"Hostage" marked the second time that Hal Linden himself directed an episode, after "Corporation" earlier that season, and "Old Love," toward the very end. Similar to the pilot in that a suspect tries to take the squad room hostage, with the second of three appearances from Mari Gorman's Officer Rosslyn Licori. Habitual criminal Leon Bidell (Don Calfa, third of seven) and brother Leon (Oliver Clark, third of six) lock everybody in the cell while they try to figure out what to do next. Yemana is absent for the second straight episode, but both Luger and Levitt are present and accounted for, with Alix Elias (first of two) as the victim of crude remarks made by a dummy named Sammy voiced by blameless ventriloquist Oscar Leeds (Earle Towne). She herself has a few harsh words for him: "you're a sick piece of wood!" Inspector Luger introduces himself to the 'puppet' (Luger: "what's with the dummy Barney, escape from a lumber yard?"). After some choice words from Sammy, Luger reaches a logical conclusion: "snotty little knothole, ain't he?" (Earle Towne doesn't compare favorably to SOAP's Jay Johnson). Harris is overjoyed to find an apartment in Greenwich Village, though he does admit that Dietrich makes a "damn good quiche lorraine."