The Life & Times of Captain Barney Miller

The journey through Barney Miller is nearing its grand finale, and what better way to mark the occasion than with a true legend of the 12th Precinct? This episode welcomes none other than Max Gail, the man behind the beloved, big-hearted, and often exasperated Detective Stanley Wojciehowicz. Max takes us beyond the squad room, sharing insights into his remarkable career, his passionate advocacy for Native American rights, and how those efforts connected to the episode Bones.Meanwhile, Mike and Chris dissect some of the final character-driven moments of the series, diving into Old Love, a poignant farewell to Dietrich’s story arc, and Altercation, where Harris gets his own sendoff. As the end of Barney Miller looms, we celebrate the show’s rich legacy, its impact, and the actors who made it so unforgettable.

As we reach the middle of the final season of Barney Miller we discuss episodes "The Clown", "Hunger Strike," and the two-parter "Chinatown" wherein Harris and Deitrich have to share a room with a potential witness... for some reason. It's another discussion of how two-parters generally didn't work on the show.

We're back and talking about the final season of Barney Miller: Possession in which Kenneth Tigar returns with another spiritual crisis, Stress Analyzer which wastes some comic potential of Deitrich wearing the titular analyzer, and Games in which we see collusion between the US government and Russia. The more things change, right?

We've paused between Barney Miller seasons 7 and 8 to take a look at the spin-off show, Fish. Abe Vigoda is back as Phil Fish and Florence Stanley as Bernice. Also along for the ride is a cavalcade of kids (some familiar to us, and some new) and Barry Gordon doing his best at a Woody Allen impression.Chris and Mike cover the "highlights" and lowlights of this ill-conceived show.

The word we've used to describe Season 7 of Barney Miller is "uneven". These three episodes are great examples of that with the fairly strong episodes "The Doll" and "Lady and the Bomb" in which we get the usual strange people coming to the Old One Two (including the re-appearnce of Fish. "Riot", however, is a tin-eared "very special episode".

We continue to plod through the seventh season of Barney Miller with another uneven group of episodes. We meet a grammar Nazi in "The Psychic" and a real Nazi in "The Librarian". In-between we find out that Carl Levitt can speak American Sign Language in the sublime episode "Stormy Weather" where a deaf prostitute is under arrest.

This three episode run of Barney Miller was the beginning, middle, and end of a new Detective in the old One-Two, Det. Sgt. Eric Dorsey (Paul Lieber). Sitting at Nick's desk, Dorsey was a quasi-Dietrich in his humor but couldn't ingratiate himself with his fellow detectives. We chart the introduction and fall of this ill-concieved character as we continue our trek through the uneven 7th season.

We're wrapping up the super sixth season of Barney Miller with three episodes that discuss topics as diverse as domestic terrorism, hypnosis, and intellectual property. We even discover a window in the 12th precinct that we never knew existed.

Mike and Chris discuss the two-part episode "Vanished" in which Harris investigates the disappearance of several homeless men, forcing him to go undercover. In "The Child Stealers" we see the return of Marty and Mr. Driscoll while discussing parental rights for queer people.

We continue our look at the solid Season 6 of Barney Miller with three episodes that include Wojo buying a parrot with a short shelf life, Don Calfa as a nearly-catatonic criminal, and the disappearance of Nick's old desk.

We're back and kicking off Season 6 of Barney Miller with a discussion of the first three episodes: Inquisition, The Photographer, and Vacation. We've got the return of Lt. Scanlon and the re-introduction of the first gay officer working at the 12th Precinct. On this season Noam Pitlik takes the reign of all directing duties.

On the latest episode of The Life & Times of Captain Barney Miller, we look at three episodes from late in the 5th season: The Counterfeiter, Open House, and Identity. These are three relatively strong episodes that really show how the show looked running on all cylinders.