![]() Like the best sitcoms of the 70s (the most obvious example being All in the Family), Barney Miller is firmly set in its time – regularly framing the action around topical events of its day. As a social document of its time, it is unquestionably relevant, but as a comedy Barney Miller is just plain delightful, notably of and ahead of its time: well-crafted and hilarious, pointed and sensitive, as often literate as it is slapstick. The show has had its successors (most notably Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine), but it holds up brilliantly on its own terms. Running from the last days of the Ford administration to the early days of Reagan, Barney Miller offers a current viewer a sustained window into a turbulent decade, even though nearly every scene is set within the crumbling four walls of a second-floor Lower Manhattan squad room. The groundbreaking sitcom – a multi-ethnic ensemble comedy set in New York City's fictional 12th Precinct – ran on ABC from 1975 to 1982, starring Tony-award winning Broadway actor Hal Linden as the eponymous Captain Miller. But a few weeks ago, prompted by my reading of Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz's TV (The Book), my wife and I sat down to watch the series from the beginning. ![]() Although Barney was the central figure of the show, each week's storyline would always integrate one or more members of the squadroom.– Barney Miller ("Copy Cat," Season 4) Barney Miller was in prime time and syndication throughout my childhood and, while I've long had strong memories of the show, until recently I hadn't watched a full episode in decades. Also seen sporadically was Inspector Frank Luger (James Gregory), a blustery bigmouth who liked to bore the other cops with old war stories. Ron Harris (Ron Glass) was an African-American cop with a taste for fancy clothes. Arthur Dietrich (Steve Landesberg) was laconic and was always quick with a wry comeback and Det. Nick Yemana (Jack Soo) was a Japanese-American who dispensed indecipherable wisdom Det. ![]() Stanley "Wojo" Wojciehowicz (Max Gail) was a big, dumb lug who trusted almost everyone Det. Phil Fish (Abe Vigoda) was a cranky old sort who spent most of his time in the washroom Det. To that end, Barney Miller arguably had a decidedly eclectic collection of cops. By the time the show debuted on January 23, 1975, though, the premise had been adjusted to concentrate entirely on Barney's daily work routine and the cast of characters that inhabited the precinct. The original concept of the show split the focus between Barney's home life and his daily activities as boss of the 12th Precinct, located in Greenwich Village. Starring stage veteran Hal Linden in the title role, it aired on ABC in the summer of 1974. In its original incarnation, Barney Miller was a pilot called The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller. Along with other sitcoms of the era - like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi and others - it showed that you could get plenty of laughs out of a workplace setting. ![]() Barney Miller was another one of those classic shows filled with lovable characters that were scattered throughout '70s tele-vision. ![]()
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