Series synopsis
Barney Miller is an American comedy television series that premiered on ABC on January 23, 1975. It ended on May 20, 1982. It was created by Theodore J. Flicker, Danny Arnold. It stars Hal Linden, Max Gail, Barbara Barrie and Ron Glass.
Barney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. Always sensible, he maintains order over a band of detectives who gamble, hit on 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 citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.
Premise
Barney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. Always sensible, he maintains order over a band of detectives who gamble, hit on 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 citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.
Premise: One of the Funniest Police Shows Ever!
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Hal Linden as Barney Miller
- Max Gail as Stan Wojciehowicz
- Barbara Barrie as Elizabeth Miller
- Ron Glass as Ron Harris
- Gregory Sierra as Miguel Amenguale
- Steve Landesberg as Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich
- Jack Soo as Nick Yemana
- Ron Carey as Carl Levitt
Supporting cast
- Abe Vigoda as Philip Fish
- Roger Bowen as Francis Lindquist
- David Doyle as Emil Ditka
- Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Rebecca Sobel
- Herb Edelman as Alan Schuster
- Todd Bridges as Truman Jackson
- Gabriel Dell as Al Shreiber
- Robert Mandan as Charlie Huntsinger
- Jonelle Allen as Officer Turner
- Severn Darden as Randolph Cook
- Jose Flores as Claudio Trujillo
- Valerie Curtin as Gloria Clooney
Guest cast
- Steve Landesberg as Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich
- Jack Soo as Nick Yemana
- Ron Carey as Carl Levitt
- Abe Vigoda as Philip Fish
- Roger Bowen as Francis Lindquist
- David Doyle as Emil Ditka
- Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Rebecca Sobel
- Herb Edelman as Alan Schuster
- Todd Bridges as Truman Jackson
- Gabriel Dell as Al Shreiber
- Robert Mandan as Charlie Huntsinger
- Jonelle Allen as Officer Turner
Episodes
This series spans 9 seasons with 176 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 6 | ||
| Season 1 | 13 | January 23, 1975 | May 1, 1975 |
| Season 2 | 22 | September 11, 1975 | March 18, 1976 |
| Season 3 | 22 | September 23, 1976 | March 31, 1977 |
| Season 4 | 23 | September 15, 1977 | May 18, 1978 |
| Season 5 | 24 | September 14, 1978 | May 17, 1979 |
| Season 6 | 22 | September 13, 1979 | May 8, 1980 |
| Season 7 | 22 | October 30, 1980 | May 21, 1981 |
| Season 8 | 22 | October 29, 1981 | May 20, 1982 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inside the 12th Precinct | |
| 2 | Salute to the Old One Two | |
| 3 | Inside the Writers Room |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ramon Captain Barney Miller talks down a junkie who is holding the 12th Precinct hostage. |
January 23, 1975 |
| 2 |
Experience A bomber targets the 12th Precinct, as Det. Fish contemplates retirement. |
January 30, 1975 |
| 3 |
Snow Job The squad grapples with guarding a department store payroll and a flasher who attempts suicide in the bathroom. |
February 6, 1975 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Doomsday A disgruntled man with a belt of dynamite threatens to blow himself and the squad room sky high unless President Nixon agrees to speak with him; the plumbing goes kaput; Wojo arrests a phony man-of-the-cloth. |
September 11, 1975 |
| 2 |
The Social Worker Weary of housework, Liz tries her hand at social work, to Barney's dismay; a master forger fascinates Harris. |
September 18, 1975 |
| 3 |
The Layoff Barney, Fish and Yemana feel the crunch when a labor layoff forces them to do without Chano, Harris and Wojo; a manicurist goes deeper than the nail; a morose stockbroker takes to petty theft. |
September 25, 1975 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Evacuation Wojo is dismayed to discover that the city doesn't have up-to-date evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency; Fish meets Jilly Pappalardo, a young thief who he will eventually care for in the ""Barney"" spin-off ""Fish."" |
September 23, 1976 |
| 2 |
Quarantine (1) Wojo brings in a sick perp who collapses on the floor...resulting in the 12th being put under quarantine,with the following personnel present:A lady of the evening [who gets friendly with Fish!], Marty and Mr Driscoll, and of course, Inspector Lugar.... |
September 30, 1976 |
| 3 |
Quarantine (2) The quarantined 12th Precinct tries to make it through the night: Lugar has a 'talk' with Marty and Daryl Driscoll; and Harris has a loud rant in his sleep. |
October 7, 1976 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Goodbye, Mr. Fish (1) A neighborhood vigilante group runs amok, and Fish is AWOL on the day of his retirement. |
September 15, 1977 |
| 2 |
Goodbye, Mr. Fish (2) Fish finally shows up for work, but refuses to acknowledge his mandatory retirement. |
September 22, 1977 |
| 3 |
Bugs Listening devices discovered in the squad room may have come from Internal Affairs - or the Nixon administration! |
September 29, 1977 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Kidnapping (1) A political activist abducts a department store magnate; Wojo arrests a prostitute and her Arkansan business manager. |
September 14, 1978 |
| 2 |
Kidnapping (2) Wojo delivers the ransom money for the department store owner, while the prostitute charms both Wojo and the victim's nebbish son. |
September 14, 1978 |
| 3 |
The Search Off goes the moustache, as it's Harris' turn for cross-dressing mugging detail; the host of a kids' science show goes off the deep end; Barney's men reopen a twenty-eight year old missing persons case. |
September 21, 1978 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Inquisition When an anonymous letter identifies a member of the 12th Precinct as a homosexual, it buys the boys a visit from Lieutenant Scanlon, who proceeds to make a witch hunt out of his search for the author. Meanwhile, a disgruntled shopper takes a fire axe to an elevator's MUZAK machine. |
September 13, 1979 |
| 2 |
The Photographer A tranquil prisoner claims to be Jesus Christ, which is timely for the drug dealer caught with an impressive stash; an elderly mugger poses as a photographer to ensnare lonely women. |
September 20, 1979 |
| 3 |
Vacation A string of false alarms suggests that a sniper may be after a cop, but the detectives are preoccupied with Barney's posted vacation schedules and the case of a man who won't donate a kidney to his ailing brother. |
September 27, 1979 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Homicide (1) When the NYPD restructures its precincts as specialty squads, Luger pulls some strings and gets the 12th assigned as a homicide squad. Business is good; a man murders his barber, and a woman hires a hit man to kill her husband, and then changes her mind. |
October 30, 1980 |
| 2 |
Homicide (2) Harris woos the precinct's crime photographer, while Dietrich tracks down the hit man's intended target; Barney's frustration boils over when the new homicide-only edict results in the death of an old friend. |
November 6, 1980 |
| 3 |
The Delegate A drunk and disorderly turns out to be a delegate from the 1976 Democratic convention; Barney discovers a problem with the newly assigned Officer Nash - he's not a cop. |
November 13, 1980 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Paternity Wojo's proven innocent of a paternity suit, but at a cost; a beauty queen is robbed; an irate theater patron vandalizes the theater. |
October 29, 1981 |
| 2 |
Advancement Luger wants Barney to pen a letter for his mail-order bride; a lottery winner seeks revenge when the ticket seller loses his winning entry; Harris gets a new book deal. |
November 5, 1981 |
| 3 |
The Car A car thief's conscience gets the better of him ... after twenty-five years; Levitt saves a child from a precarious fate; an overzealous sanitation officer goes to extremes. |
November 12, 1981 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ABC |
|---|---|
| First aired | January 23, 1975 |
| Last aired | May 20, 1982 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes |
| Status | ended |
| Schedule | Thursday at 21:00:00 |