70's TV Week: Barney Miller

Hidey ho boys and girls and welcome to day 4 of 1970’s TV Week.    Today I feel like some comedy oh but we also need a little action. Hmm, maybe combine the two.   So fill out those shots fired reports, grab a doughnut and wash it down with some on the burner coffee.  This is Barney Miller.

Now we invade Poland!

Spoilers drank all the coffee...AGAIN!

Comedy writers Danny Arnold (Rosemary Clooney Show, That Girl and Bewitched) and Theodore Flicker (The President’s Analyst, Andy Griffith, The Man from U.N. C.L.E.  , Night Gallery and The Streets of San Francisco) combine their backgrounds of humor and devise a comedy that casts off the mundane shackles of police drama.   The crank calls, confused eyewitnesses and other such walks of life is what the one two has to contend with.    With two to three subplots per episode Captain Barney Miller (Hal Linden of Destroy All Monsters, The Love Boat, Blacke’s Magic, Jack’s Place and The Boys Are Back) get to deal with crackpots, budget cuts and the odd stakeout or two. 

Paperwork of the day. Poor Fish.

His ace team consists of: Detective Fish (Abe Vigoda of Dark Shadows, The Godfather, The Devil’s Daughter, The Godfather: Part II, Fish and Joe Versus the Volcano) a crotchety senior detective who constantly is dealing with his wife on the phone who I can only assume suffers from dementia at that point, Det. Stan Wojo (Max Gail of D.C. Cab, Whiz Kids, Heartbreakers, Intimate Strangers, Normal Life and Gary Unmarried) archetypical Polish American and rife with jokes aimed there, Sgt Ron Harris (Ron Glass of The New Odd Couple, Mr. Rhodes, Teen Angel, Firefly ,All Grown Up and Serenity) an African American obsessed with his wardrobe and hair that eventually he gets to his paperwork,  Sgt Nick Yemana (Jack Soo of Valentine’s Day, Flower Drum Song, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Police Story and Return to Witch Mountain) a Japanese cop known for sloppy or delayed paperwork and makes the very worse coffee in the department,  Sgt. Miguel “Chano” Amangual (Gregory Sierra of Soap, The Towering Inferno, Hill Street Blues, Zorro and Son, Miami Vice,  Hot Shots! Part Deux and Murder, She Wrote) a passionate latino that gets haggard with horrible jokes at his expense.

This is before the age of political correct and frankly it was enjoyable seeing everyone ripping on each other.  The writing had not swayed and while they went through a few characters the buddy cop and family jokes were just enjoyable.  We had plenty of reoccurring characters aplenty.  

Portrait of the perplexed.

  

Marty Morrison a gay man constantly brought in for snatching purses or brought in for complainant and yes this character is over the top flamboyant.   Mr. Cotterman, owner of the continuously robbed Cotterman’s Liquor Store.  How this made any money at all I have no idea.  Ray Brewer the bum was hilarious at every turn and he drops by for talk and to snag the coffee.  As the series progressed he later joined up with the Salvation Army.  Those poor people cannot even arm their soldiers.   Arnold Ripner is a sleazy ambulance chaser always visiting the holding cells for potential clients and they always have a rap sheet longer than my arm.  This covered almost every walk of life imaginable and frankly I enjoyed looking back.