Barney Miller (1974–1982)

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

Creators:

Danny Arnold, Theodore J. Flicker

Stars:

Hal Linden, Steve Landesberg, Abe Vigoda

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 43 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Hal Linden	...	Capt. Barney Miller (171 episodes, 1974-1982)
Max Gail	...	Det. Stan 'Wojo' Wojciehowicz (170 episodes, 1975-1982)
Ron Glass	...	Det. Ron Harris (164 episodes, 1975-1982)
Steve Landesberg	...	Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich (124 episodes, 1975-1982)
Ron Carey	...	Officer Carl Levitt (121 episodes, 1976-1982)
Jack Soo	...	Det. Sgt. Nick Yemana (101 episodes, 1975-1979)

Storyline

Barney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. He is always sensible. He maintains order over a squad room of detectives who gamble for a hobby, get hit on by anything in skirts, go to renaissance philosophy conventions for fun, and would really prefer to be writing. Nearly all of the action takes place in the squad room where the citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.

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Plot Keywords:

police | intellectuals | bad coffee | unseen wife | wacky gueststars | 

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Taglines:

One of the Funniest Police Shows Ever

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four D Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (170 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The episodes were originally taped before a live audience. This element of the show was eliminated in later episodes.

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Quotes

Captain Barney Miller: So Dietrich, big plans for the weekend?
Dietrich: No, I'm staying home. I've gotten involved in the New Celibacy Movement.
Captain Barney Miller: Oh, Yeah?. what's that?
Dietrich: Its a movement for people who are fed up with the whole shallow dating scene.
Captain Barney Miller: Couldn't get a date, huh?
Dietrich: Not a single one.

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Crazy Credits

At different times in the production of the series Max Gail was credited as both Max Gail and Maxwell Gail.

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Connections

Referenced in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Mork & Mindy' (2005)

User Reviews

What Television once was...Funny, Classy, Mature

This show was one of the reasons why the ABC would dethrone the CBS, as the number one network in prime time in the latter 1970's.

Barney Miller depicted the day to day workings of a typical New York City detectives unit. Void of overly melodramatic urban drama, and the now all too over played "tough guy" act, Barney Miller was touted as being a fair portrayal of the life of a detective (with much more levity of-course).

Even though it was first and foremost a comedy series, the writers gave us a much needed balance by injecting a bit of drama into the plot and characters themselves. This dramatic element was so well done, that it added to character development, and provided for more laughter. Their witty dialog rarely left the viewer disappointed, or without a laugh, and with entertainment being the key factor of any Television production, the cast of Barney Miller delivered in episode after episode.

However, the show was produced during a time when crime in NY City was being managed with a overly diplomatic approach. An experiment that would prove it self to be disastrous, effectuated lectures by some of the shows characters, demonstrating an endorsement of this new more "liberal" approach to fighting crime.

There is not much out there today that even comes close to what we had in Barney Miller. It seems that todays Television lacks respect for their audience, as cheap sexual gags, and one liners dominate the sitcom landscape, and leave us with vacuous and cloddish jocularity.

Barney Miller will however, be an example of what Television once was. A time when mature, plot driven humor was demanded, and the crude and immature was rejected.