Would have liked to see more Lt. Scanlon

[Janice]

I would have liked to have seen more of George Murdock as Lt. Scanlon. He's one of those characters, that when he enters a scene, it's a guaranteed laughfest.
Last night's episode was great when he was trying to nail Dietrich about taking part in the anti-nuclear rally. So funny when he said to Barney, "On the one side, you have the no-nuke kooks, on the other side, you have the pro-nuke kooks..."
Then the look on his face as Dietrich is putting the lottery money in the bag was great. Funny stuff.
His body mannerisms, with the exaggerated swagger and those nasty in-your-face facial expressions were priceless.
I don't know how often he came around, but it didn't seem like it was enough.
Perhaps this was by design, and similar to Jack Riley as Mr. Carlin on The Bob Newhart Show. He was a major scene-stealer who left the viewers begging for more.
I just loved when Lt. Scanlon walked into the Squad Room.

[Kitt]

He reminds me of the the library cop on Seinfeld. That guy played that part so straight that Jerry was really having a hard time not ing out loud. I hope you remember the library cop episode from Seinfeld.

[Janice]

Originally posted by kittflynn
He reminds me of the the library cop on Seinfeld. That guy played that part so straight that Jerry was really having a hard time not ing out loud. I hope you remember the library cop episode from Seinfeld.

I remember the library book episode but can't recall the actual cop. This is where Jerry owes about a million dollars in late fees for a book from high school that George had borrowed way back when.
I can't believe I can't recall the cop being the Seinaholic that I am.

[Janice]

Part 2 of "Dietrich's Arrest" was terrific. I just loved seeing Inspector Luger and Lt. Scanlon meeting for the first time, although it surprised me that they hadn't met before.
This sounds strange, but it was just weird for me seeing them together in a scene. Did anyone else get that feeling, and if so, could you put it into the words that apparently are escaping me now? lol.
I loved seeing Luger go to the bat for Dietrich. Is he calling him DD? That what it sounds like to me. It has to be AD, right?
Scanlon asking Barney why finally getting him to squirm doesn't feel as good as he expected was a side-splitter.
It's no surprise to me that this episode won an award.
Steve Landesberg really shines here. This show is so top-notch, it's almost unreal.

[Kitt]

At the risk of sounding left field I’ll try to explain. I felt the same way. I think we were supposed to, judging by the peculiar way that Scanlon and Inspector Luger stopped in their tracks to look at one another without saying anything. like two people seeing themselves for the first time through someone else’s eyes but not quite able to recognize themselves. And neither could decide weather they liked, disliked or were indifferent to what they saw. Maybe similar to the feeling you get when you know you’ve seen someone somewhere before but you can’t bring it home. Or when you have a feeling about someone without any rational reason for it. I say this because of the similar yet completely different roles that they play--I hope you can figure that one out.--I don’t mean as actors, I mean as their characters in the world of ‘Barney Miller’ and the goings on at the 12th Precinct. They both tend to show up unannounced. They Usually end up in Barney’s office. They have a distance that they maintain from the guys in the squad room. For Scanlon’s part that’s because he’s so unlikable, which is something he works at but probably wishes wasn’t so. On the Inspector’s part it’s because he’s eccentric. He likes all of the guys and assumes that they like him, but even so, he remains in some ways detached. I don’t know if anyone got any of that. But…I’m listening.

[Janice]

Great analysis Kitt. The two men indeed are similar in ways, situationally speaking, yet are on opposites ends of the 12th Precinct spectrum.
I rewatched the episode, and I'll tell you, Luger showed true distain for Scanlon. He gave him filthy looks left and right. They really duked it out verbally in Barney's office.
The scene with them together was interesting for a few reasons.
From the start they appeared to be jockeying for position as illustrated when Luger made Scanlon move out of his seat in Barney's office.
Rank played an important role here as well. Although Luger is head and shoulders over him in rank, Scanlon is conducting an Internal Affairs investigation which puts him in a position of power. We know he's had a bee in his shorts over that Precinct House, and we also know that Luger truly cares about these men. It was funny when Luger said, "As an impartial third party who loves these men...."
That was a sweet, rare moment where we finally got to hear what we really knew all along.
There were some interesting dynamics at play here with the Luger and Scanlon showdown.

[egregiousgirl]

Originally posted by Janice
Part 2 of "Dietrich's Arrest" was terrific. I just loved seeing Inspector Luger and Lt. Scanlon meeting for the first time, although it surprised me that they hadn't met before.
This sounds strange, but it was just weird for me seeing them together in a scene. Did anyone else get that feeling, and if so, could you put it into the words that apparently are escaping me now? lol.
I loved seeing Luger go to the bat for Dietrich. Is he calling him DD? That what it sounds like to me. It has to be AD, right?
Scanlon asking Barney why finally getting him to squirm doesn't feel as good as he expected was a side-splitter.
It's no surprise to me that this episode won an award.
Steve Landesberg really shines here. This show is so top-notch, it's almost unreal.

First of all, I think it's DD for "Detective Dietrich?" Maybe? Because I think when Luger called him that for the first time, Dietrich called Barney CM. I think?

Also, getting back to the original point of wanting to see Scanlon more--I think they used him just right. If he'd been on the show much more, then it might have gotten annoying. It kind of reminds me of Col. Flagg on M*A*S*H. He was great when he was on, but if he'd been on more than he was, then it would have been too much. Like the novelty wearing off.

Same with Inspector Luger. He was so great but if he'd been in every episode, then we would have tired of him and his stories. Just like the detectives have, I guess.

[catlover79]

Scanlon sure was one of those characters you loved to hate, and George Murdock played the role perfectly. Another character who sure wasn't a fan of Scanlon was Janice Wentworth - especially after he kept calling her girly!!! ("Block Party", Season 2)