"Rape" deals with the touchy subject of spousal abuse, as Catherine Lindsay (Joyce Jameson) wants her husband Marvin (Michael Pataki) arrested for rape. Harris has designs on the attractive assistant DA (Linda Dano) defending the wife, while the husband spends his time in the cell wondering what he did wrong (Lindsay: "what are they trying to prove?" Yemana: "I don't know, why do they want to convert to the metric system?" Lindsay: "huh?" Yemana: "that's my point!"). Dietrich checks on a case where Duggan (Dick Balduzzi) was robbed in the confessional (by a priest), later commenting on the marriage crisis (Duggan: "that's kind of weird ain't it, raped by her husband?" Dietrich: "beats your priest with a gun all to hell!").
6 Reviews
An episode ahead of its time spoiled by a laugh track
lisabrodsky196527 May 2017
Like so many Barney Miller episodes, this one addresses a topical issue that had not yet been fully addressed at the time it aired. The episode aired in 1978, when New York law held it perfectly legal for a man to have non-consensual sex with his wife: marriage was legal consent to sex at any time in the future. The first New York conviction of a husband for raping his wife came three years after this episode aired.
The actual dialog and acting in this episode takes the problem of marital rape quite seriously, with the wife reporting it very upset, Barney sympathetic but perplexed at how he can accommodate her needs given the state of the law, the husband angry and confused because what he did was "natural," his lawyer puzzled knowing that this was legal at the time, and a DA wanting to push this through the courts as a test case to make marital rape illegal.
Unfortunately, a ham-handed laugh track is slathered all over this episode, with a prerecorded audience bursting into guffaws when the woman says that her rapist is her husband, that she was assaulted by him, and so forth, and the laugh track becomes more aggressive as the episode progresses. There are a few lines that are meant to be humorous (Barney: Would you be willing to sign a complaint? Wife: Today, I'd be willing to do anything; last night, I wasn't), but most of the things that the audience laughs at are not meant to be humorous, are not played as humorous, and almost 40 years later it is downright painful to hear the laughter.
In spite of that, I give this episode a reasonably good review because hiding underneath all of that artificial hilarity is actually a good examination of an awkward legal situation that is no longer a problem: marital rape is now a crime in all 50 states. In 1978, marriage was consent in most states.
The actual dialog and acting in this episode takes the problem of marital rape quite seriously, with the wife reporting it very upset, Barney sympathetic but perplexed at how he can accommodate her needs given the state of the law, the husband angry and confused because what he did was "natural," his lawyer puzzled knowing that this was legal at the time, and a DA wanting to push this through the courts as a test case to make marital rape illegal.
Unfortunately, a ham-handed laugh track is slathered all over this episode, with a prerecorded audience bursting into guffaws when the woman says that her rapist is her husband, that she was assaulted by him, and so forth, and the laugh track becomes more aggressive as the episode progresses. There are a few lines that are meant to be humorous (Barney: Would you be willing to sign a complaint? Wife: Today, I'd be willing to do anything; last night, I wasn't), but most of the things that the audience laughs at are not meant to be humorous, are not played as humorous, and almost 40 years later it is downright painful to hear the laughter.
In spite of that, I give this episode a reasonably good review because hiding underneath all of that artificial hilarity is actually a good examination of an awkward legal situation that is no longer a problem: marital rape is now a crime in all 50 states. In 1978, marriage was consent in most states.
Groundbreaking and Important episode
robertdlar25 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
What many younger people, do not get this episode and think it is 'dated' and 'out of touch' or 'inappropriate' and definately NOT funny, but (and this is posted in trivia) before 1980 New York, and MOST States did NOT prosecute a husband for R*** and since people were generally more uptight in the 70s than we are now, it was not openly discussed.
What makes this such a good episode is that for the first time this issue was brought to the attention of the general public. Remember, back then only 3 channels existed so a good 1/3rd of the population would watch this show. This got the message out about the trials of married women, a subject that would not normally be adressed. I am not saying that this episode alone got the laws changed, but I would be willing to bet this had a lot to do with drawing attention to the growing problem of domestic abuse. Women were still struggling for equality and fairness and this show helped furhter it. See people would have been less interested in watching a 'Dateline' special about domestic abuse, but when you sneak the subject matter in, while also entertaining them with good comedy, the message is sent and received by more people and starts a dialogue which could have led to government getting involved.
In this particular case the assault was less about violence and more about a womans right to choose when and where. In this case the wife just wanted to be respected by her husband and wanted to send a clear message. The fact that the DA was willing to prosecure put the fear into the husband and set him straight which was enough to satisfy the wife.
All in all not the BEST episdoe because of the subject matter, but I still have to give it a good rating because it helped forward womens rights.
What makes this such a good episode is that for the first time this issue was brought to the attention of the general public. Remember, back then only 3 channels existed so a good 1/3rd of the population would watch this show. This got the message out about the trials of married women, a subject that would not normally be adressed. I am not saying that this episode alone got the laws changed, but I would be willing to bet this had a lot to do with drawing attention to the growing problem of domestic abuse. Women were still struggling for equality and fairness and this show helped furhter it. See people would have been less interested in watching a 'Dateline' special about domestic abuse, but when you sneak the subject matter in, while also entertaining them with good comedy, the message is sent and received by more people and starts a dialogue which could have led to government getting involved.
In this particular case the assault was less about violence and more about a womans right to choose when and where. In this case the wife just wanted to be respected by her husband and wanted to send a clear message. The fact that the DA was willing to prosecure put the fear into the husband and set him straight which was enough to satisfy the wife.
All in all not the BEST episdoe because of the subject matter, but I still have to give it a good rating because it helped forward womens rights.
Still In Shock That a Show This Good Had an Episode This Bad
asrexproductions21 December 2016
Never in a million years would I expect "Barney Miller" to make an episode this ghastly. In "Rape," a woman named Catherine Lindsay (Joyce Jameson) accuses her husband Marvin (Michael Pataki) of rape for having sex with her without her consent, and
there's actually doubt that he did it. Not because some of the facts are inconsistent, or because the men of the 12th Precinct decided, in this episode, to smoke every drug they confiscated off the street, or got struck in head with a large metal object, thus damaging their mental faculties, but because in 1978 apparently women were expected to have sex with their husbands regardless whether they wanted to. As a result, the episode is rife with the laugh track as this poor woman explains how her worthless husband doesn't treat her like a human being, and the DA (Linda Dano) arrives to defend her, saying this might be a test case to define the laws of rape the way they've since been defined as I write this in 2016. Since that wasn't the case then, the whole thing is played as a big joke, with William Bogart, of "Small Wonder," uh, "fame" as a shyster who swears up and down that Mrs. Lindsey has no case. I won't spoil how it ends, but just suffice it to say that I found it extremely difficult to watch, especially in "Barney Miller," the king of all multicultural shows, where the writing is usually above reproach. "Rape" just made me sick, and I spent the whole episode in utter disbelief, despite the fact that we just elected a President who bragged about being able to grab women by the crotch due to his celebrity. I'm a firm believer in not blaming the past for being the past, but there are many times when I really struggle with that. "Rape" is one of those times. Whether the jokes that aren't about rape were funny I couldn't tell you, and though the acting was as good as it always is, I found it incredibly difficult to care. All "Rape" did for me was illustrate how lucky I am to have been two years old when this episode aired. It's an episode I gladly doubt they could make today, one that I hope the writers of "Barney Miller" are ashamed of now. The fact that they did however, just reminds me that there are generations of men raised with this mentality, including the progressive men that wrote this show. I thought "Barney Miller" was great for reflecting how society had grown in the '70s. Knowing what we know about the world today though, it reminded me that even with a show like that, there was plenty of ground to cover that we're only scratching the surface of now. I just hope that it doesn't take another 38 years before we are able to wipe out all of the beliefs of those earlier eras that make me feel this much revulsion.
A Dated Episode, To Say the Least
Mike_Yike24 May 2022
I have gotten into watching old Barney Miller episodes (come to think of it, there aren't any new ones) on a nostalgia TV channel. The biggest plotline of this Barney Miller episode has to do with a husband raping his wife. The episode tries to look at it comedically, which does not work. It probably did not work very well 44 years ago, when the episode first aired. It sure falls flat now... really flat. I gave it 3 stars based on its failure to attain its goal, getting laughs.
Some viewers might think the episode ignorant and/or offensive. They shouldn't, just like they should not think movies from the 1930s offensive when a white character calls a black character "boy", even if the latter is a grown man. It's how it was at that time, be it the 1930s, or in the case of "Rape", the 1970s.
So, the viewer will likely not find "Rape" particularly funny. I gave it a measly 3 stars. But that does not mean it is not interesting, in its own way. I found it a true curiosity from the past, albeit a bit of a painful curiosity.
Some viewers might think the episode ignorant and/or offensive. They shouldn't, just like they should not think movies from the 1930s offensive when a white character calls a black character "boy", even if the latter is a grown man. It's how it was at that time, be it the 1930s, or in the case of "Rape", the 1970s.
So, the viewer will likely not find "Rape" particularly funny. I gave it a measly 3 stars. But that does not mean it is not interesting, in its own way. I found it a true curiosity from the past, albeit a bit of a painful curiosity.
a couple of points
tomronning501 May 2019
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