Sex Surrogate

"Sex Surrogate" features multi award-winning stage actress Marilyn Sokol in one of her few TV roles, in the title role of Dr. Lorraine Dooley, running a clinic that offers help to sexually inadequate, dysfunctional people. When Harris asks who she is, Nick's reply is, "she's my doctor!" As in "The Courtesans," Wojo finds himself outwardly repelled yet strangely attracted to the doctor, who intuitively offers him her business card. The legendary Doris Roberts debuts (first of four) as Louise Kaufmann, who shoots her husband (Eugene Elman, first of three) in front of the clinic, still jealous and unrepentant. Fish is alarmed at the number of wives shooting at their husbands, particularly as he hung up on Bernice earlier that day. Harris checks out a series of thefts seemingly perpetrated by a prepubescent kid, which actually turns out to be 'little person' Mr. Resnick (Billy Barty). Still smarting from his lack of height, Levitt decides to quit the police force, until his encounter with Resnick makes him feel taller (his advice to the prisoner: "hang in there!"). Trying to resolve his communication problems with his wife, Fish gets out of the men's room too late to speak to the departed sex surrogate: "forget it, I'll take her to a movie!" (now with his own series on the air, Abe Vigoda would skip the remainder of BARNEY MILLER's third season, with the exception of "Group Home").