"Barney Miller" (1975) TV series 1975-1982

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Creators:

Danny Arnold
Theodore J. Flicker
Chris Hayward

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | unknown

Release Date:

23 January 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The captain of a city police station and his staff handle the various local troubles and characters that come to the building.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Character Driven | Cult TV | Wacky Gueststars | Bad Coffee

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 36 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	9:00 PM	WGNAMER	Fear of Flying	#2.17
Sun. Nov. 15	9:30 PM	WGNAMER	Block Party	#2.18

Cast

Hal Linden	...	Capt. Barney Miller (171 episodes, 1974-1982)
Max Gail	...	Det. Stan 'Wojo' Wojciehowicz (170 episodes, 1975-1982)
Ron Glass	...	Det. Ron Harris (167 episodes, 1975-1982)
Steve Landesberg	...	Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich / ... (134 episodes, 1975-1982)
Ron Carey	...	Officer Carl Levitt / ... (131 episodes, 1976-1982)
Jack Soo	...	Det. Sgt. Nick Yemana (98 episodes, 1975-1979)

Also Known As:

The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (170 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

ABC Television Center - 4151 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Four D Productions

Trivia:

One of the props used on the police station set was a chalkboard used to show whether the policemen were on-duty or off-duty. When the show ended, the chalkboard was donated to the Smithsonian Television Museum. In addition to the names of the characters on the show, the board listed other names which were those of technicians who worked on the show's crew. The Smithsonian also has the police badges used by the actors (signed by producer Danny Arnold) and Jack Soo's coffee mug.

Quotes:

Wojo: [arriving at stakeout location, carrying cases of equipment] Hey Barn! I got everything we need! I got 10-guage shotguns, 12-guage shotguns, tow phone, and
[opens largest case]
Wojo: tear gas!
Captain Barney Miller: Did you bring a chair?
Wojo: Chair?
Captain Barney Miller: [gestures to empty apartment] There's no place to sit down.
Wojo: Ooh, sorry.
Captain Barney Miller: [looks into equipment case] I see you brought grenades too, huh?
Wojo: Just a thought.
Captain Barney Miller: If we don't use all this stuff, you're not going to feel bad, are you?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Angels' Revenge (#7.22)" (1995)

The Precursor to Night Court

This show was one of the funniest in the history of television. The various characters that came in and out of the station made this show what it was. I really think the show was at its peak during the period when Abe Vigoda, Jack Soo and Steve Landesberg were all on the show together. However, once Vigoda and Soo were gone, the show seemed to shift to a more dramatic direction. This was especially evident in the memorial episode for Jack Soo. However, this was a highly influential show and if you look at Night Court, which was produced by pretty much the same team as this one, you will see some of the same qualities on that show that made this one great.