yeah, same thing.

All the links that Chris just listed out, definitely check those out please and yeah, brate and review the show where you get it. We would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much, John Walker for creating our theme song. Really appreciate that. And thanks everybody for listening.

We appreciate you as well,